HIS DREAM was to bring the dead back to life to learn how they lived.

The reality was an unethical research programme that caused pain and suffering to volunteer subjects. Most have not been seen since...

An interactive, adult-only, fright night has been organised for those brave enough to venture to Butser Ancient Farm on Friday, October 30.

Inspired by similar events held at castles and theme parks, the fright night is the brainchild of Ryan Watts and Emily Rees.

The premise for this particular event is that an experimental archaeologist at the farm has been arrested and is awaiting trial for the horrors that he has committed, forcing the memories of the long-dead into the minds of volunteer subjects.

The experiment has gone horribly wrong and now the Government Ethics Committee and Centre for Disease Control (CDC) needs local people to come and act as independent witnesses at Butser Ancient Farm to investigate.

Groups of ‘witnesses’ will arrive at set times (booked online), and once through the gate of the Farm, the experience begins...

Guides will lead these groups of visitors through the site, lit only with torches, to inspect the ‘laboratory’, the morgue, and the various buildings, to discover the horrors within and report back to headquarters.

Things, of course, may not go quite as the guides plan...

The tours last around half an hour, and there will be a bar in the visitor centre.

Warm clothing is advised, and anyone who is affected by flashing lights or is of a nervous disposition is advised not to attend this event.

Book a time slot online, price £10.

The event is a new venture for the Farm, which hosts the annual Beltain festival with the giant wicker man every May, as well as a fairy festival, warrior weekends, workshops to learn ancient crafts and cooking, and school visits.

Many of the events at the farm are to celebrate festivals celebrated by our ancestors and dating to the Bronze Age or Romano-British.

The new Saxon hall currently being built at the site will mean a new set of festivals and celebrations can be held, relating to the Norse and then early Christian beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons.

A more family-friendly Hallowe’en-type event at the Farm is its Samhain celebration on Wednesday, October 28.

Samhain is one of the most important dates in the Pagan calendar as it marks the Day of the Dead, when the veils between this world and the next are at their thinnest. Many also believe it is the date of Celtic New Year.

In the afternoon, families can complete the ‘Spirit Hunt’ around the farm, and at 2pm there will be storytelling in the big roundhouse.

Normal admission rates apply for the afternoon activities.

Then in the evening, from 7-10pm, adults can join staff for a special night in the roundhouse with storytelling, live music and a bar.

Tickets for the evening event are £15 and can be pre-booked on line.

See www.butserancientfarm.co.uk to find out more or to book tickets for events.

Butser Ancient Farm is a site of experimental archaeology with a number of recreated buildings from Stone Age to Anglo-Saxon. It is just off the A3 in Chalton Lane, near Clanfield.