UNITED KINGDOM: Tourists invited to face their fears of rats, snakes, tarantulas and even clowns at a Halloween exhibit
Record ID:
1538353
UNITED KINGDOM: Tourists invited to face their fears of rats, snakes, tarantulas and even clowns at a Halloween exhibit
- Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Tourists invited to face their fears of rats, snakes, tarantulas and even clowns at a Halloween exhibit
- Date: 1st November 2009
- Summary: WOMAN WALKS FORWARD AND HOLDS A TARANTULA CLOSE-UP OF TARANTULA ON HER HAND CLOSE-UP OF WOMAN'S FACE CROWD WATCHING
- Embargoed: 16th November 2009 15:04
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA2RZ8N3DHSDA0O3F6FY7TS7ZHG
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: London tourist attraction hopes to cure people of their worst fears at Halloween.
To mark the festival of Halloween a top London tourist attraction is offering to help cure people of their phobias.
Staff at the London Bridge Experience & London Tombs spend all year scaring tourists with underground tours full of actors dressed as zombies and realistic latex ghouls. But this Halloween weekend they are challenging those who suffer fears of a variety of animals, reptiles, and even dolls to come face to face with their worst nightmares.
General manager James Kislingbury said the attraction was offering a "psychological thrill" to those suffering from either a specific phobia, or even phobophobia - the fear of phobias themselves.
He said: "This weekend we're inviting people in to face their fears, here at the London Bridge Experience. We've got spiders, we've got snakes, we've got scorpions, we've got all sorts of things going on downstairs, clowns, dolls. And really what we're trying to do is to get people to come in, face their fears, face their phobia, and hopefully cure them. There's certainly some fear junkies out there. You've got people who like rollercoasters, bungee jumping. Well, we offer you something new, we offer you the psychological thrill, the scare of London tombs and phobophobia."
Visitors to the attraction on Friday (October 30) bravely faced their fears of tarantulas, snakes, and rats. Londoner Valerie Kouchuk stroked a snake, but found the experience frightening and said she had not been cured of her phobia. She said: "At the moment I'm shaking and I feel terribly sick. I don't mind, I've touched one in a zoo, but I just can't stand their heads. But I'm literally trembling inside still."
Eleven year old James Day had also been scared of snakes, but seemed happy to talk while one was wrapped around his neck. James said the reptile felt different to how he had expected. "It feels like, because people say snakes are slimy, it's not. It's just like rubbery," he said.
The London Bridge Experience was this year voted Britain's scariest attraction. Over the weekend they expect thousands of visitors to sample their show and hope to cure some of their anxiety disorders.
According to some analysts, Halloween has become is now the second most profitable annual event in the calendar, after Christmas.
Halloween has its origins in the ancient festival known as Samhain, which is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end".
The term Halloween, originally spelled Hallowe'en, is shortened from All Hallows' Even - e'en is a shortening of even, which is a shortening of evening. "Eve of" All Saints' Day, which is November 1st. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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