Popular film festival set to return to ‘haunted’ woods in Nottingham

The third year of Huldra Festival will be held in a new secret barn location, just off the original forest site on Lime Lane in Arnold on Saturday, September 2 2023 with its collection of the very best in short horror films. The previously sold-out event has seen visitors watching international, and local, films by firelight in the middle of the forest near a maize maze.

Visitors will be led into the centre of the woods to the outdoor event by live scare actors. However, it’s not just about the films as there will be stalls from some of Nottingham’s best-loved, horror-adjacent local creators such as Nottingham Horror Collective. The secrets of the forest, and the legend of its haunting, will be revealed by historian, Bob Massey.

This year will also see the return of fresh pizzas which are made on-site so you can have a slice if you need to take your mind off the films for a bit. On that note, there will be a fully licensed bar too for anyone who needs a bit of extra courage.

Festival organisers, Dan and Kym Lord were inspired to create the event during lockdown. The couple, who love horror, turned to films to get through the evenings. Last year, the ticket sales doubled as word spread about the event with many labelling it ‘a highlight.’

“Our second year saw a big peak in ticket sales over double the first year so we had over 150 sold. We had an amazing calibre of films from all over the globe with some crew introductions as well which was new for us,” Dan said.

“We introduced stalls such as Sneinton-based jewellery company, Bone Arrow and Nottingham Horror Collective and Hell Bent Clothing. We also collaborated with Dead Air Radio in America who are 24/7 all year round horror radio show. We had it beamed on multiple laptops and TVs hidden around the forest which was nice.’

However, this has thankfully been resolved so the business can stay open and keep providing everything from axe throwing to events such as Huldra. This year it looks like the event could get even bigger, and scarier, as Kym and Dan have had excellent feedback from the horror community.

“We have had loads of good positive feedback from the film and horror community as well as those who attended and submitted films. The stall and merch owners said how well it worked out for them too as many who attended said it was the highlight of their year,” Dan explained.

“For this year, we are planning to open earlier as we are introducing haunted storytelling and giving people more time to shop before the films start. It will be on earlier in the day so you can relax, bring a picnic, sit down and listen to storytelling. We will have more intervals too so you can get more food and drink to break it up a bit more.”

“We have had loads of positive feedback since we opened for tickets and fresh interest from more stores, zines and merch vendors who want to join us. We are going to be offering a lot more this year as well as a big announcement coming soon which will add to the immersive experience of the forest but we can’t say anything yet.”

He added: “We will reveal it very soon but it should change the way the festival is being run and should make interaction with the forest and films more intense.”

Tickets are available from here and start at £16 each. Event starts at 6pm.