Quiet Little Place

On first inspection, it looks like just a quiet little Midwestern town. Or an English country village. Or a small fishing settlement on the sea. Or a ski resort.

On second inspection, it looks ... exactly the same as it did on first inspection.

But all is not as it seems.

Yes, the place is an exact replica if what it's meant to be - but some of the population are actors (or at least staff) and the rest are paying customers.

Staying here isn't cheap - the minimum stay is 6 nights. But for those seeking a more exciting and adventurous holiday experience, it's the sine qua non of the unexpected, the unexplained, the bizarre.

Because the weird stuff always starts (in the movies, at least) in a quiet little place where nothing much ever happens ...

So, having read your briefing pack, and maybe having attended an orientation talk, you move into your accomodation and settle in. And for a while, well ... nothing happens.

Of course, it depends of the experience you've pre-selected. Maybe the locals will be hostile and surly; maybe they will be welcoming and friendly. Maybe they will be just a bit too welcoming and friendly ....

And so it begins. Some one goes missing - it's the talk of the town. Power flickers, phones mysteriously get cut off. Strange lights are seen at the "industrial plant" just down the road. Curious empty "pods" are found in back gardens ...

If you've selected the SciFi holiday, then sooner or later the town's going to be besieged by giant radioactive ants (animatronic, of course). Or giant intelligent jellyfish will crawl up out of the sea. The X-files package involves strange lights, flying saucers and Little Grey Men. Maybe there's a serial killer on the loose; maybe just a deperate murderer, straight from the pages of an Agatha Christie novel. Maybe you think you've seen that bloke in the black blazer with white piping somewhere before ....

But whatever the scenario, you and the other guests have to work together, to fight the threat, helped (or perhaps hindered) by the "locals". There are weapons as necessary; but care is taken that it doesn't get too real. And yes, you CAN get "killed", finishing your holiday in a nearby hotel, and watching the goings on via live video, and of course when you get home you can watch the edited DVD of your "adventures". Or you can be "injured", becoming a burden to your comrades, giving you the opportunity to cry "Leave me ... save yourselves !".

It's not for the couch potato. You may be expected to tramp through dark woods in the rain, swing on ropes across raging rivers, keep watch all night over your sleeping compatriots. Like as not you will be cold, wet, muddy, hungry - whatever. But that's part of the adventure.

Useful tip: If you're a young, heterosexual couple, taking the short cut home through the fog-filled graveyard is maybe not going to be the best decision you ever make ....