Scaresville: The Haunted Village - 2010 Review
The first thing to strike you as you drive into Kentwell Hall, the location of Scaresville, is just how dark it is. Dark driveway, dark car park, dark path to entrance. Having heard SO much in the past about the use of darkness in this attraction, I was starting to get pretty nervous. It didnt help that on the walk to the starting point a duck decided to crash into the nearby pond with a mighty splash that really made us jump and start to question what we were doing (the disgruntled quacks that soon followed dispelled any fears that this was part of the attraction itself!)
Once at the main departure point we were asked a number of times if we had read and understood the terms and conditions on the back of our tickets . The fact this was stressed so many times made us both re-read again just in case we had missed something REALLY important (say for example that the actors were actually real serial killers or that the use of live ammunition was in use!) Satisfying ourselves that everything seemed fairly normal we stepped through the first curtain and our journey began. And what a journey it was!
Scaresville takes well over an hour to complete and along the way guests are assualted by just about every known scare tactic and trick in the book. Utilising old barns and stables, well themed corridors, wide open fields, dark woodland and specially built mazes, the scares just keep coming and guests are never quite sure what is coming next.
The route of the attraction is littered with scare actors and through some of the darker sections, you really aren't sure what is going to hapen next or who you are going to meet. Some of the actors provide short sharp shock scares while others provide detailed characterisation and demand more of your time. It was clear though that all the actors were having fun whatever they were doing and as we walked from scene to scene the fields and woods around us echoed with the screams of other groups ahead or behind us!
So we mentioned before about the darkness and Scaresville is very keen to ensure the night is properly dark before groups are allowed out. Guests are requested not to use torches at any point and as such, they actually warn that actors will NOT scare you if your torches are on. So if anyone in the party tries to light the way,they ruin it for everyone.
So we were good and didnt use anything BUT it did cross our mind as we entered two of the barns. Labelled the Rat Run and The Catacombs, these were the blackest maze experiences we have even seen (or not seen!) Progress through each was made purely by walking very slowly and blindly just trying to feel for a wall, a door or something. The sense of panic in some of the rooms was palpable and in one case we just seemed to be forever wandering round and round in circles, until finally a door was stumbled upon and we left via the entrance (leaving half our party stranded in the dark!)
Another particular set piece that was memorable was the use of the large bush maze in the house's grounds. Instead of taking a route around the bushes the path led us straight INTO the wall of firs which being low hanging, overgrown and VERY dark, meant any number of monsters could be found hiding within.
Finally the lights of the start point could be seen in the distance and at this point I started to expect a big final scare and unfortunately this was where Scaresville was lacking. We had had such a scream filled 75 minutes or so, that the last 2 or 3 felt very anticlimatic which was a shame. It's only a minor grumble but something that could be rectified easily to leave everyone running out on a high in future.
Once at the main departure point we were asked a number of times if we had read and understood the terms and conditions on the back of our tickets . The fact this was stressed so many times made us both re-read again just in case we had missed something REALLY important (say for example that the actors were actually real serial killers or that the use of live ammunition was in use!) Satisfying ourselves that everything seemed fairly normal we stepped through the first curtain and our journey began. And what a journey it was!
Scaresville takes well over an hour to complete and along the way guests are assualted by just about every known scare tactic and trick in the book. Utilising old barns and stables, well themed corridors, wide open fields, dark woodland and specially built mazes, the scares just keep coming and guests are never quite sure what is coming next.
The route of the attraction is littered with scare actors and through some of the darker sections, you really aren't sure what is going to hapen next or who you are going to meet. Some of the actors provide short sharp shock scares while others provide detailed characterisation and demand more of your time. It was clear though that all the actors were having fun whatever they were doing and as we walked from scene to scene the fields and woods around us echoed with the screams of other groups ahead or behind us!
So we mentioned before about the darkness and Scaresville is very keen to ensure the night is properly dark before groups are allowed out. Guests are requested not to use torches at any point and as such, they actually warn that actors will NOT scare you if your torches are on. So if anyone in the party tries to light the way,they ruin it for everyone.
So we were good and didnt use anything BUT it did cross our mind as we entered two of the barns. Labelled the Rat Run and The Catacombs, these were the blackest maze experiences we have even seen (or not seen!) Progress through each was made purely by walking very slowly and blindly just trying to feel for a wall, a door or something. The sense of panic in some of the rooms was palpable and in one case we just seemed to be forever wandering round and round in circles, until finally a door was stumbled upon and we left via the entrance (leaving half our party stranded in the dark!)
Another particular set piece that was memorable was the use of the large bush maze in the house's grounds. Instead of taking a route around the bushes the path led us straight INTO the wall of firs which being low hanging, overgrown and VERY dark, meant any number of monsters could be found hiding within.
Finally the lights of the start point could be seen in the distance and at this point I started to expect a big final scare and unfortunately this was where Scaresville was lacking. We had had such a scream filled 75 minutes or so, that the last 2 or 3 felt very anticlimatic which was a shame. It's only a minor grumble but something that could be rectified easily to leave everyone running out on a high in future.
Scaresville is is unlike anything we have experienced before. With such a mix of different scares, the sheer number of actors and the ingenuity of some of the set pieces, it really is a unique attraction for the UK and for that Kentwell Hall should be applauded. It will be interesting to see where they take the event next. With all the land and other outbuildings they have to play with, this could just keep getting bigger and bigger each year!
Scaresville runs until until Sunday October 31st. For tickets and more details visit their website
Scaresville runs until until Sunday October 31st. For tickets and more details visit their website