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Murray Maze is full of nightmarish surprises and screams < >

Murray Maze is full of nightmarish surprises and screams

By Ian Potter

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Step inside the storytelling yurt for a terrifying tale of goulish nightmares.

Step inside the storytelling yurt for a terrifying tale of goulish nightmares.

By Ian Potter
Dare you face the demons lurking amongst the Spirits of Scone?

Dare you face the demons lurking amongst the Spirits of Scone?

By Ian Potter
There's only one way to fuel a person against ghouls and demons... toasted marshmallows!

There's only one way to fuel a person against ghouls and demons... toasted marshmallows!

By Ian Potter
The grounds of Scone Palace are hauntingly beautiful during their week-long Spirits of Scone event. Buy tickets on their website.

The grounds of Scone Palace are hauntingly beautiful during their week-long Spirits of Scone event. Buy tickets on their website.

By Ian Potter
Here we go! Spirits of Scone 2019 is more spook-tacular than ever before. Screams, howls and jumping out of skin guaranteed!

Here we go! Spirits of Scone 2019 is more spook-tacular than ever before. Screams, howls and jumping out of skin guaranteed!

By Ian Potter
Cage up your teenagers... its the only way to go!

Cage up your teenagers... its the only way to go!

By Ian Potter
Line up to chop off the heads of your children... it can only be Spirits of Scone in Perth!

Line up to chop off the heads of your children... it can only be Spirits of Scone in Perth!

By Ian Potter
Lock up your daughters!

Lock up your daughters!

By Ian Potter
The Haunted Lady creeps past a stunning Scone Palace swathed in demon red.

The Haunted Lady creeps past a stunning Scone Palace swathed in demon red.

By Ian Potter
No Trespassing - we're tired of hiding the bodies.... WHooooooo!!!!

No Trespassing - we're tired of hiding the bodies.... WHooooooo!!!!

By Ian Potter
Madame Fortune Teller has a terrifying future in store for all you humans

Madame Fortune Teller has a terrifying future in store for all you humans

By Ian Potter
Perth twins, Hollie and Jenna Martin... do not feed!

Perth twins, Hollie and Jenna Martin... do not feed!

By Ian Potter
A whole new meaning to the phrase legless in the woods....!

A whole new meaning to the phrase legless in the woods....!

By Ian Potter
By still my pretty... we're only rocking in the woods...

By still my pretty... we're only rocking in the woods...

By Ian Potter
This Way... if you DARE!

This Way... if you DARE!

By Ian Potter
Dead bodies hang from the rafters of the Murray Maze bridge... will you walk through them to reach the other side?

Dead bodies hang from the rafters of the Murray Maze bridge... will you walk through them to reach the other side?

By Ian Potter
Appearing from the shadows, demonic men and crazed women are lurking for their prey

Appearing from the shadows, demonic men and crazed women are lurking for their prey

By Ian Potter
Perth College UHI students created a Spooky Scarecrow for the grounds of the palace

Perth College UHI students created a Spooky Scarecrow for the grounds of the palace

By Ian Potter
Jason is lurking... knife in hand and mask blood soaked from his rein of terror.

Jason is lurking... knife in hand and mask blood soaked from his rein of terror.

By Ian Potter
Blood curdling clowns, full of fear and terror, are poised and ready to strike!

Blood curdling clowns, full of fear and terror, are poised and ready to strike!

By Ian Potter
He lured Mr Fancypants into the woods... but what was waiting on the other side?

He lured Mr Fancypants into the woods... but what was waiting on the other side?

By Ian Potter
Bedraggled and gruesome.... characters lurk in every corner of the grounds, menacing looks ready to scare even the steeliest of spirits.

Bedraggled and gruesome.... characters lurk in every corner of the grounds, menacing looks ready to scare even the steeliest of spirits.

By Ian Potter
The Murray Maze is crammed with lost souls and tortured bodies.

The Murray Maze is crammed with lost souls and tortured bodies.

By Ian Potter
Nicki and Kelly are ready.... are you?

Nicki and Kelly are ready.... are you?

By Ian Potter
The prize for surviving the ghouls! Marshmallows from the pit.

The prize for surviving the ghouls! Marshmallows from the pit.

By Ian Potter
The famous bowed branch of the old oak, is lit up in chilling blue.

The famous bowed branch of the old oak, is lit up in chilling blue.

By Ian Potter

Spirits of Scone 2019 : Review in Pictures

26 October 2019

'It's much scarier this year Nicki' was my warning from Scone Palace when I called to say I'd be bringing my neices. We decided at 13 years old they'd be suitably terrified but would probably still sleep okay for the rest of their lives. 

This is the fourth year Scone Palace has pulled a cloak of darkness across its grounds for Spirits of Scone, and each year has become more and more terrifying. Encouraged to gather only my most fearless friends and family we were promised a terrifying tour that we'd never have experienced before...

Picture the scene; the night is cauldron-black, the air is heavy with the smell of decaying leaves, children’s screams and whispers of fire-pit smoke. Jack o’ Lanterns line forest paths, and in the darkest of wooded corners lurk ghouls, witches and spirits from the past, all waiting to lure you further into the woods with gruesome tales of folklore, spooks and untimely deaths.

We arrived ready for the challenge;  the crowning place of Scottish Kings had taken on a whole new atmosphere with the palace itself standing in a demonic red light, dancers and a towering, wavering queen protecting the doors, and screams of children silenced by the spirits coming out from the woods.

An eerie green light glowed down from the chapel and onto Moot Hill and it was just past this historic scene that we encountered our first spirit and the tales of folklore and witchcraft began. The storytelling yurt beckoned us in where a mystical woman set the scene with a spooky tale. 

The walk was peppered with screams and ghouls, beams of light stretched up the trunks of the ancient trees and golden leaves crunched underfoot as we cautiously worked our way around the stunning grounds and terrifying sights.  Fright-soaked adrenalin pounded through our veins and our ghoul radar was heightened for the duration of our tour – turns out Nicki has a rather blood curdling scream when she’s terrified!

The deeply macabre characters brought to life so gruesomely by the fantastic actors were pulled from the dark corners of folklore and film, and without giving too much away, my advice is to steel your nerves for encounters with Jason, a gruesome fortune teller and horror struck cheerleader!

For me, the screams coming from Murray Maze as we queued to be terrified were some of the most frightening. Real, human noises lifting into the smoggy night as an array of chilling characters patiently lay in wait around the corners of the autumnal hedges.

The team at Scone Palace have created a fantastic family event with Spirits of Scone; the teenagers loved it, we loved it and it came with just the right balance of horror-scape, squeals, scares and fun.  

With that said, it was a welcome relief to clambour out of the maze and enjoy stick of marshmallows toasted in a real fire-pit.  We’d survived to tell the tale and could relax, safe in the knowledge that the last ghoul had been spotted, the last witch avoided…Maybe! You’ve been warned!

***

Tickets start at £8. At time of going to press there were tickets remaining for the weekend.  Spirits of Scone 2019 runs from 25th - 31st October.

There is also a ghoulish selection of hot and cold food available. All children must be accompanied by an adult and, due to the nature of this event, it is not suitable for children under the age of eight.

As night falls, the palace gardens will come to life and transform into a truly terrifying playground for all kinds of menacing ghouls and horror film freaks. Lurking in the woods and hiding in the maze; this is where your nightmares come to life…

Book Your Spirits of Scone Ticket Here >>>

Gallery Photographer: 

Ian Potter of Lightpress Design and Media is a local photographer with a ghoulish fascination for horror films and a passion for local events and community.