· Safety
What happens when you say the word
About forty people a month say “Saltgate” somewhere under the town. Here is exactly what happens next, and why nobody minds.
Every walk-through starts the same way: the porter tells you the word, and you say it back. Saltgate. It sounds a little silly at the top of the stairs. It never does further down.
The moment you say it
Every room has a guide in the dark who isn’t part of the story. They hear the word, and three things happen at once: the working lights come up in your room, the actors step back and drop character, and the guide walks you to the nearest exit. There is one every fifteen metres; most of them you never notice.
What happens to the rest of your group
They carry on, if they want to, or they come out with you. Nobody is asked to explain. You go up to The Wake, where a drink is on us, and wait for your friends to come out looking worse than you.
Why we tell everyone to use it
Fear only works when you know you can leave. The word is the reason the dark can be as dark as it is. About forty people a month say it, from first-timers in The Night Porter to people on their fourth trip to the chapel. The actors don’t keep count. Neither should you.