Here Lies Joyland – Kelly Luck, Fringe Reviewer

If abandoned amusement parks have not fully supplanted Victorian mansions as the premier venue for haunting, it is not through lack of trying. There is something about the empty leavings of a place meant for fun, over and above the melancholy of abandoned places in general, that really goes straight for the hindbrain. In WMC Productions’ short play, three teens break in to the long-abandoned property on a quest to confront the past, but get rather more than they were expecting.

The three explore the crumbling ruins, sharing stories of the place, drawn from urban folklore and their own deeply personal histories. And all the while, a fourth interloper watches unseen, playing a part unknown even to them.

The story is inspired by the sort of legends that crop up around such places, and dutifully follows the usual story beats. Good use of sound and lighting direction definitely adds to the suspense, and the ending has a satisfactory quality to it. We don’t get many horror plays, as a rule, so fans of the genre will want to be sure and catch this one.