Line #15 Ride/LondonDungeon


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dcubatman_17.png]]
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3	The ''London Dungeon'' is a [[UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom British]] HauntedHouse-[=type=] attraction/tourist trap in UsefulNotes/{{London}}'s South Bank (currently at County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, South Bank, SE 1, directly opposite the Houses of Parliament). It opened in 1974 and is operated by Merlin Entertainments.
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5	The attraction recreates various [[{{Horror}} sinister, gory and macabre]] historical events and {{Urban Legend}}s, some of it in a GallowsHumor style. Visitors are taken on a journey through 1000 years of London's dark history and folklore with actors performing as some of the city's most infamous characters (be they real or fictitious), wax figures, special effects and two rides.
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7	Several other Dungeons have opened in the [[UsefulNotes/OtherBritishTownsAndCities UK]] and elsewhere, including (for the UK) in Blackpool (at the Tower), Warwick Castle, Edinburgh, York and Ride/AltonTowers and (internationally) in Amsterdam, UsefulNotes/{{Berlin}}, UsefulNotes/{{Hamburg}}, UsefulNotes/{{Shanghai}} and UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco (the latter closed in 2021).
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9	!!The ''London Dungeon'' provides examples of the following tropes:
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11	* AudienceParticipation: Several times. From being tried by a HangingJudge to being subjected to unsanitary expriements to being burned at the stake, there’s a lot here.
12	* TheBlackDeath: The section about the Great Plague of London of 1665-1666. A PlagueDoctor will look for symptoms of the plague in the group of visitors and ask which member is looking "a bit peaky".
13	* CanonForeigner: The Unknown from the notorious CrappyCarnival ''Theatre/WillysChocolateExperience'' was added to the lineup when the character's performer, Felicia Dawkins, was hired by the Dungeon.
14	* DangerouslyCloseShave: The literary character DerivativeWorks/SweeneyTodd, the barber of Fleet Street who kills his customers with a razor and has his neighbour baker [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies bake them into meatpies]].
15	* TheGreatFire: The section about the Great Fire of London of 1666.
16	* HangingAround: At one point, visitors are "hanged" (done via seats on a drop tower-type machine to simulate a fall through the TrapDoor on the gallows).
17	* TheHeretic: In the section based on the ReignOfTerror of the Catholic queen UsefulNotes/MaryTudor, visitors are told about the burnings of Protestants, and one of them is usually invited on stage to be "burnt at the stake".
18	* NobodyHereButUsStatues: Employees wearing heavy makeup often stand still among the various wax figures, to scare the unsuspecting visitors.
19	* OffWithHisHead: Think of any famous historical figure who was decapitated in London, chances are a wax reproduction of his/her head is featured there.
20	* ReignOfTerror: A section is dedicated to the religiously oppressive reign of the Catholic queen UsefulNotes/MaryTudor (aka "Bloody Mary") in 1553-1559. Visitors are told about the burnings of Protestants.
21	* SerialKiller:
22	** UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper, naturally, who gruesomely killed several prostitutes in Whitechapel and was never caught.
23	** The aforementioned literary character DerivativeWorks/SweeneyTodd from ''Literature/TheStringOfPearls'', a barber who [[SlashedThroat slashes the throat]] of his customers and has his baker neighbor bake them into meatpies.
24	* StockPunishment: There's a pillory in the entrance area for visitors to have fun putting their head and arms in and take photos.
25	* VictorianLondon: The Jack the Ripper section is set in this era due to the latter having committed his murders in 1888.
26	* WretchedHive: Naturally, since it's about horrible things that happened in London, in times when the city was crime-ridden and quite unsanitary.

Context Ride / LondonDungeon