Hereford’s Darkest Secret is About to Be Unsealed This Halloween — and AI Has Helped Bring It to Life
This Halloween, two of Hereford’s best-known venues are joining forces to create something the city has never seen before — blending local legend, immersive theatre, and cutting-edge AI technology to tell a haunting story buried deep beneath the streets of Hereford.
Hogarths and Trilogy Nightclub have teamed up for a two-day experience called Club of Horrors: The Circle Returns — a Halloween spectacular inspired by Hereford’s historic tunnels and a secret society known only as The Midnight Circle.
According to local folklore, hidden passageways once linked the cellars of Hogarths and Trilogy, used by smugglers to move goods — and later, by a mysterious brotherhood who vanished one Halloween night, leaving behind only symbols carved into the walls.
This October, that story will come to life like never before.
Guests will start their night at Hogarths, where “the haunting begins.” As the clock nears midnight, cloaked figures carrying lanterns will lead a ritual walk through the streets of Hereford, guiding crowds to Trilogy — where “the ritual ends” inside a full Halloween club transformation, complete with eerie décor, live performers, and local DJs Myles Gordon (Leominster) and Colin Candy (Worcester) until 5am.
⸻
“We wanted to do something completely unique for Hereford”
Event organiser Tom Williams, who runs both venues, says the concept grew from a love of local storytelling and a desire to push creativity in Hereford’s nightlife scene:
“We’ve always been proud of being a local, family-run business — and we wanted to create something that truly stands out, not just for our venues but for Hereford as a city,” said Tom.
“We used AI to help us bring the legend to life — from developing the storyline and creating cinematic imagery, to designing visuals that imagine what the old tunnels and secret meetings might have looked like.”
“We didn’t want to just throw a Halloween party. We wanted to build a world, a mystery that unfolds across social media and then comes alive in real life. It’s a mix of folklore, immersive theatre, and technology — something that makes people feel part of the story.”
⸻
The Midnight Circle story has already gone viral locally, with teaser videos, eerie “evidence drops,” and even fictional Hereford names like Elias Ward — a 19th-century smuggler said to have used the tunnels between the two venues.
Tom added:
“We’ve had people messaging asking if the tunnels are real, if the Circle really existed — and that’s exactly what we wanted! It’s fun, it’s mysterious, and it gets people talking about Hereford again. Everything — from the story to the visuals to the music — has been designed right here by local people. AI just helped us imagine what couldn’t be seen.”
⸻
The Club of Horrors: The Circle Returns Halloween weekend takes place on Friday 31st October and Saturday 1st November at Hogarths and Trilogy Nightclub.
Tickets are on sale now at: www.trilogyhereford.com
But be warned… only the marked will make it to the ritual.
