You would have thought, as a father of three, that someone saying the word ‘Daddy!’ was not likely to lead me to so much as bat an eyelid.
But the unexpected way in which it is deployed in Ghost Stories - Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s fairground style haunted house of a hit play which can currently be seen at The Lowry at Salford Quays - absolutely freaked me out!
That is about as much detail as you are going to get from me, though, as the makers of this touring production of the West End sensation go out of their way to implore audiences and especially critics not to give away any of its secrets.
Which is how it should be because this is one of those theatrical experiences which the less you know about, the more you will enjoy it and fun is as much the name of this game as fear because both writers demonstrate they are fully aware of just how cathartic and satisfying it can be to be scared out of your wits.
The set-up of the evening is absorbing in itself - Dan Tetsell as Professor Goodman, an expert in parapsychology, takes to the stage to give what appears to be a lecture on the supernatural and unexplained with a view to debunking such phenomena.
This is genuinely fascinating as he begins with a swift but detailed history of the ghost story before narrowing his focus to three cases which he describes as the most baffling he has faced.
All I will say about this trilogy of terror is they involve a grizzled old nightwatchman (David Cardy), a nervous teenager (Eddie Loodmer-Elliott) and a brash but over-stressed businessman (Clive Mantle).
This small cast make the most of every moment of madness especially veteran stage and screen star Mantle and Tetsell (recently seen in Disney’s adaptation of Rivals) who is often laugh out loud funny, not least when reacting to a particularly well timed sneeze from an audience member.
Director Sean Holmes sets up his stage expertly so there is often one area which is extremely well lit alongside another area which is almost pitch black, enhanced by the early use of torches and headlights which shine unnervingly into the audience to keep us all off balance and expecting horrors to pop out from all sides.
I was seated half way into the auditorium and therefore surrounded by fellow patrons but was so unsettled early on that I genuinely expected eerie apparitions, physical frights and audible shocks to happen in front of me, next to me or especially behind me!
However, the approach taken by Dyson and Nyman is more rollercoaster ride most of the time so when the intended jump scares arrive they are rarely subtle and loud noises are frequently used to underline the visceral effect of the plot twists.
But you cannot deny how crowd-pleasing this can be and there are few more satisfying moments in a trip to the theatre than being among hundreds of people screaming in terror at the same time - something which happens more than once here.
What’s more, there are a number of occasions when grotesquerie is employed, thereby betraying the nature of Dyson as one of the co-creators of The League of Gentlemen.
However, I have to say that what left me wallowing in admiration was the extraordinary final scene - it is so frustrating not being able to discuss it in detail because it is so clever but what happens will give everyone who sees it a lot to talk about as they make their way back home!
Ghost Stories can be seen at The Lowry at Salford Quays until Saturday, March 1.
