"The X Factor's" Rylan More Scary Than "The Omen" This Halloween

LONDON, October 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

According to new research from Holiday Inn, almost one in 10 Brits are more likely to be scared of waking up to the sound of The X Factor's Rylan this Halloween than that of a cackling witch or the theme tune from The Omen. Worryingly for his mentor Nicole Scherzinger, the same number of Brits said that being woken by the sound of their mother-in-law's voice would also terrify them on the spookiest day of the year.

The frights don't end there, with nails on a chalkboard coming out as the top ultimate scary noise in the poll. And as we turn back the clocks for an extra hour in bed, a nation of sleep-deprived Brits also confess that they wish they could hide under the covers from the cold, with two-thirds of us wishing they could stay in bed for an average 17 minutes a day longer during the winter months, and over half admitting to hitting the snooze button at least once in an attempt for extra shut-eye.

We find it so hard as a nation to wake up that one in five of us admit to putting our alarms on the other side of the room in order to force ourselves out of bed in the morning to turn it off - with 20% of men saying they need more than one alarm going off to rouse them. The survey also found that the preferred wake up calls included being woken gently by their partner (12%) or the smell of bacon (14%), and that the mobile phone has overtaken the traditional alarm clock, with over a third now saying they set their iPhones or Blackberry to wake them up.

Tamara Strauss from Holiday Inn said: "Everybody feels less inclined to wake up in the winter months, and it's harder than ever to drag ourselves out of the warmth and into the cold. Fortunately all of our guests can look forward to a restful and nightmare-free stay over Halloween without the need for shocking wake-up calls to get them out of bed. It's clear from this research that should Rylan make it another week in The X Factor he has to go down as the ultimate scary trick for Brits on what's already the spookiest night of the year."

Guests looking for frighteningly good offers, including rooms starting at just £49 when you book 21 days in advance, should visit http://www.tophoteloffers.co.uk/Halloween.