Sentosa Spooktacular

Halloween is round the corner and everyone loves a good scare! I’m getting my scares early this year as I journeyed to Fort Siloso at Sentosa to check out this year’s Sentosa Spooktacular offerings!

It’s a good idea to grab dinner and gather your energy before you face the horrors of the evening. This is also the only “normal” photo you’ll see as I’ve edited the rest to reflect the ghostly vibe that I was immersed in during my time at Sentosa Spooktacular.

I started my journey at the Sentosa Station at Vivocity. With my media pass and lighted red band (so that they can distinguish the guests from the resident ghosts should you choose to dress up on Halloween), I was ready to go ghost hunting!

While taking the train and the ghost rider bus to Fort Siloso, I checked out my media kit and read up on all the background and history of the wraiths I was likely to encounter that night. There are about 200 “ghosts” wandering that night (maybe more real ones!) and I was bound to run into more than my fair share even if I tried not to.

You’ll know once you are in the “right” zone.  When I first got in and saw funny skeletons tanning in the moonlight and random lost souls in a 1950’s background, I thought this isn’t that spooky at all. But then someone came up to me and told me I haven’t even started to get on any of the trail yet. :X

This is the first time for Fort Siloso to be used for Sentosa Spooktacular and also the first time it is opened past 6pm as it is a place of deep history with it’s own haunted legends from the WWII days.  Fort Siloso was built in the early 1880s to aid in protecting the port. It was part of Singapore’s coastal defense along with Fort Serapong and Fort Connaught in Blakang Mati, as Sentosa was then called. Yes, Sentosa is originally called Pulau  Blakang Mati which translate loosely to Isle of Death from Behind. It’s such a depressing name and it’s been said the name was given because pirates of the past stayed on the island and filled it with gruesome murder. The island was also the material paradise of warrior spirits buried at Pulau Brani. There are so much more chilling legends but all I want while I’m there is to meet only the “warm blooded ghosts” and not the real ones of Fort Siloso.

There are 5 Horror Trails in all:

1. Camp Berhantu

2. The Land of Lost Souls

3. The Last Squel

4. Deadly Doll Studio

5. Ouija Board

We will attempt all trails that night.

Being at the trails was a little like having the ” Third Eye” ability during the 7th month when the hell gates supposedly open.

If you like to know if you have the special gift of seeing ghost, someone told me that you can try this trick to suss out your ability.

* Find a place you know very well (usually your house).

* Choose your favorite room to sit in and start.

*Close your eyes, focusing all your energies to the space between your eyebrows.

* Then start to visualise yourself in the room you are in without opening your eyes. Everything is in your mind.

* Using your mind, wander the rest of the place visiting the different rooms.

*If you meet anyone in the rooms, chances are you do have a ability to meet the unknown if you try hard enough.

* If you didn’t see anyone, well, you are not gifted.

Personally, I never tried this experiment cause I get easily freaked out so I really rather not know. If you tried the above process and found out that you don’t have the gift to see beyond the physical then I think you should just visit Sentosa Spooktacular.

The actors hired for Sentosa Spooktacular are extremely dedicated and extremely in character. Even Smith’s trolling and taunting couldn’t get them to break a sweat or sneak in a chuckle. Each one of them also takes about an hour and a half to put on their awesome makeup. I especially admired those who went around screaming and chasing the guests cause I personally would not be able to scream all night long and still sound so horrific-ly  good.

Of the 5 trails, there are some scarier ones and some that are just so humorous! I much prefer the ones with twisted dark humor such as the Thai tranny ghosts who would bargain with the males and block their passages or the oppa gangnam zombies.

I used to think I was a total wimp when it came to horror houses but after seeing Jun & Yi Tian during our USS Halloween experience last year and Ying Zi & Joyce’s frightful screams at Sentosa Spooktacular 2012, I’m starting to think that I’m pretty brave after all (well, until I meet a real one that is!).

I was even brave enough to play Mahjong with the dead and win  with an awesome “大四喜” !  Afterall, I think there is plenty of time to kill while in the netherworld.

On a serious note, here are some things to note at the Sentosa Spooktacular :

– Waiting times to enter trails might be long, I was on on media pass so no queue for me but anywhere worth going on Halloween is most likely a place you have to be prepared to queue. If you are extremely adverse to queuing and rather pay your way through, they have a fast pass option.

– Do not wear white undergarments unless you want to glow. I had on white bra and I literally had glow-in-the-dark bra on the sections of trails that were UV lighted.

– Bring a fan and stay hydrated. Singapore has always been hot and humid.

I think having the right company to go with to such outings is really important as well. I had awesome company that night that would huddle with me, joke around (sometimes even with the ghosts) and basically kinda watch out for one another. Strength in numbers right!

Ying Zi was the most easily frightened in our group but even then, she got into the mood and even started to become one of the “ghosts”! And she actually really fit the bill! Check out the photo I got of her below! Doesn’t it give you the chills?

Other than the group I ghost hunted with I also ran into a few friendly faces including cutie-pie Kelly who gave me her absolutely cool homemade “fingers” cookies. If you are on my instagram or twitter (@renzze), you’ll know what I am talking about.

At the end of the day, we all left with a healthy dose of adrenaline shot and lots of good memories. If you are still thinking about where to go for your Halloween Fright Night,  here are the details!