Cursed
Essex County Council have been running their Cursed event for several years but this is only the second year at the historic Cressing Temple near Witham. Instead of separate attractions, guests are invited to take a long walk round the grounds, stopping off at a number of small mazes along the way. It generally means no waiting once inside the event and with scares between the mazes makes the event feel like one big attraction.
Haverstock Manor
The façade of this maze is one of the most elaborate we have seen at any Halloween event ever, as it actually looks like a run down decrepit 2 story Victorian house. Inside, the actors were extremely lively with some interesting hiding places and an ability to get the whole group jumping and screaming in fright.
ClaustrOphobia
Claimed to be the longest claustrophobia tunnel in the UK, this one is definitely one of the tightest! Made from what felt like two over inflated bouncy castles it was literally a real squeeze to get through, and we were glad to be out of it. For once, once of these tunnels actually had an effect on us instead of just being a mild inconvenience, as we had actually started to panic that we might not get out.
Mausoleum
The Mausoleum was a small but pitch dark room with a what appeared to be a tomb in the centre. Whether we missed the door or whether we were supposed to go round and round several times we're not sure but with the creature in the tomb we were pleased when we finally found our way out.
Cell - 13
The prison is on lockdown and the inmates are loose! This well themed maze was pretty chaotic as it was full of crazy actors attacking from all sides including from above. The maze doesn't try to do anything new or fancy - it just provides a full on scare attraction that never gives up.
Cooler
A simple concept executed well. We only did one lap of a big room but the space in the middle was populated by some very aggressive actors so we were quite happy to cling to the wall!. With the white walls, bloody sheets, and strobe lighting throughout this was another chaotic maze that left us fumbling for the exit door.
The Attic
What would an event be without clowns? The attic was a small walk through a twisted freak show with some very excitable freaks on display. We had a number of good scares in here which coupled with some periods of intense darkness left us all rushing to escape.
Volt
The Volt is probably the most technical aspect of the whole experience due to the special effects required. The "show" takes place in a US style prison where we were invited to watch the exection of a criminal. Of course - bot everything was as it seemed and our group jumped a number of times throughout the performance.
As well as the individual mazes there were a number of themed walkways along the route including the pumpkin patch and the graveyard. As mentioned previously - these walks were just as scary as some of the mazes as we never knew what would appear next. Horrible suited faceless guys attacked us in the woods, while strange tree monsters lurked in the herb garden ready to pounce. In fact it was usually during the "quieter" sections where we got scared the most as we would have let our guard down and were caught unaware.
When we finally came to the end of our walk, we were genuinely disappointed that the event had finished. We really enjoyed the layout and style of Cursed and along the way we had many many good scares. Although some of the mazes are a little short in places, taken as part of a whole show they feel fine - even if they don't tell an overall story or concept. Also, the level of scares and attention to detail throughout should be commended as there never seemed to be a "dead spot" along the path. All in - a very good event with so many different styles of maze all for one price - highly recommended!
When we finally came to the end of our walk, we were genuinely disappointed that the event had finished. We really enjoyed the layout and style of Cursed and along the way we had many many good scares. Although some of the mazes are a little short in places, taken as part of a whole show they feel fine - even if they don't tell an overall story or concept. Also, the level of scares and attention to detail throughout should be commended as there never seemed to be a "dead spot" along the path. All in - a very good event with so many different styles of maze all for one price - highly recommended!
Links
Official Cursed website: www.thecursed.co.uk
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