It Walks Around the House at Night

★★★☆☆     Horror by Numbers

Studio Theatre: Sat 10/Sun 11 Oct 2026
Review by Sophie Good

It Walks Around the House at Night, Tim Foley’s take on a haunted house ghost story produced by ThickSkin, slides into the Studio Theatre for a pre-Halloween two night run as part of a UK tour.

Out of work actor/ assistant bar manager Joe (George Naylor) accepts a too-good-to-be-true offer from a handsome stranger to play a ghost at his country house. What could possibly go wrong? What better set up for a super twisty yarn, directed by Neil Bettles, to go on a supernatural spooky adventure?

George Naylor. Pic: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.

Foley plays with the classic conventions of the horror genre, including the classic haunted manor house (does it or does it not really exist?) and a dark woodland filled with unfamiliar footsteps and shadows.

Joe however is very much a modern day storyteller, working in a bar, bored of his life and fantasising over an apparently wealthy customer who he’s attracted to; and who sets him up with this well paid gig.

This combination of gothic horror tropes in a modern day setting is used throughout the piece; and works well to immerse us into the story and provide some of the classic ingredients necessary for a horror plot.

jump scares

Spoiler alerts aside, there are plenty of jump scares and clever use of lighting and video design (Joshua Pharo) and sound design (Pete Malkin) to keep you on the edge of your seat. The set design by Bettles and Tom Robbins is highly effective at creating a sense of isolation in Joe’s woodland lodge.

The challenge with storytelling in retrospect is that the narrator is known to have lived to tell the tale and, despite the live action retelling, it is known that he’s looking back from a place of safety. Here, the immersive design places you right in the middle of the tale and Joe at the heart of story and in real danger; albeit softened somewhat.

George Naylor. Pic: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.

At 90 minutes without an interval, this would benefit from being a bit shorter and slicker. Some of the more expositional points, explained through Pharo’s video animations on the back wall, start to verge on a powerpoint presentation at times.

And honestly, filling in all the details of the background and plot isn’t strictly necessary: it’s not the back story which is the draw, but the scares and the psychological thrills and spills that Joe experiences. Naylor is absolutely deft on this point; he is thrown around the stage literally and metaphysically throughout the show and never drops energy or pace.

Some of the most effective pieces of horror reveal that the protagonist is actually looking at the darkness within; at their own shortcomings or trauma, and they are even sometimes the real villain of the piece. While Foley doesn’t quite go that far, further inner examination of Joe’s desires, resentments and drivers would have made his script go deeper into the inner psyche, where the real horror lies.

it feels like a lot

Instead, Foley covers much extraneous ground – a gruesome mythology around a dark creature, elements of classism, the elite (Simon Armitage’s poem Those Bastards in their Mansions is much referenced), as well as modern day relationship and financial struggles. At times, it feels like a lot.

The piece is most successful when it is combining classic jump-scares with some fantastic lighting and sound effects to bring you into the story with Naylor’s energetic and convincing storytelling.

There are also many secondary characters who are not seen; the handsome stranger, a friend from work, a love interest – all of whom are told through Joe’s eyes. It doesn’t always work, relying heavily on voicemails and voice notes to progress the narrative. The only other on-stage character is The Dancer played by Oliver Baines who is graceful and tragic in his short appearance.

It is however unclear on whether It Walks Around the House at Night is fully committed to the traditions of gothic horror, or if it is making a wider comment on class hierarchies and privilege.

It is certainly a dark tale and full of moments of real terror. However the clunky plot can sometimes get in the way of an otherwise great twist on this traditional form.

Running time: One hour and 30 minutes (no interval).
Studio Theatre, The Studio, 22 Potterrow, EH8 9BL.
Sat 10/Sun 11 October 2026.
Evenings: 7.30pm, Sun mat: 2pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.

ThickSkin website: www.thickskintheatre.co.uk
Facebook: @ThickSkinTheatre
Instagram: @thickskintheatre
Linktree: @ThickSkinTheatre.

George Naylor. Pic: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.

ENDS

Tags: George Naylor, It Walks Around the House at Night, Joshua Pharo, Neil Bettles, Pete Malkin, Review, Sophie Good, Studio Theatre, Theatre, ThickSkin, Tim Foley, Tom Robbins