Going behind the scenes at the Scream Factory, Redcar

If you know me, you'll know that I'm not a fan of scary jumpy films, I don't do the dark and confined spaces are not for me. So what better to do on a Friday night then head down to Scream Factory, the culmination of all these things. Now before you go thinking I faced my fears and I was a brave little bunny, I'm very sorry but I have to disappoint. I didn't actually go through the proper Extreme Tour, I was taken on a special behind the scenes tour to see the scares from a distance.

Katy from the Scream Factory, which is the North East's largest scare, kindly invited me down to experience the haunts. She did encourage the Extreme Tour quite a few times, but I was too much of a scardy cat to do it. I felt like a right let down, sorry Katy! What I did experience had me on edge throughout the time I was down on site.

The Scream Factory is a family-run business with each member using their special skills to bring together a great 10-day scarefest. Myself and my sister headed down to Kirkleatham on Friday night, parked up in the Museum car park and started to walk to our doom. At 8pm these days it is pitch black, so this definitely set the scene for us.

We found the entrance located opposite the front of the Museum and then were directed down alongside another building before coming out right at the start of the Scream Factory. People were being herded into marquees ready for the tour, and we almost got stuck in one of the groups! We quickly got out of there and found safety amongst the Scare Crew, although in the background all we could hear were screams and chainsaws.

Our calm demeanour didn't last for long as whilst waiting for our 'behind the scenes' tour we met a delightful clown. Okay when I say delightful, I don't mean delightful. He was sinister and creepy, not someone you'd want to meet on a dark night. We were taken along the tour dipping into backstage areas along the way to see the groups scream with fear as different gruesome characters popped out to frighten them. It was quite humorous to watch them but I know if that was me that I'd be screaming all the same.

All the actors at Scream Factory are brilliant, they all get so much into character and take great pleasure in scaring you. We encountered a few whilst we were there and although they were told we were there for a backstage tour, they still wanted to give us the full experience and continued in their character to creep us right out. At one point we thought we would be chased out by burly, bloody men with chainsaws.

What I didn't realise about Scream Factory is that there is so much to it. On the tour Katy told us about all the bits we would miss by not taking the Extreme Tour and it sounded vast and extremely scary. There was mention of clowns, butchers, morticians, nurses, doctors and even crazy beekeepers! All a bit too much for me, but for the ticket price I think everyone who takes the tour is definitely getting value for money.

Although I haven't taken the tour, and you won't make me (unless it's the Twilight Tour), I thoroughly recommend that you get yourself down. If you fancy getting the wits scared out of you and then having a massive giggle about it afterwards, then this is for you. The team at Scream Factory are so passionate about putting on a great show each and every year, they give everything to ensure everyone has the best time!