TOURISM AND BUSINESS STUDIES

UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

CENTRE FOR TOURISM RESEARCH

DARK TOURISM,

STUDY OF THE PHYSICAL AND PERCEPTIVE

ENVIRONMENT OF SIX DARK SITES IN LONDON

DOROTEYA MILANOVA

BA TOURISM WITH BUSINESS

W1292220

DECLARATION: This is the work of Doroteya Milanova. All the other

contributors are acknowledged in the text and listed in the bibliography.

Word Count: 13,262

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of

Tables…………………………………………………………………………………… 7

List of Marketing

Publications……………………………………………………………….. 8

Site Maps……………………………………………………………………………………...

14

List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………...

…. 22

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Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………..

23

Abstract

………………………………………………………………………………………..24

Introduction………………………….

………………………………………………………...26

1.1 Research Background…………..

………………………………………………….. ...26

1.2 Aims and Objectives…..…………………………………………………………….

..27

1.3 Approach……..

………………………………………………………………………. .27

1.4 Outline………..………………………………………………………………………..

28

2. Literature

Review…………………………………………………………………………. 29

2.1 The dark tourism

phenomena……………………………………………………..... 29

2.2 Origins of dark tourism…………………………………………………………...

… 32

2.3 Dark sites: What makes a destination

dark?..................................................... ……33

2.4 Dark tourism

types………………………………………………………………….. .34

2.5 Dark attraction, museum, exhibition

profiles…………………………………….. .36

2.6 external and internal features of a successful attraction or

museum………… …37

2.7

Marketing…………………………………………………………………………….. .38

2.8 The attraction perception

dimension………………………………………………. 39

2.9 Dark tourism

spectrum……………………………………………………………… 42

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3. Methodology……………………………………………………………………………….

44

3.1 Research approach……………..

…………………………………………………….. 44

3.2 Research methodology……..………………………………………………………

...44

3.2.1 Secondary research………………………………………………………

…46

3.3.2 Primary

research………………………………………………………….. ..47

4. Findings……………………………………………………………………………………..

49

4.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...

49

4.2 key features of the six dark

sites………………………………………………….... 49

4.2.1 London Bridge Experience and London

Tombs…………………….…. 49

4.2.2 London Dungeon……………………………………………………….….

50

4.2.3 Chamber of Horror at Madame

Tussauds……………………………… 51

4.2.4 The Clink

prison…………………………………………………………… 52

4.2.5 The IWM in

London……………………………………………………….. 53

4.2.6 Chislehurst caves………………………………………………………..

…. 54

4.3 Physical Characteristics…………………………………………………………..

…. 57

4.4 Perception and

Dimension………………………………………………………….. 61

4.4.1 Display and Vision among the six London dark

sites…………….…… 61

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4.4.2 Hearing and Smell…………………………………………………….

…… 63

4.4.3 Touch and Knowledge………………………………………………….

…. 65

4.5 Dark characteristics according to the spectrum

theory…………………………... 67

4.5.1 Approximate positioning of the dark sites on the spectrum

line…...… 70

4.5.2 Senses stimulation in relation to the level of

darkness……………..….. 71

4.5.2 Dark Product Display

Model……………………………………………... 73

4.6 Discussions of findings…………………………………………………………..

….. 74

5. Conclusions and recommendations…………………………………………………..

…. 77

5.1 Conclusions……………………………………………………………………..

…….. 77

5.2 Recommendations……………………………………………………..

…………….. 79

5.3 Recommendations for further research…………………….

……………………… 80

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………..

81

Appendix………………………………...……………………………………………………

89

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

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IWM Imperial War Museum

DT Dark Tourism

BTA British Tourism Authorities

USP Unique Selling Point

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my supervisor Anne Gramm for her support and help.

This work would have been incomplete without the intervention of Miss

Amanda Hone. She was a great source of inspiration and deep understanding

of the topic. Finally I wish to thank Alex for big support and helpful advice.

ABSTRACT

This study followed conducted and detailed analysis of six dark attractions,

museums and exhibitions in London. The aim was to understand the nature of

the dark tourism phenomena in successful sites in terms of visitor affluence,

profitability and general performance. The research combines theoretical

understanding and measurement of the darkness, and builds up observations

upon such statements. In relation to the type of dark side and level of

darkness, attractions museums and exhibitions adopt different approach 6 | P a g e

towards commercialisation and communication of the environment. The study

discovered that the approach towards death have different aspects and

perceptions. The findings revealed that dark tourism although related to death

might provoke different emotions and encourage mixed feelings.

The methodological model used for this research conducted an open

positivist analysis of existing structures and locations. The research is open to

interpretation and further suggestions and improvements. The deductive

(Brotherton, 2008) nature of this research has drawn conclusions from the

general material collected. Based on subjective as well as objective findings

this document has not set up strict patterns, but instead suggests techniques

used by the supply side in order to reach their organisations’ aims and

objectives.

Finally this paper addresses some locations and dark destinations, which

have provoked visitor interest in recent times. Whether their display is

following these social and ethical norms of exploring death and disasters is

dubious. This research recommends careful analysis of the ‘dark’ level

saturation and type of dark display before proceeding towards the display

setting. Ultimately the dark tourism industry in many cases is just another

product, which sells and attracts services and products through marketing,

targeting and promotional distribution for lucrative purposes. Using the model

proposed dark sites could carefully decide the use of elements such as light,

smell, interaction and noise, as well as souvenir production and distribution

for the dark suppliers to use in order to operate smoothly in the tourism

market, regardless the delicate content of their offer.

INTRODUCTION

1.1 RESEARCH BACKGROUND

Dark Tourism is not a new trend in the contemporary tourism, however as

observed by Lennon and Foley (2000) it is an expanding opportunity to create

demand for more tourism attractions, museums and exhibitions. In the last

fifty years some unlikely and aesthetic destinations with an unfortunate

background have explored the profitable nature of the dark tourism trend and

have become successful dark tourism destinations (Auschwitz, Ground Zero)

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(Novelli, 2005; Joly, 2010; Amin, 1994). Some examples of popular dark

attractions in the UK were the guided tours to observe the Battle of Waterloo

in 1815. People went to watch from a safe distance the on-going conflict

(Webber, 1992; Henderson, 1996). Moreover one of the earliest battlefields of

the American Civil War was sold the next day as an attraction site (Webber,

1992). A few years after the collapse of the twin towers in New York (result of

a terrorist attack), the building’s remains have become a successful lucrative

tourism attraction (Svenstorm, 2008). Other examples if tourist sites are

Chernobyl- 'the Ghost City' open only to visitors (Joly, 2010) in Ukraine, the

Killing Fields in Cambodia or the Paris Catacombs.

Museums, exhibitions and attractions where evidence of death and

disaster has been assembled are known as dark tourism suppliers (Stone,

2005; Hall, 1997). Moreover, their common theme of display is ‘death’; they

have different purposes and perceptions towards it, and present it to their

visitors in antithetic ways. The findings in this research will give a better

understanding of the specific situation, space patterns and underlying

dimensions of various 'dark' sides.

1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this research is to assess the differences between dark tourism

attractions, museums and exhibitions and the characteristics of the

contemporary dark display. In order to achieve this, the study will investigate

the following:

What is the 'dark' supply mixture in London?

How dark attractions market and promote themselves?

What their physical environment is like, and how does it serve the

organisation’s aims?

How they set the perception dimension and why?

What is the link between level of darkness and 'dark' supplier

interpretation?

1.3 APPROACH

Firstly the research will analyse the 'dark' offer mixture in London by

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analysing several types of attractions and museums. Then it will proceed by

interpreting their level of darkness according to the spectrum line theory

(Stone, 2006). Consequently, it will notice how the suppliers propose their

dark product to the audience, with reference to their purpose, mission and

dark saturation. Furthermore themes of exploration will also regard the

environment of the display, perception, proposal and message to the audience.

From the findings it will be possible to analyse the dark contemporary product

offered by the various suppliers.

1.4 OUTLINE

Chapter two will be looking at the dark tourism phenomena and popularity.

Consequently this would bring us back in time, when dark tourism was the

ultimate form of entertainment and amusement. To follow the literature

review will analyse the origins and history of dark tourism phenomena, and

the different types of thanatourism (Seaton, 2002). Dark museums, exhibitions

and attractions will be briefly defined.

Chapter three will explain how the research will be conducted. The

study will use three different qualitative research methods: participant

observations, ethnographic interviews and content analysis of the

communication tools (website, marketing publications (Clark, Riley, Wilkie,

Wood, 1998).

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 THE DARK TOURISM PHENOMENA

Life and death are an integrated part of our reality. People have been

exploring the meaning of these two crucial events throughout history (Starck,

2006). Many books, theories and studies have been conducted exploring life,

its origin, meaning and progress. So has been done for death. As an inevitable

part of our existence, humans have always been seeking death and exploring

it from a safe distance (Tercier, 2005; Dallen et al. 2004). The reasons behind

hunting for places of death could be different. People visiting cemeteries could

be motivated by a desire to memorise and honour deaths, others visiting war

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museums could be driven by a desire to learn about the past and share

collective memory (Keil, 2005). Moreover dungeon visitors could seek thrilling

entertainment and so on. There are all sorts of different reasons, which vary

from pursuing knowledge, memorisation, military, humanitarian or science

interests (Body World Exhibition), to purely fascination with death per se’

(Bockoc, 1993; Seaton, 2006).

For the first time the desire to travel to places of horror and death was

defined in 1990 as ''dark tourism'' (Lennon and Foley, 2000). It was noticed

that visiting places related to death and suffering for tourism purposes was a

faster growing phenomenon in the late twenty, century-early twenty first

century (Lennon and Foley, 2000). Dark tourism however is not a recent

phenomenon, yet it is seen by many as a growing opportunity for new

business developments as well as alteration for other purposes which will be

analysed later on.

Dark tourism has different definitions and names (thanatourism, black-

spots, macabre, morbid tourism and more) (Rojeck, 1993; Dann, 1994; Blom,

2000). Tarlow (2005) defines the phenomena as:

''…visitations to places where tragedies or historically noteworthy death has

occurred and that continue to impact on our lives'' (Tarlow, 2005:48).

But dark tourism involves more than only dark, sad, negative and horrible

events that have happened in the past. In fact, visiting the grave of a favourite

actor, singer or historical figure is also considered to be dark tourism, and

often is associated with positive experience.

FIGURE 1

DEATH AND CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

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(Stone and Sharpley, 2008)

Seaton (1996) argues that thanatourism is dependent on the traveller’s frame

of mind. The thanatourist is a person who travels guided by the desire for

actual or symbolic encounters with death (Tarlow, 2005; Dann and Seaton,

2011).

Stone and Sharpley (2008) have developed a dark tourism consumption

model (fig. 1) which is based on the concept that dark tourism is influenced by

both the society and

2.2 ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF DARK TOURISM

Although in literature this form of tourism was only defined in 1990 (Foley &

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Lennon 1996; Lennon & Foley 2000; Seaton 1996), people have been

travelling to witness it long before then (Schwartz, and Schuman, 2000).

Interest in dark tourism has been recorded since the times of ancient Romans,

Greeks, Egyptian and Mayas. The famous Coliseums, public human and animal

sacrifices and executions have attracted a large number of spectators and

participants in the past. There is not a certain period or precise time when

dark tourism started. People have always been travelling to destinations

related to death for one or another reason (Yuill, 2003; Lennon and Foley,

2000). According to Greek philosophers tragedy was part of people's life. They

argued that 'tragedy leads to self-questioning through the pain of others'

(Goldhill, 2004:352). They argue that by watching the misery of tragic heroes,

would lead people to better control and appreciate their lives (Goldhill,

2004:352). Aristotle, unlike Plato, thought tragedy made the citizen better a

man (Goldhill 2004). As Freud (1984) recognised, there is an Oedipus inside

everyone, where the emotional and the intellectual power of tragedy stems.

In contemporary western society (Lennon and Foley 1998) death seems

to be so surreal that people have a growing interest in discovering the death

and places related to it (Seaton 2009:531). Many authors have searched into

the very nature of the 'dark' motivator (Yuill, 2003), and some have gone deep

into the topic starting from analysing the perception of death in contemporary

peoples' reality (Wight, and Lennon, 2004). As a result of such analysis, dark

tourism was thought to be the 'new form of meditating experience' (Walter,

2009 and Harrison 2003:158), that creates an invisible bridge of interactions

between the dead and the living. This new meditative form of tourism not only

gives to the visitor a physical stimulation of the dead environment, but

through exploration of deathly a person has opportunity to build an

ontological meaning, and reflect on both life and death (Walter, 2009 and

Walter, 2005).

The growing popularity of Dark Tourism can be observed in

contemporary society (Winkel, 2001; Lennon & Foley 2000). Some criticise

this form tourism commenting that is disgraceful and unethical (Michael,

2003). However dark tourism could be important too. Through dark sites,

people can explore the darkness of our past, learn from the mistakes of our

ancestors and remember victims. Indeed they display humanity's past and the

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tragedies people have been experiencing. Death is an inevitable event in

everyone's life and travelling to discover it and learn about it is one of the

oldest forms of tourism in human history (Seaton 1999; Stone 2006). The

thanatouristic product is now being classified in order to satisfy the needs of

contemporary society and suit their wants through careful physical and

perceptive design. The examples which will be looked at are the practical

representation of such phenomena.

2.3 DARK SITES: WHAT MAKES A DESTINATION/SITE DARK?

According to the definition of dark tourism and Michael's (2003) criticisms

only places related to torture, death and disaster qualify as dark tourism

destinations. This is however debatable as many monuments and cemetery

(Miles, 2002) also are dark destinations (as well as doomsday destinations)

and they are not related to a horrible death and torture and can deliver highly

positive and happy experience (Blom, 2000). Some examples are the Pete

Lachaise Cemetery in Paris where Oscar Wide, Ghopin and Jim Morrison are

buried. The cemetery is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Paris,

providing satisfying experiences for the people who chose to visit it (Tarlow,

2005). Another form of dark site could be a construction or architecture,

which reminds people of death (Tanas, 2006; Rojek and Urry 1997). A notable

example is 'Bone Church' in Kutna Hora near Prague (Outside Prague, 2010).

The building decorated with human bones aims to remind people the

significance of life, and the inevitable death (Outside Prague, 2010).

So, what makes an attraction/site dark is not just horrible evidence of

death. Dark sites are places where evidence of death is presented. Recent

research argue that dark sites can be labelled as 'darker' (Auschwitz) or

lighter (cemeteries, dungeons) in relation to their perceived ideological,

temporal and spatial product features (Stone, 2006).

2.4 DARK TOURISM TYPES

Before starting the examination of the selected dark sites in London it

important to define the different types of dark tourism first. Stone’s (2006)

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suggests that there are seven types of dark suppliers: dark fun factories, dark

exhibitions, dark dungeons, dark resting places, dark shrines, dark conflict

sites and dark camps of genocide (Stone, 2006:23). He categorises the

thanatourism offer in relation to the dark product content. Sean (1996)

however subdivides them in five branches in relation to the death occurrence

and peoples' motivations. Sean argues that some people travel to watch death

(public hangings and executions); others travel to sites after death has

occurred (Auschwitz); some other reasons for travel would be to internment

sites and memorials (graves and monuments). In addition many others would

be driven by the desire to visit historical re-enactments (Civil War re-

enactment), where participants would attempt to re-create the historical event

or period in order to make the experience more vivid and graphic to the visitor

(Smith, 1996). Moreover, there is the dark tourism travel to synthetic sites at

which evidence of the death has been assembled (museums). Finally there are

the deadly fun factories (Dann, 1998): perilous places, houses of horror, fields

and fatality, tours of torments and themed thanatos. This simple subdivision

narrows down the most popular dark tourism attractions and gives them a

specific title which allows the visitor to choose what's more appropriate for

them and how the attraction supplier should design its product in order to

guarantee satisfaction.

The grounds for promoting dark destinations are different: cultural,

curiosity or simply new commercial opportunity and more (Trend, 2003).

Often misery and fear are being purposely developed and the death is being

exploited as a result of a new marketing idea in order to satisfy the market

demand (Fun Factories) (Wight, 2008). Often dark tourism is criticised by

society too, the dark display is difficult for a person to comprehend and

understand (Swarbrooke, 2001). However, the visitor should be able to decide

whether they like it, and would they tolerate it or not by analysing the

promotional publications created by the suppliers. Bearing in mind the

delicacy of the product type most suppliers have adopted an unwritten set of

rules which make the site socially acceptable (Sharpley 1999).

Ultimately the Dark Tourism sector could be seen as an open umbrella.

Dark tourism offers a number of different destinations, sites, exhibitions and

museums to visitors, whom all have their own perceptions of the place (Wight

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and Lennon, 2004). Death can occur in a different ways and therefore the

experience which the visitor would perceive will be different when visiting a

cemetery, or a concentration camp, or from visiting London Dungeon.

Dark sites tend to differentiate from each other not only in relation to

their different level of dark saturations, but also in terms of display, popularity,

layout, perception and marketing communication. Accordingly, Dark Tourism

has been subdivided in different categories, according to the level of darkness

and nature of the supplier’s mission (Krishenblatt-Gimblett, 1997). Given the

complexity of the dark tourism phenomena, the dark product has been

designed by the various suppliers according to the level of scene, the darkness

saturation and the historical background of the display (Stone, 2005).

Assuming that visiting ‘London Dungeon’ would create a different

understanding of darkness compared to the IWM is possible, although they

are both dark tourism suppliers. This suggests that darker and lighter

paradigm does exist within the dark tourism industry (Stone and Mile, 2002).

2.5 DARK ATTRACTION, MUSEUM, EXHIBITION PROFILES

During the long existence of dark tourism, not all issues related to dark

tourism have been researched and explored. London is experiencing the

benefits of the dark tourism phenomena through creating successful

attractions, exhibitions and museums related to death (Holt, 1995).

An attraction, museum or exhibition could be the reason for someone to

visit certain place (Lennon and John 2001; Lee 2002). Often people visit

destination just because the place is famous of having a unique and rare

feature (Harvey, 1996). The attractive force could have a very broad form and

characteristics. It could be a building, an open space attraction with natural

features; it could be the environmental or the constructional sense of the

place (Bocock, 1993). Ultimately a place could be attracting visitors with a

combination of environmental perceptions (Bell et al., 1990:27). Middleton

(2001) states that an attraction is a permanent resource controlled and

managed that would help to attract, entertain and educate visitors. BTA

(British Tourism Authority, 2010) confirms such statement adding that in

retails, shopping, theatrical, film and sport venues are also part of the

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attraction sector. Finally, BTA (2010) suggests that attractions should be open

public places where tourists, day visitors and local residents can visit without

booking in advance. In relation to these statements Yale (1998) argues that

such definition is too generic and a tourism attraction not only could be

designated, but they could also be non-permanent. For instance the changing

of the royal guards in London are an example of a 'regular' tourist attraction

and not 'permanent' (Yale, 1998:177). A museum on the other hand is defined

as:

'a permanent establishment in the public interest with a view to

conserve, study, exploit by various means, and public interest with a view to

conserve, study, exploit by various means, and basically to exhibit for the

pleasure and education of the public objects of cultural value' (International

Counsel of Museums, quoted by Hudson 1975).

Attractions, exhibitions and museums tend to be created in order to

serve society in different ways: to educate, entertain, attract more visitors to

the destination and making profits (Hudson, 1975).

2.6 EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL IMPORTANT FEATURES OF A SUCCESSFUL

ATTRACTION OR MUSEUM

There are several important elements for the functionality of a well

performing dark site. The first one is location within the city (Law, 1994).

Many tourists would visit London for its package of different offers. If the dark

attraction is in a central and cosmopolitan area it is more likely to attract

walk-in visitors who are not necessarily dark travellers. The attraction needs

to be easily accessible by foot, road, private and public transport. Moreover,

the ever expanding visibility in a display site has encouraged a coherent

'legible' set of symbols, messages and perception displays, turning the display

into 'talking environments' (Dicks, 2003). Harvey (1996) argues that the

success is achieved through getting people to queue up in order to see the

display offered by the site supplier and then report the experience to others

and attract further visitors.

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Presenting objects and displaying some visual information from behind a

glass is no longer attractive to visitors (Lloyd, 1988; Urri, 1995; Linenthat,

1995). The contemporary museums, attractions and exhibitions had to adapt

to technologically developed society in order to keep visitor affluence and

interest. Most sites have been supplemented through the use of digital

technology, which would allow the exhibitors to expand the communication

process (Hewison, 1989), and propose the content in more dynamic way.

Contemporary museums and attractions are very competitive for visitors. They

rely on distinguishing themselves in order to bring in their respective

audiences (Dicks, 2003). Being an important part of the life of the community,

they have to prove themselves and assure their place as part of city’s tourism

resources (Hewison, 1989). The market demands that museums become part

of the leisure and tourism industry with entertainment an essential part of the

product (Hewison, 1989; Trend, 2003; Freeman, 2005). Technology, audio-

visual presentations, and actors are some of the elements dark attractions and

museums have adopted in their product design.

2.7 MARKETING

In addition to the physical changes, sites have also developed an intense

marketing presence in order to compete with others, and attract visitors.

Museums and attractions are more veritable and more communicative (Dicks,

2003), involving and supporting more departments such as marketing,

advertising and promotion. Macdonald (1998) notes that museums, exhibitions

and attractions had to adapt to the respective market audience and to what

they would buy (Macdonald, 1998). More efforts are made in actions such as

building 'brands', identifying 'unique selling points' and establishing a strong

'corporate image' and 'market niche' (Macdonald, 1998:118). More features

have been added to the interior building design, such as shops, cafés and

interactive rides, in order to increase the visitor spending and satisfaction.

Additionally market segmentation is vital in order to create a display

which would match the audience’s needs and wants (Davies, 1994). Because

the audience is fragmented, the site should adopt separated displays and

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facilities for all segments (Lovelock, 1984). In museums, exhibitions and

attractions this is achieved by setting separated and temporary displays

(Brunt, 1997). Specific temporary exhibitions also attract niche markets,

which would increase site diversification, and visitor attraction (McLean,

1997). Finally, due to the competitive market environment of London’s

environment, dark sites have had to adopt a unique approach towards their

offering which would differentiate (Kotler, 1967) from the competitors.

Accordingly each one of the organisations discussed in this paper has

specialised in a different area of the ‘dark’ concept, and compete through

differentiation and specialisation (Kotler, 1967). The consumer is paramount in

the concept of marketing, therefore meeting the target audience’s needs and

desires while satisfying the organisational goals is the core mission to any

marketing strategy (McLean, 1997).

This point highlights the changes of the display introduced by contemporary

society and its demanding needs. In addition to the physical and visual

changes of the contemporary museums, dark sites had to adopt business

strategies and marketing concepts in their product offer in order to reach a

competitive advantage over others.

2.8 THE ATTRACTION PERCEPTION DIMENSION

Differentiating is a long process of setting features, elements and models

unique to the given site. Offering the visitor a satisfying experience could be

achieved in different ways. Law (1994) discusses the importance of perception

and emotional experience as essential dimensions of the tourism product.

Death, horror and violence are provoked by strong emotions (Ashworth, and

Hartmann, 2005), therefore, tend to remind a memorable experience in the

human minds. Being a passive observer of such extreme human actions make

the visitor experience feelings which vary from one individual to another.

Environment perception is stimulated by use of senses stimulation such as

sight, sound smell, touch and all that is around us (Bell et al., 1990) in order

to reproduce scenes and encourage emotions.

Before analysing the design environment in the sites it is important to

understand what the human senses are, and how they affect our perceptions

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and emotions. Along with the concept of perception the sites inevitably have

been designed to deliver certain emotions and sensations as well (Frey, 2006).

Sensation refers to each individual's sensory system and the way in which

they would react on the environmental stimuli varies (Law, 1994). There are

four elements stimulating the human senses: vision, hearing, smell and touch.

In addition there is knowledge which determines the level of fear (vital

response to physical and emotional danger) and emotions (Psychology Today,

2012). The four senses have impacts on the peoples' experience and they will

interpret the product in assorted ways according to the individual’s

perceptions and past experiences.

Our vision is a source of information which dominates the rest of the

senses (Dicks, 2003). Visual perception is highly complex and an essential

element of the product on offer in museums and attractions (Porteous,

1996:3). Darkness creates a sense of isolation and disorientation (Tuan, 1979).

Lighting is a one of the basic elements of the display settings. It not only is

used for illuminating the areas and the objects, but also creates atmosphere

(Frey, 2006). The level of light saturation needs to serve the display

requirements and aims. Lighting derives from different sources: natural,

electric, visual media, projectors and so on. This should also be arranged in

order to fit with the exhibition content and the design functionality. Each type

of light creates a different perception of the environment. For instance natural

light creates a freer and friendlier and more spatial perception of the

environment, and a connection with the external space (Frey, 2006).

Contrarily darker illumination, electric, flashing or coloured lightening effects

could provoke more oppressive perception of the environment.

Hearing could be perceived to be informatively poor, but an emotionally

rich sense (Porteous 1996:3). Hearing words brings clear precise information,

while hearing noises bring a whole range of associations stored in our brains.

New research has shown that animal noises encourage fear and influence

human emotions on a primal level (Vegas, 2010).

Smell sometimes similar to hearing produces memories and feelings and

some are vague (subject to personality: some people might like petrol smell

because their brain associates it to a pleasant moment, perhaps travelling).

Although in humans the sense of smell is not the best developed one, it plays

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an important role in environmental perception and emotions. Touch also helps

us feel and perceive the physical environment around us. Being able to touch

makes things appear more real: “The sensibility of the individual to the world

adjacent to his body by use of his body" (Gibson, 1966:118).

Also there is knowledge, which interacts with the human sense of fear

and emotions. People could associate objects, smells and environments with

their past experiences and trigger a certain positive, negative or neutral

emotion as a response (Psychology Today, 2012). Being aware of the tragedy

and the circumstances makes the visitor experience more intense and also the

other way round. The fear of not knowing brought people to develop

superstitions, which are the human attempt to create an illusion of

predictability in an uncertain environment (Tuan, 1979).

All five elements form the basics of the human experiences work as

ingredients which are then mixed and matched in different measurements and

characterise the very nature of the dark attraction or museum.

The attractions and museums analysed in this research have recognised the

importance of the environmental context and in relation to their level of

darkness have adopted such stimulation in an adequate way (Moscardo and

Ballantyne, 2008). Recreation of human misery and horror seems to be

contradictive; linking violence with entertainment even disgraceful and

unethical, and yet such dark sites attract hundreds of visitors each day. In the

next chapters it will be seen how these sites manage to do this and what are

their criteria and limits while setting a dark exhibition.

2.9 DARK TOURISM SPECTRUM

Before proceeding with the analysis of the dark sites, however, it is vital for

this research to reference the dark spectrum theory (Stone, 2006). Recent

studies show that the level of darkness is one of the fundamental elements of

dark tourism supply characteristics (Strange and Kempa, 2003). It involves

the level of darkness in the dark tourism site: the fundamental division

between death as fiction or as a tragic reality.

The spectrum line (figure 2) divides the ‘dark sites’ in relation to their

20 | P a g e

perceived ideological, political, temporal and location product features. The

shades saturate from the right (lighter) to the left (darker): darkest, darker,

dark, light, lighter and lightest (Stone, 2006). The darker shades of the

spectrum are associated with more recent dark sites and events. In the

darkest dimension are noted ‘places of death’ rather than places associated

with death (Stone, 2006). In relation to these it is assumed that none of the

dark attractions involved in this research have the darkest position in the

spectrum.

Stone (2008) suggests that product display authenticity, political

relevance and a shorter time scale of the event are all characteristics of the

darker side. In this context authenticity does not appeal to the quality or

experience of a place, but the relationship between the visitor and his/her

perception of the surrounding (Wang, 1999; Olsen, 2002). What the visitor

perceives as authentic is the link created between the displayed and the own

understanding of the world and society (Cohen, 1988). Authenticity is

therefore hard to measure. However Lennon and Foley (2000) suggest that

authenticity in the dark tourism site prospective refers to the originality of the

material displayed.

As Lennon and Foley (2000) stated the 'chronological distance is a vital

characteristic of the dark tourism destination'. The reason for that is that the

event might still be fresh in the mind of survivors and witnesses of the

tragedy, which automatically makes the destination ''darkest'' (Miles, 2002).

Authentic locations and original objects, displays of recent reliable and

political elements are features of the darker saturation of a site (Stone, 2006).

Meanwhile lower political ideology, inauthentic product content and location

as well as a long period of time since the event took place are features

attributed to the more relaxed and fun orientated dark sides. Stone, and

Sharpley, (2008) argues that lighter dark attractions are entertainment

orientated, meanwhile the darkest aim to teach and educate.

Some examples of a darkest product side according to the spectrum theory

are Auschwitz or Ground zero, where the issue is related to a recent historical

event and the topic is still very painful (Shackley, 2001). Here, the level of

authenticity (evidence in documents and pictures that witness the disaster) is

a key element of the display. Ultimately the display is located in the original

21 | P a g e

place where the tragic event took place is also quoted as adding darkness to

the attraction, museum or exhibition (Macdonald 1997:156-157). Displays

with such dark characteristics often aim to encourage remembrance,

commemoration and education. They are usually set for non-profit purposes

and might be established by larger organisations such as the government.

Places where dark elements such as death, misery and torture are a lot more

real (based on facts, documents and pictures of real people) have higher levels

of darkness.

On the other hand, according to the dark tourism spectrum theory,

sometimes places with dark content which appeal to human fears and

emotions, have little to no authenticity and are politically irrelevant. These are

the attractions created by independent profit orientated organisations in order

to entertain children and adults (Seaton and Lennon, 2004).

FIGURE 2

DARK TOURISM SPECTRUM LINE

22 | P a g e

(Stone, Vol. 54, No. 2/ 2006/ 145-160).

3. METHODOLOGY

3.1 RESEARCH APPROACH

The previous chapter provided a critical analysis of the literature available on

the topic. Along with the literature review in order to research the issue this

23 | P a g e

paper is concerned with an in-depth investigation of the collected data

(Cameroon & Price, 2009).

Literature suggests that there are different paradigms of research:

positivism, realism, interpretivism and pragmatism (Saunders and Lewis,

2003). This study used a gnostic critical realism and realist research

methodological approaches, where seeking systematic knowledge of the world

is analysed, but value that is caused by subjectivity (Gill and Johnson,

2002:138). Using a critical realism approach means that there is an objective

world, and the idea that our understanding of it can only be subjective and

never objective or definite. Findings are gained through personal struggle,

challenge and diversity (Pageles, 1982; Miles and Huberman, 1994).

3.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

There has been a mixture of research techniques used in order to analyse the

dark offer. Secondary findings have involved the use of books, journals,

reports and online information (websites, blogs and forums). Primary research

has included qualitative techniques such as observation and in-depth

interviews. The reason why qualitative techniques were preferred was

because they are more likely to provide a deeper understanding of the design

offer (Burns, 2000; Finn et al. 2000). Finally observing, communicating and

analysing findings helped to find associations and patterns (Gambril, 2006;

Tribe and Airey, 2007).

Qualitative research is designed to use systematic observation and

focuses on the design and environmental settings of the dark exhibitions. This

paper investigates the dark attractions features and produced perceptions

using several qualitative methods: interviews, observations and text sources

(websites and marketing publications).

The reasons why these dark sites were chosen over others are various. Firstly

they represent the intensity and the popularity of this form of tourism in the

UK’s capital. They all offer a dark product to their visitors, however in a very

diverse way from one another way. The sites share success in terms of visitor

affluence and touristic recognition (Merlin Entertainments, 2009). Ultimately

24 | P a g e

they all share rich history and heritage as a primary background. From a

practical point of view, all six of them are located in London and are easily

accessible.

3.2.1. Secondary Research

The physical characteristics of the buildings have been analysed by obtaining

a floor plan, and by visiting them personally. In some cases it was not possible

to attain maps due to ‘security’ reasons; therefore similar floor plans were

drawn. Maps reveal the design of the visitor’s path and how this becomes

more linear and restrictive within certain attractions. Additionally the

business missions of the organisations have been analysed through marketing

promotional publications, websites, journals and other media.

3.3.2. Primary Research

a) Observations

In order to conduct the research a visit was paid to each destination from

where it was possible to analyse the structure and the design of the sites.

Using a check-list (see appendix) each site was observed and analysed in

terms of the building’s physical structure and the different displays and

rooms’ atmosphere.

b) Interviews

To better understand the purpose some interviews were also held with

representatives of the dark tourism industry. The interviews were collected

using a recording device and with some notes taken during the interview.

Coding was difficult, and unsuitable. Nevertheless, Saunders et al. (2007)

argues that there is no coding system when analysing qualitative data. In

relation to this statement the research was based on a manual open coded

system (Neuman, 2003).

Finally, the research strategy used in this research is inductive rather than

25 | P a g e

deductive. Inductive research consists of theory building rather than theory

testing which is deductive (Phelan & Reynolds, 1995). However inductive

reasoning uses a different method than deductive thinking (Gambril, 2006).

With deductive reasoning one may have a hypothesis that is an observed

event, sequence of events and a conclusion (Gambril, 2006; Cameron et al.

2009). Ultimately deduction interferes with generalised rules (Hart, 1998:82),

relying on facts and different arguments (Gambril, 2006).

4. FINDINGS

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Observations were combined with interviews here. The semi-structured

interviews leave freedom to the respondent to interpret the question in their

own way. The interviewee is asked to think of the situation and draw

conclusions. The interview questions focus perceptions of the environment.

The core issues are analysed through six subcategories: physical layout and

mobility, sight, hearing, smell, touch and knowledge.

4.2 Key Features of the Six Dark Sites

4.2.1. LONDON TOMBS

The following findings have been based on 8 days personal experience within

the London Tombs experience. During the time being there were held several

informal interviews with the general manager Mr James Kislingbury and some

employees. From this experience it was discovered that the attraction is an

independent profitable organisation held by few shareholders. The general

manager was in charge of the staff and was also responsible for the smooth

performance of the shows.

The attraction runs shows every day and occasionally during their peak

times they are also run till at late night (Halloween till 11 pm). The attraction

has some degree of authenticity (original location); however, there is no proof

of actual death within the rooms. In the past London Bridge was unsafe with a

poor reputation, where many civilians have found their death (several death 26 | P a g e

bodies have been found during the construction of the bridge) (Kislingbury,

2011).

The product is designed to frighten almost anyone as there is a vast

range of the most common phobia elements (dark space, fake snakes, blade,

dolls and more). The entertaining aspect of it is to let imagination control

human feelings, and knowing that nothing bad would actually happen as it is

all false.

The London Experience and London Tombs have well developed infrastructure

and tourist facilities (Kislingbury, 2011). The visitors are always guided by a

member of staff and the duration of the visit lasts around 40 minutes (optional

exit before the Tombs is provided).

The attraction is highly marketed and promoted to the UK and overseas

visitors in numerous media publications: Time Out (magazine and web);

London Tour and London Map and others. Moreover the attraction

collaborates with several other organisations: Groupon, Tesco Clubcard,

Moneysaving.com, The London Pass, 2 for 1 London, Smartsave and more.

Finally the dark site is a winner of several dark attraction rewards:

''UK's best scare attraction for the last 3years'';

Winner of "The Best Year round Scare Attraction" (Scream Awards,

2008)

`Finalist in "Most Innovative Marketing" British Youth Travel Awards

2009 (Scream Awards, 2009).

4.2.2. LONDON DUNGEON

In 1995, 610,000 people visited the London Dungeon (Yale, 1998). The

product revolves around a story of London during its dark ages, and displays

this using an interactive, three-dimensional, interactive environment.

London Dungeon is a commercially orientated tourism attraction (main

reason for being is to create profits) run by Merlin Entertainment Group. The

design used offers more graphic features and almost playful atmosphere. The

attraction offers a wide range of facilities, infrastructure, technological, visual

and vocal devices which would enhance the visitor experience and make it

more enjoyable (check-list, 2011). In order to facilitate and regulate as well as

27 | P a g e

to restrict the length of the visit they have adopted a linear route structure

which will be discussed in more detail in the following chapter. The high

degree of tourism infrastructure on the outside of the attractions is also

designed to accommodate a high volume of visitors.

4.2.3. CHAMBER OF HORROR AT MADAME TUSSAUDS

Madame Tussauds-Chamber of Horror is one of the most well-known London

tourist attractions. Here only one part of the tourist attraction has been

mentioned, (The Camber of Horror only dark display within a bigger tourist

exhibition). The museum-style ropes and poles have been visited by over 200

million visitors since it began 200 years ago (Madame-Tussauds, 2011), and

with current visitor affluence of over 2.5 million people a year visit.

One of the first dark exhibitions in London was presented by Madame

Tussauds when she arrived to England from Curtius (France). The Tussauds

collection was presenting historic artefacts alongside some other wax figures,

so objects were purchased to go in the Chamber of Horrors. The exhibition

progressed by showing a story of a crime in 1981. This was the first recorded

simulation of a crime rather than being a real scenario for entertainment

purposes (Yale, 1998).

Ultimately they added special effects, lightening and mechanical spiders

to make the attraction more stimulating. The exhibitors came up with the idea

of regrouping the murderers according to the type of crime they had

committed and add decorative elements such as coffins, bars and fake blades

(check-list, 2011).

The exhibition belongs to the Merlin Entertainment Group, which is

probably why the features and the character of it remind of London Dungeon.

The building consists of upper site construction and numerous underground

rooms and corridors. The Chamber of Horror is designed to flow in one and

only direction for all visitors. The underground is reached by stairs from the

main Madame Tussaud’s exhibition (which is not dark). Their inglorious

aspect communicates to the visitor ''to be prepared for a trilling experience''

(Chamber of Horror, 2011). The dark exhibition might not be appealing to

everyone, therefore the building is provided by one other corridor which

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would lead to the exit.

4.2.4. THE CLINK PRISON

The Clink prison is built upon the original site of the Clink Prison. The site

dates back to 1144 making it one of England’s oldest prisons (Clink Prison,

2011). The highly visited attraction offers an educational experience allowing

visitors to handle original artefacts, including torture devices (checklist,

2012). The exhibition has been made even more credible and realistic by the

wax figures placed behind bars and under the torture machines. Ultimately

the product is enhanced by audio and sound effects. Visitors have the

opportunity to view and hear the stories of the inmates and Southbank. There

is not much to say about the design of the place, as it was not designed to be a

tourist attraction at the time. The narrow, dark and small rooms of the prisons

were designed to keep criminals out the streets of London. The path therefore

is simple linear and with not too many exits (Clink Prison, 2011).

4.2.5. The Imperial War Museum in London

The London IWM brunch is located in Elephant and Castle area. The museum

which displays war related artefacts, documents, pictures, objects, stories,

monuments of conflicts, death and tragedy is a highly authentic and reliable

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source of European dark history (Collections and Research 2011). The

museum contains the England's largest display of military artefacts, ranging

in period from the First World War to the present day. The first impression of

the character and authenticity of the display could be perceived from the very

outside of the building. In fact on the left side of the main stairs there is a real

segment of the Berlin Wall (IWM, 2011).

The exhibition starts with a display of war machines mainly from the

first and Second World War (tanks, rackets, submarines and small aircraft).

They are all located in one big round space right after the entrance. On the

left side of the main room there is a children exhibition ''Once upon a War

Time'' which is paid for: £5 (Collections and Research 2011). On the same side

next to the paid exhibition there is a cafeteria and a gift shop on the opposite

site of the ground floor. This first part of the exhibitions is more

commercialised compared to the rest of the museum.

Visitors have the chance to customise their visit and choose where to go

and what to see, which differs from London Dungeon where people were

walking into groups through the linear and straight path of the horror

museum. The Holocaust exhibition is one of the darkest displays in the

museum, and it is not advisable for people under 14 focusing on the Jewish

persecution in Europe during the Second World War.

The exhibition's layout starts with written testimonials of people's and

religious believes about the 'danger' Jewish people were for Europe. The

evidence stretches to vocal testimonial by showing a video of Hitler himself

and his speeches in front of the German population. Following the path, the

display becomes even more visually saturated (people’s pictures, objects,

symbols). On display are medical tables, real shoes from the concentration

camps, and a reconstruction of the inside of the trains people were

transported to the concentration camps. The next room presents a model of

Auschwitz. A record of survivors plays in the background of the room

(checklist, 2012) while visitors are allowed to go inside, touch and spend some

time if they want to, or sit down and listen to the victim’s stories. The display

continues onto 'inside the camp experience'. Clothes, shoes, cookery and other

belongings of the imprisoned people were collected and displayed here. The

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exhibition ends with a long list of names of people who lost their lives in the

camps across Europe.

The museum measures their success in many different ways:

‘visitor figures, income, profile raising, media coverage, development of

museum audiences etc’ (Gilbert, 2012).

4.2.6. CHISLEHURST CAVES

The caves of Chislehurst are a deep and very ancient man made set of tunnels

located in the south-east of London: The 20 mile cave systems are believed to

be around 8,000 years old. According to scientific findings there are

reminders from Saxon, Druid and Roman civilizations. Chislehurst caves

therefore are rich in history and many different activities were held in its cold

dark underground. The caves were initially dug for the generous amount of

chalk in the ground used in the production of lime, as well as brick making for

the building purposes (Chislehurst caves, 2010). Several researches have

concluded that the caves were used for human sacrifices in the oldest parts of

the site. Other believes suggests that there is paranormal presence too. In the

most recent history the site used to host people during the Second World War.

The site visual display (wax figures, beds) represents the human presence in

the caves during the Blitz (checklist, 2012).

The underground is today open to tourist to explore with an experienced

guide. The caves offer a thrilling and educative experience. The attraction’s

aim is to make profits in a long term. They measure their success in terms of

visitor affluence and profits (Terry, 2011).

To conclude this section it can be said that the dark supply in London is a well-

developed and diversified sector of the tourism industry in the city.

Nevertheless many more dark suppliers are available in London: Jack the

Ripper or Ghost Tours; The Brain Exhibition; DT Hotels; DT walks, and so on.

The organisational purposes and missions have been summarised in

table 1 (see list of marketing publications p.6). Additionally promotional 31 | P a g e

publications and visual material are presented in 'marketing publication'

section at the end of this paper.

4.3. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

While the previous section analysed the general aspects and missions of the

various sites, the following paragraph will aim to look deeper into the physical

design of the buildings. The physical place hosting the exhibition, attraction or

museum could be the original place where the event took place (Clink Prison),

or it could be purpose built (Imperial War Museum). In addition to the original

building design, a team of designers decide the internal path and mobility.

Their style of set and layout reflect the character, purpose and aims. Gilbert

(2012) suggests that in any exhibition the design will prompt certain feelings.

These are often determined by the nature of the display. The senior exhibition

manager suggests here that the exhibition layout depends on the type of

product rather than organisational wants.

The entrance space in many of the visited dark sites was brighter and

spacious compared to the rest of the building. For instance in the Imperial

War Museum, the ground floor consists of a wide open space from where the

visitor can choose their path. The luminosity is well saturated throughout the

whole entry space. Gilbert (2012) recommends that by providing this

atmosphere the museum wants to create a welcoming environment for visitors

as soon as they enter the building:

‘This is achieved through staff, graphics, decorations and lighting. The main

atrium space containing the large exhibits was intended to provide a strong

visual impact for visitors when they first enter the museum.’

A similar welcome effect was used by Clink Prison, Madame Tussauds and

Chamber of Horror and Chislehurst Caves: the brighter, open space.

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Before progressing towards the darkest areas the sites usually warn the

visitors using different methods. These could include signs or symbols (child

experimentation table in the Holocaust exhibition symbolically warns the

visitors that they are for about to enter a more saturated dark area), (Howsen,

2012). Other sites use verbal communication (before entering London Tombs).

Finally a physical separation (by doors, stares or panels) is a sign of dividing

the areas from one dimension to another.

New musicological designers who have applied freedom of access can be

seen as reflecting upon what they feel are the needs, wants and expectations

of the visitor. Linearity is very limited in some attractions such as the London

Dungeon, London Experience and Chamber of Horror. Inside the Chamber of

Horror, for instance, there is a lack of free exploration within the building, and

this is a direct result of the way in which the basement site was made: as

categorically linear way as possible. Similarly the London Experience and the

London Tombs have a one way corridor path conducted by a number of

different guides (actors) along the way. The reason for this is to be able to

accommodate large number of visitors (see map). On busy days there is one

actor in each corridor who takes over the visitor group and conducts them as

quickly as possible, so the next group can come through (Kryonika, 2011). In

terms of architectural interaction the building is somewhat limited and people

cannot choose a highly customised route. Chislehurst Caves have a big space,

which could be potentially freely explored by the visitors. However due to the

huge size of the underground and lack of visibility and other infrastructure

facilities inside, not many would choose not to follow the experienced guide

conducting the visit (Terry, 2011).

While these sites are very limited in terms of free exploration and mobility

during the visit, the Imperial War Museum and the Clink Prison offer a lot

more freedom of exploration and time availability inside the site. Visitors are

free to customise their experience by deciding which path to take and which

room to visit. They have the opportunity to ask information along the way from

one of the many museum curators or read to information boards present along

the way. The dark site offers to everyone a lighter war experience to progress

33 | P a g e

further up to a more detailed and darker evidence of death during war times.

In addition to offer visitors a positive and welcome initial impact, the contrast

between the ground floor and the rest of the dark exhibitions would also help

to maximise the ‘horror’ impact of the darker exhibitions (Howsen, 2012). On

the ground floor there is a lot of freedom of mobility, while this becomes more

restricted and linear in the Holocaust exhibition. Gilbert (2012) suggested

that:

‘’Each exhibition is looked at individually at the design stage. Depending on

the narrative of the exhibition we decide how best to present this to visitors,

this will determine whether we agree a linear route or a more free flowing

exhibition’’.

This recommends that there is a link between the nature of the exhibition and

the physical set. From several observations it could be suggested and

concluded that the darker product would require more straight forward linear

path which would involve the visitor more closely with the display.

In some sites the linearity was encouraged by the suppliers for another

purpose too: to increase visitor flow and minimise time circulation. This would

allow higher visitor capacity and consequently more profits too (Mears, 2011).

This characteristic was mainly noted in highly commercialised dark

attractions such as London Dungeon, London Experience and Chamber of

Horror. Here little or none recreational facilities were available. These

attractions offer no space for people to stop and look around for longer. In fact

the space's profitability was related to the time and space. More visitors

consuming less time within the attraction would open more space for new

visitors to enter (Mears, 2011). On a busy day London Experience would have

a group of around ten visitors every twenty minutes. These groups would

never meet (Kryonica, 2011).

In conclusion to this point it can be said that the organisation’s purpose,

mission and needs are main elements in determining the structural design.

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These concerns are founded in things such as the specific type of museum in

question, and the way in which the market demand has influenced and

constructed the conscious orientation of the design team. Dark attractions

tend to have more structured and linear routes, which could allow high visitor

circulation throughout the day. When one of the mission statements of the

organisation states ‘make profits’, then the physical design of the sites tends

to be as space productively as possible. Meanwhile organisations which states

‘educational’ as one of the main statements of their missions tend to offer

more freedom of internal and external mobility.

4.4. PERCEPTION AND DIMENSION

4.4.1. Display and Vision among the Six London Dark Sites

In the contemporary society, display has become increasingly prominent for

both attractions and exhibitions. Visitors will research through the media and

visual information in order to decide whether they want to visit (Mears, 2011).

The visual information communicates the type of site, the level of dark

saturation, and the kind of experience the visitors should expect from it

(Mears, 2011).

London Experience and London Dungeon display their product in a

visually interactive way making it appear more dynamic and exiting. Instead

of locking the medieval clothes and object behind glasses, they have

incorporated them into the environment. The whole visual display becomes

part of a recreated reality. No single object (in the attractions) is in a formal

display frame presented, but scenes, landscapes, faces, characters and actions

are recreated.

The ‘darker’ areas of the (London Tombs, Chamber of Horror, some areas of

the Clink Prison) attractions use stimulating light and colour effects. Flashing 35 | P a g e

light tends to discomfort a person’s sensations and leads to disorientation and

possible rise in the perceiver’s emotions (Hone, 2011). In the attempt to

create fearful feeling has been enhanced by displaying revolting for the

contemporary society elements such as fake blade, silicon masks, was figures

with missing heads or legs, fake snakes, spiders and human bones. In London

Tombs light is low, while in London Dungeon the sight is restricted (in some

rooms to the minimum), provoking emotional reactions (Hone, 2011).

While areas or sites, which aim to recreate the environment (IWM, Chislehurst

Caves, parts of London Dungeon, London Experience and Clink Prison), rather

than to provoke strong emotions tend to use light which would have been used

at the time of the ‘dark’ historical moment. Chislehurst Caves use original gas

lamps as it was during the blitz, to then use no light at all, during the more

remote and ancient ages. During the first part of the display the attraction

illuminates the underground with additional electric lights, where visitors can

visualise the evidence of people living in the undergrounds during the Blitz. In

the second part of the walk however visitors are asked to give their candles

away and remind in the complete darkness for several minutes. The complete

lack of light, feels highly uncommon to the contemporary person, which also

provokes mixed feelings (Hone, 2011).

The lower light in the IWM had different functions:

‘’Light is used in two ways, to create an appropriate atmosphere with in

exhibition but also to control environmental conditions for the exhibits on

display. The lighting in the Holocaust exhibition does both these things.”

(Gilbert, 2012).

Finally sight is confined by the speed of the movement. In London Tombs

people have been asked to hold to each other and walk fast while crossing the

straining linear path (author participation). While in London Dungeon visitors

are often put on fast moving rides which disorientate the person and limit

him/her from observing the environment. Sight limitation and disorientation

do increase the thrilling feelings, rice blade pressure and adrenaline which

appeals to younger audience (Hone, 2011)

The Clink Prison offers the chance to see the prison building and read

36 | P a g e

literature material attached to the walls. Visualising the environment here has

an important value as the purpose of the product is to educate rather than to

provoke feelings (Hone, 2011).

In conclusion to this point it could be said that vision has an important

element in the perception of the display of a dark site. The amount of visibility

and light characterise not only the physical appearance of the display, but it

also transmit moods and feelings. The presence of light can stimulate certain

experiences and provoke mixed feelings. It could be suggested that lighter

dark sites use light as an additional senses stimulation tool in order to deliver

strong experiences and feelings. People perceive those in a different way from

one another. However the majority claims to feel ‘scared’ (Mears; Hone,

2011). In darker attractions use of light effects is much more restricted than

in the lighter ones.

4.4.2. Hearing and Smell

It has been noted that these two senses are also been regulated by the six

dark sites visited. Hearing plays an important element of the contemporary

museum, attraction or exhibition product offer. In the lighter attractions such

as London Bridge and London Tombs as well as parts of the Camber of Horror,

audio elements are highly encouraged and stimulated. Nevertheless recorded

screaming, opening old doors, whispers and banging noises have been

recorded and played out by sound systems throughout the buildings. The

volume is high to the point to discomfort most visitors (Hone, 2011). The

sound included human screaming, animal noises, animal cry, banging doors

and other commonly irritating noises.

Contrarily the noise in the Imperial War Museum is kept low. On the

ground floor the visitor could only hear pleasant noise coming from the coffee

shop and the moderate tone of the other visitors’ conversations and

comments. Meanwhile the top floor exhibition is absent from visitors voices,

the only sound comes from recorded speeches by politicians, and whispers of

real victim testimonials. Sarah Gilbert defines the sound information as a:

“Method of interpretation. We find that our visitors are interested to hear first-

37 | P a g e

hand accounts from people who actually experienced the topic that we are

presenting.” (Gilbert, 2012).

During the visit in the scary attractions it was noted a strong specific

unpleasant smell. It was almost identical in London Dungeon and London

Experience. It fit the product character quite well, as the combination of what

was seen and what was heart was also possible to smell. The heavy, smoky and

pungent smell was not recommended to asthmatic visitors (Kryonica, 2011).

The thought that the smell was encouraged and created on purpose in the

attractions was turned down by Kryonica (2011). She said that these were the

'natural' odours of the underground, substantiated by the traffic pollution and

the nearby rail way dust. The unwilling smell factor contributes to the rising

emotions in the visitor perceptions at the London Dungeon and London Bridge

(Hone, 2012).

Meanwhile loud animal and human noises in combination with heavy odours

were encouraging fear and excitement in the visitor emotions (Hone, 2011), in

the lighter attractions and exhibitions, the opposite was the case of

Chislehurst Caves. There was, as well as the other senses, a complete absence

of smell or sound stimulations. There was a trace of a cold stone feel to the

intangible characteristics of the place but none else, which helped the

mysterious nature of the experience (Terri, 2011). The only sound came from

the tour guide voice, which at one point also goes mute, leaving the visitor in

an unusual situation. Smell in the IWM was carefully contained in some areas

of the exhibition (Submarine Experience), and absent in areas such as the

Holocaust Exhibition. Presence of smell in the Holocaust Exhibition there was

‘inappropriate’ (Gilbert, 2012).

In the IWM the different war experiences and events were not only

presented by collection of visual material, but are also supported by sound

records, making the product appear authentic to the visitor. As smell could not

be captures from the relevant time, the exhibitor curators have decided that it

was inappropriate to recreate odour, as it would not match the originality of

the display.

38 | P a g e

To summarise this point it could be said that sound and smell presence is

important to contemporary museums and attractions in order to communicate

an attitude and feelings to the audience. They make the product more

multidimensional an interactive. In lighter sites these are highly stimulated,

meanwhile in darker sites laud noise and recreated smell is unsuitable (IWM),

due to unwilling interference with the ethical and authenticity concepts.

4.4.3 Touch and Knowledge

Touch involves familiarisation with the environment and gaining a better

perception of the situation. Therefore being able to touch in environment with

low visibility could be beneficial to visitors. Even though the light source is

sufficient to analyse a subject, more credibility and understanding will be

gained when the person feels the environment (Hone, 2011). The dark sites

explored in this paper have had different approach towards the haptic

perception. Interactivity was very much available on the ground floor in the

Imperial War Museum and on some digital screens in the 'Cold War'

exhibition, and in the Holocaust exhibition (chairs to sit on, original train

carriage-possible to go through and touch).

“Interactivity provides an alternative way for visitors to learn about a subject.

With screen based interactive it also often gives the museum an opportunity to

look at a theme in more detail. Younger audiences respond particularly well to

interactive elements but they are popular with all age groups’ (Gilbert, 2012).

Interactivity is encouraged by Clink Prison site too, allowing the visitor to

learn and understand better the display presented. Although objects which

are not allowed to be touched are usually covered by a glass box or there is a

sign acknowledging the visitor what would be appropriate or not to do.

While passing through the corridors of London Experience Chamber of Horror

and London Dungeon it was possible to see (even in low light), hear and smell

39 | P a g e

the surroundings, touching was a lot more limited. The background objects,

sculptures and stenographs were pieces created for the exhibition purpose

and touching could damage or misplace them (Kryonica, 2011). Additionally

the feel of the non-authentic (fake) materials and objects would decay the

visitor illusion (Hone, 2012), and growing emotional storm. Finally, due to the

limited time available in London Dungeon and Tombs, visitors have little

opportunity to explore the surrounding.

Knowledge in this contest would refer to the peoples’ perceptions of the

environment and how some elements have a stronger impact on them due to

their familiarity with the circumstances of the display. For example people

who had studied the Second World War would perceive the information

displayed as more darkly saturated than people who have not (Hone, 2012).

Nevertheless medieval murderers and diseases such as the plaque are

presented by dark lighter sites. Perhaps the disconnection of those deaths

with the contemporary world characterises them as ‘lighter content’. World

conflicts which have affected directly many family members of the visitors

tends to be perceived as a lot more horrifying, although it probably took less

victims than the plaque (Howsen, 2012; Hone, 2011). A person who is afraid

of darkness would be more terrified in the Chislehurst Caves than in IWM, or

perhaps a person is claustrophobic would feel stronger emotions in the

London Tombs. An American citizen could possibly feel stronger feelings

seeing a piece of the Twin Towers after 9/11 attack rather than a visitor who

had never been in America, and have no connection with their culture, and so

on (Hone, 2011).

This point argues that the feelings experienced in a dark site vary not only

according to the type of display, visual, hearing and interactivity, but also

according to the personal perception, experiences, knowledge and personality

of the visitor. Using the personal and unique background, knowledge,

principles and experiences, people would interpret the display and the dark

environment in a different way.

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4.5 DARK CHARACTERISTICS ACCORDING TO THE SPECTRUM THEORY

The following paragraph will take all the evidence and findings from the

previous chapters and will try to analyse their approximate position on the

spectrum line developed by Stone (2006). The allocated places of the dark

sites on the line will be rough as within the dark sites discussed in this paper

there are different exhibitions and displays.

As the evidence supports the theory, the darkest product offers display

of original items from a death field, with short time distance from the event,

and engaging political and recent ethical issues as seen in the Imperial War

Museum. Some original objects could be also seen in the Clink Prison. This

site has also offers authenticity of the building (the original place of the

prison), however it has no political relevance and the time distance from the

events is very long.

London Dungeon, London Experience and Tombs, and Chamber of

Horror have no original display, the death related issues are long gone and

there is no evidence of death taking place in the actual buildings; therefore

they are lighter sites according to the spectrum theory. Additionally to their

inauthentic display, the sites are enriched with false artefacts and symbols

(fake blade, costumes, fake animals), which makes them more fictional and

entertaining than educational and historically reliable. London Dungeon even

use rides which makes the site even less learning orientated, and more

entertaining, especially for the younger audience. These characteristics added

to the show like tours and performances place the attractions on the lightest

end of the spectrum line.

Finally the Chislehurst Caves attraction is located in the original

underground tunnels. They have no evidence of actual human sacrifices (other

than the stone bed), and no real evidence of ghosts. The dark events are very

distant from the present, and have no political relevance. On the other site

this was the place which saved many lives during the blitz. It can be assumed

that the site is a light attraction with some elements of ‘dark’ character.

The following table summarises the sites features subtracted from the

personal visit findings (table 2).

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TABLE 2

Dark features check-list table

IWMClink

Prison

London

Experien

ce

London

Dungeon

Chislehur

st

Caves

Chambe

r of

Horror

Location

Authenticit

y

_ _

Originality

of the

display

_ _ _ _

Political

Relevance_ _ _ _ _

Recent

event_ _ _ _ _

Educational

Entertainin

g_

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Profit

orientated_

Where ‘–‘ means more ‘No’ than yes, and ‘ ’ means more ‘Yes’ than no.

4.5.1 APPROXIMATE POSITIONING OF THE DARK SITES ON THE SPECTRUM

LINE

Summarising the above findings it could be assumed that the approximate

positioning of the dark sites on the spectrum line is as displayed in fig. 3.

From this could be deducted that the sites analysed in this paper have similar

aspects and close to each other proximity, however they differentiate in terms

of market communication and product content. This research found that the

sites have similar display character in the lightest and in the darkest end.

Regardless of the product content and the marketing and organisational

perspectives the darkest sites use less senses stimulation, and provocative

elements. On the other side the lightest sites have encouraged strongly these

elements. The model following combine the elements of the dark spectrum

theory with the senses stimulation characteristics of the darkest and lightest

display (model 1). This model is suggested by this research, in reference to

the findings.

MODEL 1

APPROXIMATE POSITIONING ON THE DARK SPECTRUM LINE (STONE 2006)

DARKEST

LIGHTEST

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Imperial War Museum

Clink PrisonClink Prison

London Experience

and Tombs

London Experience

and Tombs

Chislehurst Caves

Chislehurst Caves

London DungeonLondon Dungeon

4.5.2SENSES STIMULATION IN RELATION TO THE LEVEL OF DARKNESS

MODEL 2

(a)

(c)

(d)

(B)

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Chamber of HorrorChamber of Horror

Darkest Side

Low senses stimulation

Lightest Side

High Senses Stimulation

The model developed in this research analyses whether the site is

characterised under the lighter (Stone, 2006) paradigms of the display,

(fictional, remote, entertaining), and then adds the sense features. The

senses stimulation here is highly encouraged by the supply side (loud

noises, fake dark iconic objects, strong smells, reduced vision, flashing

lights). In the higher of the line (a), museums, exhibitions and attractions

could contain elements such as special effects and even rides as part of the

dark display, taking it to a different dimension further away from the

concept of ‘dark’, towards the theme and entertainment type of industry.

Contrarily moving towards the left side of the spectrum line (c),

towards the darker end, the sites here would have a different approach

towards the ‘dark’ environment. In this dimension the dark suppliers would

have to deal with ethically sensitive product. The suppliers here would use

as little senses stimulation as possible (b). They would tend to display the

facts and the evidence limiting their interference with the interpretation of

the emotions and the feelings. They would tend to let the visitor decide the

horror of the situation by using personal knowledge and judgement.

Finally model 3 developed by this dissertation suggests some of the most

commonly met physical and perception characteristics seen in darker sites

and in the lightest attractions on the other end. It proposes some commonly

seen features in the lighter and darker sites.

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4.5.2Dark Product Display Model

MODEL 3

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4.6. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

One of the main motivators to conduct this research was to understand what

makes some dark sites use heavily dark material and being perceived as funny

and entertaining. Respectively it was interesting understanding the reason

why the connection between what is known to what is seen, and what is

perceived was so important for dark sites to understand in order to fit in with

the tourism market and the consumer demands.

Managing dark sites is extremely difficult task due to the sensitive and

often disturbing content of the display. Therefore understanding the type of

dark product made them freer to use element which would stimulate the dark

experience visitors are looking for, and at the same time keep distant from

ethical concerns.

Analysing the six dark sites product offer, character and features helped

realising the differences between places which relate to death. Using the dark

spectrum line theory has useful to analyse the seriousness and the actual

negativity of each one site. Ultimately it was valuable in order to understand

the dark sites characteristics and level of darkness. What it did not explain

however was the intangible elements of the product which can be vital upon

the perception of the dark site. From the above observations, interviews and

findings it could be argued that the display set and the stimulation of the

senses are the main factors upon which dark site manages focus their efforts

on. Vision, sound, touch, smell and knowledge are seen as perceptual

ingredients which play an important role upon the dark site product offer.

They are used in different proportions in order to deliver an exciting

experience, and at the same time they should serve the organisational

purposes, and finally product type requirements.

This study suggested also that there are different dimensions of the dark

product. Dark sites managers should acknowledge the level of darkness of

their actual product and in collaboration with the dark designers follow

certain unwritten models of display. Sites with lower level of dark product

saturation (lightest) can free their imagination and stimulate senses which

encourage strong feelings and emotions in order to challenge the visitor. They

47 | P a g e

use historical dark elements in combination with contemporary horror

fictional stories, horror movies, and common phobias. They have obtained the

unwritten ethical allowance to play with death and fear, by not involving

resent tragedies and by not upsetting still alive memories. They are no

different from a reality horror show; based on dark humour and fantasy.

Although their dark and in some extent historically relevant content; London

Bridge, London Tombs and the Chamber of Horror are perceived to be the

lightest dark sites.

On the other hand, it is believed that darker sites offer the ugly truth of

the human heritage. The aim is not to provoke additional darkness through

the use of sense stimulation, but through the use of original material and

evidence. Finally, those who are driven in dark sites for meditation or life

philosophical motivations would possibly visit dark sites where the discussion

and the display of life and death are open and neutral.

In relation to the customer motivations and demands dark sites have adopted

a different product, which would reach a specific target audience.

Differentiation and uniqueness had been encouraged by the competitive

marketing environment of the highly tourist city of London. For this reason

London Dungeon, London Experience and Chamber of Horror all share very

similar motivators and organisational structures and missions; however they

all tend to differ, and offer a USP. They promote, update and sell their dark

product using strategic product innovations and product development

elements.

Moreover, this research discussed the link between the dark site display

and organisational purpose for being. Most of the sites discussed here were

aiming to make profits and increase visitor affluence. This suggests that the

dark content is used as a trendy tourist offer, which goes beyond the dark

message itself and adapts to the commercial and selling aspects of the dark

product.

The findings evidence the blurred line between the educational and

entertaining character of the dark sites. The dark museums, exhibitions and

attraction have adapted to the requirements of the demanding market and

48 | P a g e

have used elements which would make the unattractive nature of their

product attractive.

Many people wonder to what extent is acceptable the commercialisation of

dark product and to where the line of tolerance stretches. Many recent dark

attractions have risen in the last decades. Several of them are perhaps too

recent to be labelled as dark sites. Adding promotional features, selling

elements and interactive features to the display to make them more appealing

would be unethical and inappropriate.

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 CONCLUSIONS

This research ends with three different conclusions. Firstly, several different

dark sites were analysed and measured in terms of darkness following several

criteria suggested by Stone (2006). This was to analyse the type of dark

attractions referencing not only personal experience and customer reviews on

the sites, but also based on academic literature too. Using the theory and

qualitative research methods it was assumed that this theory was relatively

accurate and reliable. The dark sites revealed that they do have a level of

darkness which varies from one to another. London Dungeon, London Bridge

Experience the Chamber of Horror was seen as a group of dark attractions

belonging to the ‘lighter’ side of the dark tourism supply. They shared

marketing aims and organisational missions, as well as promotional approach

and own interpretation of the ‘dark concept’. The IWM was probably the

darkest from all six sites, due to the original display, the recent timescale from

the war events and the political relevance of the product. Chislehurst Caves

was suggested to be a light site with dark elements to it. This site was

important to mention as an example of an ordinary attraction including dark

elements to their product content in order to follow the market trends and

satisfy the demand.

Secondly, it was suggested that dark sites have different way of interpreting,

approaching and displaying the concept of death. This often depended on their

49 | P a g e

dark themes, product content, organisational missions and purposes. In this

stage was discussed the mixture of dark attractions, exhibitions and museums

in London. It was inducted that the expanding dark tourism demand had been

met by increasing dark tourism supply. The sites have death as common

feature of their product; however they approach the visitors differently, and

deal with the dark content in their own way. They all have specialised in

altered historical areas related to human misery and death. Moreover it was

seen that in order to compete effectively, they had adapted unique features

and selling points, introducing interactive elements, and provoking feelings by

using sense stimulation. The ‘lightest’ highly commercialised attractions had

lower educational aims, straight forward linear paths conducted by guides and

actors, which would facilitate quick visitor circulation. This would allow

higher visitor capacity, enhance space productivity and increase profit

generation for those attractions. Furthermore a linear path was also observed

in the darkest areas within the sites. This path design was set for different

reasons: to facilitate circulation; to minimise time spent in the darkest areas;

to allow the visitor to integrate better in the scene and time.

In addition to the physical setting the dark supplier is also concern with

creating certain perceptions and environments within the display. These were

achieved by encouraging sense stimulation effects. Using these in different

saturation could play an important role on the visitors’ emotions and

experiences. This research suggested that there is a set of rules to follow

when creating and setting a dark display. In relation to the type of product

and level of saturation, dark sites would display death and the surrounding

environment accordingly. Darkest sites would interfere as little as possible

with the display by adding recreated environment simulations. They would

tend to present facts as they are, rather than aiming to encourage feelings by

provoking human physical senses. Contrarily, lighter sites aim to incite strong

feelings and emotions by using different tools, which encourage the

interaction with sense stimulation and provoke people’s imagination.

The research followed qualitative techniques in order to understand the

supplier’s vision and interpretation of the dark tourism product. In many cases

50 | P a g e

however, such methods where difficult to carry out due the complexity and

busy environment of the tourism industry. Interview requests were often

declined by the attraction managers. Some others declined to provide any

type of internal marketing information (London Dungeon). Ultimately it was

difficult to obtain maps from the sites due to ‘security reasons’. Because of

these and other obstacles, this fields needs to be ultimately researched and

investigated in order to fully understand the psychology behind the dark

tourism supply sites.

5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

The next generation public displays tend to become more interactive,

engaging, emotional and exiting. Dark heritage on display has transformed its

aspect through use of technology, sense stimulation and better understanding

of peoples' motivations and desires. Dark sites should not only satisfy and

anticipate visitors’ wants in order to succeed, but also should respect ethical

and social norms, which restrict the intense interpretation of the dark

product. Successful sites have incorporated these tools in order to attract

more visitors, increase visitors’ satisfaction, and fulfil their commercial or

educational missions. However, dark sites should be aware of the implications

of the death related concepts. This research would recommend careful

analysis of the level of darkness, before proceeding to the design set, and use

of sense stimulation, commercialisation and communication strategies.

Moreover, the sense stimulation model could be used in order to reach

balance.

The second recommendation suggests that the dark sites purpose could

expand, and propose other uses of the dark displays related to contemporary

issues from the third world. Darkness and death could be reported by setting

interactive exhibitions, which would help wealthy societies understand the

difficulty of the world we live in. Simulating the lifestyle and the

environmental conditions in places such as the streets of Ethiopia or North

Korea in exhibitions, could attract dark visitors. They would visit driven by

various possible motivations. Interacting, sensing and perceiving the dark

51 | P a g e

environment would make them experience other, darker reality of the world in

safe conditions. This could benefit not only possible increase of visitors in

exhibitions, but raise awareness, create unusual experiences, and perhaps

help some people appreciate their living environment. Such exhibitions could

be also set by charity organisations in order to raise money for poor societies,

or disease research.

5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Further research needs to be addressed in areas of the perception dimension

of the dark display environment. This study was useful to introduce the idea of

relationship between ‘dark’ product content and adequate senses stimulation

within a dark tourism organisation. However, more needs to be discovered in

terms of senses stimulation and their use by organisations in order to deliver

the ‘dark’ product in a tolerable manner. The human perceptions are

subjective and hard to analyse. Further research needs to be done on senses

stimulation and their effects on people’s feelings and perceptions in order to

create a successful, satisficing and ethically correct dark display.

LIST OF TABLES

52 | P a g e

FIGURE 1 DEATH AND CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

FIGURE 2 DARK TOURISM SPECTRUM LINE

TABLE 1 TABLE OF DARK SITE TYPE, MISSIONS AND MARKETING

DESCRIPTION

TABLE 2 DARK FEATURES

MODEL 1 APPROXIMATE POSITIONING ON THE DARK SPECTRUM

LINE

MODEL 2 EXTERNAL SENSES SATURATION

MODEL 3 DARK PRODUCT DISPLAY MODEL

LIST OF MARKETING PUBLICATIONS

TABLE 1

Table of dark site type, missions and marketing description

Site Name Type Missions Marketing

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Description

London

Experience

Scary

attractio

n

aims to be at the

forefront of the industry

by ensuring visitors

receive an accurate

experience of what life

used to be like

throughout its extensive

history

‘’Welcome to our

Dungeon, come inside

and we will take you

on a tour through

London’s most

horrible history’’ ARE

YOU BRAVE

ENOUGH?

London

Dungeon

Scary

attractio

n

The world’s No 2 visitor

attraction operator,

Merlin aims to deliver

memorable and

rewarding experiences

to its 30 million visitors

worldwide, through its

iconic global and local

brands

‘’Heart stopping’’

Madame

Tussauds

(Chamber of

Horror)

Scary

attractio

n

SCREAM, you’ll need

to warm up your vocal

chords to ensure you

can scream loud

enough to be rescued.

But then again, who is

going to come to your

aid.....?

Clink Prison

Museum Aims to preserve the

prison and create

profits, offering and

educational and

entertaining experience

Why not explore the

prison that gave its

name to all others?

The clink Prison.

Imperial

War

Museum

Museum Our ambition is to be

the world’s leading

authority on the

interpretation of conflict

and its impact,

particularly focusing on

Britain, its former

Empire and the

Commonwealth, from

Information on

artefacts and history

of British and

Commonwealth

military forces.

54 | P a g e

the First World War to

the present.

Chislehurst

Caves

Attracti

on

To entertain visitors and

preserve the

underground by offering

an enjoyable family

experience.

A labyrinth of dark

mysterious

passageways which

have been hewn by

hand from the chalk,

deep beneath

Chislehurst

Source: websites and marketing publications (brochures, magazines, leaflets)

LONDON BRIDGE EXPERIENCE AND LONDON TOMBS

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CHISLEHURST CAVES

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CLINK PRISON

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IWM

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CHAMBER OF HORROR

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(All images are taken from different marketing publications, and websites)

SITE MAPS

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LONDON DUNGEON

TYPE OF WALK: SINGLE FORWARD ROUTE

Strictly linear floor plan.

Actors along the path.

Several site rooms.

No chairs, stops or breaks spaces.

(Manually developed map)

LONDON BRIDGE EXPERIENCE AND LONDON

TOMBS

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Little free exploration.

Straight hallyways.

Actors alonf the path.

One entrance for ticket purchase and attraction (A).

One entrance to the waiting area and gift shop (B).

More than one exit

Two floor building (ground and underground)

TYPE OF WALK: GUIDED, CURVED

(Manually developed map)

IWM

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A B

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Open Plan- free exploration.

Spacious halls and rooms.

Non-guided walk.

Several relaxation facilities along the way (chairs, benches).

One main entrance.

One main exit (several fire exits)

Four story building with underground floor.

TYPE OF WALK: VARIED THROUGHOUT THE DIFFERENT EXHIBITIONS

CHISLEHURST CAVES

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Strictly linear path (due to the complex underground space availability).

Some visual display along the path (dormitories, wax figures, art work).

Straight corridors with several larger rooms.

Strictly guided visit.

One underground floor.

TYPE OF PATH: CIRCULAR

(Manually developed map)

CLINK PRISON

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Entrance

History

Dark experience

Non-guided walk.

One main entrance.

One main exit.

One ground floor construction.

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Clink Clink Entrance

Testimonials

Clink Inmate time-line

Equipment

Paranor

Keystage 2 Kaystage 3-4

exit

TYPE OF PATH: CURVED, SLIGHTLY NON-LINEAR

(Manually developed map)

CHAMBER OF HORROR

Ride Restrictions:

Suitable only for persons of 12 years and older

Not suitable for pregnant women

Not suitable for guests with heart conditions or high blood pressures

A dark experience with sudden loud effects and strobe lighting

Live actors – do not touch

67 | P a g e

Wax figures of known people.

No dark content.Exit

TYPE OF PATH: CURVED

(Manually developed map)

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APPENDIX

Observation Checklist

Checklist: London Dungeon

Approaching the Building:

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Central location. Easy to reach by tube, bus and car. The attraction is located on

the high street. There is limited space dedicated to queues. The entrance is facing

the London Bridge High Street.

1. Does the building look authentic or manmade?

The building is as old as the London Bridge station. The building is part of the old

London Bridge underground construction.

2. Does the building inspire feelings? What kind?

The outside decoration and choice of colours suggest that the site has dark

character. The statues and fake fires suggest that the attraction’s content is

fictional and entertaining. The initial approach inspires mixed feelings. The visitor

is not well aware of the level of darkness of the site, however the decoration and

the staff makeup suggest that the experience will be intense and perhaps trilling.

3. Does the building have wide open space?

No, the attraction is quite long, but straight from inside. There are many small

rooms. Visitors are conducted in groups from one room to another. Inside the

rooms there are different dark episodes displays; represented by wax figures,

actors, animals and more.

4. Is it designed to accommodate large number of people?

No, the attraction cannot accommodate huge amount of visitors at once. Therefore

there are small group circulations every 25 minutes.

5. Is over ground or underground?

The attraction is mainly underground located.

6. Is it easy to find?

Very easy to find.

The visual messages inside the building:

Fake blade

Wax figures

Actors

Animal figures

Common horror wax masks

Old, broken or parts of children dolls

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Historical figures

Rides

1. What impression does the reception area give?

2. What is the luminosity of the building?

The inside is quite dark. In some areas there is flashing light, hard to observe the

surrounding.

3. Is the place clean?

The place was quite dusty and dirty. A visitor might thing that is part of the decor.

4. What sort of visual display is there on the walls?

Fake skulls in the walls, fake animals.

5. What kind of reading material is there?

In some areas there are signages on the wall for visitors to read.

6. How linear is the navigation within the building?

Very linear: visitor follows a tight corridor which leads from one room to another.

7. Is there a freedom of movement?

Very limited, almost none.

8. Is it a guided tour?

Yes.

9. How saturated is the visual information?

The visual display is very explicit. The attraction does not hesitate to show

detailed alaments of the human insides (on fake wax mannequin). Very saturated

dark display in terms of actors make up and clothing (fake blade, scarves, horror

masks on the actors’ faces)

10. What makes think that the display is authentic?

People are aware of the inauthenticity of the display. They however still provoke

mixed strong feelings.

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Hearing and smelling the environment:

1. Is the inside noisy?

Yes.

2. What kind of noise is there?

Human and animal screams, opening doors, whispers…

3. Is the noise recorded and then played?

Yes. There is a loud recorded noise on the background.

4. Is the noise authentic?

No. The voices are recorded in a studio by actors, or other sound effects.

5. How does the noise change?

The noise change in relation to the visual display in view.

6. What does the building smell like?

There is strong underground smell.

7. Is the smell pleasant or unpleasant?

Not particularly pleasant.

8. Does the smell reflect the type of dark side?

Yes.

9. Is the smell captured or is it everywhere?

It tends to be everywhere.

10. Does the smell fit with the visual information?

In some areas where there is a fire display, there is essence of fake smoke.

Touch:

Only some objects are displayed for visitors to touch.

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● Can the surrounding be touched?

The walls could be touched.

● Can the objects on display be touched?

Wax figures and other objects are not to be touched.

● Is touch being encouraged by the exhibitors?

Only in some areas.

Watching and Listening People:

1. How employees look like?

Dressed in historical clothing, ripped, dirty, bloody and untidy.

2. How they look at the visitor?

They give thrilling looks and smiles to the visitors.

3. How staff speaks to the public?

They act. Here they make socially unacceptable comments: eg. Actor to a visitor:

‘’You make me sick! Get on the ride now. I will send you somewhere…. You might

not return alive’’.

4. How the public acts within the building?

People tend to adopt the surrounding atmosphere. Many start to act themselves

pretending the be part of a horror movie victims. Occasionally they make jokes

and fun of the actors and the surroundings. Visitor comment towards another

visitor ’’ be careful someone will grab you from behind’’

Checklist:

Chislehurst Caves

Approaching the Building:

The building is easily reached by car or train. Large parking space on the outside.

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7. Does the building look purposely built for tourism purposes?

The underground seems real cave, however is has been digged by people.

8. What is the first impression?

The site looks family friendly. The entrance is bride, facing a clean home-made

food shop.

9. Does the building have wide surrounding space?

Yes (from both inside and outside)

10. Is it designed to accommodate queues?

No. No queue lines, but there is plenty of space for large groups of people.

11. Is over ground or underground?

The entrance is over-ground. The attraction is underground

12. Is it easy to find?

Yes. There are plenty of signages from the train station to the attraction site.

The visual messages inside the building:

Plain display. Not much design on the walls. There are several visual displays

along the path (wax figures, art work)

11. What impression does the reception area give?

Welcome and friendly. Day light allowance from the windows. Bright colours: red,

yellow-brown (from the wood furniture).

12. What is the luminosity of the building?

Medium. Natural light is available in the entrance area, supported by electric light

too. Inside the attraction there is limited or no light source. Visitors are given gas

lamps.

13. Is the place clean?

Yes.

14. What kind of reading material is there?

Caves functionality and history. This is displayed right after the entrance door in

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the reception area. There are some old pictures on the walls.

15. How linear is the navigation within the building?

The original construction is very articulated. In order to control visitors people are

only allowed is some areas of the caves. The visitors’ groups are strictly

accompanied by experienced guides at all times.

16. Is there a freedom of movement?

No due to the large scale of the attraction. People are worned not to go anywhere

alone as they might get lost. The construction does not have many infrastructure

facilities, fire exits of phones in the different tunnels (due to the authentic old

character of the construction.

17. Is it a guided tour?

Yes.

18. How saturated is the visual information?

Not much. The visual display on its own could have little dark impact. The guides

though use verbal dark stimulation (ghost stories, mysteries)

19. What makes think that the display is authentic?

The old character of the construction. Built 800 years ago for different to tourism

purposes.

Hearing and smelling the environment:

11. Is the inside noisy?

No.

12. What kind of noise is there?

Only the tour guide and those of visitor voices.

13. Is noise recorded and then played?

No.

14. Is the noise authentic?

N/a

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15. How does the noise change?

N/a

16. What does the building smell like?

Nothing, cold stone.

17. Is the smell pleasant or unpleasant?

n/a

18. Does the smell reflect the type of dark side?

Yes is mysterious.

19. Is the smell captured or is it everywhere?

n/a

20. Does the smell fit with the visual information?

n/a

Touch:

● Can the surrounding be touched?

The walls could be touched. The wax figures not.

● Can the objects on display be touched?

No.

● Is touch being encouraged by the exhibitors?

No.

Watching and Listening People:

5. How employees look like?

Casual clothing, natural looking.

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6. How they look at the visitor?

Politely.

7. How staff speaks to the public?

Politely, friendly.

8. How the public acts within the building?

Explorative mood. However they tend to listen to the guides’ instructions.

Checklist:

Clink Prison

Approaching the Building:

Walking distance from London Bridge station. The prison is located in the old river

side area. The entrance is small but visible.

13. Does the building look old or new?

The building looks very old from the outside.

14. What is the first impression when approaching the site?

The site seems to be similar to the dungeon sites. However once inside the

difference appears in several elements (more informative display, more freedom,

less actors interaction)

15. Does the building have wide surrounding space?

Not much, due to the prison original purpose of the buildeing.

16. Is it designed to accommodate queues?

No.

17. Is over ground or underground?

Single ground floor.

18. Is it easy to find?

Yes.

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The visual messages inside the building:

Many informative visual displays. Reading material, original objects in glass

boxes, torture tools (made by following historical literature descriptions), wax

figures.

20. What impression does the reception area give?

No reception area. The ticket office is facing the street.

21. What is the luminosity of the building?

Dark from inside. There are some flashing lights areas. The reading area is better

illuminated, however still dark.

22. Is the place clean?

It is dusty.

23. What sort of visual display is there on the walls?

Posters, Fake human skeletons, torture tools.

24. What kind of reading material is there?

Historical information about the Clink, the prisoners, the torture tools and their

use, the king of punishments and more.

25. How linear is the navigation within the building?

Fairly linear due to the prison purpose of the building. Visitors however have the

freedom to walk backwards if they wish and sit down as well, or spend more time

on the areas they like the most.

26. Is there a freedom of movement?

Yes.

27. Is it a guided tour?

No.

28. How darkly saturated is the visual information?

The darkness is displayed by use of fake representation of the human rests after

punishment. The prisoner’s conditions are recreated too.

29. What makes think that the display is authentic?

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The display behind glass boxes makes the visitor thing that the objects are

original. The torture tools seem preserved and are available to anyone to try. They

are recreated copies, therefore no preservation care is necessary.

Hearing and smelling the environment:

21. Is the inside noisy?

The initial part is quite noisy.

22. What kind of noise is there?

Human voices, perhaps the judges convictions.

23. Is the noise recorded and then played?

Yes.

24. Is the noise authentic (original record)?

No.

25. How does the noise change?

It goes quieted in the second and third room. Visitors are given the opportunity to

talk to each other, interact with the visual display, read and talk.

26. What does the building smell like?

Cold stone and dust.

27. Is the smell pleasant or unpleasant?

Not necessarily pleasant, this is however subjective.

28. Does the smell reflect the type of dark side?

Yes.

29. Is the smell captured or is it everywhere?

It is everywhere. It is not recreated on purpose, but fits with the attraction

character.

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30. Does the smell fit with the visual information?

No.

Touch:

● Can the surrounding be touched?

Yes.

● Can the objects on display be touched?

Yes.

● Is touch being encouraged by the exhibitors?

Yes, especially the torture tools.

Watching and Listening People:

9. How employees look like?

The ticket seller was the only person met during the tour. He was wearing a white

robe and make-up. He was perhaps representing the original Clink look.

10. How they look at the visitor?

He was not purely ticket sale orientated. He was not acting or faking the medieval

times.

11. How staff speaks to the public?

Purely normal to the contemporary society standards.

12. How the public acts within the building?

People inside tend to play with the torture tools, take pictures of themselves and

pretend to be prisoners for a quick photo shoot.

Checklist:

London Bridge Experience and London Tombs

Approaching the Building:

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The building entrance is not facing the London Bridge busy street, but the quiet

river street, therefore actors and attraction employees work daily on the main

street to recruit visitors for the attraction. The exit does face the main busy street.

19. Does the building look attractive?

The attraction is easy to miss as the building seems to be supporting the London

Bridge only. Additionally the back entrance does not help either. The exit is used

for promotional and decorative purposes as it faces the busy street.

20. What is the first impression of the building from inside.

The visitors are guided to the ticket office and then to the entrance of the

attraction. There are elements which suggest that it will be a dark experience,

with many fictional elements.

21. Does the building have wide surrounding space?

The Building lacks own surrounding space. The street side does not belong to

them; however the attraction promoters work on it daily. This causes several social

issues.

22. Is it designed to accommodate queues?

No, due to lack of space. Accumulating queues and visitors often block the street

path, causing issues for other people.

23. Is over ground or underground?

The attraction is mainly over ground. However the inside set makes visitor believe

that they go in deep underground (fake lift simulation). Many visitors never

release the fact that they stay on the same level. Instead some worry because of

the deep underground they have gone into.

24. Is it easy to find?

The entrance is confusing to find, if not guided. Along the way from the station to

the entrance however there are many signages, messages and posters guiding the

visitors.

The visual messages inside the building:

There are many visual messages and displays along the site. Computer generated

images of famous figures such as Sir John Rennie, Charles Dickens and Braveheart

himself; William Wallace.

30. What impression does the reception area give?

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The reception area is a small room between the gift shop and the actual entrance

of the attraction. It is dark, with several tables and chairs for waiting visitors to sit

down and wait for the tour to start. In the area there are some refreshing

machines and noises recorded and played out, in order to prepare the visitor for

the experience.

31. What is the luminosity of the building?

The luminosity is quite low in all areas. In the Tombs it is very low, characterised

by some flashing lights.

32. Is the place clean?

No, the place is quite dirty, which however fits the atmosphere of the attraction.

The reception area is however kept clean and mopped each morning. The toilets

are checked each hour by one of the actors.

33. What sort of visual display is there on the walls?

Multiple fake elements such as animals, human bones, snakes, spiders and other

objects sticking out the walls and the sealing.

34. What kind of reading material is there?

Little reading material in the reception area.

35. How linear is the navigation within the building?

Very linear. Visitors are allowed in groups and followed at all times by guides.

They adopt different historical personalities and act at all times. In the Tombs

visitors are asked to form a ‘human chain’ by holding each other and walk through

the curved corridor all together. There is no leading guide here, however there are

actors who interact with the visitors and aim to scare them, without touching the

visitors. They however tend to come very close to the human chain and make

‘zombie’ like sounds.

36. Is there a freedom of movement?

No. Once inside visitors are only asked to choose once; whether they want to

proceed towards the Tombs or whether they wish to exit the attraction building.

37. Is it a guided tour?

Yes. There are several different guides in charged for different areas of the

attraction.

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38. How saturated is the dark visual information?

The dark nature of the display is much more saturated in the Tombs rather than

the London Bridge Experience (first part of the attraction site). There are many

elements which make the display provoke mixed feelings among all visitors.

39. What makes think that the display is authentic or unauthentic?

The fake nature of the display and the actors’ costumes characterise the

unauthentic nature of the attraction display. They still provoke strong feelings and

experiences.

Hearing and smelling the environment:

31. Is the inside noisy?

Yes.

32. What kind of noise is there?

Human and animal screaming, fire sounds, banging.

33. Is the noise recorded and then played?

Yes.

34. Is the noise authentic (taken in real circumstances)?

No. recorded in studio environment.

35. How does the noise change?

Louder in the Tombs.

36. What does the building smell like?

Old underground heavy smell. In some areas there is a smoky odour.

37. Is the smell pleasant or unpleasant?

Unpleasant. Asthmatic people are advised not to enter the Tombs.

38. Does the smell reflect the type of dark side?

Yes, although the smell is not deliberately created in all the areas of the location.

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39. Is the smell captured or is it everywhere?

The smoke is captured. Not the unpleasant underground smell.

40. Does the smell fit with the visual information?

Yes.

Touch:

● Can the surrounding be touched?

Not in many areas.

● Can the objects on display be touched?

No.

● Is touch being encouraged by the exhibitors?

No.

Watching and Listening People:

13. How employees look like?

They ware medieval costumes and make up simulating fatal injuries and

bleedings. The actors In the Tombs ware masks too if they wish to look even

scarier.

14. How they look at the visitor?

They give visitors trilling looks and smiles.

15. How staff speaks to the public?

They perform at all times. Actors tend to say the same things to every group all

day long.

16. How the public acts within the building?

People tend to socialise and approach each other more openly. Visitors laugh or

act in order to comfort themselves and their raising emotions.

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Checklist:

Imperial War Museum

Approaching the Building:

The building is located in Elephant and Castel, easy to reach by train, tube, bus

and car area.

25. Does the building look built for tourism purpose?

The building does seem to be designed for this purpose. There are two big

cannons in the front of the construction symbolising the type of theme that the

place is concerned with.

26. What is the first impression of the building inside?

Very welcome atmosphere, good customer service and pleasant environment.

27. Does the building have wide surrounding space?

Yes. Wide surrounding the building park.

28. Is it designed to accommodate queues?

No, however the space is large enough to accommodate large number of visitors.

29. Is over ground or underground?

The museum is over ground (multi-storey building).

30. Is it easy to find?

Yes, easy to find and access.

The visual messages inside the building:

40. What impression does the reception area give?

The reception area is spacious, luminous and overall inviting.

41. What is the luminosity of the building?

Bright in the main ground floor area. Darker in the different exhibitions. Light

tend to go lower in the Holocaust Exhibition, Cold War and the first and second

war conflict zones.

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42. Is the place clean?

Yes.

43. What sort of visual display is there on the walls?

The walls are kept clean and clear. There are build shelves and glass box displays

in the different exhibitions.

44. What kind of reading material is there?

Documents, journals and newspapers, testimonials, letters (all original).

45. How linear is the navigation within the building?

Not linear at all in the ground floor. Becomes more straight and linear in the

different darker exhibitions; however the path is still highly customised.

46. Is there a freedom of movement?

Yes.

47. Is it a guided tour?

No. however there is assistance in each area.

48. How dark saturated is the visual information?

The visual information is managed in the different areas of the museum. The

darker by content and display areas are warned and separated from the main

areas.

49. What makes think that the display is authentic?

The pieces of the museum are backed up by references and place of origins,

therefore they are believed to be authentic (original).

Hearing and smelling the environment:

41. Is the inside noisy?

No. in some areas there is noise reproduction. This however is contained in the

relevant for the display areas.

42. What kind of noise is there?

Political records, machine recorded noises, victims and solder testimonials.

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43. Is the noise recorded and then played?

Yes in the relevant to the display areas.

44. Is the noise authentic?

Yes. All original records.

45. How does the noise change?

It goes quieter and lower in the darkest areas of the Holocaust exhibition. People

tend to keep their voices low and whisper. In the ground areas there are different

noises coming from people’s talking, the coffee shop and the gift shop.

46. What does the building smell like?

There is no smell. the building smells of fresh and clean.

47. Is the smell pleasant or unpleasant?

The smell is neutral an pleasant (subjective judgement).

48. Does the smell reflect the type of dark side?

Absence of recreated smell does fit the authentic nature of this type of dark

attraction.

49. Is the smell captured or is it everywhere?

There is recreation of smell in the submarine experience area. This is however

very well captured in tubes.

50. Does the smell fit with the visual information?

Yes. Visitor could smell the area that surrounds the submarine craft. Here

recreation is allowed as the display has a lighter character.

Touch:

● Can the surrounding be touched?

In some areas yes. Machines and vehicles are open to the public to explore from

outside and inside. Other areas are strictly not touchable. They are protected by

glasses.

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● Can the objects on display be touched?

Only some machines and interactive technological devises.

● Is touch being encouraged by the exhibitors?

In some parts.

Watching and Listening People:

17. How employees look like?

Wearing clean professional looking uniforms.

18. How they look at the visitor?

They are smiley, friendly and happy to help visitors.

19. How staff speaks to the public?

In a polite formal manner.

20. How the public acts within the building?

Politely. People tend to take the display seriously and not making jokes.

Checklist:

Chamber of Horror

Approaching the Building:

The building is centrally located in London. Easy to reach by tube, bus or car.

31. Does the building look made for tourism purposes?

The building was originally a planetarium, changed into a tourism attraction. It is

now famous for its wax figures of famous people.

32. What is the first impression of the building inside?

Glamorous. The Camber of Horror is within the wax figures exhibition. People

have the option to enter it following the stairs down or avoiding it by exiting.

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33. Does the building have wide surrounding space?

No.

34. Is it designed to accommodate queues?

Yes. There is a queue designed barrier separating walking people from queuing

people.

35. Is over ground or underground?

The chamber is located in the underground area of the attraction building.

36. Is it easy to find?

Yes. Visible from the high street.

The visual messages inside the building:

50. What impression does the reception area give?

Welcome, inviting and friendly.

51. What is the luminosity of the building?

Bright and shiny. The Chamber is dark and there are areas with flashing lights.

52. Is the place clean?

Yes.

53. What sort of visual display is there on the walls?

Some reading material on the walls. Overall they are kept empty.

54. What kind of reading material is there?

Historical material about Madame Tussauds, the French Guillotine and the

criminals on display.

55. How linear is the navigation within the building?

The Chamber is fairly linear, however people are allowed to stop and explore the

surrounding. There are no recreational or sitting places here.

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56. Is there a freedom of movement?

Limited, but yes

57. Is it a guided tour?

No.

58. How darkly saturated is the visual information?

The information becomes darker in conjunction with knowledge (if people know or

learn there about the criminals background, seeing them makes the experience

darker).

59. What makes think that the display is authentic?

The display is mainly unauthentic as it consists in wax figures representation of

real killers. Some objects are stated to be original (the guillotine with which Marie

Antoinette was executed).

Hearing and smelling the environment:

51. Is the inside noisy?

In some areas yes.

52. What kind of noise is there?

Loud noises of different origin.

53. Is the noise recorded and then played back?

Yes.

54. Is the noise authentic?

No.

55. How does the noise change?

It goes quitter in the prisoner display area.

56. What does the building smell like?

Neutral. Smokey in some areas of the chamber.

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57. Is the smell pleasant or unpleasant?

n/a

58. Does the smell reflect the type of dark side?

No.

59. Is the smell captured or is it everywhere?

n/a

60. Does the smell fit with the visual information?

No.

Touch:

● Can the surrounding be touched?

No.

● Can the objects on display be touched?

No.

● Is touch being encouraged by the exhibitors?

No.

Watching and Listening People:

21. How employees look like?

They ware clean professional looking uniforms.

22. How they look at the visitor?

Ina friendly welcome manner.

23. How staff speaks to the public?

Politely.

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24. Hoe the public acts within the building?

Visitors are interactive with one another and the objects on display.

Interview Topics

Open interpretation questions

IWM

Sarah Gilbert

● What king of feelings do you hope create into the visitors' minds when

they first walk into the building? The museum wants to create a

welcoming environment for visitors as soon as they enter the building;

this is achieved through staff, graphics, decorations and lighting. The

main atrium space containing the large exhibits was intended to provide

a strong visual impact for visitors when they first enter the museum.

How do you encourage such feelings? See above.

How does the visualization and lightening change further up the floors? I

don’t understand this question.

After a personal visit it was noticed that the light was decreasing going up

the floors. In the Holocaust exhibition, the light was low and heavy.

What was the idea behind the light setting? Light is used in two ways,

to create an appropriate atmosphere with in exhibition but also to

control environmental conditions for the exhibits on display. The

lighting in the Holocaust exhibition does both these things.

There were different smells captured in the different sides of the museum

(submarine experience). How does smell affect the visitor perception of

the display? Smell is used to bring an extra dimension to exhibitions.

Visitors learn and absorb information in different ways so this provided

another layer of interpretation.

Smell was absent in the holocaust exhibition or the cold war room. Was

there a reason for this absence? It is not appropriate.

Hearing was also encouraged. How does being able to hear testimonials

and noises enhance the visitor perception of the exhibition? Again this

is another method of interpretation. We find that our visitors are

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interested to hear first-hand accounts from people who actually

experienced the topic that we are presenting.

The noise was low and gentle, although not very happy. Was the noise kept

discrete for a reason? Which gallery are you referring to?

Touch was also encouraged. How being able to touch affects the visitor

perception of the surrounding place? What are you referring to?

In some areas there were interactive elements of the display. Interactivity

was very much available on the ground floor and on some digital screens

in the 'Cold War' exhibition, and sits were available in the Holocaust

exhibition. How does interactivity enhances the visitors' experiences?

Interactivity provides an alternative way for visitors to learn about a

subject. With screen based interactive it also often gives the museum

an opportunity to look at a theme in more detail. Younger audiences

respond particularly well to interactive elements but they are popular

with all age groups.

On the ground floor there is a lot of freedom of mobility, while this becomes

more restricted and linear in the Holocaust exhibition. Is there a

particular reason for this physical layout? Each exhibition is looked at

individually at the design stage. Depending on the narrative of the

exhibition we decide how best to present this to visitors, this will

determine whether we agree a linear route or a more free flowing

exhibition.

Would you describe the display as 'authentic'? I don’t understand what you

mean by this?

Would you suggest that the exhibition's content is politically influential?

Which exhibition?

Would you agree that the top floor is perceived as darker than the ground

floor exhibition, and such perception has been additionally encouraged

by senses stimulation (lower light, louder noises)? Do you mean the

Lord Ashcroft Gallery (top floor) and the main atrium (ground floor)?

And what do you mean by darker? Is this a reference to the lighting?

Does the product representation (the exhibition's design) aim to encourage

certain feelings such as: proud, fear, recognition, respect? With any

exhibition the design will prompt certain feelings. These are often not

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as defined as those you mention.

What does the museum aim to achieve? Our ambition is to be the world’s

leading authority on the interpretation of conflict and its impact,

particularly focusing on Britain, it’s former Empire and the

Commonwealth, from the First World War to the present. Our vision is

to enrich people’s understanding of the causes, course and

consequences of war and conflict.

What is the core mission of the museum? See above.

How do you measure your success? Success is measured in many ways eg

visitor figures, income, profile raising, media coverage, development of

museum audiences etc.

Thank you

1. What are the main features of a successful tourism side?

2. What are the elements that make the exhibition more vivid?

3. How does light saturation affect the display? What kind of feeling does it

want to create in the visitor’s perceptions? How low light affects the

visitor’s perceptions and emotions?

4. Is lower light more adaptable to darker displays?

5. Smell is a quite present element in many exhibitions and attractions

today. What is the role of smell in the display?

6. Touch is encouraged and present almost in every contemporary display.

How does touch affect the visitor’s perception of the place?

7. Being able to hear is also important. Noises are quite laud in Dark

Attractions, and low on the other hand in Dark museums or other darker

side. How does noise affects the character of the exhibition?

8. In some areas there were interactive elements of the display.

Interactivity was very much available on the ground floor and on some

digital screens in the 'Cold War' exhibition, and sits was available in the

Holocaust exhibition. How interactivity does enhances the visitors'

experiences?

9. What other intangible element add credibility to the display?

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