Ghostly, gory and ghoulish goings on in High Roding attracted some 2,000 people on each day on the Friday and Saturday of half term in a fiendishly frightening, two day Halloween event.

Dunmow Broadcast: Fire burn and cauldron bubble... Picture: SAFFRON PHOTOFire burn and cauldron bubble... Picture: SAFFRON PHOTO (Image: Saffron Photo 2017)

A haunted house with ghost actors who jumped out and grabbed you and others holding severed heads put the fright into night all right.

Two of the favourite attractions were the Trick or Treat table where children had to put their hands into holes and sink them into a gooey mess to find a marble, which might lead to a golden ticket for a prize. Children returned over and again to that one and also the Tooth Fairy Game where they had to pull out giant teeth from an ogre’s head, some of which had rolled up golden tickets inside the molars.

Dunmow Broadcast: Ghostly goings on with Toby, Oliver and Ben Simons. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTOGhostly goings on with Toby, Oliver and Ben Simons. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTO (Image: Saffron Photo 2017)

If you did get a golden ticket your party bag collection of sweets and toys was put inside a latex glove and “handed” to you.

Also popular was Bomb the Battlements, where you had to throw beanbags at soldiers.

Dunmow Broadcast: The ghost train. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTOThe ghost train. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTO (Image: Saffron Photo 2017)

The event, attended by people of all ages who had gone to a lot of trouble to look terrible, raised £3,500 to be split between the 1st Moreton and Fyfield Scouts and community charities and projects.

Organiser, Simon Watkins, an on-call firefighter for Leaden Roding said: “I had thought about this over years. The haunted house (or house of horrors) was based on my scare maze with American-style live actors. No one could believe how well the event went, everyone said how wonderful it was. All the feedback was positive.”

Dunmow Broadcast: Spectres of the past, Sabrina and Olivia Knitter. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTOSpectres of the past, Sabrina and Olivia Knitter. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTO (Image: Saffron Photo 2017)

(Was that rhesus positive?)

Mr Watkins, from Good Easter, said he hoped the Halloween Fright Fete would become an annual event.

Dunmow Broadcast: Teeth and smiles, Libby Ward and Rosina Rudd. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTOTeeth and smiles, Libby Ward and Rosina Rudd. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTO (Image: Saffron Photo 2017)

“I said if they give me a little bit of funding, I would sign up to do it for the next 10 years.

“I would like to open it up in future to members of the fire service so they can come along for free. I would have liked to have done that this year but I thought I would see how it goes first.”

Dunmow Broadcast: The young ones, school for Dracula class of 2017. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTOThe young ones, school for Dracula class of 2017. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTO (Image: Saffron Photo 2017)

Dunmow Broadcast: Gore-geous! organiser Simon Watkins (centre) with his gore-some group. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTOGore-geous! organiser Simon Watkins (centre) with his gore-some group. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTO (Image: Saffron Photo 2017)

Dunmow Broadcast: They had a ripping time. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTOThey had a ripping time. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTO (Image: Saffron Photo 2017)

Dunmow Broadcast: They had a ripping time. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTOThey had a ripping time. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTO (Image: Saffron Photo 2017)

Dunmow Broadcast: A ghoulish group. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTOA ghoulish group. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTO (Image: Saffron Photo 2017)