Horror show to ‘unwind’ from pandemic stress

Thrill-seekers in Tokyo can spend 15 minutes being scared by a group of out-of-work actors. The new form of Covid-safe ‘entertainment’ takes self-isolation to a higher level and sees participants lie in a two-metre windowed box, listening to a horror story.

As they try to relax in the somewhat unusual surroundings, actors masquerading as the undead perform around them, poking them with fake hands and spraying them with water.

“The pandemic is stressful, and we hope people can get a bit of relief by having a good scream,” said Kenta Iwana, coordinator of production company Kowagarasetai aka ‘Scare Squad’. The group is trialling the 15-minute shows in the horror-mad nation, known as the birthplace of films like ‘The Ring’, ‘The Grudge’ and other movies more terrifying than anything ever dreamt up in Hollywood.

Broom boarding record online by HP fans

An international group of Harry Potter fans came together virtually to break the Guinness World Record for the most people to simultaneously board a broom online.

Bloomsbury Publishing organised the event to celebrate the upcoming October 6 release of Quidditch Through the Ages, by J.K. Rowling.

The participants logged on from 40 different countries, and a Guinness representative was present on the live stream to verify the new record when the 133 participating households all boarded their brooms in the style of Quidditch players from the Harry Potter series.

New speed record set on wheelbarrow

Already a record holder for building the world’s fastest shed, Kevin Nicks, 55, a gardener from Oxfordshire, believes he’s set a new speed record after clocking 44 miles per hour on the back of his wheelbarrow.

He’s called it the ‘Barrow of Speed’ and thinks he can go even faster when a Guinness World Records representative comes to verify the accolade in some weeks’ time. His custom-built contraption, which uses a moped engine, was competing at a Straightliners event at Elvington Airfield in North Yorkshire.

The speed — equivalent to 72 kilometres per hour — is higher than the base speed he was set by Guinness World Records.

Mr Nicks made a smaller version of the Fastest Shed, called Freddy the Sheddy, for children, and has also published a children’s book.

‘Ghost ship’ tours of moored cruise ships

A British man is offering ‘ghost ship’ tours of the empty cruise ships moored in the English Channel amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Paul Derham, who worked on cruise ships for 27 years, said the business has proven unexpectedly popular. Derham started using his expertise to give 2.5-hour “ghost ship” tours, in which he takes tourists as close as 160 feet to the empty vessels.

There was much interest in his tours, which quickly became booked solid. Some passengers have been devoted cruise fans who saw the tour as an opportunity to revisit their previous vacations.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 26th, 2020