WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGES

CREEPY clowns, a blood-curdling butcher and other spooky characters could soon haunt the halls of a derelict Geelong distillery.

Corio is set to host a haunted house theme park that would deliver hundreds of jobs and thousands of tourists to the city each month.

Spookers, the operators of a unique, multi-award winning horror-themed attraction in Auckland with a reputation for thrills, chills and creepy fun, plans to scare the pants off Geelong in its first foray into Australia.

If a planning application submitted on behalf of Spookers by Geelong-based consultants Spiire is accepted, dozens of gory characters will haunt the halls behind the heritage-listed facade of the former Corio Distillery.

Spookers

Spookers New Zealand director Beth Watson confirmed the organisation’s plans.

“Geelong can expect a world-class haunted attraction theme park that will become a destination for people looking for fun, excitement, thrills, a unique experience and scares,” she said.

“Spookers is no carnival ride … trust us! With over one million visitors so far experiencing the Auckland Spookers, many of whom are Australians, we have decided to bring it closer to you to save you the travel.”

Ms Watson said the group was best known for its 16-year-old plus “full-on scare attractions” with most patrons aged 16 to 35, but also catered to family fun for children from eight years of age, and even seniors.

The plans for Geelong show two separate horror house experiences which would be joined by an additional set area dubbed ‘Disturbia’ across two middle floors of the four-storey building.

A two-hour trip through the attraction would include monster make-up daubed actors terrorising guests as they walk through a series of staged sets, with titles including: Butcher, Clown, Morgue and Jail Cell.

media_camera Staff will be trained in applying the creepy make-up.

A liquor license to provide for private functions on the top floor of the former distillery is also being sought, with a shuttle bus planned to run between the attraction and Corio train station.

The site would operate from Thursday to Saturday from 6pm to midnight, with hours extended to 2am for Halloween and on Friday the 13th. It would also be opened to private functions at night from Sunday to Wednesday.

And it could scare up a whole new industry for the city, with expectations 200 casual jobs and seven fulltime positions would accompany it.

“We will be looking to employ up to 200 part-time actors who will learn how to do their own special effects makeup as part of their induction, cafe/bar staff, admin and photo development staff, security and handyman/prop builders,” Ms Watson said.

The Geelong Advertiser can reveal the group passed over other sites including Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast as it searched for an Australian launch pad.

“Geelong interested us for many reasons — the Corio Distillery site in itself is certainly perfect for a Spookers, the building holds a certain presence of its own,” Ms Watson said.

“Geelong is close enough to Melbourne to enable easy travel for visitors and the close by train provides stress free transport options.”

There will also be scope for school excursions and special effects make-up training to be provided.

Figures from the Auckland site provided by Spookers suggest between 900 and 1500 thrillseeking tourists could visit a Geelong attraction each week — and more during special events.

“Once Geelong is well established, we will be looking at opening in other cities across Australia,” Ms Watson said.

The proposal already has the support of Enterprise Geelong, and the Geelong Chamber of Commerce.

The wider site at Lowe St is used for storage and office space, including by Cheetham Salt, though the area proposed by Spookers is not currently in use.