London Dungeon
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The London Dungeon is a tourist attraction, based in Tooley Street, London, near London Bridge rail station about various tortures from the Medieval Age. It recreates various gory and macabre historical events in a grimly comedic, 'gallows humour' style, which attempts to make them appealing to the younger generation. It uses a mixture of live actors, special effects and rides.
It opened in 1976, initially designed as more of a museum of "horrible history", but the Dungeon has evolved to become an actor-led, interactive experience that draws visitors from far and wide. The Dungeon is operated by Merlin Entertainments, which also operates Madame Tussauds London and the London Eye.
This theme is featured throughout the dungeons experience. Before the first official attraction (Labyrinth of the Lost), there are various bloody models of torture. About half way through the dungeons experience there is a comic-type show in which a person is called up and different types of torture equipment are demonstrated on them. Visitors are then taken to a courtroom in which three of them are called up for committing weird crimes such as "unnatural crimes with animals". The judge sentences all to death by hanging.
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[edit] Scenes
[edit] Labyrinth of the Lost
A large mirror maze is themed around the crypt of All Hallows Church in London. A live actor playing the grounds keeper tells visitors of the crypt and then are led into the maze and left to wander, seeing reflections of themselves everywhere. Actors in period costume jump out unexpectedly, until the visitors are finally led out and taken to the era of the Great Plague.
[edit] The Great Plague
This show is set in 1665 during the Great Plague of London, and London is depicted as riddled with bubonic plague, with thousands dying in agony. Disgusting smells are present in this exhibit, with recorded cries of panic and pain and shouts to "bring out the dead". Visitors are taken into a secret treatment room and are told of ways people tried to cure the plague. Actors portraying death collectors wander through, piling up the decaying bodies, with other actors made up to appear as decayed and vomiting plague sufferers. At the end of the plague section, we see a doctor who (comically) tries to operate on a dead body: pulling out the intestines; the bladder, which squirts supposed urine at the audience; and finally the heart. Then, we hear a recorded moaning sound and suddenly the dead man the doctor was operating on mechanically sits up extremely quickly and screams (which provokes the 'jump' effect). The doctor then rushes everybody out of the room. This is being changed for the 2009 season - where it shall portray an old fashioned "operation theatre".
[edit] Judgement
The visitors are led into a Edwardian/Victorian Era Court room and are "Sentenced" For humorous crimes such as "Doing unspeakable things with a bucket of fish"
[edit] Traitor: Boat Ride to Hell
After being sentenced to death by the courtroom judge visitors are taken to an execution dock. The show is a boat ride, themed to replicate the last journey through Traitors' Gate into the Tower of London. The ride is in almost total darkness and sound effects are included to try to make visitors more scared and jumpy.
[edit] Sweeney Todd
This show is almost in complete darkness, and visitors are given no idea of what is about to happen. After walking past Mrs. Lovett's pie shop and being greeted by Mrs. Lovett herself, they enter Sweeney Todd's barber shop which is filled with seats. At the front is a chair with a covered up bloody model supposedly from having his throat cut. Visitors are seated in animatronic barbers' chairs, and special effects are used to try to make them feel as if Sweeney Todd were right behind them, giving them a very close shave. Afterwards the chair is pulled back, as if falling into a cellar (which is what Sweeney would do with his victims). Sweeney Todd was supposedly a barber that was around in the mid 18th century. He of sometimes is known as "The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street", and slit the throats of his customers with his razors, supposedly giving the carcasses to Mrs. Lovett to be baked into large pies. Despite the Dungeons' claim to base their exhibits on historical fact, it is almost certain that Sweeney Todd never existed.
[edit] Great Fire of London
This exhibit is set in the year 1666, when much of London burnt to the ground in the relentless Great Fire of London that started down in Pudding Lane, from the Royal bakery. Visitors are shown a short educational film, narrated by Tom Baker, in a themed 17th century courtyard before the fire reaches them and then have to 'escape' through a London street with burning houses everywhere. There are various curtains being blown by fans and lit in a red light to look like fire in the windows, as well as models of mothers holding their babies out the window and recorded calls for help in this section. After that, visitors walk through a revolving tunnel lit by various red and yellow lights to disorientate visitors into thinking they're in the fire.
[edit] Extremis: Drop Ride to Doom
This feature opened at the end of March 2007. Treated just as if they are a criminal sent to hang at Newgate Prison, visitors are taken from a holding cell and sat in a seat which elevates to the top of the Dungeon. There, they see models of judges and an executioner reading the charges against them, when the noose drops in front of their face, and as the hangman pulls the gallows lever they suddenly drop towards the ground in the dark. Cameras are mounted in the walls to take photos of visitors as they drop.
[edit] Similar attractions
The Hamburg Dungeon, York Dungeon and The Edinburgh Dungeon are all affiliated with The London Dungeon. In 2005 a new location opened in Amsterdam, called The Amsterdam Dungeon. A Dungeon will be built in the amusement park Gardaland in Italy.
The Castle Dungeon opened at Warwick Castle in Spring 2009. At a cost of £800,000 it replaced the previous Dream of Battle Attraction. It extensively uses live actors and special effects, and features some of the darkest chapters of the castle’s history, including scenes of terrors in the torture chamber to the foul pestilence of the plague.
More recently, the The London Bridge Experience, located less than two minutes away from The London Dungeons, was opened. Although featuring some similar themes, this attraction is not affiliated with the Dungeons.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The London Dungeon (site includes other attractions run by the same company)
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