I am one of those people who likes my horror a little old fashioned. Sure I like The Walking Dead and other such fare but there is something about a good ghost story that stands out above the slasher stuff that is so common now. Give me suspense, a creaking floorboard, a few mysterious noises and I am hooked.

So when attending Vertigo Theatre’s latest production The Haunting I was pleased to see in the notes from Artistic Director Craig Hall that he too is a fan of that style of scare, one that promised to be part of the production. Based on the ghost stories of Charles Dickens, this Hugh Janes play takes the ghost story back to its Victorian roots.

Spooky plays all have their clichés; what is vital is how those clichés are executed. Creepy looking room? Check. Special effects like lightning and thunder? Of course. From a technical standpoint, Vertigo scores on every level in setting the mood. From the moment the curtain rises on the library of a Scottish mansion in the moors, the tension is palpable. When book dealer David (Stafford Perry) arrives to assess the collection of the late father of Lord Gray (Grant Linneberg) there is more to the job than first appears.

As a two-person show it lands on Linneberg and Perry to carry the story in front of the effects, and they do so excellently. Lord Gray’s change from skeptic to being drawn into what is unfolding is entertaining, and David as the key to the storytelling draws the audience in.

A show like The Haunting is difficult to review, due to its very nature. To say much more is to spoil the many twists and turns that unfold and take away the effect of seeing it. I will say there were parts of the play where members of the audience legitimately jumped, and I often felt goosebumps on the back of my neck.

From all aspects, Vertigo Theatre hits it out of the park with this show. If you are looking for an entertaining evening of thrills and chills, head down into the basement theatre and get lost in the world of The Haunting.