Hellfire Caves Halloween 2022- Review
Having had a lot of fun at the Hellfire Caves last year for their fright nights event, we made sure to return for this year's event, Nightmare on Church Lane. Upon entering the caves, there was already an immediate difference from last year in that there seemed to be more of a story going on this time around. We were greeted by an actor who gave us a speech about what was going on and assured us that there was absolutely nothing to worry about down there. Of course, this was far from the truth, as all hell had been unleashed down in the caves, with nightmares of all kinds wandering loose, tormenting those brave enough to descend into their domain.
Every twist in every tunnel hid an actor waiting to pounce. Some characters were benign, such as the dream catcher asking all who passed her what their worst nightmare was, others were mute but sinister, staring you down when the lights were on and gone again when the lights were out.
This change to the lighting in the caves flickering on and off certainly served to make the whole event feel much more unsettling and intense, allowing actors to appear and disappear for some truly terrifying scares as you stumble around in the limited light, trying to find your way around. We found ourselves running our hands along the cave walls to help us navigate, sometimes only moving when the lights were on briefly, freezing up, too afraid to move forward when engulfed in darkness for fear of coming face to face with one of the creatures when the lights came back on. This lead to me jumping a lot more than I usually would in a scare attraction. I'm not a jumpy person at all. Jumpscares at scare mazes and in films rarely work on me, but repeatedly robbed of my sight down in the caves meant for more shocking surprises than usual.
As my fingers traced the wall in one tunnel, I got the fright of my life when a rather tall and foreboding actor stepped out of nowhere just as I must've been about to accidentally touch him, before melting back into the darkness again as though he'd never been there at all.
It was extremely impressive how well the actors were able to use the space they had to their advantage. We circled the caves a couple of times, and actors were rarely in the same place, making it difficult to predict where the next scare was going to come from. Seeing chanting twins at the end of a cave tunnel, illuminated only by intermittent red light is an ominous experience in itself, but then having to confront and clamour past them at a claustrophobic curve in the passageway, only to have them follow behind you, chanting ever louder, is quite disturbing. Not to mention being locked in a room that looked as though it had been used for ritual sacrifice and stared down by a silent aggressor.
The small nod to Stranger Things in one room was a nice touch, especially when that creepy clock sound that played whenever Vecna was nearby triggers an almost instant sense of dread.
There was one actor in there who had quite possibly the most terrifying horror scream we've ever heard anywhere. How anyone can sustain such a loud and spine-chilling scream and not lose their voice is a miracle! And on our second go around, actors began commenting, adjusting their lines to acknowledge the fact that they'd already encountered us before. While not uncommon when re-running mazes at a lot of places, it was the first time we'd found almost every actor to make a comment on it, some with frightening effectiveness as they upped their intimidation factor for round two.
With actors haunting each of your steps, all of them expertly controlling the space and the poor guests within it, combined with the extremely atmospheric and disorientating lighting, it made for an even more intense and entertaining experience than last year, and we emerged more than a little shaken in the best possible way.
The fact that the actor also noticed my clothing on the way out and accused me of being a witch, then bestowing a new familiar upon me in the form of one of the creatures that emerged from the cave, stalking us all the way to the entrance, with the opening actor screaming “WITCH! WIIITCH!!” as we exited through the turnstile made it all the more memorable, along with prompting some concerned expressions from those sitting drinking coffee at the entrance as we laughed and attempted to catch our breath.
A scare attraction set inside caves is always going to seem promising and unique, and the team who have created the scares at Hellfire Caves certainly know how to deliver a truly frightening and fun experience! We hope they will continue with their October scare events so that we can return next year for more underground frights and frolics!
Every twist in every tunnel hid an actor waiting to pounce. Some characters were benign, such as the dream catcher asking all who passed her what their worst nightmare was, others were mute but sinister, staring you down when the lights were on and gone again when the lights were out.
This change to the lighting in the caves flickering on and off certainly served to make the whole event feel much more unsettling and intense, allowing actors to appear and disappear for some truly terrifying scares as you stumble around in the limited light, trying to find your way around. We found ourselves running our hands along the cave walls to help us navigate, sometimes only moving when the lights were on briefly, freezing up, too afraid to move forward when engulfed in darkness for fear of coming face to face with one of the creatures when the lights came back on. This lead to me jumping a lot more than I usually would in a scare attraction. I'm not a jumpy person at all. Jumpscares at scare mazes and in films rarely work on me, but repeatedly robbed of my sight down in the caves meant for more shocking surprises than usual.
As my fingers traced the wall in one tunnel, I got the fright of my life when a rather tall and foreboding actor stepped out of nowhere just as I must've been about to accidentally touch him, before melting back into the darkness again as though he'd never been there at all.
It was extremely impressive how well the actors were able to use the space they had to their advantage. We circled the caves a couple of times, and actors were rarely in the same place, making it difficult to predict where the next scare was going to come from. Seeing chanting twins at the end of a cave tunnel, illuminated only by intermittent red light is an ominous experience in itself, but then having to confront and clamour past them at a claustrophobic curve in the passageway, only to have them follow behind you, chanting ever louder, is quite disturbing. Not to mention being locked in a room that looked as though it had been used for ritual sacrifice and stared down by a silent aggressor.
The small nod to Stranger Things in one room was a nice touch, especially when that creepy clock sound that played whenever Vecna was nearby triggers an almost instant sense of dread.
There was one actor in there who had quite possibly the most terrifying horror scream we've ever heard anywhere. How anyone can sustain such a loud and spine-chilling scream and not lose their voice is a miracle! And on our second go around, actors began commenting, adjusting their lines to acknowledge the fact that they'd already encountered us before. While not uncommon when re-running mazes at a lot of places, it was the first time we'd found almost every actor to make a comment on it, some with frightening effectiveness as they upped their intimidation factor for round two.
With actors haunting each of your steps, all of them expertly controlling the space and the poor guests within it, combined with the extremely atmospheric and disorientating lighting, it made for an even more intense and entertaining experience than last year, and we emerged more than a little shaken in the best possible way.
The fact that the actor also noticed my clothing on the way out and accused me of being a witch, then bestowing a new familiar upon me in the form of one of the creatures that emerged from the cave, stalking us all the way to the entrance, with the opening actor screaming “WITCH! WIIITCH!!” as we exited through the turnstile made it all the more memorable, along with prompting some concerned expressions from those sitting drinking coffee at the entrance as we laughed and attempted to catch our breath.
A scare attraction set inside caves is always going to seem promising and unique, and the team who have created the scares at Hellfire Caves certainly know how to deliver a truly frightening and fun experience! We hope they will continue with their October scare events so that we can return next year for more underground frights and frolics!
Hellfire Caves Halloween 2021- Review
Official review coming soon
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Very scary - We've never had the opportunity to visit Hellfire caves for their Fright Nights event previously, so since we had a free Friday night, we decided to check it out for the first time. Going in relatively blind, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that there was no requirement to queue, and so we arrived, were greeted, and waltzed right into the caves and into a rather energetic ringmaster, who set the tone for the rest of the experience.
Alongside the lack of queuing, we also weren't expecting the caves to be crammed with clowns of all things. The blaring soundtrack played a disturbing mixture of sinister sounds, raucous rave-like tracks, and even some recognisable favourites from other scare events we've visited in the past. The actors within made fantastic use of the space to pull off some genuinely surprising and entertaining scares.
Not knowing our way around the caves, we ended up wandering through certain sections a few times, but that was all part of the fun, especially when actors began to recognise us and make humourous comments. We would occasionally find ourselves in a bit of a pileup with other guests due to the free-flowing nature of the attraction, but equally, we often found ourselves completely alone. This gave us the opportunity to admire the many decorations behind bars rather than being swiftly ushered on as you are in most scare attractions, something we really appreciated as there was quite a lot to see.
Both of us adore clowns because they can say or do anything, meaning you're never quite sure what to expect from the actors. Along with classic-style jump scares, we also encountered some whacky pranks that chilled and entertained us in equal measure, with one clown offering lollipops to guests, going from distraught to deranged upon rejection of their generous gift.
All in all, it was a lot of fun roaming around in the dimly lit caves, clowns around every corner. It was certainly a unique event unlike anything else we've been to before. If we'd had more time, we would have stayed a while to soak up the atmosphere and have a coffee outside, but sadly, we had to get home. As a local attraction, it was well worth a visit, and we look forward to returning in the future.
The only downside was that we were told to park in a car park that was operated by a company separate to the caves, and charged by the hour. Not knowing how long the experience would be, and factoring in potential queue time, we unnecessarily paid for 2 hours of parking. On top of that, the car park wasn't exactly close to the caves either, with many people stumbling across a muddy, uneven field with no lighting, others opting for the longer way around by the road.
Alongside the lack of queuing, we also weren't expecting the caves to be crammed with clowns of all things. The blaring soundtrack played a disturbing mixture of sinister sounds, raucous rave-like tracks, and even some recognisable favourites from other scare events we've visited in the past. The actors within made fantastic use of the space to pull off some genuinely surprising and entertaining scares.
Not knowing our way around the caves, we ended up wandering through certain sections a few times, but that was all part of the fun, especially when actors began to recognise us and make humourous comments. We would occasionally find ourselves in a bit of a pileup with other guests due to the free-flowing nature of the attraction, but equally, we often found ourselves completely alone. This gave us the opportunity to admire the many decorations behind bars rather than being swiftly ushered on as you are in most scare attractions, something we really appreciated as there was quite a lot to see.
Both of us adore clowns because they can say or do anything, meaning you're never quite sure what to expect from the actors. Along with classic-style jump scares, we also encountered some whacky pranks that chilled and entertained us in equal measure, with one clown offering lollipops to guests, going from distraught to deranged upon rejection of their generous gift.
All in all, it was a lot of fun roaming around in the dimly lit caves, clowns around every corner. It was certainly a unique event unlike anything else we've been to before. If we'd had more time, we would have stayed a while to soak up the atmosphere and have a coffee outside, but sadly, we had to get home. As a local attraction, it was well worth a visit, and we look forward to returning in the future.
The only downside was that we were told to park in a car park that was operated by a company separate to the caves, and charged by the hour. Not knowing how long the experience would be, and factoring in potential queue time, we unnecessarily paid for 2 hours of parking. On top of that, the car park wasn't exactly close to the caves either, with many people stumbling across a muddy, uneven field with no lighting, others opting for the longer way around by the road.
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