Life

This Terrifying Fright Night Hosts The UK's Largest Indoor Scare Mazes

by Aoife Hanna
Dr Frights Halloween Nights

Tacky decorations on sale in your local Pound shop, charity shops laden with last year's sexy whatever costumes, really lit limited edition confectionaries, and of course, spooky special events. Yes, it's Halloween again and you know a part of you wants to spend it screaming your butt off. In recent years the UK has definitely come through in terms of Halloween celebrations. A welcome treat (as opposed to trick) to an Irish ex-pat who misses the Irish style big Halloweens I grew up with. But now, there are so many Halloween 2018 attractions in the UK on offer.

I am not sure how many of these come with a warning for people with heart problems etc, but merely doing research on these eerie events gave me the heebie jeebies. OK maybe I am a huge chicken but let's be real, even the bravest witch/warlock will be potentially peeing their pants in these particular creepy venues.

There is something for all Halloween addicts, from the more modern and American style productions, to historical attractions capitalising on their gory past, so you can spend your fright night, or in fact fright week, scared poopless. Here, I've shortlisted some of my personal favourite Halloween attractions in the UK. Check it out.

1Fright Nights — Thorpe Park, Surrey

Guys, this is like, huge. Honestly, as if Thorpe Park doesn't provide enough regular thrills they had to go on ahead and provide heaps of insane chills on top of that.

They have gone like, next level this year with attractions like a horrifying vampire filled prom night in Terror At Amity High, murderous actions in Saw: Alive, and all new for this year, Blair Witch. I know. Sounds terrifying, right?

Oh and not to mention zombies. And lots of them.

Get tickets here.

2Shocktober Fest Scream Park — Tulleys Farm, West Sussex

These guys seriously know how to scare you and they are actually pretty well known for it. They have repeatedly won the title of the UK’s numero uno Halloween attraction, keeping fans coming back for more year after year.

They have a pretty spooktacular nine Halloween haunts including seriously terrifying attractions like Twisted Clowns, The Circus Of Horrors, and the spooky AF Creepy Cottage.

Roll up, roll up, and get ready to scream/run/have the time of your life.

Get tickets here.

3The Haunted Castle — Warwick Castle, Warwick

Historic Warwick Castle opens its spooky gates to host a whole load of creepy, family friendly events. These include The Dead Centre Stage, The Witches Tower, Horrible Histories Maze, and Haunted Hollow, along with like, actual flying beasts. Yes, The Flight Of The Eagles promises to be especially spooky.

Billed as their biggest ever Haunted Castle, this one is for all ages, and won't disappoint.

Get tickets here.

4Scare Kingdom Scream Park — Lancashire

Apparently, this is "officially the UK’s number one scream park and best Halloween attraction, featuring multi award-winning scare mazes, scare attractions and haunted attractions".

OK, now I have your attention, stop shaking in your boots. Yes, this is apparently the best in the UK so you know it is scary.

Special props for holding scary events all year round, like Valenterror, where you can take your lovely Valentine and scare the living daylights out of them. Romantic.

Get tickets here.

5Screamland — Dreamland, Margate

Billed as "Kent's biggest scare festival", this one really seriously absolutely is not for the faint hearted. And I can say this as I have actually been.

It has a series of seven spooky mazes, and over seven days this Halloween season, you can go and get your actual socks blown off, no lie.

Special warning re actual immersive theatre vibes, with creepy ghouls and scary people jumping out at you like, constantly. It's only recommended for those aged 12 and over, and trust me, once you've been, you'll totally understand why.

Get tickets here.

6Dr Frights Halloween Nights — Earls Barton, Northamptonshire

So this one is pretty special because it is the largest indoor scare experience. Vital for this rapidly dropping temperature.

This particular nugget of extreme terror plays on all sorts of scary concepts like clowns vs cannibal hillbillies (OK what?), old cinematic classics, and lots more of those spooky old mazes to seriously get you danders up.

Get tickets here.

7X Scream, Once Upon A Time — Rhondda Heritage Park, Pontypridd

Playing on all those old fairy ales but like, actually taking the original dark tales and making them even darker and scarier? Yes please!

The website gives a deliciously creepy blurb: ".What if fairy tales DIDN’T finish with a Happily Every After? What if Red was already Dead, Sleeping Beauty woke up as a blood sucking zombie and the three little pigs were rabid, wild boars who tore the wolf limb from limb?"

OK whut? Yeah, I will see you there.

Get tickets here.

8House Of Horror — Essex

Live near Essex? Well why not pop down to the House Of Horror?

This lit AF creepy event is a 4D horror bonanza set to drive you mad this Halloween. The website promises you will get "dragged through 12 rooms of sheer horror."

It's also described as a "real-life horror-movie, actors will twist and turn you through a maze of puzzles and psychological pain."

Sounds like my post 25 hangovers.

Get tickets here.

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Even the bravest of souls will feel actual mega chills, scream their butts off, and mainly have the best craic ever at these bonkers Halloween events.