Dubai’s Halloween celebrations have taken a giant leap into the future. Gone are the days of traditional haunted houses; instead, thrill-seekers are now venturing into a world where spine-tingling sounds surround them, intensifying the fear factor.

This Halloween season, we helped Motiongate Theme Park in Dubai redefine the way thrill-seekers experience fear as part of their annual Fright Nights event, which this year ran for over six weeks.

Collaborating closely with the creative team in Dubai, we worked with them to produce the most immersive Halloween Attraction Motiongate has seen to date, ‘The Twilight Mirror’.

“In this ominous manor, silence reigns. But … the walls are whispering tales of dread – can you hear it? I have crafted a device to help you listen. Go ahead, put it on, and let the deafening silence screech through the twilight mirror.”

The attraction featured a purpose-built structure replicating the inside of an eerie haunted mansion, complete with sinister portraits, flickering candles, an ominous grandfather clock, a disturbing Ouija board and, of course, The Twilight Mirror.

Our production team brought the room to life (literally from the dead!) with a carefully crafted audio soundscape, transporting the audience into a realm where reality and the supernatural converge in a symphony of fear!

Wearing headphones, those brave enough to enter hear the unnerving story of Richard and Isabella McAllister revealing the secrets that lie beneath the floorboards at the once-grand Hallow Manor!

In addition to the specially created audio, the attraction featured numerous ‘moving parts’ to allow the audience to feel total immersion, including projection and live performance. Having the audience members in a fixed position allowed us to play with the audio in a completely new way. We devised three seating zones (left, right and centre) and created a bespoke soundtrack for each zone, allowing us to make the experience even more realistic (i.e., if you are sitting on the left side of the room and the door next to you opens, you hear it much more prominently than if you were sitting on the right). We then had the challenge of transmitting three versions of the soundtrack simultaneously. The result was 3D audio split three ways!

It’s great to know that Halloween enthusiasts were happy to swap Dubai’s opulent skyscrapers and luxurious lifestyle to find their haunting haven at Motiongate Theme Park this year, and we were more than thrilled to have the opportunity to help provide a bone-chilling experience like never before!