"Wonderfully Creepy Nights"

The inhabitants of Quiet Nook have lived in peace for decades, cut off from the wars and the hustle and bustle of the world at large. Until recently. The collapse of a bridge on the Royal Route has brought an influx of outsiders for the first time in recent memory, and with it come conflict and distrust. Most of the travellers paid little mind to the secluded community, but it soon becomes clear that something is afoot in Quiet Nook - and the villagers, mired in their own customs and traditions, are wary of the strangers, their squabbles and agendas. This is the set-up for The Creeping Night, a highly atmospheric LARP that evokes feelings of classic folk horror in the vein of stories like The Wicker Man and Midsommar. Players take on the role of either a villager or a member of one of several distinct groups of outsiders. Alas, by no means are the villagers the only ones with something to hide - each of the complex, carefully constructed characters comes with their own agenda, questions and answers, and of course their own, intimate fears that keep them at the edge of sanity. The game is more atmospheric than procedural, and doesn’t feature traditional quests so much as a plethora of hooks to play off of. There is a story unfolding over the course of the LARP, but advancing that story beat by beat is not what this LARP is about - instead, it is left to the players to feed into and build the atmosphere of strangeness, distrust and fear. Players aren’t left to their own devices, though, and behind the scenes a fantastic crew is working diligently to support, enhance and further this communal goal. This includes scenario writers and NPCs to adjust the game on the fly and keep the tension going, and highly skilled makeup artists giving credence to the pound of flesh that is the price for many of the characters’ sins or curiosity. The location, Wioska Fantasy - the Fantasy Village - is gorgeous as ever, and enhanced by decorations and props specifically brought to this game. The Creeping Night doesn’t relegate itself to just the usual visual cues - scent and sounds utilised to make the illusion perfect as well. Events in the game alternate between the mundane and the ethereal, and parts of the LARP feel almost dream-like, especially after the sun has set and the shadows creep into every nook and cranny of the village. The is catered by LARP kitchen Pod Owczarkami, who provide three hearty meals a day, and a well-stocked tavern providing reasonably priced drinks on top of the included beverages. Meals are taken in-game, with the option to have breakfast before the start of the game. The schedule is generous, with the LARP running from 9pm on the first to about 10 pm on the third day, with a 10-hour night break between 1am and 11am each night, ensuring there is ample time to rest, unwind and calibrate between the days. The LARP is preceded by mandatory workshops to ensure the wellbeing of players and crew, especially given the potential tough topics the LARP may brush up against, and safety people are on site and available throughout to assist players in distress, as well as medical personnel to assess and treat physical ailments on site if needed. The one thing at this LARP I personally found difficult was to find the right pacing for myself - given the relatively great agency players are trusted with at this LARP, it feels difficult to gauge when one’s secrets should come out, when tensions should escalate and allegiances should shift to preserve the ideal flow for the characters’ narrative arcs, but the community as a whole, players and organisers alike, provide a good framework to not get lost entirely; so even as things seemed to stall or move along too quickly at times, I felt that by and large, it was made easy to get back on track. I wholeheartedly recommend this LARP to anyone who enjoys a slow burning kind of horror built on feelings of unease, distrust and dark secrets. At this point, I am almost eager to try my hand at it again, this time not as an outsider, but part of the villagers’ community, and I have heard many of my co-players utter the same sentiment over the last couple of days. pictures by Rekografia (https://www.instagram.com/rekografia/)