Theatre of Dark Encounters
Theatre of Dark Encounters
5
Ghost & Vampire ToursHistorical & Heritage ToursWalking ToursNight ToursPrivate Tours
About
Everyone loves a ghost story... so we find atmospheric heritage locations to tell the most chilling of stories. Since 2004 we have been delivering the original Ghost Walks of Southampton, Portsmouth Winchester and Chichester. Listings of next events may be found at ghost-walks.com For those that like the paranormal how about a scientific paranormal investigation at haunted heritage location across the South. More details can be found at darkencounters.co.uk We also offer immersive Murder Mystery events and escape rooms which can be found under Torchlightmysteries.com For those that like adrenaline pumping scare tours try Zombie Encounters events - for fans of Walking Dead and Zombie Apocalypse experiences. Have a look at zombie-encounters.com Theatre of Dark Encounters events span Portsmouth, Winchester, Southampton, Chichester, and all between. You will learn a little, you will laugh a little - but hopefully you will scream a lot...
Portsmouth, Hampshire, England

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles40 reviews
Excellent
36
Very good
2
Average
1
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0
Terrible
1

tomwheeldon
Portsmouth, UK1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022
I'm somewhat of a sceptic and so is my friend but thought this could be interesting to try out. I like to think there's something but I've never had any experience so decided this could be a good idea. Needless to say some weird stuff happened during the night, however I felt safe knowing that the guides were with us to make sure everything was alright. They were all very friendly and reassuring and didn't scream at the first sign of a random noise. They brought along tools and equipment to use which is handy as I'd always wanted to try out these methods and this was a good opportunity to do so. If you're looking for a thrill and a spooky night, this is definitely something I'd recommend. Plus you get to explore possible haunted sites at night, which makes it all the more eerie. Overall I had a fantastic time, 6 hours, tools at our disposal, creepy atmosphere, great company. I usually get scared quite easily so I was surprised when I went into this with the confidence I had, I think by this point the determination to experience something paranormal overwhelmed the fear of what lurks in the dark.
Written December 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you Tom - we are so glad you had such a good time and it was great to hear you felt relaxed and comfortable. Generally we find people do have a better experience when you can be quiet and soak up the atmosphere of the location. See you for another Dark Encounter very soon.
Written January 7, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Stuart J
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023 • Family
Brilliant loved it. really loved the mix of a journey, local history and ghosts all dramatised throughout the experienced. Loved going it alone into dark corridors, even got a weird picture of a spooky mist.
Written March 11, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Donna L
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2024 • Couples
Firstly .. A huge THANK YOU to One and All involved with “Blithe Spirit” .. Oh what an utter joy and triumph!! We (my partner Danny Healy) came to see you on Friday 10th May at the wonderful Wymering Manor, which is incredibly atmospheric and strangely welcoming. Well we were fully immersed from start to finish, completely captivated, held, entertained and carried along with humour and absolute delight.
This was indeed Noel Coward and “Blithe Spirit” at it’s finest .. It was both charming and wondrously punchy in all the right places.
A massive Congratulations to All involved .. It was like Wymering Manor had been transferred to the West End Stage, such was the quality of Acting and Staging .. Every little nuance was covered and indeed noticed.
Also to say .. Everything you do is with such class and you are made to feel so comfortable from start to finish. From booking the tickets to email communications, being welcomed on arrival to when you leave .. Friendly, Efficient, Kind and Professional.
I end this as I began it to One and All .. With a huge THANK YOU.
Written May 12, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

kmillen1958
London, UK124 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Family
I’ve seen around 5/6 of the ‘Theatre of Dark Encounters’ productions and every one has been brilliant. I look forward to experiencing all of the others. Such a talented group of actors and the chosen locations add to the experience.
Written October 8, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Danny H
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2024 • Couples
My partner and I attended “Blithe Spirit” at Wymering Manor and we were looked after so well  from the moment we walked in until the moment we left. The Performance  from the cast was utterly incredible, the way the cast had us glued to the story and along with some laugh out loud moments along the way made for the most enjoyable evening. BRAVO 🙌 - we cannot wait for the next wonderful event you guys will be doing. Thank you very much for the bestest of evenings 🙏
Danny (Healy)
Written May 12, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Joe S
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022 • Friends
Came here as a couple, expecting a spooky ghost walk with some fun activities, just to be walked around in circles by 3 people, though they were enthusiastic, was not scary at all, didn’t see any ghosts, was equivalent of a gcse history lesson. Said it would run from 9-10:30 at 9:55 they took us to a room, and then said thank you and left. Resulted in our group feeling very dissatisfied, feeling like we have just wasted an hour of our lives that we will never get back. Was not remotely scary at all, very disappointed and angry. Will not book with them again, do not recommend at all
Written November 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your feedback and thank you adding so much atmosphere to the tour. We aim to create an immersive experience of Georgian England, a time when the streets were full of drunk sailors and militia, and so, your group coming from the pub and needing to urinate every few minutes really helped to create this atmosphere. Urinating so close to the rest of the group so we could hear quite clearly was a stroke of genius. We are glad you appreciated the history lesson, as the tour promotional text suggests, to tell a story really well you do need establish the background history of each ghostly character. We are sorry the real ghosts did not appear and that you had to settle for the stories about the ghosts instead. And thank you for adding your own narrative on everything that what was happening , it certainly helped with the actors while they were telling stories to hear your alternative thoughts. Very informative too, we didn’t realise that the most famous person to have visited the Square Tower was Rolf Harris, we will have to update our notes. Oh, and thank you for not mentioning in your review the appalling weather that night, it was really the wettest tour that we have conducted in almost 20 years of running this ghost walk. You are correct, we shouldn’t have tried desperately to find as many areas of cover as possible between downpours to prevent the whole group getting even wetter. That last downpour, although torrential and had begun to flood the streets, didn’t need to cut the last part of the tour where there would have been no cover; we shouldn’t have needed to tell 10 mins of stories under the cover of the Hotwalls but, yes, instead braved the monsoon downpour. We are surprised, however, that you felt it was not scary, we generally find the threat of actual bodily harm brings plenty of tension on a tour, and after an actor had jump-scared your group at the beginning, your offer to the actor “to take them out... if you ***ing do that again” certainly added to the tension for the actors. But overall your expletives, misogynistic and derogatory comments towards us completely added to the raucous Spice Island of the Georgian period. Perhaps you could become immersive actors?
Written November 6, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

kila99
Hampshire, UK74 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022 • Friends
After doing the Winchester one many years ago I was keen to book when saw it was coming to my home town Alton.
Booking was easy to do. Followed by emails of confirmation and reminders. Great price too I thought.
My friend and I did enjoy this and the stories were interesting even if true or false. The cast were really good. The main leader was very good and in character.
The time it took was just about right. Not too long.
Few negative thoughts we both felt were : it would of been nice if the group size was a little smaller. As the characters walk along talking you struggle to hear when their backs are turned to you and also background traffic noise didn’t help. Also maybe not ask the group if they know the story ! Slightly distracts from the character telling the story in a chilling way.
We also felt it would of been nice to do with out children / teens there. Hence why we booked the later walk.
Having said this I would consider booking another one else where.
Written May 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you so much for the feedback. We agree, as a special tour for the Alton Walking Festival the size of the group was larger than we would usually run. We were also surprised that so many people did book their children on the late tour, when it was advertised as the adult tour and the earlier being the family tour. We are back again in Alton in October so will make sure that we DO NOT ask anyone if they know the history. It turns out the Altonians are VERY well informed about their town...
Written September 5, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Linda W
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2024 • Friends
We went to see Blithe Spirit at Wymering Manor. What a brilliant evening. The setting in the drawing room of the Manor is perfect, with the audience in the room with the actors. The acting was first class, the comedy timing spot on. Thoroughly recommended
Written May 12, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Theresa W
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023 • Friends
Didn’t know what to expect but from the moment we arrived we were engaged in the experience and had a brilliant evening, so much so we went back the next day to do the museum, unfortunately closed until 2.4.23 but we will return.
Fun evening, mix of history and surprises - can highly recommend. We have already looked at others to.
Written March 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Maria H
Hampshire, UK96 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023 • Friends
Absolutely brilliant ghost tour of Winchester! I joined the walk last night with some friends and learnt so much! I've been to Winchester many times during the day, but came away seeing it though completely different eyes. We discovered areas of Winchester I never knew existed! The guides were brilliant, with their own unique characters. The tour was full of fun, laughter and amazing (& some very gruesome!) stories. I have been recommending it to colleagues today and will definitely join another tour with TODE in the future. Join them, if you dare! 😉😁👻
Written February 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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