Scare Kingdom 2023
Official review coming soon
Very scary
This year Scare Kingdom was the best I’ve seen it yet. Loads of actors, fantastic scares and the atmosphere was amazing.
This year Scare Kingdom was the best I’ve seen it yet. Loads of actors, fantastic scares and the atmosphere was amazing.
Scare Kingdom 2022
We have been visiting Scare Kingdom for years and although advertised as new attractions, most years we just see a new story or background added to an existing maze. This might mean that the scripts and costumes may change years on year, but the overall experiences like Manormortis, Body Snatchers and Paradise Foundation remain pretty static. Which is no bad thing as they are all stand alone attractions in their own right with elaborate sets and design and provide great scares throughout.
But in the past we have often said that the difficult "black box" maze (which is the 3rd one you experience on the trail) lets the whole park down, and so for 2022, we are pleased to say that this maze has finally received the love and attention it needed.
Now instead of a dark walk, through black corridors, this attraction has been beautifully themed to represent an old monastery type building. Not only have the sets all been decorated but the whole layout has changed, which has meant the actors were able to scare us from multiple angels throughout. One character at the start of the maze was able to genuinely scare us at five different points, which just shows the care that had gone into the design to allow her to be able to do that.
The maze then continued through more elaborate scenes with a load more great scares and when we finally came out the other end, we couldn't help but praise what a impressive job they had done with updating this maze. It now sits firmly besides the other mazes at the park, which means the event now has five strong and well themed mazes at last.
As for the other mazes - we wont go into big individual reviews, because as we said at the start they are mainly just slight re themes of existing attractions. The actors throughout were particularity lively but we did feel sorry for the few having to shout over a very loud soundtrack (we pick this up every year- and never understand why detailed scripts have to literally be shouted to be heard. In Manormortis, just turn down the background music in the first room or deliver the speech outside!
Once back at the new hub after Zozo's Grind House, we were invited to try out the replacement to Psychomanteum. Now we have never hidden our dislike for the forced nudity and crudity of Psychomanteum but Scare Kingdom have decided to turn their back on that, and create something a but more inclusive for all.
Enigma is effectively four mini escape rooms in one, and although described as 16+ only - there was nothing in there that a brave child couldn't do. There were no real scares per se - but very detailed characterisations as we were led through the challenges in a bid to escape. The challenges are not as complex as a standard escape room but did require different skills, such as puzzle solving, brainteasers, searching tasks and more. We managed three of the puzzles correctly, but failed on the final room as we finally came face to face with Enigma himself.
Putting everything together with the upgraded Gothica, and the new Enigma experience, this probably is the most complete version of Scare Kingdom we have experienced. Clearly across the site there is an attention to detail in set design and story and the actors delivered some impressive scares across all experiences. If you have never been to Scare Kingdom before then this would be a great year to start!
But in the past we have often said that the difficult "black box" maze (which is the 3rd one you experience on the trail) lets the whole park down, and so for 2022, we are pleased to say that this maze has finally received the love and attention it needed.
Now instead of a dark walk, through black corridors, this attraction has been beautifully themed to represent an old monastery type building. Not only have the sets all been decorated but the whole layout has changed, which has meant the actors were able to scare us from multiple angels throughout. One character at the start of the maze was able to genuinely scare us at five different points, which just shows the care that had gone into the design to allow her to be able to do that.
The maze then continued through more elaborate scenes with a load more great scares and when we finally came out the other end, we couldn't help but praise what a impressive job they had done with updating this maze. It now sits firmly besides the other mazes at the park, which means the event now has five strong and well themed mazes at last.
As for the other mazes - we wont go into big individual reviews, because as we said at the start they are mainly just slight re themes of existing attractions. The actors throughout were particularity lively but we did feel sorry for the few having to shout over a very loud soundtrack (we pick this up every year- and never understand why detailed scripts have to literally be shouted to be heard. In Manormortis, just turn down the background music in the first room or deliver the speech outside!
Once back at the new hub after Zozo's Grind House, we were invited to try out the replacement to Psychomanteum. Now we have never hidden our dislike for the forced nudity and crudity of Psychomanteum but Scare Kingdom have decided to turn their back on that, and create something a but more inclusive for all.
Enigma is effectively four mini escape rooms in one, and although described as 16+ only - there was nothing in there that a brave child couldn't do. There were no real scares per se - but very detailed characterisations as we were led through the challenges in a bid to escape. The challenges are not as complex as a standard escape room but did require different skills, such as puzzle solving, brainteasers, searching tasks and more. We managed three of the puzzles correctly, but failed on the final room as we finally came face to face with Enigma himself.
Putting everything together with the upgraded Gothica, and the new Enigma experience, this probably is the most complete version of Scare Kingdom we have experienced. Clearly across the site there is an attention to detail in set design and story and the actors delivered some impressive scares across all experiences. If you have never been to Scare Kingdom before then this would be a great year to start!
Scare Kingdom - ValenTerror 2022
Some people receive roses for Valentines, others go out for a romantic meal. Not us though, we like to spend our Valentines cowering in fear, in the midst of a scare attraction. Thankfully Scare Kingdom have always been more than happy to satiate our need for scares out of season with their Valenterror event. Being one of the few events to open up this February, we headed up to Blackburn to find true love at Scare Kingdom.
Our first date for the evening was with the park’s iconic Manormortis. We’ve been quite forward with our love of this attraction. It’s a beautiful experience with decedent theming that immerses you into the gothic mansion setting. This Valentines the lights have been dimmed and you’re left to your own defences in groups of two, with only a glowstick to guide your way. That wouldn’t be too much of an intimidating task if it weren’t for the bloodthirsty vampires lusting for blood lurking around every corner. Oh, and we do mean EVERY corner. Manormortis was absolutely packed with actors! They were utterly relentless. We were stalked throughout the halls of the house with actors making great use of the darkness to hide themselves. Due to our limited vision we faced an onslaught of jump scares coming from all directions. With us being in a group of two we were totally exposed and never felt safe during the attraction.
We have always praised Manormortis, but this particular rendition was easily one of the most intense versions. It packed in tons of scares with a relentless cast of vampires who gave it their all to ensure we left the mansion screaming!
After a successful first date we decided to keep our options open and proceed onto a second date with Dick in the Dark, a rather tongue in cheek take on Scare Kingdom’s Body Snatchers.
Unfortunately, Dick Turpin stood us up. We were left waiting for nearly an hour to enter this attraction. The queue moved at a snail’s pace, with batching clearly being a major issue. We’ve never seen operations this slow at Scare Kingdom, so it was a real disappointment and put a dampener on the mood. There is no excuse for tardiness when attempting to find love. Sorry Dick, but initial impressions were not good.
However, when we were finally welcomed in, we tried going into the experience with open minds. The initial scenes were very theatrical and set the stage for a rather intriguing premise. We were tasked with heading into the basement to catch the infamous highwayman and save the funeral parlour from certain doom. Whilst we love theatrics, it was very hard to hear the actors over the booming soundtrack that dominated the attraction. We struggled to hear, and could barely pick up what was happening. It didn’t help that there was a distinct lack of humour, which shocked us given the tongue in cheek name. Turpin clearly needs to work on his communication skills if he’s looking to impress.
After the initial theatrical scene, we entered the basement where all hell usually breaks loose. We say usually because that’s not exactly what happened here… What actually took place was a leisurely walk in the dark, uninterrupted by any scares or actors. Whilst we could hear actors getting the people further back, we didn’t encounter any actors ourselves until the next theatrical scene. Given this is the main scare section of the maze we were shocked at the sheer lack of scares. There seemed to be very few actors present, and those which were there weren’t working the space very well. With a good cast the cellars can be downright anarchy. Sadly, this experience was far from that.
We’re not entirely sure what happened on our run through Dick in the Dark. What should’ve been a top-quality attraction ended up being an absolute disappointment. It was void of any scares and whilst the theatrics were impressive, we struggled to hear them given the overbearing soundtrack. We hate to be so down on an attraction, but Scare Kingdom can do much better than this.
Given we’d already spent two hours waiting for the two attractions we decided to cut our losses and skip the park’s extreme attraction Psychomanteum. By this point we were too tired to continue and our experience with Dick in the Dark had left us a little deflated. After hearing what happened in Psychomanteum we can’t say we regret that decision. We are quite open about not really enjoying the more extreme side of the scare industry. This Valentines, Psychomanteum has gone full steam ahead into the extreme side of things with what we have heard is a particularly vile eating task that left many people ill upon leaving the attraction. We simply can’t understand how this is an appealing way to end the evening.
It's a shame to see the event resort to such cheap ‘scare’ tactics given how strong Psychomanteum was at last year’s Walpurgis Night and 2020’s main Halloween event. These two versions of the attraction focussed on psychological scares and theatrical interactions with actors. We hope Scare Kingdom re-evaluate their approach to this particular attraction, returning it to the glory we saw in previous versions.
Never before have we attended an event where our opinion was so polarised. Manormortis was utterly fantastic. It crammed the scares in, providing a brilliant experience that had us buzzing. Sadly, from there on our hype died as we were left in the cold waiting for a good 45 minutes to enter what ended up being a rather lifeless version of Body Snatchers. We didn’t get the experience we’ve come to expect from Scare Kingdom. We’re used to singing their praises, however in this instance we’re struggling to find much enthusiasm after the poor operations and the lacklustre second attraction. We hope that Walpurgis Night fixes these issues and brings Scare Kingdom back to its usual standards.
Our first date for the evening was with the park’s iconic Manormortis. We’ve been quite forward with our love of this attraction. It’s a beautiful experience with decedent theming that immerses you into the gothic mansion setting. This Valentines the lights have been dimmed and you’re left to your own defences in groups of two, with only a glowstick to guide your way. That wouldn’t be too much of an intimidating task if it weren’t for the bloodthirsty vampires lusting for blood lurking around every corner. Oh, and we do mean EVERY corner. Manormortis was absolutely packed with actors! They were utterly relentless. We were stalked throughout the halls of the house with actors making great use of the darkness to hide themselves. Due to our limited vision we faced an onslaught of jump scares coming from all directions. With us being in a group of two we were totally exposed and never felt safe during the attraction.
We have always praised Manormortis, but this particular rendition was easily one of the most intense versions. It packed in tons of scares with a relentless cast of vampires who gave it their all to ensure we left the mansion screaming!
After a successful first date we decided to keep our options open and proceed onto a second date with Dick in the Dark, a rather tongue in cheek take on Scare Kingdom’s Body Snatchers.
Unfortunately, Dick Turpin stood us up. We were left waiting for nearly an hour to enter this attraction. The queue moved at a snail’s pace, with batching clearly being a major issue. We’ve never seen operations this slow at Scare Kingdom, so it was a real disappointment and put a dampener on the mood. There is no excuse for tardiness when attempting to find love. Sorry Dick, but initial impressions were not good.
However, when we were finally welcomed in, we tried going into the experience with open minds. The initial scenes were very theatrical and set the stage for a rather intriguing premise. We were tasked with heading into the basement to catch the infamous highwayman and save the funeral parlour from certain doom. Whilst we love theatrics, it was very hard to hear the actors over the booming soundtrack that dominated the attraction. We struggled to hear, and could barely pick up what was happening. It didn’t help that there was a distinct lack of humour, which shocked us given the tongue in cheek name. Turpin clearly needs to work on his communication skills if he’s looking to impress.
After the initial theatrical scene, we entered the basement where all hell usually breaks loose. We say usually because that’s not exactly what happened here… What actually took place was a leisurely walk in the dark, uninterrupted by any scares or actors. Whilst we could hear actors getting the people further back, we didn’t encounter any actors ourselves until the next theatrical scene. Given this is the main scare section of the maze we were shocked at the sheer lack of scares. There seemed to be very few actors present, and those which were there weren’t working the space very well. With a good cast the cellars can be downright anarchy. Sadly, this experience was far from that.
We’re not entirely sure what happened on our run through Dick in the Dark. What should’ve been a top-quality attraction ended up being an absolute disappointment. It was void of any scares and whilst the theatrics were impressive, we struggled to hear them given the overbearing soundtrack. We hate to be so down on an attraction, but Scare Kingdom can do much better than this.
Given we’d already spent two hours waiting for the two attractions we decided to cut our losses and skip the park’s extreme attraction Psychomanteum. By this point we were too tired to continue and our experience with Dick in the Dark had left us a little deflated. After hearing what happened in Psychomanteum we can’t say we regret that decision. We are quite open about not really enjoying the more extreme side of the scare industry. This Valentines, Psychomanteum has gone full steam ahead into the extreme side of things with what we have heard is a particularly vile eating task that left many people ill upon leaving the attraction. We simply can’t understand how this is an appealing way to end the evening.
It's a shame to see the event resort to such cheap ‘scare’ tactics given how strong Psychomanteum was at last year’s Walpurgis Night and 2020’s main Halloween event. These two versions of the attraction focussed on psychological scares and theatrical interactions with actors. We hope Scare Kingdom re-evaluate their approach to this particular attraction, returning it to the glory we saw in previous versions.
Never before have we attended an event where our opinion was so polarised. Manormortis was utterly fantastic. It crammed the scares in, providing a brilliant experience that had us buzzing. Sadly, from there on our hype died as we were left in the cold waiting for a good 45 minutes to enter what ended up being a rather lifeless version of Body Snatchers. We didn’t get the experience we’ve come to expect from Scare Kingdom. We’re used to singing their praises, however in this instance we’re struggling to find much enthusiasm after the poor operations and the lacklustre second attraction. We hope that Walpurgis Night fixes these issues and brings Scare Kingdom back to its usual standards.
Scare Kingdom Halloween 2021
Scare Kingdom is back for 2021, with a new route and some more stories based on their classic mazes and franchises. We visited on a very wet media night...
Upon arrival at the event, we were quickly met by a ragtag team of roaming characters who abused, teased and flirted with us outrageously. The ease at which these characters were able to improvise and react to what was being said was impressive, and we enjoyed the banter as we waited in line for our tour.
Once checked in - we were rapidly dispatched into the park, to experience the terrors of the 5 main attractions. As in previous years The Paradise Foundation was our first attraction of the night, and apart from a small back story change - was virtually identical to previous incarnations. Which is no bad thing as it has always been a lively and scary start to the night, and gave us a number of scares throughout our visit. We missed the electric cattle prods of previous years, but all in this was a great start to the evening.
This year's story for Manormortis is Dead of Knight, which brought a series of Knights Templar to the attraction, with some great jump scares, and sudden appearances throughout. We say this every year but we are always so busy looking at the attention to detail in the sets etc that the actors always manage to make us jump multiple times!
The difficult "third" maze that we have often described as un-themed compared to the other attractions, had a trick up its sleeve this year - the corridors were absolutely filled with smoke. We started off in this maze as a group of 8, but all managed to lose each other in the fog and ended up struggling to find our way out. All the time the actors were being particularly vocal and aggressive, which just added to the scares!
Body Snatchers: Gunpowder Plot returned to the detailed sets we have come to know and love from Scare KIngdom, but with a Guy Fawkes makeover. Although the story didnt really change the attraction, we were treated to some very lively and aggressive actors throughout.
At this point the route around the park changes, and as we started to return to the safety of the central hub, we had one last attraction to survive - Zozo's Grind House. Once again - this chaotic clown maze gave us some fun scares and overly foggy rooms to try and find our way out of. The move to new location seems to have upped the scares in this maze and we all exited with big smiles on our faces!
Once back at the main hub, those not brave enough to go into Psychmanteum were able to have a quite drink to settle their nerves from the evening. Unfortunately due to a stomach illness on the day this reviewer declined to do Psychomanteum this year, as we had heard talk of a certain "salty liquid" being involved!
All in, we think the new route works really well for this event and should increase the dwell time for visitors to the experience. It was nice to be able to sit after our tour and watch those just getting ready to go in, and with toilets and catering all in one place it makes perfect sense for the park. The food is pretty delicious too - so definitely allow time to chill before of after your tour!
We had a great time in all the attractions at this year's Scare Kingdom, and cant wait to see what the seasonal overlays will be for the upcoming Christmas FestEVIL event.
Upon arrival at the event, we were quickly met by a ragtag team of roaming characters who abused, teased and flirted with us outrageously. The ease at which these characters were able to improvise and react to what was being said was impressive, and we enjoyed the banter as we waited in line for our tour.
Once checked in - we were rapidly dispatched into the park, to experience the terrors of the 5 main attractions. As in previous years The Paradise Foundation was our first attraction of the night, and apart from a small back story change - was virtually identical to previous incarnations. Which is no bad thing as it has always been a lively and scary start to the night, and gave us a number of scares throughout our visit. We missed the electric cattle prods of previous years, but all in this was a great start to the evening.
This year's story for Manormortis is Dead of Knight, which brought a series of Knights Templar to the attraction, with some great jump scares, and sudden appearances throughout. We say this every year but we are always so busy looking at the attention to detail in the sets etc that the actors always manage to make us jump multiple times!
The difficult "third" maze that we have often described as un-themed compared to the other attractions, had a trick up its sleeve this year - the corridors were absolutely filled with smoke. We started off in this maze as a group of 8, but all managed to lose each other in the fog and ended up struggling to find our way out. All the time the actors were being particularly vocal and aggressive, which just added to the scares!
Body Snatchers: Gunpowder Plot returned to the detailed sets we have come to know and love from Scare KIngdom, but with a Guy Fawkes makeover. Although the story didnt really change the attraction, we were treated to some very lively and aggressive actors throughout.
At this point the route around the park changes, and as we started to return to the safety of the central hub, we had one last attraction to survive - Zozo's Grind House. Once again - this chaotic clown maze gave us some fun scares and overly foggy rooms to try and find our way out of. The move to new location seems to have upped the scares in this maze and we all exited with big smiles on our faces!
Once back at the main hub, those not brave enough to go into Psychmanteum were able to have a quite drink to settle their nerves from the evening. Unfortunately due to a stomach illness on the day this reviewer declined to do Psychomanteum this year, as we had heard talk of a certain "salty liquid" being involved!
All in, we think the new route works really well for this event and should increase the dwell time for visitors to the experience. It was nice to be able to sit after our tour and watch those just getting ready to go in, and with toilets and catering all in one place it makes perfect sense for the park. The food is pretty delicious too - so definitely allow time to chill before of after your tour!
We had a great time in all the attractions at this year's Scare Kingdom, and cant wait to see what the seasonal overlays will be for the upcoming Christmas FestEVIL event.
Very scary - Scare Kingdom is a pretty special place that's always seemed a little different from the other scream parks we visit. You can always tell a lot of effort has gone into the storytelling and scripts for each attraction.
Unable to visit in 2020 due to the pandemic, we were pleasantly surprised to see the new layout for 2021 with the bar and chillout area accessible before going through the mazes, along with the farm cafe being open to purchase drinks and Mrs Downsons ice cream. This year we also saw more in the way of roaming actors than ever before, terrorising people in and out of the small queues that formed.
Actors were a little thin on the ground the night we visited, but the ones who were there really gave it their all with heaps of energy as they pulled off multiple scares. Paradise Foundation and Manormortis remained largely unchanged inside, but with different stories. The story of Paradise Foundation continues from previous 'episodes' and is a unique take on the haunted hospital sort of theme that I really enjoy. It always makes me think of Black Mirror. Some of the costumes in Manormortis were the creepiest we've seen in a while with some of the actors appearing in demonic full-body costumes/suits for some very creepy scares.
Gothica is one of the attractions we always found a bit of a lull in the past, but this year's rendition for Halloween in total darkness somehow seemed more intense than previous incarnations in this space, giving an incredibly unsettling and claustrophobic feel throughout.
Bodysnatchers was probably the most intense of the attractions this year (aside from Psychomanteum, of course) with incredibly impactful performances by the actors telling the story of Guy Fawkes.
Lastly, we found Zozo's Grindhouse to be a welcome addition to the lineup, being big creepy clown fans, it was fun to see something like this instead of the hooded maze that used to be the final attraction here.
The actors at the front of each attraction were brilliant this year, providing plenty of fun scares and banter with guests as they batched them in, especially the two who were at the front of Gothica and Zozo's when we went!
Lastly, Psychomanteum is always worth doing if you're brave enough, and while I would say that it felt tamer in terms of overall shock factor this time, it was undoubtedly an absolutely amazing experience as always. Some will feel incredibly uncomfortable, others will be more like us and find the entire thing hilariously disturbing, but either way, we'd recommend it to anyone because it's like nothing else we've ever done and has a certain charm to it that tends to leave guests who survive the experience walking away with a huge grin on their faces.
Overall, we had another brilliant time at Scare Kingdom. We only wish there was more merch available to purchase.
Unable to visit in 2020 due to the pandemic, we were pleasantly surprised to see the new layout for 2021 with the bar and chillout area accessible before going through the mazes, along with the farm cafe being open to purchase drinks and Mrs Downsons ice cream. This year we also saw more in the way of roaming actors than ever before, terrorising people in and out of the small queues that formed.
Actors were a little thin on the ground the night we visited, but the ones who were there really gave it their all with heaps of energy as they pulled off multiple scares. Paradise Foundation and Manormortis remained largely unchanged inside, but with different stories. The story of Paradise Foundation continues from previous 'episodes' and is a unique take on the haunted hospital sort of theme that I really enjoy. It always makes me think of Black Mirror. Some of the costumes in Manormortis were the creepiest we've seen in a while with some of the actors appearing in demonic full-body costumes/suits for some very creepy scares.
Gothica is one of the attractions we always found a bit of a lull in the past, but this year's rendition for Halloween in total darkness somehow seemed more intense than previous incarnations in this space, giving an incredibly unsettling and claustrophobic feel throughout.
Bodysnatchers was probably the most intense of the attractions this year (aside from Psychomanteum, of course) with incredibly impactful performances by the actors telling the story of Guy Fawkes.
Lastly, we found Zozo's Grindhouse to be a welcome addition to the lineup, being big creepy clown fans, it was fun to see something like this instead of the hooded maze that used to be the final attraction here.
The actors at the front of each attraction were brilliant this year, providing plenty of fun scares and banter with guests as they batched them in, especially the two who were at the front of Gothica and Zozo's when we went!
Lastly, Psychomanteum is always worth doing if you're brave enough, and while I would say that it felt tamer in terms of overall shock factor this time, it was undoubtedly an absolutely amazing experience as always. Some will feel incredibly uncomfortable, others will be more like us and find the entire thing hilariously disturbing, but either way, we'd recommend it to anyone because it's like nothing else we've ever done and has a certain charm to it that tends to leave guests who survive the experience walking away with a huge grin on their faces.
Overall, we had another brilliant time at Scare Kingdom. We only wish there was more merch available to purchase.
Mildly scary. Overall, my uncle and I were disappointed with our experience of Scare Kingdom (Friday 8th October 2021). I had seen so much hype and positive advertisement of the event beforehand. We had travelled over a hundred miles for this, so this not-so-positive experience came as a genuine surprise.
Upon arrival, we parked up and walked from the car towards the entrance. The signage and general theming at the entrance of the event is minimal - we wondered whether this was just a "pre-entrance" where tickets are scanned before arriving at a main entrance, but before we knew it we had reached the first maze. This was the first thing that struck us compared to other similar scare attractions in the UK - even those on a similar scale - the atmosphere wasn't created from the beginning.
I was quite disappointed with the lack of actors in each of the attractions. Particularly in the second maze of the evening, I noticed that the same actors were trying to scare us multiple times; it doesn't quite have the same effect when we see an actor do one scare and then clearly run down an "actors' corridor" to attempt to scare the same group again by going round the corner. It seemed to me that the attractions often "looped" to allow the actors to give three or more scares (or, for example, had lots of shutter-windows out of which the same actors could create jump scares). More actors would solve this issue. Credit to the actors who were in the mazes: they were very relentless in trying to provide the scares and particularly the pre-show actors played their parts well.
On the subject of pre-shows, though, the story lines seemed gratuitously complicated. It is clear that there has been an attempt to give a thorough "pre-show" for each attraction and this clearly works well to ensure that batching can be controlled; however, I get the impression that sometimes "less is more" and that almost a minute of what seemed to be a Horrible Histories lesson (particularly in the Guy Fawkes maze) is unnecessary.
I would, however, like to say a few positive things about the event to finish off. The batching was handled more effectively than I've ever seen in other scare events in the UK - there was never an issue of bumping into another group. Additionally, the attention to detail and theming in each of the mazes was extraordinary - each maze had clearly undergone meticulous planning. Finally, I thought that Scare Kingdom had done very well at creating a "unique" scare event - I.e. not using the same over-done maze themes or outdated horror tropes that some scare events are still using. The event is reasonably priced, but in my opinion nowhere near as good as other scare events elsewhere in the UK.
In short, (and, I stress, in my OPINION), this is maybe a good event for people who haven't tried other similar attractions, but may prove to be disappointing for avid scaregoers.
Upon arrival, we parked up and walked from the car towards the entrance. The signage and general theming at the entrance of the event is minimal - we wondered whether this was just a "pre-entrance" where tickets are scanned before arriving at a main entrance, but before we knew it we had reached the first maze. This was the first thing that struck us compared to other similar scare attractions in the UK - even those on a similar scale - the atmosphere wasn't created from the beginning.
I was quite disappointed with the lack of actors in each of the attractions. Particularly in the second maze of the evening, I noticed that the same actors were trying to scare us multiple times; it doesn't quite have the same effect when we see an actor do one scare and then clearly run down an "actors' corridor" to attempt to scare the same group again by going round the corner. It seemed to me that the attractions often "looped" to allow the actors to give three or more scares (or, for example, had lots of shutter-windows out of which the same actors could create jump scares). More actors would solve this issue. Credit to the actors who were in the mazes: they were very relentless in trying to provide the scares and particularly the pre-show actors played their parts well.
On the subject of pre-shows, though, the story lines seemed gratuitously complicated. It is clear that there has been an attempt to give a thorough "pre-show" for each attraction and this clearly works well to ensure that batching can be controlled; however, I get the impression that sometimes "less is more" and that almost a minute of what seemed to be a Horrible Histories lesson (particularly in the Guy Fawkes maze) is unnecessary.
I would, however, like to say a few positive things about the event to finish off. The batching was handled more effectively than I've ever seen in other scare events in the UK - there was never an issue of bumping into another group. Additionally, the attention to detail and theming in each of the mazes was extraordinary - each maze had clearly undergone meticulous planning. Finally, I thought that Scare Kingdom had done very well at creating a "unique" scare event - I.e. not using the same over-done maze themes or outdated horror tropes that some scare events are still using. The event is reasonably priced, but in my opinion nowhere near as good as other scare events elsewhere in the UK.
In short, (and, I stress, in my OPINION), this is maybe a good event for people who haven't tried other similar attractions, but may prove to be disappointing for avid scaregoers.
Scare Kingdom Walpurgis Night 2021
As most people will know, UK Scare Attractions usually operate within the winter months, so we are used to visiting places in the dark, bundled up with layers of clothes. So therefore it felt weird to be sat outside Scare Kingdom in a t-shirt on a balmy Summer's night as we waited for our time slot to experience this year's Walpurgis Night (which had been postponed for a month due to the Covid lockdown)
The day light also meant that we could see more of the surroundings and apart from realising what a beautiful location Scare Kingdom is set in, it also meant we could see things that would normally be covered by darkness. Sadly we had to just walk past Paradise Foundation - which wasn't part of this event and later on we could see where Zozo's Grind House had been demolished to allow for the new route that event will take from Halloween 2021.
But of course the main thing we were there to see were the three attractions, and despite the heat and of course the very present sunlight, all attractions presented exciting and scary experiences for the event.
First up was Underland in the Manormortis building, loosely based on a twisted and sick version of Alice in Wonderland. Throughout the show we experienced the Insane Hatter, the Red Queen and even a killer white rabbit. These comical scenes (including an absurdly large caterpillar) counterpointed with the jump scares and screams throughout the whole experience. We have no idea how many workers seemed to be behind the scenes in the house, but we bounced through this attraction screaming at sudden reveals, drop panels and more. Maybe we haven't experienced scares for a long time but this seemed one of the scariest versions of Manormortis we had ever done.
After stumbling out into the bright light, and being blinded again - our journey took us through the church facade that would normally lead to Blitz, but just led us to the door of the other main show - Body Snatchers.
We have said several times before that Body Snatchers is the next best themed attraction at the park after Manormortis and this year's Highgate Vampire story made good use of the Victorian gothic vibe of the maze. Again, our journey held a number of fun scenes and scares and definitely had us all jumping throughout.
We did have one small niggle on the night. We mentioned at Halloween about the use of masks for actors and the fact that they had to shout over the background music at times, which did make it more of a struggle to hear some of the dialogue. We know this is a safety precaution, but we look forward to things returning back to normal for the Halloween season.
And then of course - after braving it at Halloween and knowing that the rough housing and extreme eating challenges have been removed, we checked into Psychomanteum for a Dirty Weekend. As with all versions of this show - it really is best to not know what is coming, but it genuinely felt like the depravity and ability to use nudity had really stepped up. Maybe instead of the actors complaining they were cold in winter, they were quite happy to be starkers at times, and we certainly saw more human anatomy than we would have expected to on a quiet Summer's evening. The attraction is bonkers, and at the end you just really have to laugh at it. Unusually - we also got a couple of quick scares between the filth!
To calm our nerves, we headed back to the main entrance where there was a bar and catering, and with the music playing, it was a nice comfortable festival vibe. When the whole park route changes, visitors will start and finish in this area and it feels so much less crowded than the original pokey little Psychomanteum bar.
All in - despite a couple of light leaks which really cant be helped on one of the sunniest days of the year, we had a real blast at Walpurgis Nights with many many scares throughout. It felt great to be out of the house and back doing what we love to do - meeting up with a bunch of friends and laughing and screaming on a night out!
We will be back at Halloween!
The day light also meant that we could see more of the surroundings and apart from realising what a beautiful location Scare Kingdom is set in, it also meant we could see things that would normally be covered by darkness. Sadly we had to just walk past Paradise Foundation - which wasn't part of this event and later on we could see where Zozo's Grind House had been demolished to allow for the new route that event will take from Halloween 2021.
But of course the main thing we were there to see were the three attractions, and despite the heat and of course the very present sunlight, all attractions presented exciting and scary experiences for the event.
First up was Underland in the Manormortis building, loosely based on a twisted and sick version of Alice in Wonderland. Throughout the show we experienced the Insane Hatter, the Red Queen and even a killer white rabbit. These comical scenes (including an absurdly large caterpillar) counterpointed with the jump scares and screams throughout the whole experience. We have no idea how many workers seemed to be behind the scenes in the house, but we bounced through this attraction screaming at sudden reveals, drop panels and more. Maybe we haven't experienced scares for a long time but this seemed one of the scariest versions of Manormortis we had ever done.
After stumbling out into the bright light, and being blinded again - our journey took us through the church facade that would normally lead to Blitz, but just led us to the door of the other main show - Body Snatchers.
We have said several times before that Body Snatchers is the next best themed attraction at the park after Manormortis and this year's Highgate Vampire story made good use of the Victorian gothic vibe of the maze. Again, our journey held a number of fun scenes and scares and definitely had us all jumping throughout.
We did have one small niggle on the night. We mentioned at Halloween about the use of masks for actors and the fact that they had to shout over the background music at times, which did make it more of a struggle to hear some of the dialogue. We know this is a safety precaution, but we look forward to things returning back to normal for the Halloween season.
And then of course - after braving it at Halloween and knowing that the rough housing and extreme eating challenges have been removed, we checked into Psychomanteum for a Dirty Weekend. As with all versions of this show - it really is best to not know what is coming, but it genuinely felt like the depravity and ability to use nudity had really stepped up. Maybe instead of the actors complaining they were cold in winter, they were quite happy to be starkers at times, and we certainly saw more human anatomy than we would have expected to on a quiet Summer's evening. The attraction is bonkers, and at the end you just really have to laugh at it. Unusually - we also got a couple of quick scares between the filth!
To calm our nerves, we headed back to the main entrance where there was a bar and catering, and with the music playing, it was a nice comfortable festival vibe. When the whole park route changes, visitors will start and finish in this area and it feels so much less crowded than the original pokey little Psychomanteum bar.
All in - despite a couple of light leaks which really cant be helped on one of the sunniest days of the year, we had a real blast at Walpurgis Nights with many many scares throughout. It felt great to be out of the house and back doing what we love to do - meeting up with a bunch of friends and laughing and screaming on a night out!
We will be back at Halloween!
Scare Kingdom Halloween 2020
Like most attractions that have been able to open this year, Scare Kingdom have been forced to make some operational changes due to Coronavirus. As you would expect - this means face masks on all guests and actors, the liberal use of hand sanitiser before each attraction, and the reduction of group sizes to a "bubble" only. The masks and sanitiser make very little difference to the show itself, and you soon get used to them, but the reduced group sizes have really changed the dynamic of the event. Doing these mazes as just a small group, seemed to make them even scarier, and our night was filled with laughs and screams from beginning to end.
One of the things we have always disliked about Scare Kingdom is the cramped waiting area and opening scenes, so we were pleasantly surprised at the use of the Teepee at the start. This contains the ticket office, photo opportunity and the first of the experiences of the night. The teepee is much more spacious than the original gift shop, and we would be surprised if it isn't used going forward. The show itself - Horrid High Tea with Scrapfaggot and Mrs Filtch was a great fun start to the evening with some bawdy humour coming from the two lively characters. Nothing scary but very entertaining.
The first real scares of the night came from The Paradise Fountain: Bliss TV, an updated version of the park's hospital attraction. We found that the masks in places hampered some of the more dialogue heavy scenes that Atmosfear like so well, and would perhaps suggest that the actor shouting in a mask over the loud background music seems a bit counter intuitive. We noticed this with most of the intro speeches through the night, but once inside each maze - the scares came thick and fast with a lively bunch of actors chasing us through the hospital corridors.
Once we had checked out of the hospital, we made the short walk to the fantastic Manormortis building, which now really looks more authentic with its elaborately detailed porch and entryway which disguise the true nature of the building. This year's theme was Ghost Story and upon entry we were immediately met by legendary horror author - MR James, who invited us to discover the ghosts that were haunting the house. Regardless of the story - we always have a great time in this beautifully themed attraction, and the actors seemed to be particularly active throughout. If you have never visited Scare Kingdom before then it is worth the trip to Blackburn just to experience Manormortis in one of its forms. It really is one of the most complete scare attractions in the UK!
We said last year that the basic "black box" theming of Blitz: The Hunger suits the Blitz storyline, and although nothing has really changed this year - the actors were some of the most aggressive all night. Our whole run through was peppered with great jump scares from all sides by multiple unseen characters.
Body Snatchers is probably only second to Manormortis when it comes to immersive theming and set design. This year the funeral parlor has been taken over by Madame Tussaud and it felt more like a chamber of Horrors than a waxworks. Scares were plentiful throughout, and the actors were working tirelessly throughout. Definitely another strong maze for this year!
And finally on the main tour, the overly used hooded maze has been replaced with Zozo's Grind House - a new take on a clown maze. The colourful nature of these characters were a great counterpoint to the more traditional Victorian style costumes of the other mazes, and despite the bright colours and cheery music, this circus was definitely not for the easily scared.
Grind House empties out into the area that used to hold the main bar where people could take some Dutch courage before entering Pyschomanteum. Sadly because of Covid - this has all been moved into the courtyard outside which loses some of the party atmosphere in this room, but is infinitely better for crowd distancing. Psychomanteum still sits lurking ominously in the corner, and after being promised no physical interactions or food content this year, we decided to be brave enough to go in for our first time in several years.
We cant say what happens inside, but this years Pyschomanteu is the closest it has been to a scare maze with a narrative flow as opposed to a set of random scenes to shock you. It's not called the UK's Sickest attraction for nothing and it does regularly step over the line when it comes to decency and good taste, and like before - contains drug references, explicit language, scatalogical humour, nudity and sexual abuse. For once though - it felt like we were being the voyeurs in the experience as opposed to the victims, and the scenes we experienced certainly left us questioning our decisions along the way.
All in - this was another particularly strong year for Scare Kingdom and we had multiples scares and frights throughout the whole experience. We have to praise the team for their Covid measures, whilst still keeping up a strong performance ethic throughout. It can't have been easy for them top open this year (especially in the middle of a local lockdown region) and still create an impressive and memorable show!
One of the things we have always disliked about Scare Kingdom is the cramped waiting area and opening scenes, so we were pleasantly surprised at the use of the Teepee at the start. This contains the ticket office, photo opportunity and the first of the experiences of the night. The teepee is much more spacious than the original gift shop, and we would be surprised if it isn't used going forward. The show itself - Horrid High Tea with Scrapfaggot and Mrs Filtch was a great fun start to the evening with some bawdy humour coming from the two lively characters. Nothing scary but very entertaining.
The first real scares of the night came from The Paradise Fountain: Bliss TV, an updated version of the park's hospital attraction. We found that the masks in places hampered some of the more dialogue heavy scenes that Atmosfear like so well, and would perhaps suggest that the actor shouting in a mask over the loud background music seems a bit counter intuitive. We noticed this with most of the intro speeches through the night, but once inside each maze - the scares came thick and fast with a lively bunch of actors chasing us through the hospital corridors.
Once we had checked out of the hospital, we made the short walk to the fantastic Manormortis building, which now really looks more authentic with its elaborately detailed porch and entryway which disguise the true nature of the building. This year's theme was Ghost Story and upon entry we were immediately met by legendary horror author - MR James, who invited us to discover the ghosts that were haunting the house. Regardless of the story - we always have a great time in this beautifully themed attraction, and the actors seemed to be particularly active throughout. If you have never visited Scare Kingdom before then it is worth the trip to Blackburn just to experience Manormortis in one of its forms. It really is one of the most complete scare attractions in the UK!
We said last year that the basic "black box" theming of Blitz: The Hunger suits the Blitz storyline, and although nothing has really changed this year - the actors were some of the most aggressive all night. Our whole run through was peppered with great jump scares from all sides by multiple unseen characters.
Body Snatchers is probably only second to Manormortis when it comes to immersive theming and set design. This year the funeral parlor has been taken over by Madame Tussaud and it felt more like a chamber of Horrors than a waxworks. Scares were plentiful throughout, and the actors were working tirelessly throughout. Definitely another strong maze for this year!
And finally on the main tour, the overly used hooded maze has been replaced with Zozo's Grind House - a new take on a clown maze. The colourful nature of these characters were a great counterpoint to the more traditional Victorian style costumes of the other mazes, and despite the bright colours and cheery music, this circus was definitely not for the easily scared.
Grind House empties out into the area that used to hold the main bar where people could take some Dutch courage before entering Pyschomanteum. Sadly because of Covid - this has all been moved into the courtyard outside which loses some of the party atmosphere in this room, but is infinitely better for crowd distancing. Psychomanteum still sits lurking ominously in the corner, and after being promised no physical interactions or food content this year, we decided to be brave enough to go in for our first time in several years.
We cant say what happens inside, but this years Pyschomanteu is the closest it has been to a scare maze with a narrative flow as opposed to a set of random scenes to shock you. It's not called the UK's Sickest attraction for nothing and it does regularly step over the line when it comes to decency and good taste, and like before - contains drug references, explicit language, scatalogical humour, nudity and sexual abuse. For once though - it felt like we were being the voyeurs in the experience as opposed to the victims, and the scenes we experienced certainly left us questioning our decisions along the way.
All in - this was another particularly strong year for Scare Kingdom and we had multiples scares and frights throughout the whole experience. We have to praise the team for their Covid measures, whilst still keeping up a strong performance ethic throughout. It can't have been easy for them top open this year (especially in the middle of a local lockdown region) and still create an impressive and memorable show!
Very scary
Absolutely loved it Halloween scare festival well worth the money had a really good time enjoyed every attraction Will defo be going again!!
Absolutely loved it Halloween scare festival well worth the money had a really good time enjoyed every attraction Will defo be going again!!
Scare Kingdom Halloween 2019
Scare Kingdom is back at Mrs Dowson's Farm in Lancashire, and it would appear that they have addressed one of our regular gripes. The show was always described as 7 scare attractions, when clearly it was only a pre-show, followed by five mazes and an optional extra at the end. We think the change in marketing will work well for them and should improve customer expectations going forward.
After a short wait, we were led into our first scene – The Parlour, which set up our journey perfectly and served as a great introduction to the horrors that lay ahead. This short but fun set up, was followed by a couple of roaming characters who entertained us as we walked to the first attraction – The Paradise Foundation
Now for those who do not know – the original Paradise Foundation opened at Dreamland Margate 4 years ago when AtmosFEAR Scare Entertainment provided the scare mazes for their Screamland event. Our review at the time stated that we thought the attraction looked impressive and had some good ideas, but we were disappointed with the scares. Well sometimes, it is wise to have a second try at something, as this time – everything about The Paradise Foundation worked. From the unsettling introduction through to the terrifying game of cat and mouse in the final corridor, we were genuinely surprised how much fun this maze was.
After checking out of the hospital, we were invited to step into 1920's Hollywood as the classic ManorMortis has evolved into Borley Rectory. We have said before that ManorMortis is the jewel in the crown for Scare Kingdom, and its quality does stand out against some of the other mazes. This year has seen some route and set changes, but the whole thing has remained as elegant and entertaining as previous versions.
In the past, the following maze has always been a bit of a letdown after the attention to detail in ManorMortis, and we have often described the “dark maze” as the weakest in the line-up. Nothing has really changed here in infrastructure and design, but the story of the WWII blitz style blackout, suited the dark unthemed corridors and we ended up with a number of really good scares throughout.
The fourth maze is the now obligatory Victorian themed one, and this year the story revolved around Sweeny Todd, the demon barber himself. It is always nice to get back into a highly themed environment after the darkness of the previous maze, and once again, we had a great run through with plenty of great scares from some really lively actors.
The final maze is the usual hooded maze, but with another new story. We found the voodoo inspired story worked well with the hooded concept, and we all had a number of great scares inside the attraction.
Of course after the main show, while the rest of us enjoyed a drink in the bar, one of the braver team members ventured into the pay extra Psychomanteum. Themed around a game show – Trick or Treat provided the usual dose of vulgar scenarios, swearing and depravity. Remember - it is not called the UK's sickest attraction for nothing – even if it is not actually that scary!
We had a fantastic night at Scare Kingdom, with all the different elements adding up to a fun and scary experience that has something for everyone. It would be nice to see the format shaken up a bit in future years, but it clearly works for them as it stands, and everyone (including us) were having a great time.
After a short wait, we were led into our first scene – The Parlour, which set up our journey perfectly and served as a great introduction to the horrors that lay ahead. This short but fun set up, was followed by a couple of roaming characters who entertained us as we walked to the first attraction – The Paradise Foundation
Now for those who do not know – the original Paradise Foundation opened at Dreamland Margate 4 years ago when AtmosFEAR Scare Entertainment provided the scare mazes for their Screamland event. Our review at the time stated that we thought the attraction looked impressive and had some good ideas, but we were disappointed with the scares. Well sometimes, it is wise to have a second try at something, as this time – everything about The Paradise Foundation worked. From the unsettling introduction through to the terrifying game of cat and mouse in the final corridor, we were genuinely surprised how much fun this maze was.
After checking out of the hospital, we were invited to step into 1920's Hollywood as the classic ManorMortis has evolved into Borley Rectory. We have said before that ManorMortis is the jewel in the crown for Scare Kingdom, and its quality does stand out against some of the other mazes. This year has seen some route and set changes, but the whole thing has remained as elegant and entertaining as previous versions.
In the past, the following maze has always been a bit of a letdown after the attention to detail in ManorMortis, and we have often described the “dark maze” as the weakest in the line-up. Nothing has really changed here in infrastructure and design, but the story of the WWII blitz style blackout, suited the dark unthemed corridors and we ended up with a number of really good scares throughout.
The fourth maze is the now obligatory Victorian themed one, and this year the story revolved around Sweeny Todd, the demon barber himself. It is always nice to get back into a highly themed environment after the darkness of the previous maze, and once again, we had a great run through with plenty of great scares from some really lively actors.
The final maze is the usual hooded maze, but with another new story. We found the voodoo inspired story worked well with the hooded concept, and we all had a number of great scares inside the attraction.
Of course after the main show, while the rest of us enjoyed a drink in the bar, one of the braver team members ventured into the pay extra Psychomanteum. Themed around a game show – Trick or Treat provided the usual dose of vulgar scenarios, swearing and depravity. Remember - it is not called the UK's sickest attraction for nothing – even if it is not actually that scary!
We had a fantastic night at Scare Kingdom, with all the different elements adding up to a fun and scary experience that has something for everyone. It would be nice to see the format shaken up a bit in future years, but it clearly works for them as it stands, and everyone (including us) were having a great time.
I've been visiting Scare Kingdom for a good few years now and even though I have to travel quite a way to get there, it's always well worth the journey! If you've never been before, the place is worth a visit for the attraction Manormortis alone! The set build is just beautiful and this maze is never a letdown.
Most of the time I visit it's on a quiet day, however, the only time I could squeeze it in was on a busy Friday night. It was a more rushed experience than I was used to and I probably wouldn't recommend visiting on such a busy evening as I feel the sheer volume of guests they had to accommodate did impact on the quality of the experience.
First up was The Paradise Foundation which was The Sickness in previous years. The concept and backstory for this attraction is just fascinating and feels like it could have its own horror movie! It didn't last long with us being rushed through, but scares were good throughout the maze and even though I was at the back of the group I still got plenty of attention from actors, which doesn't always happen when you get lumped at the back.
Next is Manormortis, which this time focuses of the tale of Borley Rectory and a nun who is haunting the place. As always it's gorgeous inside with plenty to look at. There are so many scares in here it's hard to count and plenty of set pieces and monologues to help weave the story for this season. My only complaint would be that I missed most of the scares being at the back of the group, however, I did have a few actors try to get me still.
Afterward is Blitz, I've never been much of a fan of previous versions of this attraction and generally find it quite dull with there being no theming. I do think that the story for this Halloween season suited the maze build well and the addition of a flashlight was amusing. The actor performing the introduction at the beginning was incredible. Unfortunately, due to being at the back of the group, after leaving the initial intro room I didn't see a single actor or get a single scare until the very end of the maze as I was leaving. I don't know if they were short on people that night or what. I heard screams from the front of the group but I didn't see anything but the black walls. It made this maze a pretty disappointing experience but then I was prepared for that because it has been this way in previous years!
Onto Bodysnatchers and we have my favourite attraction of the night. The whole thing was dark, tense and claustrophobic. It was the only attraction where I got lost and genuinely nervous as it felt like you were being stalked in the darkness. The entire group was given plenty of scares, including me at the back. The finale was brilliant albeit a technique I've seen used elsewhere, it's very effective and always seems to wow an audience.
Last was The Hoodening, this year's version of the hooded maze. Now, I never enjoy these hooded mazes wherever they are and I'd prefer they were all replaced with something else. They're just not scary in the slightest or even fun! I honestly don't know what they could do to improve this maze as it will always be my least favourite and I'll remain confused as to why it's the last attraction (aside from Psyhomanteum) as it always leaves you feeling deflated and on a bit of a downer. Despite being boring as usual, the finale of this maze had an interesting twist that I appreciated!
I decided not to bother with Psyhomanteum this year. I've tried it in previous years and it's been great fun but I'd read reviews about how it's much shorter this year and not as good so decided to give it a miss to save some money since there's an extra charge to enter.
Overall, Scare Kingdom is still one of my favourite scream parks in the country and I will keep coming back year after year, I highly recommend any fan of scare attractions to visit this place!
Most of the time I visit it's on a quiet day, however, the only time I could squeeze it in was on a busy Friday night. It was a more rushed experience than I was used to and I probably wouldn't recommend visiting on such a busy evening as I feel the sheer volume of guests they had to accommodate did impact on the quality of the experience.
First up was The Paradise Foundation which was The Sickness in previous years. The concept and backstory for this attraction is just fascinating and feels like it could have its own horror movie! It didn't last long with us being rushed through, but scares were good throughout the maze and even though I was at the back of the group I still got plenty of attention from actors, which doesn't always happen when you get lumped at the back.
Next is Manormortis, which this time focuses of the tale of Borley Rectory and a nun who is haunting the place. As always it's gorgeous inside with plenty to look at. There are so many scares in here it's hard to count and plenty of set pieces and monologues to help weave the story for this season. My only complaint would be that I missed most of the scares being at the back of the group, however, I did have a few actors try to get me still.
Afterward is Blitz, I've never been much of a fan of previous versions of this attraction and generally find it quite dull with there being no theming. I do think that the story for this Halloween season suited the maze build well and the addition of a flashlight was amusing. The actor performing the introduction at the beginning was incredible. Unfortunately, due to being at the back of the group, after leaving the initial intro room I didn't see a single actor or get a single scare until the very end of the maze as I was leaving. I don't know if they were short on people that night or what. I heard screams from the front of the group but I didn't see anything but the black walls. It made this maze a pretty disappointing experience but then I was prepared for that because it has been this way in previous years!
Onto Bodysnatchers and we have my favourite attraction of the night. The whole thing was dark, tense and claustrophobic. It was the only attraction where I got lost and genuinely nervous as it felt like you were being stalked in the darkness. The entire group was given plenty of scares, including me at the back. The finale was brilliant albeit a technique I've seen used elsewhere, it's very effective and always seems to wow an audience.
Last was The Hoodening, this year's version of the hooded maze. Now, I never enjoy these hooded mazes wherever they are and I'd prefer they were all replaced with something else. They're just not scary in the slightest or even fun! I honestly don't know what they could do to improve this maze as it will always be my least favourite and I'll remain confused as to why it's the last attraction (aside from Psyhomanteum) as it always leaves you feeling deflated and on a bit of a downer. Despite being boring as usual, the finale of this maze had an interesting twist that I appreciated!
I decided not to bother with Psyhomanteum this year. I've tried it in previous years and it's been great fun but I'd read reviews about how it's much shorter this year and not as good so decided to give it a miss to save some money since there's an extra charge to enter.
Overall, Scare Kingdom is still one of my favourite scream parks in the country and I will keep coming back year after year, I highly recommend any fan of scare attractions to visit this place!
Scare Kingdom boasts 7 attractions encapsulating various sinister themes and whilst it’s great that each attraction has a theatrical scripted backstory similar to Merlin attractions it would be nice if perhaps they were all interlinked and referenced the farm location as currently guests jump around different periods of time sporadically which in turn I personally believe looses authenticity.
The Parlour 2/10
After waiting in a small reception area (a little crowded for intake periods) groups are eventually split into rows and led into the first attraction - a filler seance pre-show to try build anticipation, however I was left thinking they missed a trick not doing a ghostly jump scare when the lights went off?
The Paradise Foundation 5/10
On to the first fully fledged maze after a short walk down a path and a roaming street theatre introduction from Demi (who in some respect steals the entire show throughout the evening). The Paradise Foundation felt short, noticeably set in a series of shipping containers (acquired from Dreamland Margate) with and I hate to say it actors struggling to scare up and down the main corridor at speed, however the use of intimidation stares worked well.
Manormortis - Borley Rectory 8/10
The gem in Scare Kingdom’s lineup is Manormortis and it did not disappoint with incredible theming from the offset (some of the best I’ve ever seen in an attraction) as you wait outside next to a cemetery and veranda queue line (a connotation to Bates Motel and other American horror movies?). Scares were some of the best I’ve seen in a maze on other members of the group with actors perfectly working lots of rooms through both characterisation intimidation and high energy aggression between actor runs through drop boxes. Therefore it’s just a shame like lots of the other mazes at Scare Kingdom as soon as an impact scare is delivered on a group the actor retreats for the next group thinking they’ve got everyone when they hadn’t, yet if scares were random there would have been a greater opportunity to frighten the start of a group, retreat whilst the other members are still turning the corner and strike again. Not only Manormortis but all mazes could have been so much more of an assault on guests in this respect.
Blitz 4/10
Dare I say Blitz felt cheap and not really in-keeping with other themes around the site? Again like The Paradise Foundation this is set in a series of shipping containers with a narrow wooden warren route that is painted black and actor runs in between. At one point I saw the actor prepare for his attempted scare on me before he saw me!
Body Snatchers - Sweeney Todd 7/10
My second favourite maze at Scare Kingdom and internally well themed with actors knowing just how to use the space to their advantage delivering scares - particularly some people behind me who were oblivious to the fact an actor decided to follow them. In some respect it’s just a shame then that the barn wasn’t better themed from the outside and the exit was disguised from the entrance unlike Manormortis for example. This is something I’d love to be improved with a facade. The narrative backstory was delivered well however I felt it took a bit of time for the impacts to ramp up and then it all ended too abruptly (the Police scene at the end with lights going out was very good) so it would be nice to see more like this in the future.
Hoodening (3/10)
I don’t know what it is about hooded mazes but unless you’re terrified of the prospect it takes a lot to scare you and sadly like the Blitz dare I say I felt like it was another barn cheaply done out to fill the quantity of mazes rather than quality. I can count on a few fingers the amount of whispers and touches I experienced with lots of dead space in between. The hoods seemed to make you hotter and more breathless than other hooded attractions too. Therefore it would be good if Scare Kingdom took a leaf out of Voodoo Hoodoo at Xtreme Scream Park and changed the elevation and textures of floors disorientating guests more.
Psychomanteum - Trick Or Treat (6/10)
Psychomanteum is regarded as the sickest scare maze in the country so much so that it’s an up-charge and you have to sign a waiver document with a safe word if it’s all too much for you and you want to leave! T&C’s of the wavier dictate you can’t say what happens inside but in summary it’s funny more than scary. This iteration of Psychomanteum was one of the first where actors couldn’t touch guests which in turn I personally feel has tamed the attraction. Value for money no considering it’s soo short (5mins) but it’s one of those experiences to say you have done it.
Scare Kingdom is nice night out (6.5/10) and without a doubt highlights at Manormortis - Borley Rectory closely followed by Body Snatchers - Sweeney Todd with street team characters who really know who to interact and hold conversation with guests well. If you lived within 30-45mins of the site it’s worth a visit just for these two attractions alone. If I had to offer constructive criticism I’d say cut The Parlor preshow which does nothing & Psychomanteum to focus more on the core 5 mazes - particularly theming in Bitz and a non bag section for Hoodening to create intensity as to when the hood would be placed. The balance tips towards quantity rather than quality which is then strange considering the bar at the end is so small - when a central food court / merchandise hub in a larger barn with the ability to walk freely between one maze to another instead of a set order you have to visit attractions in. Just think of how many people will buy that extra drink or bite to eat in the middle of the night as well as at the end meaning more £? (they’re missing a trick here). Nevertheless what they currently have works particularly when it comes to batching splitting groups from each other which dramatically reduces waiting times and the chance of conga lines.
The Parlour 2/10
After waiting in a small reception area (a little crowded for intake periods) groups are eventually split into rows and led into the first attraction - a filler seance pre-show to try build anticipation, however I was left thinking they missed a trick not doing a ghostly jump scare when the lights went off?
The Paradise Foundation 5/10
On to the first fully fledged maze after a short walk down a path and a roaming street theatre introduction from Demi (who in some respect steals the entire show throughout the evening). The Paradise Foundation felt short, noticeably set in a series of shipping containers (acquired from Dreamland Margate) with and I hate to say it actors struggling to scare up and down the main corridor at speed, however the use of intimidation stares worked well.
Manormortis - Borley Rectory 8/10
The gem in Scare Kingdom’s lineup is Manormortis and it did not disappoint with incredible theming from the offset (some of the best I’ve ever seen in an attraction) as you wait outside next to a cemetery and veranda queue line (a connotation to Bates Motel and other American horror movies?). Scares were some of the best I’ve seen in a maze on other members of the group with actors perfectly working lots of rooms through both characterisation intimidation and high energy aggression between actor runs through drop boxes. Therefore it’s just a shame like lots of the other mazes at Scare Kingdom as soon as an impact scare is delivered on a group the actor retreats for the next group thinking they’ve got everyone when they hadn’t, yet if scares were random there would have been a greater opportunity to frighten the start of a group, retreat whilst the other members are still turning the corner and strike again. Not only Manormortis but all mazes could have been so much more of an assault on guests in this respect.
Blitz 4/10
Dare I say Blitz felt cheap and not really in-keeping with other themes around the site? Again like The Paradise Foundation this is set in a series of shipping containers with a narrow wooden warren route that is painted black and actor runs in between. At one point I saw the actor prepare for his attempted scare on me before he saw me!
Body Snatchers - Sweeney Todd 7/10
My second favourite maze at Scare Kingdom and internally well themed with actors knowing just how to use the space to their advantage delivering scares - particularly some people behind me who were oblivious to the fact an actor decided to follow them. In some respect it’s just a shame then that the barn wasn’t better themed from the outside and the exit was disguised from the entrance unlike Manormortis for example. This is something I’d love to be improved with a facade. The narrative backstory was delivered well however I felt it took a bit of time for the impacts to ramp up and then it all ended too abruptly (the Police scene at the end with lights going out was very good) so it would be nice to see more like this in the future.
Hoodening (3/10)
I don’t know what it is about hooded mazes but unless you’re terrified of the prospect it takes a lot to scare you and sadly like the Blitz dare I say I felt like it was another barn cheaply done out to fill the quantity of mazes rather than quality. I can count on a few fingers the amount of whispers and touches I experienced with lots of dead space in between. The hoods seemed to make you hotter and more breathless than other hooded attractions too. Therefore it would be good if Scare Kingdom took a leaf out of Voodoo Hoodoo at Xtreme Scream Park and changed the elevation and textures of floors disorientating guests more.
Psychomanteum - Trick Or Treat (6/10)
Psychomanteum is regarded as the sickest scare maze in the country so much so that it’s an up-charge and you have to sign a waiver document with a safe word if it’s all too much for you and you want to leave! T&C’s of the wavier dictate you can’t say what happens inside but in summary it’s funny more than scary. This iteration of Psychomanteum was one of the first where actors couldn’t touch guests which in turn I personally feel has tamed the attraction. Value for money no considering it’s soo short (5mins) but it’s one of those experiences to say you have done it.
Scare Kingdom is nice night out (6.5/10) and without a doubt highlights at Manormortis - Borley Rectory closely followed by Body Snatchers - Sweeney Todd with street team characters who really know who to interact and hold conversation with guests well. If you lived within 30-45mins of the site it’s worth a visit just for these two attractions alone. If I had to offer constructive criticism I’d say cut The Parlor preshow which does nothing & Psychomanteum to focus more on the core 5 mazes - particularly theming in Bitz and a non bag section for Hoodening to create intensity as to when the hood would be placed. The balance tips towards quantity rather than quality which is then strange considering the bar at the end is so small - when a central food court / merchandise hub in a larger barn with the ability to walk freely between one maze to another instead of a set order you have to visit attractions in. Just think of how many people will buy that extra drink or bite to eat in the middle of the night as well as at the end meaning more £? (they’re missing a trick here). Nevertheless what they currently have works particularly when it comes to batching splitting groups from each other which dramatically reduces waiting times and the chance of conga lines.
Walpurgis Night 2019
Walpurgis night – the annual ‘halfway to Halloween, celebration at Scare Kingdom had many surprises in store and delivered one of its best Walpurgis event yet! This year saw Manormortis: The Evil from Oz’ and ‘Body Snatchers: Spring Heeled Jack’ as well as the return of the infamous ‘Psychomanteum’, this time in the form of ‘GORE-met café’. With 3 attractions to experience, the anticipation grew as we waited to enter. It is always interesting to see Mrs Dowson’s Farm out of Halloween season. The main visitor centre is unrecognisable to its Halloween makeover (it usually houses the introductory attraction each year – the most recent being the Death Chamber), and the atmosphere seems different to what you would expect from a scare attraction. This just goes to show how much care and effort has been applied into transforming old farm buildings into new, totally immersive and downright terrifying worlds! Soon enough, it was time to head to the first attraction of the evening
Always one of the stronger attractions on offer at Scare Kingdom, this version of Manormortis told contained ‘The Evil from Oz’; a darker, more twisted take on the original story. As we entered the attraction, we were greeted by a panic stricken story teller, who told us about a book that came to life, bringing the evils within it to life as well. As we crawled through a mysteriously lit fireplace, we encountered an array of sinister characters that delighted us with macabre speeches along the way. Although it had a strong start, the storyline in this attraction seemed to melt away quicker than the Wicked Witch of the West! Although every character we met delivered a high-energy, enthusiastic performance, it was difficult to follow the story they were trying to tell. It was clear that they were somehow linked to the Wizard of Oz, but how or why was not made clear. Not that it mattered, as we still had tons of fun meeting each character. One-off attractions at Scare Kingdom, such as Walpurgis Night, tend to veer towards more theatrical storytelling, as opposed to an all-out scare experience. This is certainly not a bad thing, however, and there were quite a few scream-out-loud moments as we navigated the dimly lit corridors.
Overall, we had a fun time walking through the seemingly endless pathways of Manormortis, constantly wondering what sinister character from the land of Oz we would encounter next! That being said, the maze had a LOT of potential that never seemed to be used fully. For example, the character of ToTo (the small, fluffy companion of Dorothy in the original Wizard of Oz story) made an appearance on a number of occasions. The sudden appearance of a barking hand puppet, looking like any other normal dog, was more silly than scary and detracted from any atmosphere or tension that had been created by the actors. The much scarier monkeys, that seemed to appear from nowhere, were used to much greater effect. As well as this, the ending of the maze gave a whole new definition to the word ‘under-whelming’. Although we consistently look for the positive aspects of any attraction, it was hard to find any other way of describing how this one ended.
Although the story was hard to follow at times, the maze certainly felt as if it was building up to a grand finale, with evil creatures appearing from no-where and some intense performances from some very twisted Oz characters. We felt as if we were going to meet someone or something spectacularly horrific. Instead, we found ourselves simply shuffling out of the exit going ‘Was that it?’ Instead of utilising the grand, wide-open space the maze had used for a previous Edgar Allen Poe makeover, the maze used the much smaller ‘portrait’ room which had, on previous occasions, used a gimmick similar to that used in The Dungeons attractions to startle guests. Except, no scare came this time. Just a short speech, an evil laugh and a hasty exit. A disappointing ending to an otherwise great experience.
Although the storyline was disjointed and the ending was weak, Manormortis: The Evil from Oz was a delightfully fun experience with some great scares and plenty of dark humour, as well as set design that still seems as intricate, fresh and detailed as it did when Manormortis first opened.
Leaving the much-more light hearted setting of Oz, we ventured towards the second haunt of the night – Body Snatchers: Spring Heeled Jack. As usual, the brilliant opening scene set the tone for what was to come once we entered into Brimstone and Black’s funeral parlour. We learned about the all-too true legend of Spring Heeled Jack, a supernatural creature who would stalk the fog lit streets of Victorian London. The last thing his unfortunate victims would see were his blood-red eyes… With that, we were ushered into the ‘safety’ of Brimstone and Black’s funeral parlour, under the close eye of the mysterious Doctor Black, our ‘saviour’. Could we trust him? With the threat of Spring Heeled Jack looming nearby, we had no other option! You could say Doctor Black seemed the better of two evils!
The second scene went into much more detail about Spring Heeled Jack and, although much longer, than the Halloween version, we were soon venturing nervously into the funeral parlour’s hidden vaults. A few, great impact scares followed, all using the claustrophobic corridors to their advantage and the anticipation in the group was high. After a brief encounter with Jack himself, we soon encountered another inhabitant, who told us that our saviour Doctor Black may not be so trustworthy after all and may know more about Spring Heeled Jack than he lets on. All too soon, we found ourselves crawling into the vaults to face whatever horrors lay in store. It is at this point in the maze that, without giving too much away, the group becomes much smaller as it leads into its finale. The intensity and build up to the final section of the maze created a strong feeling of dread and tension amongst the group and, although we had some idea of what to expect, we were the most scared we had been all night!
Although the scenery remained much the same as it had previously, the maze used it to great effect to deliver an exhilarating final scene. There was no lighting to guide your way, only a curtain of fog that was so thick it was literally difficult to see your hand in front of your face! Or perhaps, an actor lurking in the darkness which provided some of the most intense scares of the night. A brilliant use of clever lighting, thick fog and some very enthusiastic performers meant that every member of the group screamed their heads off and was glad to escape the clutches of Spring Heeled Jack.
Overall, Body Snatchers: Spring Heeled Jack was a brilliant maze from start to finish. With just the right number of theatrical storytelling and high impact scares, this was definitely the darker and scarier maze of the night and made great use of its surroundings to deliver an unforgettable adventure.
As always, it is hard to review Psychomanteum without giving too much away. One of the main draws of the attraction is that it is constantly able to re-invent itself, providing new and enhanced ways to turn the stomachs of the paying customers daring to go it alone. People just don’t know what to expect if they choose to brave the attraction. As always, Psychomanteum will certainly be Marmite, its sole aim to repulse and shock guests. Feeling brave, we decided to try the UK’s sickest attraction once more.
This time, the Gore-met café was hosted by ‘Delia Spliff’, who delighted in recounting the secrets to ‘feeling’ good at an old age before inviting/forcing us to down a very fresh and unpleasant liquid… The rest of the attraction was just as disgusting, with us being forced to ‘savour’ a variety of consumable items, each more stomach churning than the last, all whilst blindfolded! This was certainly one of the more vomit inducing incarnations of the ‘UKs Sickest attraction’ and we can safely say that, after enduring it, meat cleavers are certainly scarier when you can feel them, hear them but not see them! To say that the attraction stayed with us long after we left would be an understatement! In fact, each member of our group left with stained clothes and sticky hands!
It has been pointed out countless times that Psychomanteum is not a ‘scare’ attraction like the other mazes at the park, instead it goes for the shock and repulsive value. Some love it, some hate it and some refuse to experience altogether. Regardless of opinion, it has to be acknowledged for the clear level of precision and attention to detail. An almost constant supply of victims are dispatched the attraction each night it is open. Given it is such an ‘up close and personal’ experience, for each actor to have everything prepared and ready for each new guest, as well as the fast-paced ‘escorting’ of disorientated and blind-folded guests from room to room really is an impressive feat! Although presented as an abusive and chaotic environment, the actors clearly work hard to make sure things go as smoothly and as safely as possible.
Overall, we had a blast at Walpurgis Night. The actors were lively, full of energy and committed to delivering a memorable performance in each and every scene. The scenery in both mazes was a detailed as ever, and each one certainly left an impression!
The sad fact is that the event only served to make us crave more, and we certainly cannot wait to see what terrors await us at Scare Kingdom this Halloween season!
Review by Connor Mckenzie
Always one of the stronger attractions on offer at Scare Kingdom, this version of Manormortis told contained ‘The Evil from Oz’; a darker, more twisted take on the original story. As we entered the attraction, we were greeted by a panic stricken story teller, who told us about a book that came to life, bringing the evils within it to life as well. As we crawled through a mysteriously lit fireplace, we encountered an array of sinister characters that delighted us with macabre speeches along the way. Although it had a strong start, the storyline in this attraction seemed to melt away quicker than the Wicked Witch of the West! Although every character we met delivered a high-energy, enthusiastic performance, it was difficult to follow the story they were trying to tell. It was clear that they were somehow linked to the Wizard of Oz, but how or why was not made clear. Not that it mattered, as we still had tons of fun meeting each character. One-off attractions at Scare Kingdom, such as Walpurgis Night, tend to veer towards more theatrical storytelling, as opposed to an all-out scare experience. This is certainly not a bad thing, however, and there were quite a few scream-out-loud moments as we navigated the dimly lit corridors.
Overall, we had a fun time walking through the seemingly endless pathways of Manormortis, constantly wondering what sinister character from the land of Oz we would encounter next! That being said, the maze had a LOT of potential that never seemed to be used fully. For example, the character of ToTo (the small, fluffy companion of Dorothy in the original Wizard of Oz story) made an appearance on a number of occasions. The sudden appearance of a barking hand puppet, looking like any other normal dog, was more silly than scary and detracted from any atmosphere or tension that had been created by the actors. The much scarier monkeys, that seemed to appear from nowhere, were used to much greater effect. As well as this, the ending of the maze gave a whole new definition to the word ‘under-whelming’. Although we consistently look for the positive aspects of any attraction, it was hard to find any other way of describing how this one ended.
Although the story was hard to follow at times, the maze certainly felt as if it was building up to a grand finale, with evil creatures appearing from no-where and some intense performances from some very twisted Oz characters. We felt as if we were going to meet someone or something spectacularly horrific. Instead, we found ourselves simply shuffling out of the exit going ‘Was that it?’ Instead of utilising the grand, wide-open space the maze had used for a previous Edgar Allen Poe makeover, the maze used the much smaller ‘portrait’ room which had, on previous occasions, used a gimmick similar to that used in The Dungeons attractions to startle guests. Except, no scare came this time. Just a short speech, an evil laugh and a hasty exit. A disappointing ending to an otherwise great experience.
Although the storyline was disjointed and the ending was weak, Manormortis: The Evil from Oz was a delightfully fun experience with some great scares and plenty of dark humour, as well as set design that still seems as intricate, fresh and detailed as it did when Manormortis first opened.
Leaving the much-more light hearted setting of Oz, we ventured towards the second haunt of the night – Body Snatchers: Spring Heeled Jack. As usual, the brilliant opening scene set the tone for what was to come once we entered into Brimstone and Black’s funeral parlour. We learned about the all-too true legend of Spring Heeled Jack, a supernatural creature who would stalk the fog lit streets of Victorian London. The last thing his unfortunate victims would see were his blood-red eyes… With that, we were ushered into the ‘safety’ of Brimstone and Black’s funeral parlour, under the close eye of the mysterious Doctor Black, our ‘saviour’. Could we trust him? With the threat of Spring Heeled Jack looming nearby, we had no other option! You could say Doctor Black seemed the better of two evils!
The second scene went into much more detail about Spring Heeled Jack and, although much longer, than the Halloween version, we were soon venturing nervously into the funeral parlour’s hidden vaults. A few, great impact scares followed, all using the claustrophobic corridors to their advantage and the anticipation in the group was high. After a brief encounter with Jack himself, we soon encountered another inhabitant, who told us that our saviour Doctor Black may not be so trustworthy after all and may know more about Spring Heeled Jack than he lets on. All too soon, we found ourselves crawling into the vaults to face whatever horrors lay in store. It is at this point in the maze that, without giving too much away, the group becomes much smaller as it leads into its finale. The intensity and build up to the final section of the maze created a strong feeling of dread and tension amongst the group and, although we had some idea of what to expect, we were the most scared we had been all night!
Although the scenery remained much the same as it had previously, the maze used it to great effect to deliver an exhilarating final scene. There was no lighting to guide your way, only a curtain of fog that was so thick it was literally difficult to see your hand in front of your face! Or perhaps, an actor lurking in the darkness which provided some of the most intense scares of the night. A brilliant use of clever lighting, thick fog and some very enthusiastic performers meant that every member of the group screamed their heads off and was glad to escape the clutches of Spring Heeled Jack.
Overall, Body Snatchers: Spring Heeled Jack was a brilliant maze from start to finish. With just the right number of theatrical storytelling and high impact scares, this was definitely the darker and scarier maze of the night and made great use of its surroundings to deliver an unforgettable adventure.
As always, it is hard to review Psychomanteum without giving too much away. One of the main draws of the attraction is that it is constantly able to re-invent itself, providing new and enhanced ways to turn the stomachs of the paying customers daring to go it alone. People just don’t know what to expect if they choose to brave the attraction. As always, Psychomanteum will certainly be Marmite, its sole aim to repulse and shock guests. Feeling brave, we decided to try the UK’s sickest attraction once more.
This time, the Gore-met café was hosted by ‘Delia Spliff’, who delighted in recounting the secrets to ‘feeling’ good at an old age before inviting/forcing us to down a very fresh and unpleasant liquid… The rest of the attraction was just as disgusting, with us being forced to ‘savour’ a variety of consumable items, each more stomach churning than the last, all whilst blindfolded! This was certainly one of the more vomit inducing incarnations of the ‘UKs Sickest attraction’ and we can safely say that, after enduring it, meat cleavers are certainly scarier when you can feel them, hear them but not see them! To say that the attraction stayed with us long after we left would be an understatement! In fact, each member of our group left with stained clothes and sticky hands!
It has been pointed out countless times that Psychomanteum is not a ‘scare’ attraction like the other mazes at the park, instead it goes for the shock and repulsive value. Some love it, some hate it and some refuse to experience altogether. Regardless of opinion, it has to be acknowledged for the clear level of precision and attention to detail. An almost constant supply of victims are dispatched the attraction each night it is open. Given it is such an ‘up close and personal’ experience, for each actor to have everything prepared and ready for each new guest, as well as the fast-paced ‘escorting’ of disorientated and blind-folded guests from room to room really is an impressive feat! Although presented as an abusive and chaotic environment, the actors clearly work hard to make sure things go as smoothly and as safely as possible.
Overall, we had a blast at Walpurgis Night. The actors were lively, full of energy and committed to delivering a memorable performance in each and every scene. The scenery in both mazes was a detailed as ever, and each one certainly left an impression!
The sad fact is that the event only served to make us crave more, and we certainly cannot wait to see what terrors await us at Scare Kingdom this Halloween season!
Review by Connor Mckenzie
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ValenTerror 2019
Who needs flowers and chocolate when you can have scares and frights? Scare Kingdom are back for Valentines with three of their staple attractions, Manormortis, Body Snatchers and Psychomanteum.
Manormortis Baskerville Hall saw the entire house plunged into total darkness, with only a glow stick to guide our path. Entering the house within a group of 8, Inspector Holmes explained of weird goings on within the mansion, how Werewolves have been spotted within the grounds and how many who had explored deeper into the Mansion had yet to be seen again. Splitting into smaller groups of 2, it was our time to delve into the Mansion. Holmes did a perfect job of setting the scene for Manormortis Baskerville Hall with a great script perfectly executed. Even the splitting up of the group and waiting for the 2 before us to get through was well implemented - Holmes would individually give us more back story before each group braved their turn to enter past the fireplace. The rest of the attraction gave some fantastic short sharp shocks with impact scares coming thick and fast and a nice finale with the team coming face to face with a Werewolf before running for the exit.
Body Snatchers Waxworks was the second attraction of the night. We are always extremely impressed with the first two storey set piece upon entering this attraction. We were introduced to Madame Tussaud who explained her rather dark past of using real faces of the deceased for the moulds of her waxworks. The role was played with a sense of humour but with an underlying tone of terror. The actress played it perfectly and set up the rest of the attraction. The next few scenes introduced us to The Maker who was Tussaud’s terrifying right hand man. He led us deeper into the halls of the funeral parlour used to house Tussaud’s latest creations. Then in true Scare Kingdom fashion we had an hilarious apprentice who didn’t quite like ‘hanging around’ with body parts and tricked us into the cellar. The finale came with pitch black narrow corridors with the Waxworks coming to life, giving us some great impact scares!
Psychomanteum Heartbroken sees the return of the “sickest attraction in the UK”. For the first time they were offering guests to go in pairs, however this reviewer opted for the alone experience. We never like to divulge in any specifics in this attraction as it truly needs to be seen to be believed, however we can say we were once again greeted with sick, twisted and disturbing sexual scenes throughout. We always explain that Psychomanteum will continue to be the marmite of attractions in the scare world, some love it, some hate it and many don’t class it under the banner of a ‘scare attraction’. What it is, is something completely different and unique and most definitely an experience. Unfortunately we didn’t receive the ‘make-over’ we were expecting after seeing social media from the night before. Whether the show was changed throughout the second evening we are unsure, however we still had an experience that left us feeling used and abused as usual.
Scare Kingdom continue to have extremely high quality sets, fantastic acting and quality script work. If you chose not to experience the up-charge Psychomanteum, you still would have had a great experience with two very different high quality attractions with Manormortis and Body Snatchers. Another great evening at Scare Kingdom and we are looking forward to their Walpurgis event on May 4th.
Manormortis Baskerville Hall saw the entire house plunged into total darkness, with only a glow stick to guide our path. Entering the house within a group of 8, Inspector Holmes explained of weird goings on within the mansion, how Werewolves have been spotted within the grounds and how many who had explored deeper into the Mansion had yet to be seen again. Splitting into smaller groups of 2, it was our time to delve into the Mansion. Holmes did a perfect job of setting the scene for Manormortis Baskerville Hall with a great script perfectly executed. Even the splitting up of the group and waiting for the 2 before us to get through was well implemented - Holmes would individually give us more back story before each group braved their turn to enter past the fireplace. The rest of the attraction gave some fantastic short sharp shocks with impact scares coming thick and fast and a nice finale with the team coming face to face with a Werewolf before running for the exit.
Body Snatchers Waxworks was the second attraction of the night. We are always extremely impressed with the first two storey set piece upon entering this attraction. We were introduced to Madame Tussaud who explained her rather dark past of using real faces of the deceased for the moulds of her waxworks. The role was played with a sense of humour but with an underlying tone of terror. The actress played it perfectly and set up the rest of the attraction. The next few scenes introduced us to The Maker who was Tussaud’s terrifying right hand man. He led us deeper into the halls of the funeral parlour used to house Tussaud’s latest creations. Then in true Scare Kingdom fashion we had an hilarious apprentice who didn’t quite like ‘hanging around’ with body parts and tricked us into the cellar. The finale came with pitch black narrow corridors with the Waxworks coming to life, giving us some great impact scares!
Psychomanteum Heartbroken sees the return of the “sickest attraction in the UK”. For the first time they were offering guests to go in pairs, however this reviewer opted for the alone experience. We never like to divulge in any specifics in this attraction as it truly needs to be seen to be believed, however we can say we were once again greeted with sick, twisted and disturbing sexual scenes throughout. We always explain that Psychomanteum will continue to be the marmite of attractions in the scare world, some love it, some hate it and many don’t class it under the banner of a ‘scare attraction’. What it is, is something completely different and unique and most definitely an experience. Unfortunately we didn’t receive the ‘make-over’ we were expecting after seeing social media from the night before. Whether the show was changed throughout the second evening we are unsure, however we still had an experience that left us feeling used and abused as usual.
Scare Kingdom continue to have extremely high quality sets, fantastic acting and quality script work. If you chose not to experience the up-charge Psychomanteum, you still would have had a great experience with two very different high quality attractions with Manormortis and Body Snatchers. Another great evening at Scare Kingdom and we are looking forward to their Walpurgis event on May 4th.
Scare Kingdom Christmas 2018
Christmas is a time for decorations, family, friends, presents and Turkey. However for us scare lovers, it’s also a time for Manormortis, Body Snatchers and the infamous Psychomanteum at Scare Kingdom. Yes, Christmas FestEVIL is back with the three staple attractions, all with brand new themed overlays.
After a short wait in the holding area, it was time to experience Manormortis “Nevermore”. This new experience followed a different route around the beautiful mansion making it feel very different to any other visit we have had the in the past. The story explored the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. The scenes well written and executed, gave for a very theatrical scare experience with a few impact scares along the way. The finale was brand new compared to previous visits, we entered into a grand and beautifully themed ballroom where we met the man himself, Edgar finished his writing and was taken away by a Raven on-stage. Although the scene looked beautiful in every sense of physical set, lighting and sound, we felt it slightly lacked a big scare finale which would have been a perfect ending. Instead the attraction just seemed to fizzle out slightly.
Next up was Body Snatchers “Krampus Catacombs”. This attraction was pure laughs and frights all the way through. The first half focused again on heavily scripted scenes that set the story perfectly. We were the volunteers stupid enough to search for Krampus. From crazy, incredibly funny elves to a bumbling Boris Johnson styled Mrs Claus, this maze had the whole group laughing in hysterics. The second half of the show was much darker (lierally!) with pitch black rooms with actors using a single torch to get their impact scares. The two halves came together to create a great juxtaposition between laughs and frights!
Our final encounter was with the up charge attraction Psychomantium “Glory Grotto”. The resident Doctor Goodkind was away on holiday and a sick and twisted family were left in-charge. We never like to give too much away about the secrets inside the incarnations of the attraction, however we will say that our fingers smelt of fish and we had wet crotches upon leaving the attraction. We never want to meet “fun uncle Bazza” again! Although the attraction splits the community, some love it, some hate it, we can say that this incarnation flowed a lot nicer than previous visits to the clinic with a story line easier to follow as opposed to random disgusting acts!
Christmas has started with a bang at Scare Kingdom Scream Park with a great amount of scares and laughs in equal measure. We look forward to their next seasonal offering in February for VALLENTERROR.
After a short wait in the holding area, it was time to experience Manormortis “Nevermore”. This new experience followed a different route around the beautiful mansion making it feel very different to any other visit we have had the in the past. The story explored the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. The scenes well written and executed, gave for a very theatrical scare experience with a few impact scares along the way. The finale was brand new compared to previous visits, we entered into a grand and beautifully themed ballroom where we met the man himself, Edgar finished his writing and was taken away by a Raven on-stage. Although the scene looked beautiful in every sense of physical set, lighting and sound, we felt it slightly lacked a big scare finale which would have been a perfect ending. Instead the attraction just seemed to fizzle out slightly.
Next up was Body Snatchers “Krampus Catacombs”. This attraction was pure laughs and frights all the way through. The first half focused again on heavily scripted scenes that set the story perfectly. We were the volunteers stupid enough to search for Krampus. From crazy, incredibly funny elves to a bumbling Boris Johnson styled Mrs Claus, this maze had the whole group laughing in hysterics. The second half of the show was much darker (lierally!) with pitch black rooms with actors using a single torch to get their impact scares. The two halves came together to create a great juxtaposition between laughs and frights!
Our final encounter was with the up charge attraction Psychomantium “Glory Grotto”. The resident Doctor Goodkind was away on holiday and a sick and twisted family were left in-charge. We never like to give too much away about the secrets inside the incarnations of the attraction, however we will say that our fingers smelt of fish and we had wet crotches upon leaving the attraction. We never want to meet “fun uncle Bazza” again! Although the attraction splits the community, some love it, some hate it, we can say that this incarnation flowed a lot nicer than previous visits to the clinic with a story line easier to follow as opposed to random disgusting acts!
Christmas has started with a bang at Scare Kingdom Scream Park with a great amount of scares and laughs in equal measure. We look forward to their next seasonal offering in February for VALLENTERROR.
Scare Kingdom Halloween 2018
Celebrating their milestone 10th year, Scare Kingdom returns for 2018 with the promise of seven attractions and of being the 'ultimate Halloween expereince'. But, did it deliver?
First up, Death Chamber. Whilst we wouldn't consider this an attraction in its own right, Death Chamber serves as a softer introduction to help ensure that all members of the group can cope with the scares to come. Unfortunately, it seemed that not all of our group were delivered the same sharp shock that the attraction intended, but we looked forward to the scares awaiting us.
Next we arrived at High Hopes Hospital for The Sickness: Zombiegeddon. A new infestation has taken over and zombies have pervaded. The clinical environment, tight corners and up-close nature of this attraction worked in the zombies favour, enabling inhabitants to deliver some good jump scares. We left High Hopes suitably scared and excited for more.
Arriving at Manormortis - Carnivale, the usual residents of the manor seemed to be away. But not to worry, the Carnival is in town. Well-known for offering beautiful sets and theming, it’s hard not be blown away by Manormortis. With each scene, we were met by a host of colourful carnie characters each with their own story. Scares came with show-style gusto and these characters terrorised us at every turn. Whilst we struggled a little to understand why the carnival had chosen Manormortis as their base, we were pleased they had.
With its stunning church-like facade nestling between the trees, we entered Black Mass expecting something really special. As a premise, we learned we were to be an offering of human sacrifice for the secretive Order of Crimson Wax. Black Mass is an incredibly dark maze which snakes around a very narrow space. We found the audio to be really effective in creating some incredible tension and a promise of some big scares. Unfortunately, those scares didn't really materialise and we left hoping for more.
Body Snatchers: The House That Jack Built again boasted beautiful theming and some fantastic actor-led set pieces, delivered with great commitment. A well thought-out walkthrough of Brimstone and Black’s funeral parlour, this maze created a real sense of panic. We were stalked by a certain infamous ‘Jack’ after his links to the parlour had become known. We really liked the theatrical feel to this maze with its classic villainous icon.
Flesh Market, offering human organ harvest to the highest bidder gave Scare Kingdom premise for their hooded attraction this year. Although the maze offered some really tactile and sensory moments, after the opening scene we couldn't help but feel that it lacked any real narrative to carry the story throughout the attraction. With this maze playing host to the last in the event’s multi-part sequence, we felt it was sadly missing a sucker-punch grand finale.
Psychomanteum Zero is the park's extreme attraction, offered as an optional extra attraction. Not a scare attaction as such, Psychomanteum is a psychosexual experience, designed to shock and make guests feel uncomfortable. Dubbed by The Sun newspaper the “UK’s sickest attraction”, it certainly delivers shock value! The scenes were completely outrageous and the actors bravely threw themselves wholeheartedly into their roles, totally grossing us out. Psychomanteum is certainly an experience not for the faint-hearted or the easily offended.
On the whole, we had a great night at Scare Kingdom. However, casting our minds back, the aspects we thought could be improved remain similar to previous years so it would be great to see improvements to those areas specifically in the future. That said, Scare Kingdom was a fantastic, terrifying experience and remains a Halloween favourite.
First up, Death Chamber. Whilst we wouldn't consider this an attraction in its own right, Death Chamber serves as a softer introduction to help ensure that all members of the group can cope with the scares to come. Unfortunately, it seemed that not all of our group were delivered the same sharp shock that the attraction intended, but we looked forward to the scares awaiting us.
Next we arrived at High Hopes Hospital for The Sickness: Zombiegeddon. A new infestation has taken over and zombies have pervaded. The clinical environment, tight corners and up-close nature of this attraction worked in the zombies favour, enabling inhabitants to deliver some good jump scares. We left High Hopes suitably scared and excited for more.
Arriving at Manormortis - Carnivale, the usual residents of the manor seemed to be away. But not to worry, the Carnival is in town. Well-known for offering beautiful sets and theming, it’s hard not be blown away by Manormortis. With each scene, we were met by a host of colourful carnie characters each with their own story. Scares came with show-style gusto and these characters terrorised us at every turn. Whilst we struggled a little to understand why the carnival had chosen Manormortis as their base, we were pleased they had.
With its stunning church-like facade nestling between the trees, we entered Black Mass expecting something really special. As a premise, we learned we were to be an offering of human sacrifice for the secretive Order of Crimson Wax. Black Mass is an incredibly dark maze which snakes around a very narrow space. We found the audio to be really effective in creating some incredible tension and a promise of some big scares. Unfortunately, those scares didn't really materialise and we left hoping for more.
Body Snatchers: The House That Jack Built again boasted beautiful theming and some fantastic actor-led set pieces, delivered with great commitment. A well thought-out walkthrough of Brimstone and Black’s funeral parlour, this maze created a real sense of panic. We were stalked by a certain infamous ‘Jack’ after his links to the parlour had become known. We really liked the theatrical feel to this maze with its classic villainous icon.
Flesh Market, offering human organ harvest to the highest bidder gave Scare Kingdom premise for their hooded attraction this year. Although the maze offered some really tactile and sensory moments, after the opening scene we couldn't help but feel that it lacked any real narrative to carry the story throughout the attraction. With this maze playing host to the last in the event’s multi-part sequence, we felt it was sadly missing a sucker-punch grand finale.
Psychomanteum Zero is the park's extreme attraction, offered as an optional extra attraction. Not a scare attaction as such, Psychomanteum is a psychosexual experience, designed to shock and make guests feel uncomfortable. Dubbed by The Sun newspaper the “UK’s sickest attraction”, it certainly delivers shock value! The scenes were completely outrageous and the actors bravely threw themselves wholeheartedly into their roles, totally grossing us out. Psychomanteum is certainly an experience not for the faint-hearted or the easily offended.
On the whole, we had a great night at Scare Kingdom. However, casting our minds back, the aspects we thought could be improved remain similar to previous years so it would be great to see improvements to those areas specifically in the future. That said, Scare Kingdom was a fantastic, terrifying experience and remains a Halloween favourite.
ManorMortis - Carnivale - 4.75*
The House That Jack Built - 4*
Psychomanteum Zero - 3.5*
Flesh Market - 3*
Zombiegeddon - 2.5*
Black Mass - 2.5*
Death Chamber - 1*
Psychomanteum 2018 is not as good as 2017. Food and drink are fairly priced. Hoodie is very expensive at £25. Street theatre/actors is very good. Performer interaction very good throughout
The House That Jack Built - 4*
Psychomanteum Zero - 3.5*
Flesh Market - 3*
Zombiegeddon - 2.5*
Black Mass - 2.5*
Death Chamber - 1*
Psychomanteum 2018 is not as good as 2017. Food and drink are fairly priced. Hoodie is very expensive at £25. Street theatre/actors is very good. Performer interaction very good throughout
Walpurgis Night 2018
Scare Kingdom Scream park returns with their annual out of season Spring event - Walpurgis Night which celebrates the half way point to Halloween.
Manormortis returns with an ‘Unhappily Ever After’ storyline. Each room of this living house was home to gruesome twisted fairy-tale creatures from a vicious Hansel and Gretel out for revenge against their father to a bitter and cold little Dead Riding Hood who was more sinister than the Big Bad Wolf! Unhappily Ever After was a more theatrical tour of the house with impact scares along the way. Each scene had a well written, word perfect script performed by top quality actors who ensured their story was told with power and evil in equal measure. The Manormotis house was themed as stunning as ever with each scene complimenting the inhabiting character. The more theatrical versions of this show let us really take in the sheer amount of theming around every corner of this living house and we are excited to see what changes are being made to the Manor for the next Halloween season. Unhappily Ever After was a solid piece of horror promenade theatre, the only slight criticism is that during certain peaks in the soundtrack we would struggle to hear tiny sections of dialogue. However, that just meant braving getting our ears even closer to these twisted fairytales… “all the better to hear you with my dear”.
Body Snatchers BEDLAM was home to escaped maniacal inmates hell bent on terrifying us. The first scene is always a highlight of this attraction, and had the elements of terror, humour, madness and aggression to create a compelling and enticing beginning with a few laughs. However the laughs soon turned to screams when we were let loose within Bedlam. Split into groups of two we had to brave the pitch black corridors only to be shocked with an inmate around each dark corner. This simple yet effective scare had everyone running for the exit.
Psychomanteum ‘The Queening’ is the latest incarnation of the ‘sickest attraction in the UK’. As we mention in all our Scare Kingdom reviews, this attraction has become the Marmite of the scare world. With some reviewers loving it whilst other hate it. We never like to give away the secrets of this sick and twisted attraction as it really does have to be experienced to be believed. However if you type ‘queening’ into urban dictionary, you may have an idea of our finale experience. (just don’t click on google images!) All jokes aside, this incarnation of the infamous attraction, felt less rough and pushy than previous versions but really upped the phsyco-sexual disgusting element in new ways.Not all of the team made it to the end!
Scare Kingdom returns for select dates in the summer for a ‘Midsummer Nights Scream’ and then celebrates it tenth Halloween season this October.
Manormortis returns with an ‘Unhappily Ever After’ storyline. Each room of this living house was home to gruesome twisted fairy-tale creatures from a vicious Hansel and Gretel out for revenge against their father to a bitter and cold little Dead Riding Hood who was more sinister than the Big Bad Wolf! Unhappily Ever After was a more theatrical tour of the house with impact scares along the way. Each scene had a well written, word perfect script performed by top quality actors who ensured their story was told with power and evil in equal measure. The Manormotis house was themed as stunning as ever with each scene complimenting the inhabiting character. The more theatrical versions of this show let us really take in the sheer amount of theming around every corner of this living house and we are excited to see what changes are being made to the Manor for the next Halloween season. Unhappily Ever After was a solid piece of horror promenade theatre, the only slight criticism is that during certain peaks in the soundtrack we would struggle to hear tiny sections of dialogue. However, that just meant braving getting our ears even closer to these twisted fairytales… “all the better to hear you with my dear”.
Body Snatchers BEDLAM was home to escaped maniacal inmates hell bent on terrifying us. The first scene is always a highlight of this attraction, and had the elements of terror, humour, madness and aggression to create a compelling and enticing beginning with a few laughs. However the laughs soon turned to screams when we were let loose within Bedlam. Split into groups of two we had to brave the pitch black corridors only to be shocked with an inmate around each dark corner. This simple yet effective scare had everyone running for the exit.
Psychomanteum ‘The Queening’ is the latest incarnation of the ‘sickest attraction in the UK’. As we mention in all our Scare Kingdom reviews, this attraction has become the Marmite of the scare world. With some reviewers loving it whilst other hate it. We never like to give away the secrets of this sick and twisted attraction as it really does have to be experienced to be believed. However if you type ‘queening’ into urban dictionary, you may have an idea of our finale experience. (just don’t click on google images!) All jokes aside, this incarnation of the infamous attraction, felt less rough and pushy than previous versions but really upped the phsyco-sexual disgusting element in new ways.Not all of the team made it to the end!
Scare Kingdom returns for select dates in the summer for a ‘Midsummer Nights Scream’ and then celebrates it tenth Halloween season this October.
Scare Kingdom Walpurgis Night was a significant improvement from the Valenterror event back in February 2018 (which I found to be far too short to have gotten anything close to my value for money).
Each attraction at Walpurgis Night was longer so it was money much better spent on my part.
The acting in each of the attractions was superb, with a perfect mix of humour and jump scares.
The Dark Fairy Tales were a perfect resemblance of what I would imagine a horrific fairy tale to be, and very creatively done. Poor Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty were extremely hard done by! Alice in Wonderland was equally as mad as the March Hare. (Here's my opportunity to apologise to her once again for accidentally hitting her in the face when she made me jump!) Cinderella was facetious, manic and masochistic with a hint of sadism- especially towards men! Little Dead Riding Hood was a shouting, unpredictable and terrifying force to be reckoned with who made the prospect of an encounter with a wolf look like a snuggle with a cuddly toy in comparison! The props and the lighting also made it feel like we had genuinely entered a dream like dimension... or indeed a nightmare!
Cue the 'Body Snatchers', a place where all hell had broken loose; because all the mad convicts had escaped and we had to negotiate our way through the darkness, with no idea what or who was lurking around each corner. The only clear light was at the end when we were being chased by a chainsaw yielding maniac!
Then we were taken to the optional attraction at the end- "Psychomanteum, the UK's sickest attraction". As the lady who got us to sign the disclaimer and took our money explained, "it's not jump scary, it's a psycho sexual experience intended to be vulgar and disgusting". We managed to get there at the busiest time, and queued for over an hour. I'd try to go into it twice before, but had ended up calling the safe word on both occasions- once because I was being told to get into a coffin; and another time because I was being told to eat dog food whilst bent over a dog bowl and being humped by a man in a dog gimp suit. No, I'm not exaggerating!
I asked the woman giving us the disclaimers if we had to eat anything, and she said no; so I thought that this time, I was determined to get through it without calling the safe word... and I did!
It'd be a bit of a stretch to say that I was glad to have made it all the way through; but it has certainly been ticked off my bucket list, and I'm certainly far more psychologically disturbed than when I originally went in. I didn't mind the crude jokes and the camaraderie so much; but for me personally, the very intimate physical contact was taking it too far. For each of the times that I was hooded, I had women straddling me, a man putting my hand on his thigh and stopping perilously close to a third leg, a man and a woman (separately) coming up to me and sniffing me, being made to finger what I can only assume were flesh torches with a hood over my head; and having water thrown over me with the hood over my head at various intervals.
I would have preferred something jump scary such as a lone task similar to those on Release The Hounds, rather than something Psychosexual which made me feel very uncomfortable.
I would definitely visit Scare Kingdom again, but I would give Psychomanteum a miss, because I'd prefer something jump scary or task based, rather than something that definitely lives up to the Sun's name for it as the UK's sickest attraction.
Each attraction at Walpurgis Night was longer so it was money much better spent on my part.
The acting in each of the attractions was superb, with a perfect mix of humour and jump scares.
The Dark Fairy Tales were a perfect resemblance of what I would imagine a horrific fairy tale to be, and very creatively done. Poor Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty were extremely hard done by! Alice in Wonderland was equally as mad as the March Hare. (Here's my opportunity to apologise to her once again for accidentally hitting her in the face when she made me jump!) Cinderella was facetious, manic and masochistic with a hint of sadism- especially towards men! Little Dead Riding Hood was a shouting, unpredictable and terrifying force to be reckoned with who made the prospect of an encounter with a wolf look like a snuggle with a cuddly toy in comparison! The props and the lighting also made it feel like we had genuinely entered a dream like dimension... or indeed a nightmare!
Cue the 'Body Snatchers', a place where all hell had broken loose; because all the mad convicts had escaped and we had to negotiate our way through the darkness, with no idea what or who was lurking around each corner. The only clear light was at the end when we were being chased by a chainsaw yielding maniac!
Then we were taken to the optional attraction at the end- "Psychomanteum, the UK's sickest attraction". As the lady who got us to sign the disclaimer and took our money explained, "it's not jump scary, it's a psycho sexual experience intended to be vulgar and disgusting". We managed to get there at the busiest time, and queued for over an hour. I'd try to go into it twice before, but had ended up calling the safe word on both occasions- once because I was being told to get into a coffin; and another time because I was being told to eat dog food whilst bent over a dog bowl and being humped by a man in a dog gimp suit. No, I'm not exaggerating!
I asked the woman giving us the disclaimers if we had to eat anything, and she said no; so I thought that this time, I was determined to get through it without calling the safe word... and I did!
It'd be a bit of a stretch to say that I was glad to have made it all the way through; but it has certainly been ticked off my bucket list, and I'm certainly far more psychologically disturbed than when I originally went in. I didn't mind the crude jokes and the camaraderie so much; but for me personally, the very intimate physical contact was taking it too far. For each of the times that I was hooded, I had women straddling me, a man putting my hand on his thigh and stopping perilously close to a third leg, a man and a woman (separately) coming up to me and sniffing me, being made to finger what I can only assume were flesh torches with a hood over my head; and having water thrown over me with the hood over my head at various intervals.
I would have preferred something jump scary such as a lone task similar to those on Release The Hounds, rather than something Psychosexual which made me feel very uncomfortable.
I would definitely visit Scare Kingdom again, but I would give Psychomanteum a miss, because I'd prefer something jump scary or task based, rather than something that definitely lives up to the Sun's name for it as the UK's sickest attraction.
Scare Kingdom - ValenTerror 2018
Whilst Halloween may be at the heart of every hardened scare enthusiast, it’s becoming increasingly common that out of season events are now offering some of the best scares you can find. This year, Scare Kingdom’s ValenTerror offers a different take on the tried and classics we all know and love including a return to Manormortis, Body Snatchers and the infamous Psychomanteum. All rethemed and repurposed for Valentines! After all, there’s nothing that says love better than a horde of heartless undead!
Zombies: Dead in the Dark - We have been through Manormortis countless times, yet it still manages to come back feeling very different each season. This Valentines, Scare Kingdom dimmed the house lights, dropped the theatrics and introduced an endless swarm of zombies to the venue. It didn’t help that we entered the attraction in a group of just two!
We had thought that we knew the layout of this maze, but how wrong we were. Despite the fact there have been no changes since Christmas, we were clueless! Mere seconds passed before our first scare came unseen from the shadows, followed again by another. This was consistent for the next 10 or so minutes while we were trapped inside the house. We think we may have broken decibel records with our screams!
Zombie fatigue may be setting in for some, but when they are as voracious as this, it’s hard to find fault - these creatures were savage. Most of the runtime we were running away from the present zombies and felt like we were constantly under attack. In fact, it felt like a deadly game of cat and mouse. There were points where we had seemingly gotten away from the zombies, only for them to lurch out from some darkened crevice seconds later. Apparently, there are around 70 scare opportunities throughout Manormortis, but we think they may need to re-count, as we experienced an absolute excess of scares. It felt rare for such an intense experience to play out in an attraction as lavishly themed as Manormortis but Zombies: Dead in the Dark packed a punch and may just have provided us with our best run through the house to date.
BodySnatchers: House of Harlots - It would not be a trip to Scare Kingdom without some level of debauchery, but surprisingly, this time that wasn’t just from Psychomanteum, as a troupe of Victorian streetwalkers had set up shop in the Brimstone and Black funeral parlor. Scare Kingdom have a knack for creating some of the most extravagant characters out there, and this attraction was certainly no exception. From the outset, we were greeted with an innuendo-laden drag queen, attempting to sell us her wares. This definitely set a comical tone, which kept us laughing throughout the entire experience. That’s not to say the attraction wasn’t scary. House of Harlots bought back some of our favourite staged scares from the Halloween show, alongside some very well timed improvised jumps. The attraction slowly got more intense as it progressed, with the unnerving dark scene making a welcome return. Scare Kingdom and their acting talent succeeded in creating something masterful, and again – this was the strongest storyline we have seen for Body Snatchers to date.
Psychomanteum: Heartless - since Psychomanteum rose from the dead this past Halloween, it’s been doing well with consistently more gross out experiences. Each rendition has got progressively worse, with this Valentine’s show being perhaps the most depraved. Of course, it’s up to you if that’s a positive or a negative, but we must strongly note that this attraction is not to be entered lightly! It’s fair to say Psychomanteum has never shied away from shoving guests deep into the action in every scene, but Heartless takes this to new levels, with some truly terrifying additions to the experience in the form of a nightmarish gurney ride and an all too realistic injection. The show takes a much darker approach to scares, but still maintained its signature warped brand of humour. To be honest, in some of the situations we were placed in, the only thing you could do was laugh. What else is the polite response to being ‘greeted’ by a hulking human dog?
Being Psychomanteum, guests are never just a passive witness to these kinky hijinks but are an active participant. Whereas previous versions of the show have always verged on the realm of ‘extreme’ Heartless is very much teetering over the edge. All the interactions between guest and the actors were very up close and personal, with some certain parts designed to make people very uncomfortable. However, that’s the whole point. The outrageousness of these scenarios made this show stand out and the actors were avidly throwing themselves into their roles and interacting with guests. You have got to give it to Scare Kingdom, while Psychomanteum is certainly not for everyone, they’re really doing everything they can to keep the experience fresh yet disgusting! This psychosexual scare attraction certainly shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Overall, it’s becoming a recurring theme that Scare Kingdom seem to create some of their best productions during the out of season events. This year’s ValenTerror line-up featured something for everyone. Zombies was an intense fright-fest, House of Harlots was a sidesplitting theatrical romp, and Psychomanteum was just messed up. With such an incredible showing for Valentines, we certainly can’t wait to see what’s in store for their Walpurgis Night event in April.
Zombies: Dead in the Dark - We have been through Manormortis countless times, yet it still manages to come back feeling very different each season. This Valentines, Scare Kingdom dimmed the house lights, dropped the theatrics and introduced an endless swarm of zombies to the venue. It didn’t help that we entered the attraction in a group of just two!
We had thought that we knew the layout of this maze, but how wrong we were. Despite the fact there have been no changes since Christmas, we were clueless! Mere seconds passed before our first scare came unseen from the shadows, followed again by another. This was consistent for the next 10 or so minutes while we were trapped inside the house. We think we may have broken decibel records with our screams!
Zombie fatigue may be setting in for some, but when they are as voracious as this, it’s hard to find fault - these creatures were savage. Most of the runtime we were running away from the present zombies and felt like we were constantly under attack. In fact, it felt like a deadly game of cat and mouse. There were points where we had seemingly gotten away from the zombies, only for them to lurch out from some darkened crevice seconds later. Apparently, there are around 70 scare opportunities throughout Manormortis, but we think they may need to re-count, as we experienced an absolute excess of scares. It felt rare for such an intense experience to play out in an attraction as lavishly themed as Manormortis but Zombies: Dead in the Dark packed a punch and may just have provided us with our best run through the house to date.
BodySnatchers: House of Harlots - It would not be a trip to Scare Kingdom without some level of debauchery, but surprisingly, this time that wasn’t just from Psychomanteum, as a troupe of Victorian streetwalkers had set up shop in the Brimstone and Black funeral parlor. Scare Kingdom have a knack for creating some of the most extravagant characters out there, and this attraction was certainly no exception. From the outset, we were greeted with an innuendo-laden drag queen, attempting to sell us her wares. This definitely set a comical tone, which kept us laughing throughout the entire experience. That’s not to say the attraction wasn’t scary. House of Harlots bought back some of our favourite staged scares from the Halloween show, alongside some very well timed improvised jumps. The attraction slowly got more intense as it progressed, with the unnerving dark scene making a welcome return. Scare Kingdom and their acting talent succeeded in creating something masterful, and again – this was the strongest storyline we have seen for Body Snatchers to date.
Psychomanteum: Heartless - since Psychomanteum rose from the dead this past Halloween, it’s been doing well with consistently more gross out experiences. Each rendition has got progressively worse, with this Valentine’s show being perhaps the most depraved. Of course, it’s up to you if that’s a positive or a negative, but we must strongly note that this attraction is not to be entered lightly! It’s fair to say Psychomanteum has never shied away from shoving guests deep into the action in every scene, but Heartless takes this to new levels, with some truly terrifying additions to the experience in the form of a nightmarish gurney ride and an all too realistic injection. The show takes a much darker approach to scares, but still maintained its signature warped brand of humour. To be honest, in some of the situations we were placed in, the only thing you could do was laugh. What else is the polite response to being ‘greeted’ by a hulking human dog?
Being Psychomanteum, guests are never just a passive witness to these kinky hijinks but are an active participant. Whereas previous versions of the show have always verged on the realm of ‘extreme’ Heartless is very much teetering over the edge. All the interactions between guest and the actors were very up close and personal, with some certain parts designed to make people very uncomfortable. However, that’s the whole point. The outrageousness of these scenarios made this show stand out and the actors were avidly throwing themselves into their roles and interacting with guests. You have got to give it to Scare Kingdom, while Psychomanteum is certainly not for everyone, they’re really doing everything they can to keep the experience fresh yet disgusting! This psychosexual scare attraction certainly shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Overall, it’s becoming a recurring theme that Scare Kingdom seem to create some of their best productions during the out of season events. This year’s ValenTerror line-up featured something for everyone. Zombies was an intense fright-fest, House of Harlots was a sidesplitting theatrical romp, and Psychomanteum was just messed up. With such an incredible showing for Valentines, we certainly can’t wait to see what’s in store for their Walpurgis Night event in April.
Scare Kingdom FestEVIL 2017
The Christmas FestEVIL event at Scare Kingdom Scream Park returned this year with three attractions: ‘Manormortis - The House of Living Toys’, ‘Body Snatchers - The Christmas Prescence’ and ‘Psycomanteum BloodMASS’. The weather was certainly fitting as we descended upon the park as we don’t think we could have chosen a colder evening! Being a linear event, similar to Halloween, we were escorted between attractions by a member of staff leading us with a torch. We do feel that for such a big player in the scare attraction world, somewhere like Scare Kingdom could do something a little more to help create atmosphere in these transitioning areas, even if it were just some lights or lanterns along the pathways as opposed to being led in the pitch black by a torch. Only a minor criticism but one that that we think would make a big impact in the transitions and the overall event atmosphere.
The first attraction was the Christmas incarnation of Manormortis, which this year was themed as ‘The House of the Living Toys’. This attraction remains one of the most stunningly beautiful ones within the UK, and especially with its Christmas decorations in certain rooms, it just feels so authentic and inspiring to look at. We were unsure how a subject such as Toys would translate well to an adult market who want to be scared, but this particular theme worked really well. We wouldn’t say that the overall attraction and premise was scary, but it reminded us of a walkthrough creepy Christmas pantomime and this was something that we really loved. There were some great characters and scenes, with the actors performing quite detailed monologues with exceptional execution; our particular favourite being the toy soldier! The scares in this attraction mainly came from the transitions from scene to scene in the form of jump scares. Overall we felt this worked really well, and loved the idea of it being more of an immersive show in a pantomime fashion as opposed to a typical scare attraction for this time of year.
Next up was Body Snatchers ‘The Christmas Presence’. Having visited Scare Kingdom at Halloween we knew what to expect in theming, but still our jaws dropped at the stunning sets which were on a par with the level of detail and authenticity of Manormortis. Again the initial scenes of this attraction carried on in that theatrical alternative pantomime fashion, but with a more adult tone. They even essentially had their own pantomime dame, albeit a creepy one! The initial scenes were again very well executed, exceptionally entertaining and provided us with some great giggles. After the initial couple of scenes we were then, one by one led into more of a standard scare attraction type setting, facing dark corridors alone. Some of our group didn’t get as good run throughs as others in this section, but we had a great experience with some quality impact scares. Sadly, it all felt over a bit too soon. We understand that it is a much shorter version than at Halloween, but we were enjoying it so much that we didn’t want it to end so abruptly.
Last but not least was the final attraction of the night, Psycomanteum BloodMASS. This is an optional attraction which incurs a £5 additional fee, and is certainly one for the brave! This reviewer encountered Psycomanteum in its first year and have chickened out on subsequent visits to Scare Kingdom, but decided to fight the fear and try it again. We didn’t do well and ended up using the safe word in the first room! Despite expecting actors to be up close and personal, they really invaded our personal space in every way possible and strove to shock us to the core. It is certainly an acquired taste, and not one that we could personally endure. Some of our group who made it through could only use one word to describe it - grim! But yet as disgusting and degrading as it is, it certainly remains the UK’s sickest attraction and fulfills everything that the creators have set out to achieve!
Overall Christmas FestEVIL is great entertainment and is a very reasonably priced out of season attraction. Don’t necessarily expect a lot of major scares, but with an overall creepy vibe it really was an engaging and immersive experience!
The first attraction was the Christmas incarnation of Manormortis, which this year was themed as ‘The House of the Living Toys’. This attraction remains one of the most stunningly beautiful ones within the UK, and especially with its Christmas decorations in certain rooms, it just feels so authentic and inspiring to look at. We were unsure how a subject such as Toys would translate well to an adult market who want to be scared, but this particular theme worked really well. We wouldn’t say that the overall attraction and premise was scary, but it reminded us of a walkthrough creepy Christmas pantomime and this was something that we really loved. There were some great characters and scenes, with the actors performing quite detailed monologues with exceptional execution; our particular favourite being the toy soldier! The scares in this attraction mainly came from the transitions from scene to scene in the form of jump scares. Overall we felt this worked really well, and loved the idea of it being more of an immersive show in a pantomime fashion as opposed to a typical scare attraction for this time of year.
Next up was Body Snatchers ‘The Christmas Presence’. Having visited Scare Kingdom at Halloween we knew what to expect in theming, but still our jaws dropped at the stunning sets which were on a par with the level of detail and authenticity of Manormortis. Again the initial scenes of this attraction carried on in that theatrical alternative pantomime fashion, but with a more adult tone. They even essentially had their own pantomime dame, albeit a creepy one! The initial scenes were again very well executed, exceptionally entertaining and provided us with some great giggles. After the initial couple of scenes we were then, one by one led into more of a standard scare attraction type setting, facing dark corridors alone. Some of our group didn’t get as good run throughs as others in this section, but we had a great experience with some quality impact scares. Sadly, it all felt over a bit too soon. We understand that it is a much shorter version than at Halloween, but we were enjoying it so much that we didn’t want it to end so abruptly.
Last but not least was the final attraction of the night, Psycomanteum BloodMASS. This is an optional attraction which incurs a £5 additional fee, and is certainly one for the brave! This reviewer encountered Psycomanteum in its first year and have chickened out on subsequent visits to Scare Kingdom, but decided to fight the fear and try it again. We didn’t do well and ended up using the safe word in the first room! Despite expecting actors to be up close and personal, they really invaded our personal space in every way possible and strove to shock us to the core. It is certainly an acquired taste, and not one that we could personally endure. Some of our group who made it through could only use one word to describe it - grim! But yet as disgusting and degrading as it is, it certainly remains the UK’s sickest attraction and fulfills everything that the creators have set out to achieve!
Overall Christmas FestEVIL is great entertainment and is a very reasonably priced out of season attraction. Don’t necessarily expect a lot of major scares, but with an overall creepy vibe it really was an engaging and immersive experience!
Review Scare Kingdom 2017
Scare kingdom is back for 2017, advertising seven new experiences. All the themes and stories sounded exciting on paper, but did they deliver in person?
The first attraction was Slaughter, but as in previous years, this is really just a scene setter for the evening. It was somewhat weird, as although based around a killer clown, we never actually saw one! The show itself is ruined by the fact you can hear everything from the group in front of you before you go in, which ruins any surprises in store. But putting Slaughter behind us we looked forward to checking into some of our favourite mazes at the event:
In The Sickness 2: High Hopes hospital, the doctors have been playing with DNA and the patients are the twisted results of their experiments. The show was one of our highlights in previous years and returns as strong and effective as before. The Sickness is an action-packed house with scares from the moment we stepped inside. The maze also had some great set piece effects and these, coupled with excellent acting and the impressive theming really helped set the standard for the night.
Manormortis:Ghostkeeper - One cannot fail to not be impressed by the scope and detail of the sets in manormortis. A beautiful maze, with some of the best-dressed rooms around. The actors were excellent and the whole show is an impressive mix of scares and comic timing, which combine to create an immersive tale and a suitable creepy experience.
Prey: The introduction to this house was excellent with the story being delivered by a capable actor who played his part with vigor. Then it all fell flat. Bare black walls and 5 minutes of vampires, growling snarling and screaming at us did nothing to scare or inspire. After the beauty and spectacle of the last two attractions – we left disappointed.
Body Snatchers. Following another impressive opening speech, we were led into and a house full of lavish sets, fantastic actors, and perfect humor. This house had it all - the tension and atmosphere was captured perfectly and the timing of some of the scares was sublime. A truly unique and enjoyable experience and a return to form for the night.
Black Widow: Greeted again by another brilliant actor we were told the tale of the black widow, and were then hooded. It felt like not much had changed from last year except the actors were just hissing and shouting "spiders" in our ears instead of coughing. We came out of Black Widow feeling disappointed. There were some good sensory moments but overall it missed the mark with our group.
Psychomanteum is the park’s psychosexual extreme style attraction. Having experienced early versions of this show and seeing people covered in what could only be described as “male love juice” we took our leave and left the venue!
In general, we had a great time once again at Scare Kingdom but we found that some of the same issues from previous years, are still being repeated year after year. The opening “scene” is not an attraction in its own right, and is usually ruined by the way it is executed (and the fact you hear it from the queue line) we also found Prey and Black Widow just to be generic rebrands of the previous year’s mazes. It is not a crime for an event to have returning mazes. In fact, sometimes it is nice to experience something you have done before, so perhaps instead of creating new stories for mazes that are already amazing – ie The Sickness, and Manormortis, more effort could be spent on the less well themed mazes to bring them up to the same amazing standard.
Regardless of those observations – we still had a scarily entertaining night out!
The first attraction was Slaughter, but as in previous years, this is really just a scene setter for the evening. It was somewhat weird, as although based around a killer clown, we never actually saw one! The show itself is ruined by the fact you can hear everything from the group in front of you before you go in, which ruins any surprises in store. But putting Slaughter behind us we looked forward to checking into some of our favourite mazes at the event:
In The Sickness 2: High Hopes hospital, the doctors have been playing with DNA and the patients are the twisted results of their experiments. The show was one of our highlights in previous years and returns as strong and effective as before. The Sickness is an action-packed house with scares from the moment we stepped inside. The maze also had some great set piece effects and these, coupled with excellent acting and the impressive theming really helped set the standard for the night.
Manormortis:Ghostkeeper - One cannot fail to not be impressed by the scope and detail of the sets in manormortis. A beautiful maze, with some of the best-dressed rooms around. The actors were excellent and the whole show is an impressive mix of scares and comic timing, which combine to create an immersive tale and a suitable creepy experience.
Prey: The introduction to this house was excellent with the story being delivered by a capable actor who played his part with vigor. Then it all fell flat. Bare black walls and 5 minutes of vampires, growling snarling and screaming at us did nothing to scare or inspire. After the beauty and spectacle of the last two attractions – we left disappointed.
Body Snatchers. Following another impressive opening speech, we were led into and a house full of lavish sets, fantastic actors, and perfect humor. This house had it all - the tension and atmosphere was captured perfectly and the timing of some of the scares was sublime. A truly unique and enjoyable experience and a return to form for the night.
Black Widow: Greeted again by another brilliant actor we were told the tale of the black widow, and were then hooded. It felt like not much had changed from last year except the actors were just hissing and shouting "spiders" in our ears instead of coughing. We came out of Black Widow feeling disappointed. There were some good sensory moments but overall it missed the mark with our group.
Psychomanteum is the park’s psychosexual extreme style attraction. Having experienced early versions of this show and seeing people covered in what could only be described as “male love juice” we took our leave and left the venue!
In general, we had a great time once again at Scare Kingdom but we found that some of the same issues from previous years, are still being repeated year after year. The opening “scene” is not an attraction in its own right, and is usually ruined by the way it is executed (and the fact you hear it from the queue line) we also found Prey and Black Widow just to be generic rebrands of the previous year’s mazes. It is not a crime for an event to have returning mazes. In fact, sometimes it is nice to experience something you have done before, so perhaps instead of creating new stories for mazes that are already amazing – ie The Sickness, and Manormortis, more effort could be spent on the less well themed mazes to bring them up to the same amazing standard.
Regardless of those observations – we still had a scarily entertaining night out!
ManorMortis - Carnivale - 4.75*
The House That Jack Built - 4*
Psychomanteum Zero - 3.5*
Flesh Market - 3*
Zombiegeddon - 2.5*
Black Mass - 2.5*
Death Chamber - 1*
Psychomanteum 2018 is not as good as 2017
Food and drink are fairly priced
Hoodie is very expensive at £25
Street theatre/actors is very good
Performer interaction very good throughout
The House That Jack Built - 4*
Psychomanteum Zero - 3.5*
Flesh Market - 3*
Zombiegeddon - 2.5*
Black Mass - 2.5*
Death Chamber - 1*
Psychomanteum 2018 is not as good as 2017
Food and drink are fairly priced
Hoodie is very expensive at £25
Street theatre/actors is very good
Performer interaction very good throughout
Review -Scare Kingdom 2016
Scare Kingdom is back for 2016, and once again the full line up has been changed, promising SEVEN new experiences, including a new extreme attraction in association with the infamous Mckamey Manor. We thoroughly enjoyed MOST of our experience, but left the venue with a bad taste in our mouth.....
Mallum - Not wanting to start the review on a negative note but we never understand why the first introductory scene at Scare Kingdom is listed as an official "attraction". In the past we have been locked inside a cage while a pre-recorded announcement played, and this time we were lined up, while an actor interacted with the pre-recorded speech. It is actually a VERY good intro to the whole event, but it is over in a couple of minutes, before we are kicked out into the farm yard to walk to the first "full" attraction. On a side note - our interaction with local grave digger, Doug as we walked, was a great piece of characterisation.
The Sickness – It's hard to talk about this attraction without exclaiming "wow". For a temporary attraction (compared to the permanent ManorMortis) the attention to detail and theming in this maze were top notch. From the opening scene with the grotesque matron character through to the escaped infected patients at the end - this maze was fast paced, scary, noisy and fun. The final corridor with the multiple doors and hiding places, managed to elicit many screams from our group and we ran out the attraction laughing.
Manormortis - What can we say about Manormortis that we haven't said before? The set design and decoration is absolutely stunning with every inch of the building intricately themed. The house is also full of secret cut throughs, drop panels and more, to ensure that the scares keep coming from every angle. It is also very large and it seems like the path is never ending. The actors in here were some of the liveliest of the whole event and all gave a great show - from the more theatrical opening dialogues through to the chaotic finale. Our favourite scene - purely for the stunning visual effect, was in the bedroom as we watched a poor woman being sucked into the bed before our very eyes! Our only criticism of this stunning maze was the attic room with the portrait of "grandmother". It felt like a style of scene we have seen at Dungeon attractions and slightly slowed the pace down. Other than that - we had an absolute blast. This really is an attraction you have to see for yourself to really believe how beautiful it is!
The House of Gaunt. In previous years, any maze that follows Manormortis has a really tough act to follow, and with two intricately detailed mazes to follow this year, The House of Gaunt needed to do something really different. And that is EXACTLY what they did. This maze had minimal theming - just long black corridors with windows looking down onto the owner's doll collection, but what it lacked in theming it made up in suspense and tension. Of course some of the dolls were real and some were fake and despite a couple of obvious "human" shaped dolls, we still experienced a number of great jump scares as we wandered the narrow and winding corridors.
666 Brimstone Place. Despite being branded as a new maze, 666 Brimstone was effectively last year's Hell with a new name. The walls were still covered in Satanic runes and many of the scenes were the same. But we weren't complaining, as it was one of our favourite mazes of 2015! The attraction had some impressive actors who really got up close and personal as well as some great jump scares throughout. Sadly it seemed to lack some of the Intensity of Hell, although the ending was as crazy and "grabby" as before!
Black Death. This is Scare Kingdom's take on the classic hooded maze as we entered a building full of plague victims. Unlike some hooded mazes, Black Death allows full contact and we were grabbed by the actors a number of times with them coughing and spluttering in our ears as we tried to follow the rope round in the darkness. During the experience we also had a lot of things thrown at us from above which became slightly annoying as the wood chippings etc started to go down our necks. Even so - its was a great maze that made us jump several times.
It was only when we took our hoods off that we realised we had come to the end of the main Scare Kingdom experience. Although we liked Black Death it sort of lacked a big finale. So for anyone not brave (or stupid) enough to do Snuffhouse - this was the last maze of their night and wasn't quite as impactful as the other mazes. Never mind - there's always time for a drink in the Brouhaha Bar!
Snuffhouse: Alone. Now, we have never been ones to hide our dislike for extreme attractions. We hated the pyscho sexual nature of Psychomanteum, with its simulated sexual activity, body fluids, sex toys and nudity as we never actually found it scary - it was just shocking for the for the sake of it.
So we weren't expecting much better with Snuffhouse Alone and none of our group of 4 actually wanted to do it. But out of fairness to the creators and for the sake of doing a full review, one of us entered the facility to see what they had in store. We didn't last long!
The fact that we walked out of the attraction soaked, with our clothes stinking of fish guts really didn't impress us. We had had such a great time in all the other attractions and the evening (and our clothes) were soured by this one experience. It wasn't actually scary - we just said the safe word as we refused to swallow the item, and as such we were thrown out (apologies to the actor who was at the receiving end of us spitting out the contents of our mouth)
We understand that many, many people will enjoy this (we saw 1 person last the whole experience last night) but we stand by our opinion that scare entertainment should be designed to entertain and thrill and is not intended to be something you endure. As we were away for the weekend, we were left with fishy reminders of this maze all weekend as the smell couldn't be washed out of our coat with soap and water alone!
So, after a brilliant start to the night at Scare Kingdom Scream Park with some really excellent mazes, we sadly have to say that Snuffhouse Alone left us with a bad taste in our mouths (in more ways than one!)
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