The Bunker Below - 2024
A Halloween attraction can be made or broken by its location and scenery. Therefore the idea of exploring an abandoned secret nuclear bunker in the dark is one we just couldn’t pass up on. We loved The Bunker Below in 2023 and couldn’t wait to get back for another dose of the signal in 2024.
Set inside Kelveden Hatch’s Secret Nuclear Bunker, ‘The Bunker Below’ is a multi-part scare attraction lasting approximately 45 minutes. The story is a simple one, but also a clever one. A signal is emitting from the bunker itself - a signal that puts its victims into a hallucinatory state and plays on their deepest darkest fears. You have been called up by the ‘Federal Buereau of Authority’ to test the signal and see how it affects you as you venture through the facility. We love how this means the maze can easily be changed up each year, replacing some fears for new fears, keeping the attraction fresh without having to alter the story dramatically.
Although the main attraction is within the historic bunker, the scares start in the equally eerie forest just outside. Some great hiding places were used, and despite there being several groups in the forest, we got a good sense of isolation. This section also used a classic scare now seen at nearly every event in the country, but a very effective use of said effect. We wont spoil it, but let’s just say that timing, scenery, build up and acting can make a big difference to a scare - we jumped out of our skin!
After this we met a scientist who explained the storyline and took us into the bunker to experience ‘the signal’. From the first corridor the lighting and atmosphere is amazing - you can barely see in front of you except for the pulsating glow of the red lights as you venture deep into the bunker. And then it’s dark… very dark. And creepy, making for a very ‘on edge’ experience. The attraction makes great use of this with a lot of impact scares. You may suddenly be brought out of the darkness into an explosion of light with an actor you had no idea was in the room, suddenly right in front of you. It works well and even though you know it’s inevitably coming, makes for a great fright. But it isn’t all just sudden jump-scares, there are several actor led rooms which we loved.
All the characters we met had their own personality and weren’t afraid to interact with you and give you a very personalised experience. We always enjoy this in a scare maze as it makes for a much more unique experience and adds much more immersion than simply an actor reading a script. There are several scenes throughout which saw us dancing with a clown, getting abducted by a doctor and even having a lie down in bed - it’s pleasing to see such variety in an event. The scenes are also a clever way to keep groups of visitors apart, once in the bunker we never encountered another group which makes a big difference to the feeling of isolation. Bravo to the actors who also on more than one occasion managed to sneak along behind us after we thought they had gone and give us a real fright - particularly looking at the clown and doctors patient for this one!
The attraction knows that one of it’s best assets is it’s location and it makes great use of that, making the bunker a character in it’s own right with great use of the machinery in the rooms as well as the phones which tend to ring to lure you straight into a trap! In some rooms, there aren’t any real scares, but just being in a huge room full of old computer equipment and abandoned desks that you weave around, keeps your attention peaked and your nerves on edge for the next big moment so that when it inevitably comes, the impact is so much stronger! It feels like a real exploration and we loved that.
If we were to draw any negatives from our evening, it would potentially be group size. These aren’t particularly big to be fair, with a cap of around 8 people - fairly standard for some events. However being in a group of this size did take away some of the insecurity we experienced when completing the maze last year (it really was quite terrifying experiencing in a group of 2). It also meant in some rooms that the scares were happening before we got into a room as it took a while for all to file in (although to be fair to the team they did a great job of changing the group leader throughout). We do appreciate that the attraction needs to batch in higher group numbers to get everyone through - and this is a minor criticism - but we feel even if the size was dropped to 5 or 6 (as some rooms are not big enough to comfortably fit this would resolve these issues. The other slight nitpick we had was a lack of a real finale. Both years this has remained pretty similar and feels like it is going to build up to a bit of a ‘run-out’ finale down a very long corridor. But unfortunately this doesn’t quite come to fruition and means that the final scare isn’t really there - a shame after the majority of the attraction has them in bucket loads.
But these are very minor criticisms, we once again had a fantastic night out at The Bunker Below. The creativity, atmosphere and scares are among the best we have experienced this year and we can’t wait to see what the signal has waiting for us again in 2025.
Set inside Kelveden Hatch’s Secret Nuclear Bunker, ‘The Bunker Below’ is a multi-part scare attraction lasting approximately 45 minutes. The story is a simple one, but also a clever one. A signal is emitting from the bunker itself - a signal that puts its victims into a hallucinatory state and plays on their deepest darkest fears. You have been called up by the ‘Federal Buereau of Authority’ to test the signal and see how it affects you as you venture through the facility. We love how this means the maze can easily be changed up each year, replacing some fears for new fears, keeping the attraction fresh without having to alter the story dramatically.
Although the main attraction is within the historic bunker, the scares start in the equally eerie forest just outside. Some great hiding places were used, and despite there being several groups in the forest, we got a good sense of isolation. This section also used a classic scare now seen at nearly every event in the country, but a very effective use of said effect. We wont spoil it, but let’s just say that timing, scenery, build up and acting can make a big difference to a scare - we jumped out of our skin!
After this we met a scientist who explained the storyline and took us into the bunker to experience ‘the signal’. From the first corridor the lighting and atmosphere is amazing - you can barely see in front of you except for the pulsating glow of the red lights as you venture deep into the bunker. And then it’s dark… very dark. And creepy, making for a very ‘on edge’ experience. The attraction makes great use of this with a lot of impact scares. You may suddenly be brought out of the darkness into an explosion of light with an actor you had no idea was in the room, suddenly right in front of you. It works well and even though you know it’s inevitably coming, makes for a great fright. But it isn’t all just sudden jump-scares, there are several actor led rooms which we loved.
All the characters we met had their own personality and weren’t afraid to interact with you and give you a very personalised experience. We always enjoy this in a scare maze as it makes for a much more unique experience and adds much more immersion than simply an actor reading a script. There are several scenes throughout which saw us dancing with a clown, getting abducted by a doctor and even having a lie down in bed - it’s pleasing to see such variety in an event. The scenes are also a clever way to keep groups of visitors apart, once in the bunker we never encountered another group which makes a big difference to the feeling of isolation. Bravo to the actors who also on more than one occasion managed to sneak along behind us after we thought they had gone and give us a real fright - particularly looking at the clown and doctors patient for this one!
The attraction knows that one of it’s best assets is it’s location and it makes great use of that, making the bunker a character in it’s own right with great use of the machinery in the rooms as well as the phones which tend to ring to lure you straight into a trap! In some rooms, there aren’t any real scares, but just being in a huge room full of old computer equipment and abandoned desks that you weave around, keeps your attention peaked and your nerves on edge for the next big moment so that when it inevitably comes, the impact is so much stronger! It feels like a real exploration and we loved that.
If we were to draw any negatives from our evening, it would potentially be group size. These aren’t particularly big to be fair, with a cap of around 8 people - fairly standard for some events. However being in a group of this size did take away some of the insecurity we experienced when completing the maze last year (it really was quite terrifying experiencing in a group of 2). It also meant in some rooms that the scares were happening before we got into a room as it took a while for all to file in (although to be fair to the team they did a great job of changing the group leader throughout). We do appreciate that the attraction needs to batch in higher group numbers to get everyone through - and this is a minor criticism - but we feel even if the size was dropped to 5 or 6 (as some rooms are not big enough to comfortably fit this would resolve these issues. The other slight nitpick we had was a lack of a real finale. Both years this has remained pretty similar and feels like it is going to build up to a bit of a ‘run-out’ finale down a very long corridor. But unfortunately this doesn’t quite come to fruition and means that the final scare isn’t really there - a shame after the majority of the attraction has them in bucket loads.
But these are very minor criticisms, we once again had a fantastic night out at The Bunker Below. The creativity, atmosphere and scares are among the best we have experienced this year and we can’t wait to see what the signal has waiting for us again in 2025.
Links:
Bunker Below website
You Review
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My daughter is now old enough to join me in coming to scare attractions so this was our first!
We absolutely loved it, the immersion began as soon as we got to the main tent, with soldiers bearing arms, helping us around.
The ladies loo situation could be improved, but ended up chatting to fold we would never see again
Total immersion in the scare, creepy and well, weird! We left the encounter running, and I haven't run in years, it was the best time! An epilogue to free us could have been good, as we are still part of the experiment 5 days later
We absolutely loved it, the immersion began as soon as we got to the main tent, with soldiers bearing arms, helping us around.
The ladies loo situation could be improved, but ended up chatting to fold we would never see again
Total immersion in the scare, creepy and well, weird! We left the encounter running, and I haven't run in years, it was the best time! An epilogue to free us could have been good, as we are still part of the experiment 5 days later
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