Monster Hunters 2025!

Belsay Hall Castle & Gardens 2025

The Brief

English Heritage invited us to create a family-friendly daytime Halloween experience for Belsay Hall and Castle during the October half-term holidays. The brief was to design something bespoke to the site, making use of its dramatic quarry gardens and historic landscape while remaining playful rather than frightening.

What We Did

Following a site visit, we discovered the legend of the Wild Man of Belsay, a figure closely linked to the history and imagery of the gardens. This inspired a new adventure in which families met the Wild Man and were sent on a mission to investigate signs of monster incursions across the grounds. Along the route, audiences collected evidence of magical creatures including Golems, Willow Wisps and a Chimera, before helping the Wild Man cast a spell to protect Belsay from further visitors from the monster world.

The adventure was led by two of our Brothers Grimm characters, with a third Brother Grimm running a parallel indoor activity in the mansion: How to Tame a Monster — a playful drama and craft workshop exploring how monsters might be befriended rather than feared.

The Result

The project ran successfully over nine days, with three performances of the outdoor adventure and three accompanying workshops each day. Working closely with the Belsay gardens team, the event became a truly site-specific experience, enhanced by striking Wild Man sculptures created by Belsay especially for the adventure. The result was a joyful, imaginative and accessible Halloween programme for families at this unique English Heritage site.