Swollen faces, greyish complexions and tattered clothes, in a jerky gait, the zombies wander and mount the visitors forced to scamper to extricate themselves.
At the Manoir Halloween Festival, horror is experienced in Hollywood blockbuster mode.
Professional make-up and bloody costumes, all the tricks are required to transform some 200 actors into frightening creatures.
In the maze of the Grande Halle de la Villette, over more than 4,000 m2, there is an agonizing atmosphere.
This veritable amusement park dedicated to the feast of the dead is accessible from the age of 10 and until October 31, 2021.
Read alsoHalloween: they finally find the pleasure of wearing a mask
Chainsaw brandished, a man, straight out of
The Walking Dead series
, plunges his head askew in the direction of a young woman who, frozen with fear, also accelerates to reach the exit.
Solène is 19 years old, she took advantage of the school holidays to come with three high school friends.
Seated in the outdoor space around a burger and fries, the young girls comment on their first fears.
Lover of the horror universe, Solène assures us:
“The actors play very well, it's really well done, I was really scared!
"
Her friends abound.
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Further on, Jérôme and his colleagues also come to their senses. City hall employees in a small town in Yonne, they took a day off to come during the week and avoid the crowds on weekends.
"Already, there, we had almost an hour in line in the afternoon",
regrets Jerome who plague against the price charged to access the site. His friend adds, also annoyed:
"To avoid queuing, there is a VIP pass, but this is 25 euros more."
A significant cost to add to the 50 euros already requested for a classic entry during the week.
On weekends, it takes 65 euros and, in the afternoon as in the evening, the gauge of 6,000 people per day is often reached.
It is then possible, if not frequent, to queue for an hour to access a haunted trail.
At the Manoir Halloween Festival, fear does not avoid the danger of ending up broke… Manoir Halloween Festival
At the Manoir Halloween Festival, four worlds are offered to visitors. Immersed in the heart of a slaughterhouse or even a supermarket stormed by zombies, visitors must move without ever slackening their vigilance. Smoke, chilling cries and dismal light, everything is done to keep the audience in a state of permanent tension. All the senses are put to the test. In one room, a rotting body is laid casually on a cutting table. The smell of death is unbearable.
A zombie chopper in hand approaches, the warm breath of his breath slips into the necks of visitors. His cries echo and his fixed gaze completes terrorizing the bravest. And if by misfortune, the idea comes to let down the guard during the progression in the haunted courses, an evil being emerges from his hiding place.
"What scares me is the effect of surprise",
admits Manon, a little pale after her journey aboard this giant ghost train. Accompanied by her grandmother with an impeccable brushing, the teenager came to overcome her fears. A life-size exercise for the 14-year-old who compares the Manoir Halloween Festival to the big amusement parks of her childhood.
It must be said that Le Manoir de Paris, at the origin of this festival, invested a lot of money to relocate to La Villette for ten days.
Two million euros were needed to build the sets made specifically for the event.
An XXL organization for which a team of 50 people works.
To make this investment profitable, everything is done to offer visitors additional services.
Photos on a sloping backdrop, catering or locker to store your belongings, the bill can quickly climb to take full advantage of the 4 to 6 hours spent there.
In short, at the Manoir Halloween Festival, fear does not avoid the danger of ending up broke ...
Practical Institute of Journalism IPJ Dauphine
Cinema, theater, music ... The student journalists of
IPJ, the Practical Institute of Journalism of the University of Paris Dauphine
, offer their perspective on cultural news.
IPJ Dauphine
