The gory details – Inside darkest London at the 13th Gate
See a full slideshow of behind-the-scenes images.
In south Louisiana, we know a thing or two about haunted places. And it’s no surprise the 13th Gate and Necropolis capitalize on that in several spooky sets like a cypress swamp and a New Orleans cemetery—garnering acclaim as two of the top haunted attractions in the country.
“Anything people are afraid of, we’re going to make sure we have some aspect of it,” says Dwayne Sanburn, the man whose Midnight Productions is behind it all.
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But this year, the 13th Gate is jumping the pond with its pičce de résistance: a movie set-worthy recreation of London’s East End during the late 1880s—that time when murderers like Jack the Ripper (above right) were hiding around corners waiting for a new victim and the cholera epidemic left stinking, rotting bodies piled up in the streets.
Sounds like a pleasant nighttime stroll to you?
Put on a brave face, because the attention to detail is worth every spine-tingling turn past creepy storefronts and cobblestone alleyways. And by detail, we mean right down to the manhole covers in the street (labeled Whitechapel District for all you historical trivia nerds), the nametags on the body bags, and the 1,800 fiber-optic stars peeking through the clotheslines above.
That cholera-stricken street kid with a Cockney accent who just jumped out at you? One of more than 180 actors throughout both attractions, adding up to a 250-person crew dedicated to making you scream.
Sanburn has a dozen or so crewmembers working all year building and designing sets—there are a few sets that stay the same, but the main one changes based on whatever gory nightmare scenario the team can dream up. Many of them put in hours between working on set for movies shooting in Louisiana. “It’s a big collaboration,” he says.
As for the actors, around 300-400 hopefuls audition to be characters each year, many showing up to the open auditions in costume and with prepared monologues. “A lot of them come from LSU’s Theatre Department,” Sanburn says, noting that around 60% of the cast is made up of returning performers. “The competition is pretty stiff.”
Sanburn laughs when people ask when he will start planning for the next season. “We actually never stop working on it,” he says. “A lot of people don’t realize that.”
Clearly, they’re too scared to see for themselves.
The 13th Gate and Necropolis open this Friday (Friday the 13th!) with some opening specials, then every weekend starting Sept. 27 through October. Both are open every night of Halloween week. Find out more at midnightproduction.com.
Sanburn’s suggestion: Come early in the season to avoid the Halloween week waits.
30-45: Minutes it takes to walk through either attraction
25: Amount in dollars of a general admission ticket for 13th Gate; Necropolis is $20 general admission
180: Number of actors in both attractions
300-400: Number of actors who apply each year
250: Total crew
40,000: Square footage of the mostly-outdoor Necropolis
400: Number of live snakes you’ll find in one particular area of the 13th Gate
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