Duel (ride)
Encyclopedia
Duel: The Haunted House Strikes Back! is an attraction at the Alton Towers
theme park near the village of Alton
in Staffordshire
. It is located in the former Haunted House
and is similar in design to the original, but riders can now fire laser guns
at animatronic zombies and other ghosts, who 'shoot back'. There is a minimum height restriction of 1.1 metres for younger riders unless accompanied by an adult.
, Sparks Creative Services and Rex Studios. Wardley decided to start the project in order to expand the area behind the Gardens, which would later lead to the new Forbidden Valley area. This new themed land was originally planned as a haunted swamp, but this was changed to the 'Gloomy Woods' area seen today. The new dark ride opened in 1992 and gained much publicity, staying as one of Alton Towers' major rides for many years. The transit system used to take riders through the 'house' was built by MACK Rides
; it was specifically designed to allow a high throughput whilst leaving the cars to travel the ride separately, allowing the effects to surprise visitors.
After this the queue enters the Drawing Room, a scene decorated with more portraits and featuring many theatrical effects. The lighting is dim and a haunting, music box-like tune plays throughout the scene. The tiny ghost of a girl is seen playing inside the rooms of an open dolls house, accompanied with the sound of the girl humming along to the spooky music. To the left is a fireplace, with flames from which a ghostly talking head that appears and speaks to the riders. Other effects include: a severed hand in a bell jar that intermittently twitches, using a hidden air pressure mechanism; a book of which has pages that turn themselves; and rocking horse that rocks itself; the eyes of people depicted in some of the portraits that follow you around the room. Once in the station, riders boarded one of the ride vehicles, which moved continuously through the station close to one another, in order to rapidly speed up the throughput. The station features flickering lamps, sinister stone busts and yet more portraits.
The Grand Hall uses sets of mirrors to create the illusion that the room is a never-ending corridor. The mirrors also hide the first demon before it is ready to animate. When the Haunted House first opened, this scene lacked the moving dining table effect and extensive decoration that can still be seen today. These features were in fact added several months after the ride's opening, after the room was deemed too bare. The added furniture blocks most views of the mirrors, which make the never-ending room illusion less noticeable.
The bust that is seen at the entrance to the Grand Hall was originally a simple static prop. This was changed at some point to an animatronic, which jerks out towards riders as the car enters the room, and remains this way today. Furthermore, the second demon originally offered riders some tea
, holding a cup in its right hand. However, this was later altered so that it instead had a giant rat on a plate and held a knife in its left hand.
At some point during the ride's history, the Crash Column effect was removed because it suffered from electrical faults and could be touched from the car. Along with this, most of the UV artwork was removed from the walls or simply painted over. The disjointed remains of this scene are still visible today when riding Duel. The audio schedule for the Haunted House notes that this scene was meant to have no music, so that the only sound heard was the collapsing stonework. No music was ever played here because additional speakers were not installed, even after the Duel retheme. However, this was fixed in 2010 as the Duel theme music now plays, albeit quite loudly.
Then the pace changes, while the car passess more stone walls adorned with flickering torches, with the top of the walls appearing to topple over. Often referred to as Trommel's Tunnel, this scene presents riders with a massive creature with red, spinning eyes and a gapping mouth. The car goes through the mouth and into a revolving tunnel, disorientating riders and giving them the illusion that they are turning upside down.
It was decided in June 1992, only several months after the ride opened, that all references to the giant should be removed. The fingers were redressed to look like monsters with large teeth, by fixing masks to the props, and hissing sound effects were added. The smashed window where the giant's head was previously located stayed empty until the ride's retheme at the end of 2002.
The giant spider effect suffered from technical issues during the ride's construction, because the mechanism used to suspended the structure flexed under the weight. The problems were resolved by restricting the animatronic's movement and designing a better mechanism. Also, the spiders in this scene were originally painted with strong, blue UV paints. Soon after opening, the effects were repainted with the different colours, so that they did not glow so heavily in the black light
. As well as this, the large UV cobwebs also present in the scene were removed.
The Flying Ghost was achieved by using a mechanism similar to a roller coaster, which allowed the ghost prop to run along a track down the length of the corridor, before ducking to the side and entering a small lift hill that was hidden from view. The prop was pulled back to the top of the hill and released again down the track when the next car was detected. Three props were used to allow the effect to reset between each car: one on the track, one at the top of the lift hill and one at the bottom.
and only became visible once lit by the correct lighting, allowing the ghosts to appear and disappear.
The Skeleton Corridor opens with a skeleton dressed in formal clothes, commonly referred to as Electric Bill, who laughs as he pulls a lever on an old fashioned fuse box. A spark is seen within the box while the lights around the room flash and cut out, and the car turns a corner into darkness. A skeleton laying in a bed appears on the right, screaming as it sits up and turns towards riders. A window to the left flashes with a crack of thunder, catching the attention of another skeleton, seen above the track, who looks up from his newspaper as he sits on a toilet. Then the toilet is heard flushing and a farting sound effect plays. To the left, another skeleton appears with a bomb with a lit fuse, resulting in a loud bang and a flash of light as the car passes. After the explosion, the skeleton on the toilet is seen again in an exploded mess of rubble.
effect). The car turns through a U-bend and travels on the other side of the rocks, with flickering windows seen on the left. A troll-like monster, with its hands reaching outwards, swings out from a rocky cave on the right before disappearing again. A statue of Death
in robes stands to the right, as riders pass under an archway and away from the rest of the garden. More flickering windows are seen on a wall to the house, and a half-broken pillar stands alone in the centre of the area. Suddenly the pillar turns around, revealing a tall, thin demon with long teeth emerging from the other side. A scale model of the house is seen in the distance, to give the effect that the car has gone far out into the gardens. A new piece of faster paced and more dramatic music plays, as cars pick up speed and enter the Finale scene.
The music played throughout the Sinister Garden is the same score used around the exterior of the Haunted House, in the outdoor queueline and in Gloomy Wood. The Undertaker and his hearse originally had their own sound effects, which consisted of menacing laughter and a slowly squeaking wheel, although the Undertaker still laughs menacingly, the slowly squeaking wheel sound effect no longer exists.
The bridge monster in this scene started to cause problems shortly after opening, since the weight of the prop strained the mechanism used to operate the effect. The monster was therefore reprogrammed so that it simply tilted forward, as opposed to rising up from a horizontal position, and moved to the end of the Screaming Room where it still operates today in Duel. A new effect was installed in the monster's former position, consisting of a witch that stuck her head through a crack in a wall and screamed. The long-necked swamp monster was also failing to operate properly and was scrapped shortly after opening.
Sometime during the Haunted House's history, the splitting face effect from this scene completely changed its appearance. The green faces inside the face were replaced by one large fleshy, bloody skull with human-like eyeballs. A tongue with teeth at the tip that moved forward out of the skull's mouth was also added in the change. Also, the exterior part of the face was repainted in skin tone colours and had eyeholes and a mouth cut out, so that the eyes and tongue inside could be seen before it split open, meaning that the effect now gave the impression that it was the face's skin being split open to reveal the skull beneath.
The gargoyle monster was also changed at some point, after the original prop was too heavy for the mechanism. A new, lighter prop was therefore installed, this time depicting a dragon with the severed head of the Undertaker, seen in the Sinister Garden, in its mouth. However, this prop also put the mechanism under pressure, resulting in the effect being completely removed in the Duel retheme.
The bridge monster that was briefely positioned in the Swamp was commonly nicknamed "Tigger" by Alton Towers staff because of its similar appearance to the A. A. Milne character of the same name
. Also, the two-faced head that flies over the car was named "Rod Stewart
" because of its wild, red hair.
, Alton Towers settled on the idea of adding laser guns to the ride to increase popularity. Towards the end of the 2002 season, a poster was placed outside the Haunted House, advertising the new name and opening date, along with the slogan: "Whatever you do, don't miss! Duel - The Haunted House Strikes Back".
A loose pre-show video was added to create a back story for the new ride. The video starts with a mock news report on the disappearance of "Dr Nicholas Roydoon", a genetic surgeon who supposedly lived in the house and experimented on the dead. This then changes to a video depicting zombies emerging from a cemetery and walking into the house, in the style of Michael Jackson
's Thriller music video
. A new theme tune was composed by David Buckley
, to be played on a loop throughout the ride, replacing the eight different pieces composed for the Haunted House by Graham Smart. The new music is more upbeat than the previous themes, consisting of instruments such as electric guitars, harps and synthesized sound effects.
Changes to the ride included the removal of many effects from the Skeleton Corridor scene and the overhaul of the finale. The Swamp scene was almost totally scraped for the new zombie ending. Furthermore, the ghostly paintings displayed in the Entrance Hall and Drawing Room were all replaced with new versions. This was due to copyright issues involving the artists who originally painted them, as they had been used without permission. The replacement pictures were created by partly altering and painting over the features of existing images that were bought at an online ghost prop shop.
The refurbished ride opened at the start of the 2003 season, described as "new". Duel received little promotional attention, with the only advertisement being on the park's website.
The original music for the Drawing Room scene was restored in around 2008 after being removed during the Duel retheme. At around 2010 the Entrance Hall music was also restored.
Both demons were repainted during the Duel retheme and now feature greener skin, whiter horns and yellow eyes. In addition to this, the stock sound effects mentioned above were added to replace the demons' previous audio.
The splitting face effect was saved from being scrapped, and relocated to the Tunnel of Doom from its previous location in the Swamp scene. This was done in order to make way for the new zombie cellar. The outer prop was repainted in blue, UV colours.
Riders turn to the left under archways as bats flutter overhead, before coming out into the UV-lit, stone walled corridor. A window is seen ahead, before two halloween props appear and lean out of the smashed glass. The cars quickly turn right where four more windows are seen, with three halloween props appearing in them, accompanied with a hissing sound effect. The cars turn behind a wall and pass the large three-arch window, now with glass intact (previously the location of the giant's head effect). Three white ghosts suddenly appear out of nowhere behind the frosted glass and sway from side to side, as the window is lit from behind with coloured lighting, and the occasional strobe light flash (designed to represent lightning) accompanied by the same thunder sound effect. Suddenly a zombie with a horribly deformed face appears groaning to the right in another, smaller, smashed window lit by a semi-professional strobe light.
The car turns a corner into darkness, weaving around columns and archways. A zombie with a currently torn open shirt swings out from the right, accompanied by a laughter sound effect, before disappearing again. This is followed by another zombie with a torn open shirt that swings out from the left, accompanied with a long, eerie scream. Meanwhile the voice shouting "Are you scared of spiders?" (now played on a loop) gets louder. The car turns a corner when several large spiders come into view, as the scene builds to a climax and a different version of the Duel theme coming from the Skeleton Corridor gets louder. As the pace slows to a crawl, a blood-soaked zombie is swung out on a frame from the right using the same scream used for the tunnel of doom zombie, followed by a mute zombie on the left both lit by canned-strobe lights. Whilst this happens, the infamous Giant Spider lowers her head at the riders accompanied with a loud hissing sound effect that is audible from all over the Hall of Spiders, the Giant's Lair remains and parts of the Skeleton Corridor.
The pace then quickens, and as the dramatic version of the Duel theme gets louder, the carriages pass Electric Bill to their right (now wearing a hooded robe) and as he would do in the Haunted House, Bill pulls the lever, causing a flash inside the fuse box, cutting out the lights in his area but not the whole corridor. Riders then pass the bed with a skeleton in it on the right, before a female vampire appears on the left (replacing the skeleton with the bomb), holding a cross in her arms and at one point had a spider on her head then it was on her bust for a while. This effect uses the same loud creaking sound previously heard on the rat demon in the Grand Hall. The destroyed toilet and rubble can still be seen on the right before leaving the scene, although the rest of the explosion gag has been scrapped.
During Scarefest, a blue-faced, larger-than-life doll will appear to the right after the column and attempt to attack the car with a spade accompanied by a 'thud' sound effect.
The car travels towards a set of leaking oil drums and crates placed against the wall, when a zombie lit by a red-filtered strobe rises up from an open barrel and screams. Excessive UV and gelled lighting is seen here as the car turns left past a large wall on the right, from which another appears in a high window and laughs. On the left, a static prop in front of a white sheet with a grossly melted face is seen through a hatch in the wall, lit to look like it is in a "furnace". Above the car, zombies stand on gantries, firing lasers at riders below. A vault opens up to the left to reveal another zombie with a horribly disfigured face inside, using the same rythmic scream previously heard on the final window zombie, lit brightly from behind. The car sways to the right as another zombie rises up from a barrel and laughs evilly, before turning left behind a wall. Rusted pipes and a smoking barrel decorate the area, when a large half-skull, half-demon creature rises up from behind a smashed window, scaring riders for the photo point. The same scream used for the Tunnel of Doom zombie and the second to last Hall of Spiders zombie accompanies this effect. The car turns a corner, past another armed zombie firing from a platform above, when the station comes into view. As the car slows down, riders pass a large open-mouthed gargoyle to the right, from which the dragon effect would previously appear; the only remains of the Swamp scene. Riders' guns automatically switch off while the car enters the offload station, and the ride ends.
Duel Live made use of the original outdoor queue line, often with other actors roaming the wooded area. For the 2008 version, the queue featured gravediggers and werewolves creeping up on the guests, though in 2009 this was reduced to one actor in a hooded robe. Guests waited at the door instead of walking straight in, before being greeted by either a maid or a butler (the performers alternated during the 2009 version, but in 2008 only the butler featured) and given a brief talk about what was inside and why the guns were switched off. The TV screens in the Drawing Room were covered with cloth and muted, and the original spooky music turned up; the room being similar to what it was in the original Haunted House. During the 2008 event, the maid jumped out at guests as they entered the Drawing Room.
In preparation for when the attraction when it was introduced in 2008, much of the lighting and many effects were reprogrammed or repaired for the first time in many years. Notably in the Trommel's Tunnel scene, where the reflective eyes of the tunnel entrance were completely cleaned. Work was undertaken in the evenings in the run up to the 2008 Scarefest event over the period of a week. However, sound and hydraulic effect systems were left untouched by the team during this, excluding the soundtrack which was altered for the event.
In 2008 Scarefest, Duel ran as normal during the morning and afternoon, before switching over to Duel Live after 3:00PM. It featured approximately four live actors on ride. The format changed for 2009 in which Duel Live ran all day, with about eight different actors on ride.
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
theme park near the village of Alton
Alton, Staffordshire
Alton is a village in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is noted for the theme park Alton Towers, built around the site of Alton Mansion , which was owned by the Earls of Shrewsbury and designed by Augustus Pugin....
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. It is located in the former Haunted House
Haunted house
A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...
and is similar in design to the original, but riders can now fire laser guns
Laser guns
Laser guns describe guns converted from their regular ammunition to using lasers to hit reflective targets. These have been used in clay pigeon shooting and were suggested for use in the Modern pentathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics after a successful trial at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in...
at animatronic zombies and other ghosts, who 'shoot back'. There is a minimum height restriction of 1.1 metres for younger riders unless accompanied by an adult.
Development
The original ride was designed by John WardleyJohn Wardley
John Wardley is a British award-winning concept designer and developer for theme parks, mainly for rides such as roller coasters.-Rides Designed By John:*Nemesis*Oblivion*Air*Thirteen *Haunted House*Runaway Mine Train...
, Sparks Creative Services and Rex Studios. Wardley decided to start the project in order to expand the area behind the Gardens, which would later lead to the new Forbidden Valley area. This new themed land was originally planned as a haunted swamp, but this was changed to the 'Gloomy Woods' area seen today. The new dark ride opened in 1992 and gained much publicity, staying as one of Alton Towers' major rides for many years. The transit system used to take riders through the 'house' was built by MACK Rides
MACK Rides
Mack Rides is a German company that designs and constructs roller coasters. The family that owns the company also owns Europa Park.-History:The creation of the Mack company goes back to 1780, by Paul Mack, when he started building carriages. The Mack company started to design roller coasters in 1920....
; it was specifically designed to allow a high throughput whilst leaving the cars to travel the ride separately, allowing the effects to surprise visitors.
Queueline
Guests queue outside the house in a wooded area. Eerie music plays, and many tombstones with often humorous or morbid enscriptions can be by the side of the path. The queue heads to the far back of the wooded area, until going through a small tower and coming back out into the Gloomy Wood plaza. At this point the path crosses an access route that leads to an out-of-bounds storage ground, which is blocked by large gates. It then runs parallel to the side of the house, passing blackened windows, before going up the steps and through the front door.Entrance Hall, Drawing Room & Station
Once inside the house, riders enter the Entrance Hall where they are greeted by disturbing portraits hung on the walls and flickering chandeliers on the ceiling. A slow, menacing tune plays, accompanying the many cobweb-covered antiques that can be seen. Also in this area is a hidden aroma machine that emits a distinct smell to build atmosphere.After this the queue enters the Drawing Room, a scene decorated with more portraits and featuring many theatrical effects. The lighting is dim and a haunting, music box-like tune plays throughout the scene. The tiny ghost of a girl is seen playing inside the rooms of an open dolls house, accompanied with the sound of the girl humming along to the spooky music. To the left is a fireplace, with flames from which a ghostly talking head that appears and speaks to the riders. Other effects include: a severed hand in a bell jar that intermittently twitches, using a hidden air pressure mechanism; a book of which has pages that turn themselves; and rocking horse that rocks itself; the eyes of people depicted in some of the portraits that follow you around the room. Once in the station, riders boarded one of the ride vehicles, which moved continuously through the station close to one another, in order to rapidly speed up the throughput. The station features flickering lamps, sinister stone busts and yet more portraits.
Poltergeist Room
Riders slowly leave the station and enter a dim area where a portcullis is seen from above, with a skull stuck on a spike. The cars then fully separate from each other and speed up, before turning a corner into the Poltergeist Room. Shattered stone walls move with light flashing between the cracks, accompanied with thunder sound effects.Grand Hall
Riders turn again into the Grand Hall, where set before them is an inanimate stone bust. The car passes a dusty table with rotting food and rats in glasses, with chairs and chandeliers that dance and move by themselves. Around the room are many ornaments and highly detailed wall decoration. The car heads between two pillars, when a large demon flies overhead from the left. Closed doors are briefly seen in front of the vehicle, until it swerves out the way and towards another demon that emerges from darkness, holding a large rat and knife.The Grand Hall uses sets of mirrors to create the illusion that the room is a never-ending corridor. The mirrors also hide the first demon before it is ready to animate. When the Haunted House first opened, this scene lacked the moving dining table effect and extensive decoration that can still be seen today. These features were in fact added several months after the ride's opening, after the room was deemed too bare. The added furniture blocks most views of the mirrors, which make the never-ending room illusion less noticeable.
The bust that is seen at the entrance to the Grand Hall was originally a simple static prop. This was changed at some point to an animatronic, which jerks out towards riders as the car enters the room, and remains this way today. Furthermore, the second demon originally offered riders some tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, holding a cup in its right hand. However, this was later altered so that it instead had a giant rat on a plate and held a knife in its left hand.
Crash Column and Trommel
Then a turn into the Crash Column scene, where UV artwork covers the walls, featuring windows and archways that lead into the distance. This effect was lit with heavy UV lighting to illuminate the image and give the impression it was real. Then riders are at first tricked into thinking they will crash into the narrow exit ahead, before a column blocking the path swings out of the way at the last moment. The sound of crumbling and crashing brickwork is heard before the car leaves the scene.At some point during the ride's history, the Crash Column effect was removed because it suffered from electrical faults and could be touched from the car. Along with this, most of the UV artwork was removed from the walls or simply painted over. The disjointed remains of this scene are still visible today when riding Duel. The audio schedule for the Haunted House notes that this scene was meant to have no music, so that the only sound heard was the collapsing stonework. No music was ever played here because additional speakers were not installed, even after the Duel retheme. However, this was fixed in 2010 as the Duel theme music now plays, albeit quite loudly.
Then the pace changes, while the car passess more stone walls adorned with flickering torches, with the top of the walls appearing to topple over. Often referred to as Trommel's Tunnel, this scene presents riders with a massive creature with red, spinning eyes and a gapping mouth. The car goes through the mouth and into a revolving tunnel, disorientating riders and giving them the illusion that they are turning upside down.
Giant's Lair
After exiting the tunnel, bats are seen flying overhead. This effect is achieved using prop bats fixed to spinning mechanisms and lit by strobe lights with UV filters. The stonework architecture and heavy UV lighting continues as the car enters the Giant's Lair. Enormous fingers appear through a set of shattered windows on the left, moving as if trying to grab the car. A second set of the giant fingers crash through more windows on the right. After another turn, riders meet the owner of the fingers when the head of a giant is seen staring at them from behind a large, gothic window that has been smashed.It was decided in June 1992, only several months after the ride opened, that all references to the giant should be removed. The fingers were redressed to look like monsters with large teeth, by fixing masks to the props, and hissing sound effects were added. The smashed window where the giant's head was previously located stayed empty until the ride's retheme at the end of 2002.
Hall of Spiders
The next scene acts as the climax to the ride, as cars turn corners into further darkness until very large spiders are seen hanging in the distance. A low voice is heard shouting "Are you scared of spiders?", before an enormous spider comes into view. The car travels straight underneath the spider, as it lowers its head vigorously towards riders below. UV paintwork archways cover the walls lit with black lighting, along with large columns decorating the scene at each turn.The giant spider effect suffered from technical issues during the ride's construction, because the mechanism used to suspended the structure flexed under the weight. The problems were resolved by restricting the animatronic's movement and designing a better mechanism. Also, the spiders in this scene were originally painted with strong, blue UV paints. Soon after opening, the effects were repainted with the different colours, so that they did not glow so heavily in the black light
Black light
A black light, also referred to as a UV light, ultraviolet light, or Wood's lamp, is a lamp that emits ultraviolet radiation in the long-wave range, and little visible light...
. As well as this, the large UV cobwebs also present in the scene were removed.
Ghost Corridor
The Ghost Corridor makes a change to the previous scenes of stone architecture, adopting the style last seen in the Grand Hall. Peeling wallpaper and broken plaster covers parts of the walls, with flickering lights in the shape of skulls lighting the path. The only effect in this scene is the Flying Ghost, which jumps from a balcony to the right and swoops over head, travelling down the corridor. It wails childishly before flying into the side, accompanied with a splat sound effect. As the car reaches the spot where the ghost hit, its dizzy remains are seen against the wall.The Flying Ghost was achieved by using a mechanism similar to a roller coaster, which allowed the ghost prop to run along a track down the length of the corridor, before ducking to the side and entering a small lift hill that was hidden from view. The prop was pulled back to the top of the hill and released again down the track when the next car was detected. Three props were used to allow the effect to reset between each car: one on the track, one at the top of the lift hill and one at the bottom.
Revision/Creation of the Skeleton Corridor
However, this mechanism failed to work properly because the cars and ghosts always fell out of synchronisation. Only one year after the Haunted House opened, the effect was scrapped completely and the scene overhauled into the Skeleton Corridor. The balcony from which the ghost flew and the hidden lift hill remain in place today, although out of view. The new Skeleton Corridor was designed Barry Lee and Andrew Howarth, who had previously worked on the design and engineering of the ride. The new scene debuted in 1993 and featured many more gags to make up for the lost effect. Most of the new effects worked using animatronics hidden behind a scrimScrim (lighting)
A scrim is a device used in the film and television industries, as well as by photographers, to modify properties of light. There are a variations on types of scrim, depending upon its use, whether with natural light, or on man made light sources...
and only became visible once lit by the correct lighting, allowing the ghosts to appear and disappear.
The Skeleton Corridor opens with a skeleton dressed in formal clothes, commonly referred to as Electric Bill, who laughs as he pulls a lever on an old fashioned fuse box. A spark is seen within the box while the lights around the room flash and cut out, and the car turns a corner into darkness. A skeleton laying in a bed appears on the right, screaming as it sits up and turns towards riders. A window to the left flashes with a crack of thunder, catching the attention of another skeleton, seen above the track, who looks up from his newspaper as he sits on a toilet. Then the toilet is heard flushing and a farting sound effect plays. To the left, another skeleton appears with a bomb with a lit fuse, resulting in a loud bang and a flash of light as the car passes. After the explosion, the skeleton on the toilet is seen again in an exploded mess of rubble.
Screaming Room
Loud wailing noises are heard getting closer, as the cars turn into complete darkness. A ghostly head flies over the car, with a scream following it. An ugly faced merged in the wall suddenly appears followed by a several flying banshees. Riders continue to turn sharp corners through the darkness, as another ugly head appears in the wall followed by another flying head, before leaving the scene. The flying heads operate on arm mechanisms above the track that swing out towards the cars, and like the bats lit up by strobe lights with black light filters.Sinister Garden
The car travels outside the house and into a small, walled garden at night. Riders pass foliage and rocks on the right, and a set of cloisters to the left, where a hooded figure is seen standing still. Straight ahead a hearse lies, crashed into a wall, with a wheel still spinning. The undertaker of the hearse stands beside it with his top hat and smart uniform, beckoning with his hand for the riders to come closer. A ghost is seen flying out of the open coffin inside the hearse (using a Pepper's GhostPepper's ghost
Pepper's ghost is an illusionary technique used in theatre and in some magic tricks. Using a plate glass and special lighting techniques, it can make objects seem to appear or disappear, transparent, or make one object seem to morph into another...
effect). The car turns through a U-bend and travels on the other side of the rocks, with flickering windows seen on the left. A troll-like monster, with its hands reaching outwards, swings out from a rocky cave on the right before disappearing again. A statue of Death
Death (personification)
The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
in robes stands to the right, as riders pass under an archway and away from the rest of the garden. More flickering windows are seen on a wall to the house, and a half-broken pillar stands alone in the centre of the area. Suddenly the pillar turns around, revealing a tall, thin demon with long teeth emerging from the other side. A scale model of the house is seen in the distance, to give the effect that the car has gone far out into the gardens. A new piece of faster paced and more dramatic music plays, as cars pick up speed and enter the Finale scene.
The music played throughout the Sinister Garden is the same score used around the exterior of the Haunted House, in the outdoor queueline and in Gloomy Wood. The Undertaker and his hearse originally had their own sound effects, which consisted of menacing laughter and a slowly squeaking wheel, although the Undertaker still laughs menacingly, the slowly squeaking wheel sound effect no longer exists.
Swamp
The cars travel deeper into the garden and into a swamp area, passing large rock-faces and foliage. A face is seen etched into a rocky wall that wails at riders as they pass. One end of a small, collapsed bridge is seen ahead, when a demon with outstreched claws appears from underneath the broken path. Then the car turns another corner towards a creature with a long neck that rises up from rocks. Then, a large stone face is seen, which opens up at a crack down the middle, revealing numerous glowing, green faces underneath. The car quickly passes a wobbling wall and travels through a violently shaking structure, when a branch suddenly falls from above and narrowly misses riders. A two-faced ghoul flies overhead (similar to the effects seen in the Screaming Room). When the ride nears its end, riders weave around various tombstones and rockwork, until the car slows down and bunches together with the others in front, ready to enter the offload station. In this area, two large, open-mouthed, stone gargoyles are seen on one of the walls to the house on the right, accompanied with flickering windows. From the mouth of the furthest gargoyle, a large, fanged creature lurches out down towards the car, creating a dramatic end to the ride. The cars enter the offload station and riders exit their vehicles.The bridge monster in this scene started to cause problems shortly after opening, since the weight of the prop strained the mechanism used to operate the effect. The monster was therefore reprogrammed so that it simply tilted forward, as opposed to rising up from a horizontal position, and moved to the end of the Screaming Room where it still operates today in Duel. A new effect was installed in the monster's former position, consisting of a witch that stuck her head through a crack in a wall and screamed. The long-necked swamp monster was also failing to operate properly and was scrapped shortly after opening.
Sometime during the Haunted House's history, the splitting face effect from this scene completely changed its appearance. The green faces inside the face were replaced by one large fleshy, bloody skull with human-like eyeballs. A tongue with teeth at the tip that moved forward out of the skull's mouth was also added in the change. Also, the exterior part of the face was repainted in skin tone colours and had eyeholes and a mouth cut out, so that the eyes and tongue inside could be seen before it split open, meaning that the effect now gave the impression that it was the face's skin being split open to reveal the skull beneath.
The gargoyle monster was also changed at some point, after the original prop was too heavy for the mechanism. A new, lighter prop was therefore installed, this time depicting a dragon with the severed head of the Undertaker, seen in the Sinister Garden, in its mouth. However, this prop also put the mechanism under pressure, resulting in the effect being completely removed in the Duel retheme.
The bridge monster that was briefely positioned in the Swamp was commonly nicknamed "Tigger" by Alton Towers staff because of its similar appearance to the A. A. Milne character of the same name
Tigger
Tigger is a fictional tiger-like character originally introduced in A. A. Milne's book The House at Pooh Corner. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed animals...
. Also, the two-faced head that flies over the car was named "Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
" because of its wild, red hair.
Refurbishment
By 2002, the Haunted House's visitor numbers had dropped and many effects had since ceased operation or become unreliable. It was decided that a re-theme was needed to promote the ride and keep it fresh in visitor's minds. After the success of Tomb Blaster, a similar dark ride at Chessington World of AdventuresChessington World of Adventures
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park and zoo in South West London, England. It lies south of Central London. Historically opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, a theme park was developed alongside it, opening in 1987...
, Alton Towers settled on the idea of adding laser guns to the ride to increase popularity. Towards the end of the 2002 season, a poster was placed outside the Haunted House, advertising the new name and opening date, along with the slogan: "Whatever you do, don't miss! Duel - The Haunted House Strikes Back".
A loose pre-show video was added to create a back story for the new ride. The video starts with a mock news report on the disappearance of "Dr Nicholas Roydoon", a genetic surgeon who supposedly lived in the house and experimented on the dead. This then changes to a video depicting zombies emerging from a cemetery and walking into the house, in the style of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's Thriller music video
Thriller (music video)
Michael Jackson's Thriller is a 14-minute music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983 and directed by John Landis, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jackson....
. A new theme tune was composed by David Buckley
David Buckley
David Buckley is a British film score composer.Buckley is best known for working and still works extensively with composer Harry Gregson-Williams, including work on the famous videogame Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots.Among Buckley's numerous solo projects are the films Blood Creek , The...
, to be played on a loop throughout the ride, replacing the eight different pieces composed for the Haunted House by Graham Smart. The new music is more upbeat than the previous themes, consisting of instruments such as electric guitars, harps and synthesized sound effects.
Changes to the ride included the removal of many effects from the Skeleton Corridor scene and the overhaul of the finale. The Swamp scene was almost totally scraped for the new zombie ending. Furthermore, the ghostly paintings displayed in the Entrance Hall and Drawing Room were all replaced with new versions. This was due to copyright issues involving the artists who originally painted them, as they had been used without permission. The replacement pictures were created by partly altering and painting over the features of existing images that were bought at an online ghost prop shop.
The refurbished ride opened at the start of the 2003 season, described as "new". Duel received little promotional attention, with the only advertisement being on the park's website.
Entrance Hall, Drawing Room & Station
The Entrance Hall remains mostly untouched since the Haunted House's closure, with the only changes being the replacement portraits. However, several props such as a tea set and a set of velvet curtains had to be removed after they were vandalised. In the Drawing Room, the pre-show and insturctional video is presented on a loop to riders through several television screens set into the wall, in spaces previously occupied by the moving eye portrait effects. Few original effects remain operating in the Drawing Room, many had to be removed after their mechanisms stopped working and were not repaired. Riders pass the haunted doll's house, still in working condition with the exception of the sound effect, and a projected fire flickering in the fireplace. The rocking horse can still be seen rocking itself to the left, before riders enter the station and board their ride vehicle.The original music for the Drawing Room scene was restored in around 2008 after being removed during the Duel retheme. At around 2010 the Entrance Hall music was also restored.
Poltergeist Room
The Poltergeist Room remains intact, with the exception of the sound effects. Riders pass the cracking walls as their blasters turn on, before turning into the Grand Hall.Grand Hall
The Grand Hall begins with a jump scare, as the bust seen ahead suddenly jumps forward, lit by a strobe light in a can. The car quickly turns to the right, past the haunted dining table, and travels between two columns. From the left, the demon flies out, accompanied with the sound of evil laughter. The car sways to the right as the second demon swings towards the car, accompanied by a loud creaking sound effect, that can be heard from the Window Zombies' scene.Both demons were repainted during the Duel retheme and now feature greener skin, whiter horns and yellow eyes. In addition to this, the stock sound effects mentioned above were added to replace the demons' previous audio.
Crash Column and Trommel
Riders then turn into the Crash Column scene, of which only the archway and a section of UV painted scenery on the wall remain, before heading into the Tunnel of Doom. The car turns a U-bend, passing flambaux hanging against the stone walls, until the demonic entrance to the tunnel comes into view. Suddenly a zombie appears and screams through a gap between the tunnel and the wall to the right, before riders travel into the revolving tunnel itself. At the end of the tunnel, situated against a wall to the left in a small area previously unused, the splitting face appears and opens up, lit with a red strobe light, revealing the bloody skull beneath.The splitting face effect was saved from being scrapped, and relocated to the Tunnel of Doom from its previous location in the Swamp scene. This was done in order to make way for the new zombie cellar. The outer prop was repainted in blue, UV colours.
Bats & Window Zombies
Since the original giant sequence was scrapped shortly after the Haunted House's opening, little consistency in this scene remains. The theming and stonework decoration was unchanged during the Duel retheme, but the monsters in the windows were replaced by zombies.Riders turn to the left under archways as bats flutter overhead, before coming out into the UV-lit, stone walled corridor. A window is seen ahead, before two halloween props appear and lean out of the smashed glass. The cars quickly turn right where four more windows are seen, with three halloween props appearing in them, accompanied with a hissing sound effect. The cars turn behind a wall and pass the large three-arch window, now with glass intact (previously the location of the giant's head effect). Three white ghosts suddenly appear out of nowhere behind the frosted glass and sway from side to side, as the window is lit from behind with coloured lighting, and the occasional strobe light flash (designed to represent lightning) accompanied by the same thunder sound effect. Suddenly a zombie with a horribly deformed face appears groaning to the right in another, smaller, smashed window lit by a semi-professional strobe light.
Hall of Spiders
AKA, the Hall of Strobe-Lighting, the spider scene is relatively unchanged, except for the addition of four blood-soaked zombie effects.The car turns a corner into darkness, weaving around columns and archways. A zombie with a currently torn open shirt swings out from the right, accompanied by a laughter sound effect, before disappearing again. This is followed by another zombie with a torn open shirt that swings out from the left, accompanied with a long, eerie scream. Meanwhile the voice shouting "Are you scared of spiders?" (now played on a loop) gets louder. The car turns a corner when several large spiders come into view, as the scene builds to a climax and a different version of the Duel theme coming from the Skeleton Corridor gets louder. As the pace slows to a crawl, a blood-soaked zombie is swung out on a frame from the right using the same scream used for the tunnel of doom zombie, followed by a mute zombie on the left both lit by canned-strobe lights. Whilst this happens, the infamous Giant Spider lowers her head at the riders accompanied with a loud hissing sound effect that is audible from all over the Hall of Spiders, the Giant's Lair remains and parts of the Skeleton Corridor.
Skeleton Corridor
The majority of the Skeleton Corridor was scrapped during the Duel retheme, meaning only few effects and little decoration remain. Since all the skull lamps and lighting effects were removed, most of the scene is now carried out in pitch black, except for the lighting on individual effects.The pace then quickens, and as the dramatic version of the Duel theme gets louder, the carriages pass Electric Bill to their right (now wearing a hooded robe) and as he would do in the Haunted House, Bill pulls the lever, causing a flash inside the fuse box, cutting out the lights in his area but not the whole corridor. Riders then pass the bed with a skeleton in it on the right, before a female vampire appears on the left (replacing the skeleton with the bomb), holding a cross in her arms and at one point had a spider on her head then it was on her bust for a while. This effect uses the same loud creaking sound previously heard on the rat demon in the Grand Hall. The destroyed toilet and rubble can still be seen on the right before leaving the scene, although the rest of the explosion gag has been scrapped.
Screaming Room
The car turns to the right and then far to the left, as exactly the same effects as when it was the Haunted House with the screaming heads that fly around or are merged in the walls. Then two more heads appear screaming ahead of riders, before the horned demon is seen leaning forward; the car dodges them and turns into the Sinister Garden.Sinister Garden
The pace slows down as the car enters the Sinister Garden. The monk, previously a static prop, can be seen moving from left to right in the cloister. Ahead the crashed hearse can be seen, with its wheel still spinning, as the undertaker bekons to riders. The car turns back on itself and passes a small cave, from which the Lunatic jumps from, again using the loud creaking sound effect. After passing the statue of Death, riders pass under an archway and towards a pillar, that suddenly swings around to reveal the demon on the other side. The pace then quickens, as riders head between two large industrial doors and into the new Zombie Laboratory scene.During Scarefest, a blue-faced, larger-than-life doll will appear to the right after the column and attempt to attack the car with a spade accompanied by a 'thud' sound effect.
Zombie Laboratory
The Swamp scene was demolished during the Duel retheme to make way for a new, zombie-based finale. The scene had previously been fairly open, with the car passing large rock faces and foliage. However, the new scene included the addition of tall, themed walls on either side of the track, since the scene was set in a laboratory. New effects included several zombies, similar to those added to other scenes in the ride, and several laser light effects.The car travels towards a set of leaking oil drums and crates placed against the wall, when a zombie lit by a red-filtered strobe rises up from an open barrel and screams. Excessive UV and gelled lighting is seen here as the car turns left past a large wall on the right, from which another appears in a high window and laughs. On the left, a static prop in front of a white sheet with a grossly melted face is seen through a hatch in the wall, lit to look like it is in a "furnace". Above the car, zombies stand on gantries, firing lasers at riders below. A vault opens up to the left to reveal another zombie with a horribly disfigured face inside, using the same rythmic scream previously heard on the final window zombie, lit brightly from behind. The car sways to the right as another zombie rises up from a barrel and laughs evilly, before turning left behind a wall. Rusted pipes and a smoking barrel decorate the area, when a large half-skull, half-demon creature rises up from behind a smashed window, scaring riders for the photo point. The same scream used for the Tunnel of Doom zombie and the second to last Hall of Spiders zombie accompanies this effect. The car turns a corner, past another armed zombie firing from a platform above, when the station comes into view. As the car slows down, riders pass a large open-mouthed gargoyle to the right, from which the dragon effect would previously appear; the only remains of the Swamp scene. Riders' guns automatically switch off while the car enters the offload station, and the ride ends.
Duel: Live!
For the 2008 and 2009 annual Halloween 'Scarefest' events held at Alton Towers, the ride became host to "Duel: Live!" This attraction featured live actors situated in different scenes around the ride, to scare riders while in their cars. Also, the laser guns and all the LEDs were switched off, so that riders were not distracted by the shooting and focused on the ride. The music was replaced throughout the ride, with a different, more atmospheric piece used instead of the usual Duel theme.Duel Live made use of the original outdoor queue line, often with other actors roaming the wooded area. For the 2008 version, the queue featured gravediggers and werewolves creeping up on the guests, though in 2009 this was reduced to one actor in a hooded robe. Guests waited at the door instead of walking straight in, before being greeted by either a maid or a butler (the performers alternated during the 2009 version, but in 2008 only the butler featured) and given a brief talk about what was inside and why the guns were switched off. The TV screens in the Drawing Room were covered with cloth and muted, and the original spooky music turned up; the room being similar to what it was in the original Haunted House. During the 2008 event, the maid jumped out at guests as they entered the Drawing Room.
In preparation for when the attraction when it was introduced in 2008, much of the lighting and many effects were reprogrammed or repaired for the first time in many years. Notably in the Trommel's Tunnel scene, where the reflective eyes of the tunnel entrance were completely cleaned. Work was undertaken in the evenings in the run up to the 2008 Scarefest event over the period of a week. However, sound and hydraulic effect systems were left untouched by the team during this, excluding the soundtrack which was altered for the event.
In 2008 Scarefest, Duel ran as normal during the morning and afternoon, before switching over to Duel Live after 3:00PM. It featured approximately four live actors on ride. The format changed for 2009 in which Duel Live ran all day, with about eight different actors on ride.