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Hear Us Out: This Terrifying Friday the 13th Event Is the Best First Date Idea
Chilling thrills, unexpected horrors and jump scares? Sounds like a first date to us.
In just over two weeks, Friday the 13th will be upon us — the only one of 2025 (thank you, calendar gods) — and it’s bringing with it the usual chaos.
The universally unlucky day means broken mirrors, a surplus of black cats and some seriously cursed vibes, making it the perfect time to embrace the crazy and do something truly unhinged.
Like, for example, go on a first date.
This Friday the 13th, an immersive horror experience is taking over Cockatoo Island for the weekend, promising chilling thrills, unexpected horrors, blood-curdling screams and spine-tingling suspense — and somehow, still significantly fewer red flags than your average Hinge match.
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Fear Island is described as an “interactive nightmare” that twists familiar landmarks into a heart-stopping playground of fear, making it the perfect place to confront the most horrifying scenario of all: a man who says his biggest passion is “crypto” and thinks therapy is a government scam.
Here’s why you should grab a ticket, invite someone questionable and prepare for someone to jump out at you screaming as part of the experience, and not just as a reaction to the suggestion of emotional intimacy.
What to Expect at Fear Island
While nothing can prepare you for the jump scare that is realising your Tinder date looks nothing like the pictures on his profile, we’re not going to send you into Fear Island unprepared.
The experience — which runs from Friday the 13th until Sunday, June 15th — includes two terrifying tunnel experiences, aptly named The Haunted and The Asylum (both accurate descriptions of some of our past situationships) filled with live scare actors, eerie effects and enough fog to cover all of the red flags you’re ignoring.
There’s also an outdoor cinema airing chilling flicks, food stalls and a bar (thank goodness), and complimentary snaps of your most terrified facial expression — ideal for your next dating profile. Nothing says “emotionally available” like pure, unfiltered panic.
For a more hands-on experience, there is a safe space to sob in blood-streaked mascara — sorry, we mean special effects makeup demos — and Michael Jackson Thriller dance lessons so you can learn to moonwalk away from your fear (and your date).
There’s even a costume contest — because turning yourself into a literal ghost is cheaper than therapy and twice as on-brand for your dating life.
Three Tiers of Terror
We get it, not everyone can handle the psychological warfare that is meeting someone for the first time and being chased by ghouls and goblins in a dark, dank tunnel.
Luckily, Fear Island has a tiered scare system, so you can start small with family-friendly and wholesome spooky vibes and work your way up.
Mild Sessions (for the little ones and the easily startled) are from 4pm to 5:30pm on Saturday and Sunday, while Scary Sessions — perfect for thrill-seekers and red flag collectors — will take place from 5pm to 6:30 on Friday and 6pm to 7:15pm on Saturday.
And for those who want to experience terror only akin to hearing the phrase “let’s just see where this goes” after a three month talking stage? Sign up for the later Terrifying Sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.
Be aware: just like dating, the deeper you go, the more you will question your choices.
Why This Is a Weirdly Good Date Idea
Jokes aside, there is some truth to the thinking that fear brings people closer. Nothing bonds two semi-strangers like navigating a zombie apocalypse together, after all.
Plus, if things get awkward, you can always blame the unsettling screams echoing through the tunnels of terror and not the fact that your date just admitted he doesn’t separate his recycling.
Best case? You share a thrilling, memorable night and survive both Fear Island and the date. Worst case? He turns out to be a walking ick and you have a very convenient excuse to scream and run in the opposite direction. That’s a win-win in our eyes.
So, if you’re single, brave, and mildly unhinged, grab a date and head to Cockatoo Island this Friday the 13th. Because while love may be dead, your fight-or-flight reflex definitely isn’t.
For more information and to book your spot at Fear Island, head here.
Loving our take on this first date idea in Sydney and feeling inspired to explore the city even more? Check out our guide to the what’s on in Sydney this month or book a table at the most romantic restaurants in town to spoil your special someone.
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