Nightmare Realm hopes to scare up army of the undead

There’s a flicker of light under the door of Cork’s most notorious scare house this week as those inside prepare a cascade of horror for this year’s punters.

But first they need your help raising an army of the undead – organisers are calling for all manner of monsters to help them scare those who dare enter The Nightmare Realm this October.

Auditions were held on Thursday night and will take place again today. Prospective applicants should be wary, however, as it’s not for the faint-hearted.

“We’ve created a far edgier, scarier and more interactive experience than ever before,” said event producer Karl O’Connor.

Auditions are to open to anyone, whether they have a background in performance or not, and potentials can choose to come in costume with a piece prepared or simply do some improvisation.

“They might have a creepy laugh or be able to make some weird noise or make a weird facial expression or something else that makes them creepy. The size of a person can also be a factor,” said Karl.

“It’s not necessarily the people who come in full costume or anything like that. You just get a sense when you meet someone if they’d be good at scaring others.”

The organiser’s words were proven spookily prescient – Thursday’s auditions saw some costumed candidates put the final nails in their coffins while a number of plain-clothed hopefuls surpassed all expectations. Between werewolf howls and pretend alien babies, a man in his 50s from Ballincollig, dressed only in jeans and a T-shirt, transformed into a spine chillingly realistic demon-possessed priest while a young Douglas woman performed an elastic-limbed hoola-hoop routine.

“It seems to have gone very well. I turned up, I brought my hoop with me just to help me get into character and they seemed to like it. I was a bit nervous and it’s kind of dark in there and you got a light shining in your face and all that but it was grand,” said Cari Cullen who was performing as alter ego Ellie Mental.

Meanwhile, horror movie buff Katie McCoy from Ballyphehane auditioned for the very first time while Francis White, a South African student now living and studying in Cork auditioned for a second time, having worked at the venue last year. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to tell you who I was last year because they may want me to play that character again… you’ll just have to come and see for yourself,” he said.

Auditions take place today between 12pm and 2pm on Albert Quay. See www.thenightmarerealm.ie.