Duel – The Haunted House Strikes Back

The Haunted House was designed by the Sparks Group, co-produced by Keith Sparks and John Wardley, effectively as "a spin-off from Prof. Burp's BubbleWorks".[3] The transit system used to take riders through the ride was built by Mack Rides; it was a bespoke format penned by John Wardley to run continuously at high throughput, while also leaving the cars to travel on their own and at varying speeds.

After opening at the start of the 1992 season, The Haunted House gained much publicity and remained one of Alton Towers' major rides for many years.[4] The ride was originally designed to have a family appeal and a macabre humour. Some scenes were changed the following year, such as a lost effect in which a huge phantom flew over riders' heads down a long corridor.[5]

After 10 years of operation, the ride had declined after many of the original scenes were altered on an ad-hoc basis. Tussauds Studios decided to refurbish the ride with added laser guns and a zombie theme, a decision which disappointed the ride's original co-producer John Wardley, who had by that time left Tussauds.[6] Towards the end of the 2002 season, a poster was placed outside the Haunted House, advertising the new name and opening date, along with the slogan: "Whatever you do, don't miss! Duel – The Haunted House Strikes Back".[7]

A new theme tune was composed by David Buckley, played on a loop throughout the ride; replacing the original eight track score produced by Graham Smart. Changes to the scenes included the replacement of many characters with zombies. The ride reopened with the new laser quest element at the start of the 2003 season.

The Swamp finale is also the only scene to have been removed in its entirety in the 2003 refurbishment. It was replaced by a scene set in a basement, with moving zombie targets. The surviving original scenes are now significantly changed from their original design.

The ride received a new zoned soundtrack in 2018, along with altered lighting and repaired props.

For the 2008 and 2009 annual Halloween 'Scarefest' events held at Alton Towers, the ride became host to "Duel: Live!" This attraction featured live actors situated in different scenes around the ride, to scare riders while in their cars. The laser guns and all the LEDs were switched off, so that riders were not distracted by the shooting and focused on the ride. The music was replaced throughout the ride, with a different, more atmospheric piece used instead of the usual Duel theme.

Duel Live made use of the original outdoor queue line, often with other actors roaming the wooded area. For the 2008 version, the queue featured gravediggers and werewolves creeping up on the guests, though in 2009 this was reduced to one actor in a hooded robe. Guests waited at the door instead of walking straight in, before being greeted by either a maid or a butler (the performers alternated during the 2009 version, but in 2008 only the butler featured) and given a brief talk about what was inside and why the guns were switched off. The TV screens in the Drawing Room were covered with cloth and muted, and the original spooky music turned up; the room being similar to what it was in the original Haunted House. During the 2008 event, the maid jumped out at guests as they entered the Drawing Room.

In 2008 Scarefest, Duel ran as normal during the morning and afternoon, before switching over to Duel Live after 3:00PM with the standard Duel theme restricted to the finale. It featured approximately four live actors on ride. The format changed for 2009 in which Duel Live ran all day, with about eight different actors on ride. When Alton Towers released details for the 2010 Scarefest event, it was notable that Duel Live was absent from the attractions line-up. Instead, the attraction was renamed "Skelvin's Haunted Adventure" for the 2010 event, and it was based around the park's Halloween mascots, particularly the character 'Skelvin'.

• Duel at the official Alton Towers website
• Full recording of The Haunted House in 1992/93
• Dark Rides documentary with the original designers