Image: The Quinta Nova da Assuncao mansion, where Reflexo theatre company performs the show “Casa Assombrada” (haunted house), is seen in Belas, near Sintra, Portugal April 9, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante/Files
BELAS, Portugal (Reuters) – At the Quinta Nova da Assuncao mansion near Lisbon, all is not quite right.
(Click https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/shivers-and-shrieks-in-a-haunted-house for a photo blog.)
During a tour of the empty house, there are apparitions, shadows and the sound of doors randomly shutting. All accompanied by the terrified shrieks from the group of visitors.
Portuguese theatre company Reflexo is terrifying audiences with its “Casa Assombrada” (haunted house) project, an immersive show where small groups of visitors walk through the 25-room house with just an audio guide — and each other — for company.
Facing some scary scenes as well as riddles to get from one room to the other, there are plenty of screams as well as tears. Some do not even make it to the end of the show, fleeing through the front door.
The project has been running since last June at the house, which has stood empty for several years, drawing visitors from all over the country for the freaky experience in the village of Belas, near the town of Sintra.
“Normally what you see is the scary actor running through corridors … It’s not like this. You don’t see the things, you are not sure if you are seeing things,” director Michel Simeao told Reuters. “It’s a very intense experience.”
Images of “Casa Assombrada” can be seen in a Reuters Wider Image photo essay: http://reut.rs/2249Ob5
(Reporting by Rafael Marchante; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Alison Williams)
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