For over 15 years the Theatre of Dark Encounters has crept out of the shadows to tell the unsuspecting public about the dark history that lies beneath their streets. From the Portsmouth Ghost Walk in 2004 we rapidly moved our award winning tours to Southampton and then Winchester. But by 2006 we started to invade local castles, Dockyards and Manor houses. By 2010 we had completed walks in Alton, Andover, Midhurst, Chichester and Farnham.
By 2012 we realised we needed a new format and created Ghost Stories told inside locations such as Wymering Manor, Fort Widley, Southsea Castle, Bursledon Brickworks, Portchester Castle and Michelham Priory.
From the Casebook: The Turn of the Screw
In 2019 The Theatre of Dark Encounters brought to life Henry James’ classic Ghost Story told in the atmospheric settings of Wymering Manor and Stansted House.
A young governess agrees to look after two orphaned children in a seemingly idyllic, but remote, country house. But shortly after her arrival, she realises that the house is haunted by a troubled past. The Governess will risk everything to keep the children safe, even if it means giving herself up to the ghosts. As the audience arrived in the impressive entrance Hall of the Tudor Manor House, Wymering Manor, or the country house grandeur of Stansted House, characters from the play beckoned them deeper into the house where the story unfolds and the tension increases.
The Theatre of Dark Encounters created a truly unique immersive experience, where actors taking the roles of Serving Staff, moved the group around the location as characters emerged from corridors and entrances and even windows around them as the sinister ghosts finally sought revenge against the Governess.