The business of serving up nightmares

Co-directors of The Nightmare Realm Karl and Sylvia O'Connor, the couple behind the screams at The Nightmare Realm in Dublin.

Within the confines of Dublin’s City Market on Mary’s Lane, the seasonal horror-fest is now in full swing.

An immersive experience landing customers inside an expanded Victorian-themed Halloween Town, it comes complete with a number of haunt mazes ranging across Sundown Manor, BioX1ne Laboratories, The Shriekers, Death Row 2 and Dead Carnival.

Each maze offers detailed sets, elaborate animatronics, intricate costumes, make-up and special effects, in addition to digitally projected visuals to enhance storytelling.

In addition to achieving the recent title of Europe’s Best Scream Park, the attraction has been awarded the “No 1 Halloween event in the World” by Unilad, Best Independent European Haunt at the European Scare Awards, and the Most Entertaining Horror Experience by the EU Travel Awards.

The Nightmare Realm originated in 2009, and employs over 100 performers, in addition to an array of behind-the-scenes personnel.

Karl and Sylvia O’Connor, the couple responsible for the spine-chilling experiences at The Nightmare Realm, specialise in horror and scare techniques and envision the themes, set design and costumes entirely from start to finish.

It is a project that takes 11 months of preparation and is eventually put together within a three-week timeframe. Entertainment and interaction is key to its annual success, according to creative director and founder, Karl O’Connor.

“If we’re not scaring you, at least we’re entertaining you,” he explains of an idea that originated from his own childhood “night terrors”, which provided a wellspring of creative inspiration.

He said:
Between the ages seven to 12, I vividly recall experiencing night terrors and sleepwalking, I was the possessed child you see in all the horror films.

“Night terrors strip you of control, infusing a profound fear into your core. Your reasoning dissipates, often accompanied by erratic movements, emotions, and intense panic.

“My fear wasn’t the monsters beneath the bed; rather, it revolved around uncontrollable apprehensions triggered by moments like the clock striking midnight or the warped distance between my fingertips.”

The Nightmare Realm as a business initially began in the midst of Ireland’s economic meltdown, a period when Karl’s work experience prompted an idea for Halloween entertainment.

“It all started with my background in animation and production design. When the 2008 crash happened, people weren’t paying for sets to be built and especially taking risks on making events. So I took that risk.

“I had been involved in Christmas events already at that point so Halloween was an easy progression, although Halloween attractions were a new phenomenon in Ireland back then.”

Self-financing the initial event by pushing the limit on his credit card, he opted to take the plunge on an idea he believed was worth a chance. “Sometimes you have to take the plunge and invest in something you believe in,” he said.

Having test marketed the idea to immediate success in Cork, circumstances saw The Nightmare Realm anchor itself in Dublin’s larger market.

“We’re always looking to better the show and take it to new heights in every sense of the word,” Sylvia explained. “Bringing it to the capital was an opportunity we couldn’t miss, and moving from the RDS to the City Market with the help of Dublin City Council has expanded the show hugely.

“We’re now a scream park which is something we’ve always wanted to be able to offer to our fans.

“We actually loved having the show in Cork and were there for seven years, two of which we had the Nightmare Realm in both locations. Unfortunately, our Cork location became unavailable, and we haven’t been able to find anything suitable in the city since.”

Awards like “No 1 Halloween event in the world” are an obvious boon to the business, and help to lift its profile to a wider audience, she says.

“Anyone can say they’re the best, but when it’s awarded to you by the industry in which you work, that’s when it stands the most.

“The recognition gives us credibility both nationally and internationally and shows people that we are a trusted event, meeting the exceptionally high standards of the European Scare Industry.

“Receiving awards are a wonderful surprise, but they also come with pressure in keeping the expectations high for our visitors.”

After many years putting on different shows, conceiving new ideas and assembling a new collection of terrors every 12 months is a constant challenge.

“It’s a delicate balance of bringing what’s expected in a Halloween show and seeing that limit and taking it further,” Karl explained. “We’re pretty good at spotting trends and knowing what is going to be popular. The rise of the dreaded AI had to have its moment this year.

“There’s also a collaborative element with our fans and bringing what they want into the show.”

Many celebrities have visited, including Megan Fox, Machine Gun Kelly, Brooklyn Beckham, Little Mix and Chloe Moretz. Karl and Sylvia work a year in advance, ensuring they are already in the logistics stage for 2024, whilst the 2023 show is live.

“It’s the best way to see how we can improve, listen to feedback and take on board what the customers want for the future.

“Early in the new year we delve into the storyline for the upcoming show, changing the theme, mazes and characters, giving the realm an entirely new show with improved qualities based on the previous year.

We really do everything — set, design, costumes, marketing, film shoots, construction, training our actors and managing a team of over 100 during the event.

In September, they bring in the construction team to set up within the tight three-week window.

“I’m a firm believer in the phrase ‘always a lesson, never a failure’ — our job is so unique there’s opportunities to learn and grow daily,” Sylvia believes. “I’ve learnt having mental strength has been the most important thing in staying top of my game.”

Looking toward 2024, Karl promises a number of interesting ideas: “We like to leave little ‘Easter eggs’ in our show — it’s a fun way for the die hard fans to anticipate what’s coming. All around Halloweentown this year, like other years, we have little moments or surprises for those who want to find them. Hints to what’s coming are all part of it.”