Amsterdam Dungeon – A fun, yet scary adventure back in time

Ideally

located within the heart of the city centre and just minutes away from the

bustling Dam Square, the Amsterdam Dungeon allows visitors the opportunity to

journey back in time and explore some of the city’s more terrifying

history. Live actors, fantastic special

effects and a roller coaster ride make this attraction an interactive, exciting

and, at times, quite frightening experience which should not be missed.

Learning

about a city’s history is always something that I enjoy, but it is always

refreshing to hear about the more sinister side too, something which the

Amsterdam Dungeon does perfectly. Owned

by Merlin Entertainment, the same company who own Madame Tussauds, the

Amsterdam Dungeon boasts ‘an interactive 80 minute journey into 500 years of

Amsterdam’s horrible history’ – a statement that compelled me to find out

more. Making my way through Dam Square,

I felt a real sense of excitement and anticipation. A few minutes later I had arrived at the

dungeon and that is where my journey began.

Our

group was met by the ‘Gatekeeper’, a very scary looking person who led us to

the start of our tour – the ‘Descent’.

We all huddled into an old fashioned, cage type elevator which took us

deep underground and into the dungeons.

On the way down we were told stories about the Plague and other terrible

diseases. At this point, as the light

started to fade and the strange smells of the underground started to get

stronger, I remember wondering if I had made mistake and should have stuck to

the ‘traditional’ history of the city.

My thoughts were thankfully short lived as the elevator reached an

abrupt halt and we emerged into the ‘Torture Chamber’.

The

special effects within the chamber were very cleverly put together – the smell

of rotting flesh and the cries for help sent shivers down my spine. It was here that we met the ‘Torturer’, who

managed to effortlessly blend feelings of fear with humour whilst he described

his work. The next stop was the VOC bar,

where we were introduced to the evil ‘Magician’ who was responsible for

recruiting sailors onto the fateful VOC Batavia. Our group were his next victims, as we found

ourselves on board the overcrowded and revolting 17th century

vessel. Here we learned about the awful

illnesses and dreadful conditions that the crew had to endure.

Departing

the ship, we continued along into an operating theatre where we relived the

autopsy of the renowned criminal known as Black John. I must admit that the vile smell at this

point was quite pungent, but added to the authenticity of the story we were

being told. From here we were taken to

the dungeon’s court room which offered an interactive and educational insight

into the history of the judicial system.

We were then led into the house of a condemned witch – Meynes Cornelis,

the scariest part of the journey for me, as it is here that you encounter an

eerie appearance of a ghostly figure. I

did actually let out a little scream at that point, much to my group’s

amusement.

Needless

to say, I was quite relieved to find my way out of the witch’s house and into

the ‘Labyrinth’, a maze of dark streets which told the story of illness and

suffering. After finding our way through

the confusing passageways, we came to the final part of the tour – the ‘Grim

Reaper’, a thrilling roller coaster ride which is the

only way to escape the dungeon. I’m

pleased to say that we all made it out in one piece and that I thoroughly

enjoyed the experience (even if I was petrified at times). More information, including online ticket

sales, can be found on the Amsterdam Dungeon website – www.thedungeons.com/amsterdam/en.