31st October is creeping up on us once more, and for those looking to celebrate Halloween slightly differently why not try Hybrid-X?  This live-action scare attraction, by Curious Village Productions, will be at Magna in Rotherham from the 21st October, and promises to be nothing less than incredible.

As the title suggests, Hybrid-X is an immersive horror-themed event, where you are walking in your own horror movie.  Accompanying you will be over thirty actors in full make up and costume interacting with the party.  With lights flashing, smoke filling the air, music, and sound effects adding to the overall effect.  Magna is already creepy enough on a normal day, as it is housed in an enormous steel-works foundry!

I tried something similar last year with the Alien Encounter Experience at the National Space Centre.  Initially I was dismissive of the effect it would have on me, but I cannot deny that there were more than a few moments when my heart was racing and I was frantically looking around.  No matter how fictional you know this to be, there is a lot to be said for the effect that atmosphere can have upon you; especially when you are being pushed down darkened corridors with Colonial Marines screaming for the security codes so they can bypass a door.  A previous participant was so freaked out by the experience, that he pushed the actors aside, booted down the door, and legged it – the creative team considered this a remarkable success.

The premise behind is Hybdrid-X is pure sci-fi horror:
In 2014 the Dominions Genetic Modification & Research facility was commissioned by the Ministry of Defence to create Super Soldiers for the battlefield through DNA enhancement. The Dominions Corporation spliced human DNA with that of large powerful animals to create a new age of living bio weapons, ones that could run faster, jump higher and cover great distances with minimal effort.

The institute soon started to receive funding from global corporations to enhance the rich, famous and powerful figures from around the world and, although met with anger and condemned by church leaders, DGMR continued to change the body on a molecular level for those who could afford it. After only several months of the bio-enhancements being complete things began to go very wrong. The genetic body parts began to fail, the super soldiers literally started to rot and the very fabric of the altered DNA molecules broke down and collapsed; the government stepped in and closed the facility and all work ceased immediately.

For 7 years the Dominions Corporation stood silent and empty but in the early part of 2021 rumours began to spread that a new super facility was due to open.  That time is now!

On the 21st of October the Dominions laboratories will once again reopen for business at the brand new complex inside the Magna Science Adventure Centre. Having vowed that past mistakes have been addressed and to prove that the technology is safe the facility will open its doors to the public and allow them to tour the complex and see the work they do first hand.

We now have the pleasure of formally inviting you along to the DGMR laboratories for a full tour and a question and answer session. You will see for yourself just how we carry out our work and see various procedures happening live. You have nothing to fear inside the building and the work we do is totally safe.

All precautions have been taken and nothing will go wrong during your time with us, seriously, nothing will go wrong!

Hybrid X will be at Magna from Thursday the 21st of October until Sunday the 31st of October and is open daily from 10:30am until 8pm each night.  The attraction will have a different fear rating depending on what time of the day you visit. The more pumpkins there are, the more terrifying the experience will be.
Pumpkin Level 1 - Visit between 10.30am and 2.00pm - suitable for 7-12 year olds.
Pumpkin Level 2- Visit between 2.00pm and 5.00pm - suitable over 12s (or under 12s with adult permission).
Pumpkin Level 3- Visit between 5.00pm and 8.00pm - suitable for brave over 12s.
Pumpkin Level 5- Visit on the 30th October for the ultimate scare experience. Strictly over 18s only, between 8pm and 2am.

Needless to say, I am going for the Pumpkin Level 5 experience