Cursed 2024
review coming soon

Scary - Very much worth the money and good entertainment would highly recommend all staff was very friendly and welcoming. All mazes were good and very interesting really recommend the hotel one and the harvest maze. Also had a tent where they had shows on and also had a fire show.
Cursed 2023
Cursed has had many incarnations over the years and we have been visiting this Essex based event since it first started in the Cressing Temple barns in Braintree. Since then, it has moved around with stints in Wat Tyler Park in Pitsea and last year moved to Crouch Valley Showground in Rayleigh. Along the way the event has changed from being a continuous walk through trail into something more akin to a standard scream park, and this year, a change in the layout has really proven that the event has finally found their sweet spot (especially as parking is so much easier here than in Pitsea!)
As in previous years, the event starts immediately with the first maze experience called Graveyard, which was a random mix of scenes and characters including one of the longest Claustrophobia tunnels we have experienced. The random nature of this section perfectly sets up the scares of the event, and it was a great way to start the night as guests are thrown directly into the action.
Once out into the main arena – the 5 remaining mazes are spread out in a circular pattern with a bonfire and fire show in the middle and several catering outlets in a food court.
Our next maze was Scary Tales which as you would expect from the name, takes a twisted and horrific look at children’s fairy tales. This was easily the most theatrical of the mazes, but for us lacked the impact scares of the others. It just seemed a bit too short in comparison and it wasn’t long before we were passing through the "Happily Never After" doors back outside.
The same can’t be said of the Sewers which was a long and twisting maze absolutely populated with rat creatures looking for blood. For one of the oldest attractions at the event – we had so many great impact scares throughout.
Following the trouble they caused last year as roaming characters, for 2023 the clowns have been rounded up and locked inside the Clown Clink. This maze cleverly mixed two completely opposing genres – prisons and clowns and combined them into a chaotic riot of noise and scares. It was clear these clowns were having fun and although we screamed a lot – we couldn’t help feeling that the laughter was contagious, as we were teased mercilessly.
As we lined up for Junkyard, we wrongly believed we were just about to experience another marquee maze, so as we were pleasantly surprised when this attraction turned into a massive indoor-outdoor attraction filled with hay bales, crashed vehicles and VERY lively actors. The actors were using some exciting and different hiding spaces for their scares, and each were trying to get us as many times as possible, which was possible due to the winding nature of the layout. Kudos to the creature that dived out the car window to make a grab for us - you should be proud of the intense scream you got from all of us!
Finally, lurking ominously across the over side of the site, The Haunting’s tag line of “thou shall not see” kind of gives away that this is blindfolded/rope maze. What really stood out for us as that the rope often moved sides along the journey which made it very confusing at times. Alongside the uneven floors and the creepy nun creatures whispering in our ears and touching us, this was a particularly strong hooded maze (although probably a nightmare to experience for a short person as the rope was sometimes above our heads!) Once un-hooded we were led into one final scene that actually made one of our group drop to the floor (see picture below). We would like to say that this was just a one off scare, but the whole event has us reacting like for most of the night!
The acting quality through all the attractions was some of the best we have seen, and combined with the detailed sets and fun maze designs, meant we had an absolute blast at Cursed this year. In fact, we will go so far as to say that this is the strongest we have ever experienced the event and if they can keep this up – will really start to put some of the biggest scare events to shame!
As in previous years, the event starts immediately with the first maze experience called Graveyard, which was a random mix of scenes and characters including one of the longest Claustrophobia tunnels we have experienced. The random nature of this section perfectly sets up the scares of the event, and it was a great way to start the night as guests are thrown directly into the action.
Once out into the main arena – the 5 remaining mazes are spread out in a circular pattern with a bonfire and fire show in the middle and several catering outlets in a food court.
Our next maze was Scary Tales which as you would expect from the name, takes a twisted and horrific look at children’s fairy tales. This was easily the most theatrical of the mazes, but for us lacked the impact scares of the others. It just seemed a bit too short in comparison and it wasn’t long before we were passing through the "Happily Never After" doors back outside.
The same can’t be said of the Sewers which was a long and twisting maze absolutely populated with rat creatures looking for blood. For one of the oldest attractions at the event – we had so many great impact scares throughout.
Following the trouble they caused last year as roaming characters, for 2023 the clowns have been rounded up and locked inside the Clown Clink. This maze cleverly mixed two completely opposing genres – prisons and clowns and combined them into a chaotic riot of noise and scares. It was clear these clowns were having fun and although we screamed a lot – we couldn’t help feeling that the laughter was contagious, as we were teased mercilessly.
As we lined up for Junkyard, we wrongly believed we were just about to experience another marquee maze, so as we were pleasantly surprised when this attraction turned into a massive indoor-outdoor attraction filled with hay bales, crashed vehicles and VERY lively actors. The actors were using some exciting and different hiding spaces for their scares, and each were trying to get us as many times as possible, which was possible due to the winding nature of the layout. Kudos to the creature that dived out the car window to make a grab for us - you should be proud of the intense scream you got from all of us!
Finally, lurking ominously across the over side of the site, The Haunting’s tag line of “thou shall not see” kind of gives away that this is blindfolded/rope maze. What really stood out for us as that the rope often moved sides along the journey which made it very confusing at times. Alongside the uneven floors and the creepy nun creatures whispering in our ears and touching us, this was a particularly strong hooded maze (although probably a nightmare to experience for a short person as the rope was sometimes above our heads!) Once un-hooded we were led into one final scene that actually made one of our group drop to the floor (see picture below). We would like to say that this was just a one off scare, but the whole event has us reacting like for most of the night!
The acting quality through all the attractions was some of the best we have seen, and combined with the detailed sets and fun maze designs, meant we had an absolute blast at Cursed this year. In fact, we will go so far as to say that this is the strongest we have ever experienced the event and if they can keep this up – will really start to put some of the biggest scare events to shame!
Cursed 2021
Continuing with their format changes from 2019, Cursed starts with an immediate bang as guests are thrust into the FestEVIl section. This really is just an introduction to the event and as usual, the clowns here were fun and raucous. Sadly this intro zone is quite small before it leads into the first real scare attraction of the night - The Safe Zone.
This attraction mixes indoor and outdoor sections with some lively scares from the actors. The scares were pretty relentless throughout and the whole thing is a mix of scare attraction and scare zone, which leads guests into the newly rearranged event arena.
The smaller arena area works really well and feels more atmospheric, with multiple roaming scare actors scaring guests, whilst fire performers appear throughout the night in the performance area. Of course we also got to hang with the inimitable EtHell, who was as foul mouthed and offensive as always!
The Haunting was our first maze and this is Cursed's take on a hooded/blindfold maze. Now we must admit to being quite bored with hooded mazes as they seem to be everywhere, but The Haunting was elevated by some impressive scares and interaction from the actors inside. They really seemed to be everywhere and weren't afraid to get up close and touch at times. Also, we felt that the attraction was actually telling a story as opposed to just random characters screaming at us in the dark!
The next two mazes - The Sewer and The Institute, really ramped up the intensity with a lot of very quick sharp scares throughout. The sets in both are extremely detailed with the Sewer feeling really grimy and dirty, and The Institute cleverly mixing small tight corridors with larger rooms and set pieces. The actors in both mazes, gave us multiple scares on our run throughs, focussing on everyone in the group - not just those at the front or the back. We wish more attractions would scare like this!
Our final maze was Alf's Emporium which really surprised us with the engaging storyline and scares throughout. Our official "on ride" picture below shows the kind of scares we were getting, with unique appearances from all directions and some genuine startle scares. One thing that stood out in this attraction was the attention to detail in the sets, including some fascinating wood carvings that really created a mystical feeling throughout. All in - we couldn't fault anything about this maze!
We have been visiting Cursed for many years and have seen it change format and style various times. It has always felt that the park were unsure if they wanted to be a scream park or a multi part event. But this was definitely one of the strongest years for the event, so maybe they have now found their niche. With this format and the quality of scares - the future for Cursed is looking very bright indeed!
This attraction mixes indoor and outdoor sections with some lively scares from the actors. The scares were pretty relentless throughout and the whole thing is a mix of scare attraction and scare zone, which leads guests into the newly rearranged event arena.
The smaller arena area works really well and feels more atmospheric, with multiple roaming scare actors scaring guests, whilst fire performers appear throughout the night in the performance area. Of course we also got to hang with the inimitable EtHell, who was as foul mouthed and offensive as always!
The Haunting was our first maze and this is Cursed's take on a hooded/blindfold maze. Now we must admit to being quite bored with hooded mazes as they seem to be everywhere, but The Haunting was elevated by some impressive scares and interaction from the actors inside. They really seemed to be everywhere and weren't afraid to get up close and touch at times. Also, we felt that the attraction was actually telling a story as opposed to just random characters screaming at us in the dark!
The next two mazes - The Sewer and The Institute, really ramped up the intensity with a lot of very quick sharp scares throughout. The sets in both are extremely detailed with the Sewer feeling really grimy and dirty, and The Institute cleverly mixing small tight corridors with larger rooms and set pieces. The actors in both mazes, gave us multiple scares on our run throughs, focussing on everyone in the group - not just those at the front or the back. We wish more attractions would scare like this!
Our final maze was Alf's Emporium which really surprised us with the engaging storyline and scares throughout. Our official "on ride" picture below shows the kind of scares we were getting, with unique appearances from all directions and some genuine startle scares. One thing that stood out in this attraction was the attention to detail in the sets, including some fascinating wood carvings that really created a mystical feeling throughout. All in - we couldn't fault anything about this maze!
We have been visiting Cursed for many years and have seen it change format and style various times. It has always felt that the park were unsure if they wanted to be a scream park or a multi part event. But this was definitely one of the strongest years for the event, so maybe they have now found their niche. With this format and the quality of scares - the future for Cursed is looking very bright indeed!

Terrifying - It's such a good night out .well worth the money .very scary I would definitely recommend
Cursed 2019
This year, Cursed changed format slightly and plunged guests straight into the scares from the ticket office. Sending all guests directly through the Safe Zone. Meandering around hay bales and in almost pitch black the actors were lively and worked the whole group, and it felt anything but safe from the zombies that lurked within.However, operationally this seemed to present a considerable delay to guests waiting to enter the park and long queues into the car park.
Next up, we headed for The Sewers. As a sequel to Work Chop, this featured a fun pre-show with the matriarch of the family living within, and led us nicely into the sewer tunnels. Featuring some impressive sets, theming and smells (smells we may never forget, they were so awful!) The Sewers gave an immersive experience of sewer life for some very hungry cannibals.
We then headed for The Haunting. This was Cursed's blindfolded maze. Unfortunately, we found the maze lacked a storyline. We also found the maze a little too short and under populated with scares.
Next up was The Institute. As junior reporters assigned to witness an execution, we entered the prison. As expected, the inmates didn't take too kindly to visitors and made us feel very unwelcome. Dark corridors and strobe lighting offered a very disorientating experience and we were pleased to see the exit.
Finally, we headed for Abducted. Leaving the comfort of the Tavern and heading to the cellars for shelter proved to be a mistake. Unfortunately, we missed the final scare, but this was in part made up for by some great theming and an impressive lighting package within the finale scene.
So to summarise our experience. Whilst we encountered some great theming, sets and design, we couldn't help but feel that Cursed were a little ambitious with their changes this year. Whilst we knew the back story to each maze before entering, we would have liked the mazes to convey more of this storyline throughout. Some of the mazes also lacked impact and scares and we left wanting more.
Saying that, we look forward to seeing how Cursed change or develop these mazes further next year!
Next up, we headed for The Sewers. As a sequel to Work Chop, this featured a fun pre-show with the matriarch of the family living within, and led us nicely into the sewer tunnels. Featuring some impressive sets, theming and smells (smells we may never forget, they were so awful!) The Sewers gave an immersive experience of sewer life for some very hungry cannibals.
We then headed for The Haunting. This was Cursed's blindfolded maze. Unfortunately, we found the maze lacked a storyline. We also found the maze a little too short and under populated with scares.
Next up was The Institute. As junior reporters assigned to witness an execution, we entered the prison. As expected, the inmates didn't take too kindly to visitors and made us feel very unwelcome. Dark corridors and strobe lighting offered a very disorientating experience and we were pleased to see the exit.
Finally, we headed for Abducted. Leaving the comfort of the Tavern and heading to the cellars for shelter proved to be a mistake. Unfortunately, we missed the final scare, but this was in part made up for by some great theming and an impressive lighting package within the finale scene.
So to summarise our experience. Whilst we encountered some great theming, sets and design, we couldn't help but feel that Cursed were a little ambitious with their changes this year. Whilst we knew the back story to each maze before entering, we would have liked the mazes to convey more of this storyline throughout. Some of the mazes also lacked impact and scares and we left wanting more.
Saying that, we look forward to seeing how Cursed change or develop these mazes further next year!
Cursed 2018
We arrived at Cursed in Essex to be faced with bit of bad news. Unfortunately, the site had suffered a small fire in one of its buildings which sadly meant that Cell 13 – the park’s most intense attraction, would be out of commission for the rest of the 2018 run. To compensate – we were offered one extra run through of any scare maze of our choice. But would the loss of the event’s best maze ruin our experience?
Fest Evil started with a very long Claustrophobia tunnel as we entered the lair of the killer clowns. From here the rooms were brightly lit and the clowns were having fun tormenting and testing us as we made our way around their carnival. Although nothing original or different, this was fun start to our night.
Next up was the new attraction for 2018 - Deadman’s Pass. This was a nicely themed maze which utilised a number of large open areas – i.e. the courtyard where the hanging was due to take place along with dark passages as we worked our way around the town – searching for Deadeye Murphy. The actors were great fun in here including one guy who got very racy with his rattlesnake innuendo! We also likde the way the attraction moved inside and out of the courtyard where we could see other groups ahead/behind us. One final thing to note was some really nice artwork depicting Deadeye on the walls – although the graffiti style was kind of out of place to the rest of the detailed themin – it was of high quality throughout. We are pleased to say this was our favourite maze of the night.
Contaminated is a part maze, part outdoor walk that really harks back to the old days when Cursed was a multi part event, where attractions were all done in order, as opposed to the scream park it is now. Greeted by the army, we were sent into the contaminated zone with a view to getting to safety. Along the way we had to pass through different structures – including medical tents and a maze built out of hay bales. The actors working this experience in the field, were some of the most physical we have seen – literally throwing themselves over and under the obstacles to get to us and we had a number of good jump scares along the way. The path then led to an unpopulated woodland walk (that really needed at least 1 or 2 scares) before entering the pitch black maze section at the end. Although it was scary just finding our way in the dark – this could have been even scarier with a few actors.
Work Chop is back for another year and remains as chaotic as previous versions. Populated by some very hungry cannibalistic characters we had several good jump cares through the well themed sets.
And our final maze was Doll House which was creepy – as the hundreds of dolls stuck to the walls started to come to life and scare us. We loved the little touches such as the toy dolls moving to watch us and this teamed up with the actors to give us several good scares throughout. It helped when the “dolls” recognised us and followed us out of the maze to taunt us event more!
So with 5 mazes done, did we miss the departure of Cell 13? Well obviously WE did, as we know how good it used to be, but with the 5 mazes and the fun AmpiFeartre Freakshow by Johnny Strangers’s Steampunk Circus, we still had enough to keep us busy and have a great night out.
Fest Evil started with a very long Claustrophobia tunnel as we entered the lair of the killer clowns. From here the rooms were brightly lit and the clowns were having fun tormenting and testing us as we made our way around their carnival. Although nothing original or different, this was fun start to our night.
Next up was the new attraction for 2018 - Deadman’s Pass. This was a nicely themed maze which utilised a number of large open areas – i.e. the courtyard where the hanging was due to take place along with dark passages as we worked our way around the town – searching for Deadeye Murphy. The actors were great fun in here including one guy who got very racy with his rattlesnake innuendo! We also likde the way the attraction moved inside and out of the courtyard where we could see other groups ahead/behind us. One final thing to note was some really nice artwork depicting Deadeye on the walls – although the graffiti style was kind of out of place to the rest of the detailed themin – it was of high quality throughout. We are pleased to say this was our favourite maze of the night.
Contaminated is a part maze, part outdoor walk that really harks back to the old days when Cursed was a multi part event, where attractions were all done in order, as opposed to the scream park it is now. Greeted by the army, we were sent into the contaminated zone with a view to getting to safety. Along the way we had to pass through different structures – including medical tents and a maze built out of hay bales. The actors working this experience in the field, were some of the most physical we have seen – literally throwing themselves over and under the obstacles to get to us and we had a number of good jump scares along the way. The path then led to an unpopulated woodland walk (that really needed at least 1 or 2 scares) before entering the pitch black maze section at the end. Although it was scary just finding our way in the dark – this could have been even scarier with a few actors.
Work Chop is back for another year and remains as chaotic as previous versions. Populated by some very hungry cannibalistic characters we had several good jump cares through the well themed sets.
And our final maze was Doll House which was creepy – as the hundreds of dolls stuck to the walls started to come to life and scare us. We loved the little touches such as the toy dolls moving to watch us and this teamed up with the actors to give us several good scares throughout. It helped when the “dolls” recognised us and followed us out of the maze to taunt us event more!
So with 5 mazes done, did we miss the departure of Cell 13? Well obviously WE did, as we know how good it used to be, but with the 5 mazes and the fun AmpiFeartre Freakshow by Johnny Strangers’s Steampunk Circus, we still had enough to keep us busy and have a great night out.
Cursed 2017
People often say that we must be immune to scary things, however we can wholeheartedly say we had lots of fun during the course of our visit to Cursed. The team managed to make us jump at various points - some before we had even entered the park itself!
Festevil was the first maze we entered. The first challenge was squeezing our way through a claustrophobic tunnel, which we could imagine would play on a lot of people's fears. After entering via the tunnel we found ourselves confronted by various carni folk, with some great setting and props. Although this was one of the less scary mazes for us, we felt that the theming and actors (who gave a 100% performance) helped make the experience an enjoyable one, we felt that maybe this.maze was aimed more towards the younger participates at Cursed.
Nag's Inn was our second maze of the evening. As we entered we was greeted by the owner of the Inn and wow she was full on (in a good way) as we moved around the maze, through various rooms of the inn we came face to face with the inn's residents. The actors in this Maze were some of the strongest performers of the night. They were joined by some great effects (yes you got us with the exploding toilet! We loved the setting of the Hag's Inn and it makes it into our top 2 mazes at the event. We also got our first big jump scare here when we thought we had left the maze and suddenly from nowhere was pounced on my one the actors.
Next we took a walk over to the Toy Shop. As we entered the toy shop, the crazy shop owner welcomed us to a shop floor to ceiling filled with dolls. Very creepy! Throughout the maze there we numerous actors playing scary toys, some of which made us jump at numerous stages throughout. We loved the layout of this maze. With small corridors and tiny spaces it allowed the actors to get much closer and added to the overall tension of the experience. The only thing we would say is we felt this maze was too short.
After leaving the Toy Shop we made our way over to the AmphiFEARtre. This was an entertainment area with fire eaters and our a snake dancer etc. We felt the entertainment was of a very high standard and add to the overall feeling of the night.
After the show we next decided to do The Chop Shop. To be honest this was our least favourite maze of the evening and it's very hard to explain why. The setup and actors were all great, we just felt there was something missing. Maybe due to the spaces and corridors being generally bigger than the other mazes it took away the tension factor that we had previously experienced. it was also very short and we felt just as the maze had started we were back in the real world.
Next we took a stroll over to Cell 13. We have always loved this maze and we weren't disappointed. This is easily the scariest maze at the event. As we entered, we were greeted by the prison warden and boy was he scary ordering us around and setting the overall theme. As we moved through the maze there were numerous actors playing escaped patients jumping out from everywhere even including from the ceiling at one stage. The thing we loved about this maze was the intensity. The lights and sound were designed amazingly well and added huge tension to the whole experience. We loved the various levels in the maze, with the biggest jump scare coming while crawling through a tunnel. Everything about Cell 13 was perfect. The actors, sounds, setting and lighting - all just outstanding.
Lastly, we visited Contaminated a new attraction for this year and lasting 20 minutes. This maze had the potential to out do the rest by a long way. Unfortunately due to a few minor issues it just missed out on our top 2 position. When we got to the front of the queue we were greeted by a soldier who explained that there had been an incident and the T Virus had been let loose and the only safe zone was if we could make it to the church. We joined another group of 3 girls and headed into the maze. This bit we really loved, we had to run through various assault course style mazes jumping and ducking under fences, running around straw bale mazes all the time avoiding the various scare actors running at us. Here is one of first minor issues. We felt there was a slight hole in the plot line here. We were told that the Zombies were after us, however most of the scare actors we were confronted by were not. We had a clown and a hillbilly to name two
Maybe this is just us being picky and maybe it didn't matter. To be fair it was still scary, just a little confusing to the plot. Next we had to run down a dark country lane and into the woods which were dark and creepy, various actors jumped out and chased us around the woods, this really was one of the highlights of the evening. But then came our next little issue. So there we are walking through the woods on edge when we see a light heading towards us. We braced ourselves to be scared. However it turn out to just be a guy with a torch who quickly said “ don’t worry I'm just staff not an actor “ this really did spoil the tension that had been so brilliantly worked up too. As we came out of the woods we could see the church that we had been heading towards, where we then were confronted by another queue, we felt that this spoiled the fluidity of the maze however we understand that it is not always possible to avoid queues when you have so many people in attendance. So we entered the maze and was confronted by complete darkness, which was terrifying. It took us a while to escape which was fun - we swear it felt like someone had moved the walls! We think that with a few minor tweaks this whole attraction could be the best event at Cursed.
So to summarize our experience. Even with a few minor issues we had an amazing time. the staff and actors were just amazing, helpful and professional during our whole visit. The mazes were designed with love and great detail had gone into each one. We enjoyed the whole experience and feel that there’s a bit for everyone. We will definitely return next year and would recommend the event to anyone looking to have a good scare.
Festevil was the first maze we entered. The first challenge was squeezing our way through a claustrophobic tunnel, which we could imagine would play on a lot of people's fears. After entering via the tunnel we found ourselves confronted by various carni folk, with some great setting and props. Although this was one of the less scary mazes for us, we felt that the theming and actors (who gave a 100% performance) helped make the experience an enjoyable one, we felt that maybe this.maze was aimed more towards the younger participates at Cursed.
Nag's Inn was our second maze of the evening. As we entered we was greeted by the owner of the Inn and wow she was full on (in a good way) as we moved around the maze, through various rooms of the inn we came face to face with the inn's residents. The actors in this Maze were some of the strongest performers of the night. They were joined by some great effects (yes you got us with the exploding toilet! We loved the setting of the Hag's Inn and it makes it into our top 2 mazes at the event. We also got our first big jump scare here when we thought we had left the maze and suddenly from nowhere was pounced on my one the actors.
Next we took a walk over to the Toy Shop. As we entered the toy shop, the crazy shop owner welcomed us to a shop floor to ceiling filled with dolls. Very creepy! Throughout the maze there we numerous actors playing scary toys, some of which made us jump at numerous stages throughout. We loved the layout of this maze. With small corridors and tiny spaces it allowed the actors to get much closer and added to the overall tension of the experience. The only thing we would say is we felt this maze was too short.
After leaving the Toy Shop we made our way over to the AmphiFEARtre. This was an entertainment area with fire eaters and our a snake dancer etc. We felt the entertainment was of a very high standard and add to the overall feeling of the night.
After the show we next decided to do The Chop Shop. To be honest this was our least favourite maze of the evening and it's very hard to explain why. The setup and actors were all great, we just felt there was something missing. Maybe due to the spaces and corridors being generally bigger than the other mazes it took away the tension factor that we had previously experienced. it was also very short and we felt just as the maze had started we were back in the real world.
Next we took a stroll over to Cell 13. We have always loved this maze and we weren't disappointed. This is easily the scariest maze at the event. As we entered, we were greeted by the prison warden and boy was he scary ordering us around and setting the overall theme. As we moved through the maze there were numerous actors playing escaped patients jumping out from everywhere even including from the ceiling at one stage. The thing we loved about this maze was the intensity. The lights and sound were designed amazingly well and added huge tension to the whole experience. We loved the various levels in the maze, with the biggest jump scare coming while crawling through a tunnel. Everything about Cell 13 was perfect. The actors, sounds, setting and lighting - all just outstanding.
Lastly, we visited Contaminated a new attraction for this year and lasting 20 minutes. This maze had the potential to out do the rest by a long way. Unfortunately due to a few minor issues it just missed out on our top 2 position. When we got to the front of the queue we were greeted by a soldier who explained that there had been an incident and the T Virus had been let loose and the only safe zone was if we could make it to the church. We joined another group of 3 girls and headed into the maze. This bit we really loved, we had to run through various assault course style mazes jumping and ducking under fences, running around straw bale mazes all the time avoiding the various scare actors running at us. Here is one of first minor issues. We felt there was a slight hole in the plot line here. We were told that the Zombies were after us, however most of the scare actors we were confronted by were not. We had a clown and a hillbilly to name two
Maybe this is just us being picky and maybe it didn't matter. To be fair it was still scary, just a little confusing to the plot. Next we had to run down a dark country lane and into the woods which were dark and creepy, various actors jumped out and chased us around the woods, this really was one of the highlights of the evening. But then came our next little issue. So there we are walking through the woods on edge when we see a light heading towards us. We braced ourselves to be scared. However it turn out to just be a guy with a torch who quickly said “ don’t worry I'm just staff not an actor “ this really did spoil the tension that had been so brilliantly worked up too. As we came out of the woods we could see the church that we had been heading towards, where we then were confronted by another queue, we felt that this spoiled the fluidity of the maze however we understand that it is not always possible to avoid queues when you have so many people in attendance. So we entered the maze and was confronted by complete darkness, which was terrifying. It took us a while to escape which was fun - we swear it felt like someone had moved the walls! We think that with a few minor tweaks this whole attraction could be the best event at Cursed.
So to summarize our experience. Even with a few minor issues we had an amazing time. the staff and actors were just amazing, helpful and professional during our whole visit. The mazes were designed with love and great detail had gone into each one. We enjoyed the whole experience and feel that there’s a bit for everyone. We will definitely return next year and would recommend the event to anyone looking to have a good scare.
Cursed 2016
In the past, Cursed has always been a multi attraction experience, with all mazes encountered one by one on a route through the grounds of Wat Tyler Country Park. For 2016, the park have tried to do do something different, and have split most of the mazes into separate attractions. The layout change is an interesting one, but has in effect created a few more queues to negotiate if you want to experience all seven attractions.
FestEvil is the park's generic clown themed maze and opens with one of the longest Claustrophobia tunnels ever. Once through the big squeeze, the maze offered us a slightly different take on the clown genre, with some interesting scenes from beginning to end. Clearly these clowns were having fun with us, and the actors were lively and very engaging.
The Nag Inn was a well themed maze with multiple rooms all set around a haunted hotel. The actors in this attraction were able to get up close and interact with us as we walked through and the mix of theatrical performance and jump scares worked really well.
The Pig Pen returns as an outdoor maze made of security fencing and was filled with some of the most enthusiastic actors of the night. The fact that we could see them through the fencing, didn't stop them terrifying us at times, and the whole maze is chaotic and frightening in equal measures.
Arachnid is a really simple design as the maze has been built to be pitch dark, with guests trying to find there way out. We generally find ourselves getting quite hot and stuffy with "hooded mazes" so it was refreshing to visit a dark experience that didn't require anything over our heads. We're not sure if this was an actual maze or just one route through, but the group ahead of us managed to get themselves completely confused and came out the entrance several times before we went in!
The Toy Shop took us into the dark twisted world of an evil toy maker and throughout the maze we were startled by the sudden appearances by him and his creations. The corridors seemed particularly narrow in this attraction, which meant the actors could get very close at times.
Workchop was strobe nightmare that had us hunted by some nasty hillbillies hungry for our flesh. The attraction had some fun scenes throughout and the actors were clearly having fun. It was also noticeable that the attraction utilised a number of more "imposing" actors who used their size to intimidate and threaten guests as we passed through. Great fun and quite intense!
We saved Cell 13 to last as it was always the last maze of the original layout. Once again, this was the most chaotic and scariest maze of the whole evening with the inmates just terrifying us from all angles. The maze is a combination of dark passages, insane strobe lighting, and loud noises, and the actors were throwing themselves off the walls. Our whole group jumped and screamed from beginning to end and we couldn't wait to get out - especially as compared to the other mazes, Cell 13 seemed to be the longest of the 7 attractions. We loved it but were so pleased to get out the other end!
The split to seven separate attractions has highlighted one small fact - that the mazes at Cursed are probably a little too small to be stand alone attractions in their own right. As part of a long walk through, the short nature of the mazes works well and is understandable - but as an attraction that you have had to queue for - we would have expected them to just be a little bigger. If the separate attraction scream park, layout is here to stay, then maybe the park should focus on fewer mazes but make them longer?
But aside from that - we had a great time at the event. The new layout has meant that there is more room to take in the new AmphiFeartre live entertainment and enjoy the roaming characters between the mazes.
FestEvil is the park's generic clown themed maze and opens with one of the longest Claustrophobia tunnels ever. Once through the big squeeze, the maze offered us a slightly different take on the clown genre, with some interesting scenes from beginning to end. Clearly these clowns were having fun with us, and the actors were lively and very engaging.
The Nag Inn was a well themed maze with multiple rooms all set around a haunted hotel. The actors in this attraction were able to get up close and interact with us as we walked through and the mix of theatrical performance and jump scares worked really well.
The Pig Pen returns as an outdoor maze made of security fencing and was filled with some of the most enthusiastic actors of the night. The fact that we could see them through the fencing, didn't stop them terrifying us at times, and the whole maze is chaotic and frightening in equal measures.
Arachnid is a really simple design as the maze has been built to be pitch dark, with guests trying to find there way out. We generally find ourselves getting quite hot and stuffy with "hooded mazes" so it was refreshing to visit a dark experience that didn't require anything over our heads. We're not sure if this was an actual maze or just one route through, but the group ahead of us managed to get themselves completely confused and came out the entrance several times before we went in!
The Toy Shop took us into the dark twisted world of an evil toy maker and throughout the maze we were startled by the sudden appearances by him and his creations. The corridors seemed particularly narrow in this attraction, which meant the actors could get very close at times.
Workchop was strobe nightmare that had us hunted by some nasty hillbillies hungry for our flesh. The attraction had some fun scenes throughout and the actors were clearly having fun. It was also noticeable that the attraction utilised a number of more "imposing" actors who used their size to intimidate and threaten guests as we passed through. Great fun and quite intense!
We saved Cell 13 to last as it was always the last maze of the original layout. Once again, this was the most chaotic and scariest maze of the whole evening with the inmates just terrifying us from all angles. The maze is a combination of dark passages, insane strobe lighting, and loud noises, and the actors were throwing themselves off the walls. Our whole group jumped and screamed from beginning to end and we couldn't wait to get out - especially as compared to the other mazes, Cell 13 seemed to be the longest of the 7 attractions. We loved it but were so pleased to get out the other end!
The split to seven separate attractions has highlighted one small fact - that the mazes at Cursed are probably a little too small to be stand alone attractions in their own right. As part of a long walk through, the short nature of the mazes works well and is understandable - but as an attraction that you have had to queue for - we would have expected them to just be a little bigger. If the separate attraction scream park, layout is here to stay, then maybe the park should focus on fewer mazes but make them longer?
But aside from that - we had a great time at the event. The new layout has meant that there is more room to take in the new AmphiFeartre live entertainment and enjoy the roaming characters between the mazes.
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