Ghost Train is a

dark ride A dark ride—or ghost train when horror themed—is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain Animatronics, animation, sound, music and Special effect#Live spe ...

Thorpe Park Thorpe Park, formerly also known as Thorpe Park Resort, is a theme park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertai ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England. The attraction incorporates

motion simulation A motion simulator or motion platform is a mechanism that creates the feelings of being in a real motion environment. In a simulator, the movement is synchronised with a visual display of the outside world (OTW) scene. Motion platforms can provid ...

, illusion, multisensory effects and live actors to help execute the storyline. It is set in a haunted mid-1980s railway station and mainly focuses on passengers taking the last train to an abandoned

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

. It first opened in July 2016 as Derren Brown's Ghost Train, then reopened as Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise Of The Demon in March 2017. The reimagined Ghost Train opened in May 2023.

History

Derren Brown Ghost Train's Opening

Derren Brown's Ghost Train was first teased on 8 July 2015 after reportedly three years in planning. The project name was referred to as 'WC16'. Merlin Magic Making, the development division of

Merlin Entertainments Merlin Entertainments Limited is a global entertainment company based in London, England, which operates a number of theme park resorts and other visitor attractions. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until November 2019, when it was ...

, designed the attraction in collaboration with British

mentalist Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Mentalists perform a theatrical act that includes special effects that may appear to employ ps ...

Derren Brown Derren Brown (born 27 February 1971) is an English mentalist, illusionist, and writer. He is a self-described "psychological illusionist" whose acts are often designed to expose the methods of those who claim to possess supernatural powers, ...

and his team. The main experience was a simulator dark ride built by Simworx with on-board virtual reality (produced by Figment Productions).

Severn Lamb SL Transportation Limited, trading as Severn Lamb and sometimes known as Severn-Lamb, is a manufacturer of various forms of transport systems and equipment, principally aimed at the leisure market. They are based at Alcester in the English coun ...

and

Intamin Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing Amusement ride, thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other e ...

designed and engineered the complex transit system. The project altogether was reported in the Financial Times as having a cost of £13 million. In anticipation of the new attraction, Thorpe Park began a "Get in for a Bob" promotion, where 1871 people would be able to purchase a ticket into the resort for the modern-day equivalent of a shilling in Victorian times, which equals 5

pence A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is t ...

. The website was published earlier than the scheduled time which resulted in many being unable to get tickets. The resort offered that those who registered their name before the website closed would be entered into a raffle, where a further 4,000 12 pence tickets would be allocated at random. The attraction was originally set to open on 6 May 2016, as announced on their social networks. However one week before the attraction was set to open, the resort announced the attraction would not be ready due to "some illusions not working as anticipated". After the 2022 season, the virtual reality on the ride and association with Derren Brown was removed.

Ghost Train's Opening

Ghost Train was first announced to the public on Wednesday 1st February 2023. The reimagined attraction was set to feature a brand new storyline, new multi-sensory effects, the removal of the VR, and an actor-led experience. On Tuesday 2nd May, Thorpe Park announced on its social platforms, website, and app that Ghost Train would open to the public on Friday 26th May. The announcement came with brand-new concept art showing part of the interior of an old, dirty

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

train and the Grim Reaper standing outside behind a graveyard. On Wednesday 17th May, Thorpe Park announced a new minimum height restriction of 1.3m instead of 1.4m and revealed another piece of concept art. Ghost Train had a preview day on Thursday 25th May and was officially opened as planned on Friday 26th May. Due to the number of actors the ride relies on, the ride opens from 12pm each day. Upon opening, the ride was met with mixed reviews. On Sunday 11th June, Thorpe Park announced that they would be closing Ghost Train between 12th and 15th June for minor improvements. Ghost Train reopened with the new changes on Friday 16th June.

Ride experience

As Derren Brown’s Ghost Train (2016-2022)

Guests join the queue for the ride outside the ride building, decorated as a derelict railway depot, featuring mock protest posters about fracking. From 2016-2018, photo opportunities were available in the queue line. Guests enter a dark pre-show room to watch a

Pepper's ghost Pepper's ghost is an Magic (illusion), illusion technique, used in theatre, Film, cinema, amusement parks, museums, television, and concerts, in which an image of an object offstage is projected so that it appears to be in front of the audience ...

projection of Derren Brown speaking, as he delivers a presentation on the concept of fear as entertainment. Guests then proceed to the main station room where a Victorian North Eastern Railway train carriage is seen as if suspended from the roof in chains. Boarding the train, guests enter a modern London Underground 1995 Stock carriage interior, hosted by uniformed staff. Guests are seated and put on

HTC Vive HTC Vive is a line of Virtual reality, virtual and mixed reality Virtual reality headset, headsets produced by HTC, HTC Corporation. The brand currently encompasses headsets designed for use with Personal computer, personal computers as well a ...

headsets, whilst an advertisement for a fracking company called "Sub Core" is played in the background. The train sets into motion and the ride begins. Riders watch the events through virtual reality, involving a passenger on the train discussing the consequences of a fracking disaster and an infected passenger appearing to attack the rider. Following the scene of a train crash, guests are instructed to leave their seats and evacuate the train. Riders disembark and walk out into a derelict present day tube station, where the exterior of the carriage is now seen to be a modern London Underground 1995 Stock train. The following show scene originally involved live actors, an animated train crash and smoke screen projection effect, before guests are ushered back onto the carriage. However, this scene was replaced with a strobe maze in 2018. Riders put the headsets back on and the carriage appears to move again. This second VR sequence involves the train and its passengers appearing to be attacked by a demon. Guests appear to fall out of the train, plummeting through a huge hole into a fiery Hell and into the mouth of the demon. Derren Brown's voice is then heard announcing that the experience is now over, only for the demon to reappear as a jumpscare. Guests are then ushered into a surprise scene before entering the gift shop.

As Ghost Train (2023-present)

The overall ride system remains the same from Derren Brown’s Ghost Train. Guests queue outside the ride building, decorated as a mid-1980s

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

station and enter into the waiting room where a Thorpe Rail

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., a locom ...

instructs them to stand in a designated area followed by an announcement asking guests to turn off their devices. This is followed by a

projection of Angelis Mortis, the station master who explains the story behind a group of believers’ journey to Chapel Station - a train station that was abandoned after the believers held a

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French language, French word for "session", from the Old French , "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general and mundane: one ma ...

which ended horribly, killing them. Then, Angelis offers guests a choice to leave or take the last train. The windows on each side of the room slam shut, one by one as a jumpscare, sealing the guests’ fate. Guests are then sent to Platform 13 where the last train awaits them. Guests board the train and meet Tripis & Thogs - two conductors onboard the train. Guests take a seat and the train sets into motion. The experience begins as Tripis & Thogs explain how the believers wanted to live forever and why Chapel Station is closed. This is surrounded by gloomy noises and lighting. As the intensity starts to build up, the train comes to a screeching halt outside of Chapel Station, where the guests disembark. Guests walk out into Chapel Station and then through a dimly lit corridor with skulls on the walls and

ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern ...

hanging from the ceiling. Guests enter into St. Giles’ Chapel where Tripis & Thogs provide information about the chapel, the different members of the believers and what they said to summon death. This is followed by a disturbing sequence of events where the two conductors get possessed by death, a ghoul flies over the guests and the statues in the chapel glow and start to rotate. Guests run out of the crypt into Chapel Station as demons follow them. Guests are ushered back onto the train by Tripis & Thogs for the next sequence. They discuss the crypt and what the station master wants. Tripis & Thogs get re-possessed followed by a loud, intense sequence featuring demonic

nuns A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of Evangelical counsels, poverty, chastity, and obedience in the Enclosed religious orders, enclosure of a monastery or convent.' ...

, UV lighting and smoke effects alongside strobe lighting. An announcement is heard on the speakers asking guests to report any suspicious activity to a member of staff, followed by the iconic phrase ‘See it, Say it, Sorted.’ being announced. Guests disembark the train and exit into the gift shop and Last Call Café. In its opening year, guests would be ushered into a fake gift shop after disembarking the train where a surprise final scene would take place involving live actors, strobe lighting and smoke. However, this scene has been blocked off to guests since 2024.

References

{{British dark rides Dark rides Amusement rides manufactured by Intamin Amusement rides introduced in 2016