The Haunted House Photograph Collection


Haunted House photographs taken before the change over to Duel.

 
Promotional image of the haunted house before the gravestone was erected.
  
A summers day at Alton Towers. The Haunted House with Something Sinister in the background.
     
 
Haunted House image showing the ride closed.
  
External Photo taken around 1992 notice the timber construction to the left of the house, this was used to hide the ride building whilst the trees and shrubs grew.
     
Picture gallery/foyer showing four of the original portraits.
Picture gallery/foyer showing four of the original portraits including an upper view of gallery and portrait 7.
     
 
Portrait 6 on gallery landing taken from home movie footage..
Half Skeleton half skin moose head, a prop that usually goes unnoticed in the gallery/foyer.
     
 
One of two faux cross stitch warning signs. The attention to detail was amazing in the haunted house and everything was created to fit into the Victorian house.
The second of the two faux cross stitch warning signs, this one was created by Emily Alton herself.
     
 
Green curtains swaged the doorways of the drawing room. These were eventually removed due to vandalism.
Image of blue windows.

Notice the blue and white vase and the originally position of the high backed chair with the magic book. This was later moved to prevent people in the queue interfering with it.

The vase and the chair are still in the drawing room however due to vandalism the vase is broken on the floor.

     
 
The original hand in the bell jar the hand in this effect would twitch. The hand was replaced with a arm and hand.
Opening day shot of the haunted house queue line.
     
 
Close up of fireplace.
  
This Dolls pram with the doll with evil eyes tends to move around and appears in different locations around the drawing room. This is not some ghostly illusion but something that the staff do.
     
 
A glimpse of the ghostly apparition of Emily Alton the girl who's spirit is trapped within the walls of the dolls house forever. She continues to walk through the door and play with her cat, writing on a black board before gathering her belongings and exiting the room.
  
The Magic Book that mysteriously turned its pages.


     
 
Fireplace shot with portrait 11 just in view. Another moving eye image.
Another piece haunted house theming that usually goes unnoticed, the goat like skull with devilish horns.
 
The spooky rocking horse that slowly rocks it's unseen rider. This effect is still in working order and can bee seen moving in Duel.
Close up of mantle piece.
The head effect can bee seen in action.
Image of Sir Henry Alton The head in the fire.

This effect is no longer used.
Looking back towards the entrance of the drawing room you can clearly see the dolls house, portrait 8 the hand in the bell jar and the cloche and tea cozy on top of the table which hides the fireplace monitor.
Portrait 12 and 13 in shot looking towards the ride station.
Front of one of the 18, 000 pound carriages.
One of the 4 ride station bust.
Portcullis, there is a lot of speculation whether or not this moved down on you as you rode under it. In my opinion it didn't actually move up and down but was slightly tilted to make it look like it was moving. The cars were entering under this too quickly for it to reset so it was all down to an optical illusion.
The Poltergeist room cracking walls and flashing lightening.
This is the original bust from the dining room. Later it would be replaced by the screaming bust.
This illusion uses mirrors to make the dining room look bigger than it actually is. It is used to prevent you seeing this demon until it pounces out on you.
Same shot with demon. This corridor was given a makeover some years later and a dining table was added.
Excellent Ghost train effect using black light and florescent paint to create this stone effect.
Excellent Ghost train effect using black light and florescent paint to create this stone effect.
This is the arched doorway that looked to small for the car to enter through, the effect included a moving column that would swing out of the way as the car got closer. This effect has long since gone but the archway remains.
The opening to Trommels tunnel. Another old fairground illusion which gives the rider the feeling of turning upside down. Originally the inside of Trommel was painted with flames to represent the flames of Hell but was repainted before opening day with UV brickwork..
These are the images of the giants fingers, these fingers didn't last all that long in fact they were replaced the following year. They have been converted several times into other creations.
Again Black light was used to great effect.
Another view of the giants fingers. The mechanism for these fingers still exist to this day and operate the zombies.
Another early casualty of the Haunted House revamp, which happened a few years after opening.

The whereabouts of the giants head is still a mystery.

The eye of the giant used to move and follow your path. The giant would speak and say that he wasn't going to hurt you.
The giant spider in the hall of spiders was a great piece of theming. It would move up and down as the car went underneath and hiss loudly.
Another shot of the giant spider.
This was another scene that would play out in the skeleton corridor. As the riders moved through the darkness the flickering skull lights would activate and a ghostly skeleton would fly over head.
The skeleton ghost, removed due to a fault.
Close up of skull light from the skeleton corridor.
Illuminated skull light.
Electric Bill, still working to this day, however he has become a little redundant. His job was to plunge the house in to total darkness causing the hidden scenes to be seen as the cars went down the skeleton corridor. Alas there is nothing much left of the skeleton corridor.
This is a long forgotten effect and shows a set of amour painted on to a black screen. The screen would then be lit from behind making the amour disappear and the skeleton bed scene visible.
This is the remains of one of those scenes from the skeleton corridor. No other pictures exist to my knowledge. It shows a bed which featured a skeleton that would rise up and turn its head towards the scared people in the carriages. This would then go dark and another scene would be played out.
You would then be made to jump by Skeleton Bomb. This effect was linked to the skeleton in the bathroom and on the toilet.

This effect has long since gone and has been replaced by A female Vampire.
The long lost and sometimes disputed skeleton on the toilet scene. This effect shows a skeleton reading a paper on the toilet it would disappear with a trumping sound and a cackle.
Bathroom Explosion linked to Skeleton Bomb. This effect is still working to this day although it works alone.
Head unknown, tucked away in a corner stands a column with a black mannequin head. Remnants from the haunted house or an effect never used. No one seems to know.
Just before the Ghoulish Garden, you enter a strange dark corner of the haunted house that is full of ugly faces that seem to appear out of the walls, and fly over head. This areas can not be heavily themed due to the small amount of space available.
Another screaming face appears out of the dark.
Overhead Banshee.
Screaming skull.
Affectionately named Tigger by Alton Towers staff. This demon towers high above the riders. This effect still works although he has change colour. This effect originally operated in the swamp area of the haunted house but was moved due to technical problems.
This eerie monk in the cloisters waits patiently for who every passes by. In the revamp this guy was motorized and now moves slowly left and right.
A close up of the undertaker, again highlighting the importance placed on black lighting.
Look how eerie this crashed hearse looks in blacklight and the spirit rising from the coffin looks more impressive.
The undertaker beckons the poor rider to their doom. Originally the undertaker laughed and spoke to the rider, now all he does his beckon.
Promotion shot of one of the gargoyle from the sinister garden.
The Lunatic emerges from out of his cave to give the unsuspecting rider a scare.
Opening day photo of Death in the sinister garden. Note that use of Blacklight.
Think back to the queue through the graveyard and the grave stone stating 'Gentle stranger pray keep walking, turn not see whom Death is stalking', well he does make an appearance within the ghoulish garden.
Just when you thought you couldn't handle another scare the pillar demon strikes, Looking quite innocent this columns would spin around almost throwing out the demon from within. It was also accompanied by a cat like hissing effect.
Promotion shot of the groaning rock face monster in the sinister garden.
Swamp scenery
The miniature haunted house that was illuminated by lightening, whereabouts of this model is unknown.
Another lost effect, the fallen tree and trembling wall. No images are available of the trembling wall, But basically it consisted of a wobbly wall that would crash down over the car. The branch of the tree would follow.
Another lost effect and scare. The Witch a super scare as she bursts out of a crypt. This effect replaced Tigger in the swamp as he was relocated to the screaming room due to technical problems.
The original split face in the walled garden/swamp area of the Haunted House. Eventually this effect was moved and change to an alien split face. It doesn't now fit in with the rest of the ride and is awkwardly placed near Trommels tunnel.
Inside the split face originally resided the lost souls.
One of the overhead Banshees this one has two heads and is accompanied by a howl and scream.
The open mouthed gargoyle towards the end of the ride is now empty; but when originally built it contained the dragon monster. It gave the rider one last scare before they entered the ride station exit.

 

 

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