Scare’s rock: Tiny Bristol Channel island that boasts spooky ruins of sailors’ quarantine hospital to host ‘immersive horror game’

• Flat Holm Island lies in the sea between England and Wales and is just 86 acres
• It is home to the ruins of a hospital which housed sailors with cholera 

A tiny island in the Bristol Channel that was once home to a spooky cholera quarantine hospital for sailors is set to host an ‘immersive horror game’.

The 86-acre Flat Holm Island, which has a population of just one, stands five miles out to sea between England and Wales. 

Its most unsettling feature is the ruin of a hospital that was set up in the late 19th century to isolate sailors with cholera before they were allowed in to Cardiff. 

The remains of 50 sailors who drowned when a British ship foundered on rocks in 1817 are also buried on the island. 

Now that dark past is being put to good use by Bristol-based production company Stormjar Studio, who have launched a crowdfunding campaign to create an overnight immersive horror game.

It is set to combine the fictional tale of a radio engineer who served in the trenches in the First World War with the true history of the island.  

A tiny island in the Bristol Channel that was once home to a spooky cholera quarantine hospital for sailors is set to host an ‘immersive horror game’. The 86-acre Flat Holm Island, which has a population of just one, stands five miles out to sea between England and Wales

Flat Holm, which boasts a lighthouse built in 1737, has also been used as a hideaway for smugglers and boasts the remains of their tunnels

The new immersive game is set to combine the fictional tale of a radio engineer who served in the trenches in the First World War with the true history of the island

Flat Holm Island received the world’s first radio message across water in 1897 and has more recently been used as a location for the Dr Who spin-off Torchwood.

It also boasts anti-naval gun emplacements that protected Britain during the Victorian era and in the Second World War. 

The main character in the project, which is called The Static Sea, is depicted living in solitude on the island in the 1920s.

The firm’s co-founders, Jim Wheale and Sophie Shaw, have been given permission from Cardiff Council for the one-off event. 

It will combine immersive theatre, film and digital elements. Donors who give money to the crowdfunding campaign will have their names entered into a lottery.

Six names will then be picked for the overnight experience on the island, whilst an online audience will be able to take part for free. 

Mr Wheale told the BBC: ‘When I heard about Flat Holm Island, I was just gobsmacked.

‘To have something so close, right on our doorstep, with so much rich and weird history, it’s incredible.’

The cozy inside of the tiny island’s pub, decked out with seaside accessories, only has a few tables 

Its most unsettling feature is the ruin of a hospital that was set up in the late 19th century to isolate sailors with cholera before they were allowed in to Cardiff

The main character in the project, which is called The Static Sea, is depicted living in solitude on the island in the 1920s

The last patient to die in the island’s hospital passed away from bubonic plague.  

Flat Holm, which boasts a lighthouse built in 1737, has also been used as a hideaway for smugglers and boasts the remains of their tunnels.

It has been used as a location for the TV series Torchwood but is more famous for receiving the world’s first radio message across water by Marconi in 1897.

The island has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest thanks to its huge gull colony and maritime grassland.

A tiny island in the Bristol Channel that was once home to a spooky cholera quarantine hospital for sailors is set to host an ‘immersive horror game’. The 86-acre Flat Holm Island, which has a population of just one, stands five miles out to sea between England and Wales

Its only permanent resident is a warden who is tasked with maintaining the island’s buildings and fixing equipment. 

Current warden Simon Parker is a former Royal Air Force engineer. He opted to take up the role in March this year after the death of a close friend.    

The island’s pub, The Gull and Leek, is housed in a converted Victorian cottage.

To donate to Stormjar’s campaign, head to crowdfunding site Indiegogo. 

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