Over the last few weeks Warner Bros. Studio Tour London has been inviting fans to step into the murkier side of the Wizarding World and celebrate the Dark Arts – featuring dimmed lights, Death Eaters and the Dark Mark – eerie! And last night, on Hallowe’en, this culminated with their spook-tacular event, Nox. This special after-hours experience for Harry Potter Fan Club members had plenty of treats… and a fair few tricks along the way.
Here are just a handful of our favourite moments from this most mysterious of evenings…
Floating pumpkins!
The Great Hall is arguably the heart of Hogwarts – it’s the place where the Sorting Ceremony happens and where the whole of Hogwarts can congregate together. So, it is always exciting to see it. Yet last night it was even more remarkable. From the moment we walked into the room we were mesmerised. There were over a hundred pumpkins floating above the house tables – decorated with a delicious Hallowe’en feast. Soon there were canapes circulating and we were treated to our first glimpse of the Death Eaters, who burst into the Great Hall and made their mark. And this wasn’t the last we would see of them…
Trick or treat
Yet before we dive into Death Eater dealings, we wanted to highlight one of the other fantastic moments of this experience, the trick or treat stations which were spread throughout the Studio Tour. At each one you could pick up a Wizarding World treat that you could pop into your cauldron for safekeeping – if you could wait that long! We know we were particularly excited to see which Chocolate Frog card we would get. Again, watch out for the Death Eaters – you don’t know where they might be lurking…
Death Eaters, Death Eaters and more Death Eaters!
Well, around every corner is the answer to that question. Dressed in the recognisable robes and masks which was the uniform for Voldemort’s followers, the Death Eaters patrolled every part of the event, interacting with fans and dazzling us with their wand combat moves. At platform nine and three-quarters, they processed through the station and put on display of strength – cursing the crowd and certainly scaring us. Then they thoughtfully stopped to allow the fans to have their photo taken with them… if they dared!
The most spectacular Death Eater moment had to be the one out on the Hogwarts bridge in the backlot of the Studio Tour. Under a blaze of green light and smoke, the Death Eaters stormed the bridge, performing magic and striking fear into the hearts of those in the crowd. We know we were rooted to the spot… whether that was due to fear or excitement is another question.
An unnerving stroll through the Forbidden Forest
Then there was the eerie walk through the Forbidden Forest – bone chilling! Each fan was presented with a lantern that strongly reminded us of the one that Harry had during his first foray in there. Once the group had revealed the password, the gates swung open to reveal the Forest in all its dark glory (there’s clearly good reason why it’s out-of-bounds at Hogwarts). Strolling through the misty Forest was not for the fainthearted and we saw all manner of creatures thanks to the glow of the lanterns. There were Acromantula, centaurs and even Buckbeak made an appearance. The swirling fog added to the atmosphere, and we felt as though we were transported to the Forest you see in the films.
The fans
Finally, what would this event have been without the fans? Everyone was clearly having fun and it was easy to get swept up in their excitement. Every person had made an effort for the occasion and donned their best Wizarding World gear. We spotted plenty of Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. There were a few Bellatrix Lestranges and we even spied a Rita Skeeter. The fans truly helped elevate this already excellent event and it was a thrilling and novel way to spend the spookiest day of the year.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Nox and can’t wait to see the future events from Warner Bros. Studio Tour London… well Christmas is just around the corner. Visit the Studio Tour’s website for more information about all the exciting things that you can see and do there.
If you fancy hearing about future events at the Studio Tour, keep visiting WizardingWorld.com or register with us and remember to opt-in to our newsletter for all the latest updates from across the Wizarding World.
