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Blackpool is tacky. I don't care what the tourist board try to tell us, in my view Blackpool is tacky. And all the better for it in my opinion.

Blackpool is littered with arcades and amusements. The biggest one is Corel Island, near the tower. Many sideshows as well as electronic "Super Prize Bingo" and gambling machines are in there. However, it also boats a few unusual attractions. There is a monorail going around a section of the arcade, and then there is their ghost train.

It costs extra, but not too much; nothing to break the bank and it's usually well worth the payment. You can't miss it - there are big illuminated signs hung on a themed crumbling brick wall, that certainly looks sinister. Rather strangely you have to get a special token from a machine before you then insert that very same token into a turnstile that is literally right next to it. Having battled through the turnstile, you enter up a thin flight of stairs and through some very nice animated scenes guaranteed to get the adrenaline flowing to the upstairs balcony station.

There is not platform as such, just a rail where the cars come through. This is all very nicely themed and a credit to the ride, giving a lovely view (if there can be such a thing) of the whole arcade. This does not stretch to the cars themselves though, which are absolutely dreadful. They look like something out of a travelling ghost train - small, noisy, rough, barely big enough to fit two in and they are brightly coloured with an ugly face at the front of each one. They don't particularly fit in with the so far delicate theming.

The ride is nicely themed throughout, and dark dead spots ala Alton Towers' late Haunted House are infrequent. However, the ride does not skirt around it's reason for being either. It is not here to astound you with amazing effects, just to keep making you jump, and by golly does it go hell for leather to do it. It's probably the largest ratio of "jump" effects for such a small ride area and duration then any other similar ride in the UK.

Every time one spider or witch pops out at you, there is soon another two or three all coming from different directions and this ride keeps the scares coming quicker then any other similar ride I have ridden. Every so often you go out through some doors, before entering a new section. All too soon, the ride is over - but it is worth the entrance fare, and considering it is not placed in a theme park of any description, it is a nice example of a ride that scares you, then spits you out. Recommended.