Review - Tulleys Shocktoberfest - 2011

Tulleys Shocktoberfest - 2011 review

There are certain things guaranteed in life - death, taxes and Tulleys Shocktoberfest! The event has been running for far too many years to mention and the ScareTOUR team have personally been visiting for as many years as we can remember. We saw the Field of Screams before there were any actors in it, we were there when It's Curtains and The Cellar exploded onto the scene and of course, we made sure we were there to experience the full version of Hell-Ements.

Tulleys has a reputation as being THE Halloween event to beat and it's not hard to see why. They are the original UK Scream Park, a concept that many other operators have tried to copy to varying success. Their attractions are scary, well designed and most importantly - original. Each one works on a different style, as opposed to just identical walk-through mazes, with different stories and costumes.

So what did we think of this year?

Just some of the ScareTOUR group waiting to experience The Cellar

Hell-ements is the "new for 2011" attraction and has been surrounded with a level of secrecy unsurpassed in this industry.

The big secret is now out and it's not spoiling anything to say that all guests enter the attraction with a thick black bag over their heads. Instructed to follow a rope at all times, guests have to travel a pitch dark trail through a series of elements, including wind, water and of course fire.

Along the way a number of tactile effects, live actors and floor and elevation changes increase the feeling of the unknown.

With the one sense we generally rely on the most removed, it's interesting how other senses start to kick into overdrive. You hear every footstep, you sense the scare performers around you and start to imagine you are places you're not.

The hoods themselves are quite imposing and have been designed to allow just a small amount of light through, which is probably more unnerving than if you were completely blind. What doesn't help is that the route is very twisted and it can be very confusing, when you reach out for a rope that is bending off in a completely different direction.

With these moments of panic, the complete loss of direction and the short sharp sudden scares along the way, how does Hell-ements stand up to the other attractions at Tulleys? It's certainly scary and it's definitely unique, but it's really more psychological as it doesn't create the sheer heart-pounding adrenalin rush that The Cellar does.

However, Tulleys should be applauded for pushing the envelope in coming up with a new and original idea. It would have been easy for them to make another scare maze or haunted house but what they have created is unique, challenging and really impressive.

Note: management at Tulleys have confirmed that Hell-ements is a working project that still has a few operational issues to resolve. The version we experienced has significantly improved since the opening weekend, with darker hoods and less lighting around the sets. Things will continue to change and improve before the event opens for Halloween week.

Tulleys Haunted Hayride is famous for its elaborate effects and crazy scare actors and always delivers scare after scare. Unlike some hayrides, this one has no fixed story and bounces from vampires to zombies to dinosaurs with no real connecting theme. This random element gives them the freedom to experiment and throw just about everything at you!

Attacks come from above, from the side and, most importantly, from within the trailer - it's always fun to watch the shock on guests' faces when the first scare actor climbs up onto the trailer for some close up scares!

Working a trailer ride in the cold and dark must be a thankless task but the actors throw themselves into the role with abandon to ensure a scream filled trip for everyone!

Zombies on the Hayride

A dinosaur scares ScareTOUR!

When you have experienced an attraction since its debut , it's always interesting to see what changes each year brings. In 2009, every room was identical and it created the most confusing maze we have ever experienced. In 2010, a mixture of small and larger rooms allowed the killer clowns a bit more space to practise their deadly art.

In 2011, darkness has been added, with many of the rooms being as dark as some of the nearby mazes. Of course, this just means more places for the clowns to jump out at you!

Unless you are really scared of clowns, It's Curtains is more fun than scary but can give you some impressive startle scares. More importantly, it's something different from the other mazes and adds variety to the event.

The clowns are waiting!

ScareTOUR meet the clowns!

Scattered around the park are a number of roaming actors who add to the atmosphere and scares. We were also lucky on exiting The Cellar, to see a full scale "breakout" when the cast run free from the attraction and rampage through the guests.

This hilarious scene scared many guests as well as needing the full support of security to pick them up and carry them back into their places. A fun and unique extra piece of entertainment.

The Cellar remains the most high impact attraction at the event and always seems to be the most populated with "monsters".

Everywhere you look there is a creature or more likely, creatures, throwing themselves around the sets with wild abandon. Attacks come from all sides and are so fast and frenetic that you wonder how these actors survive a full shift!

But the creatures are only part of the attraction, The Cellar is beautifully themed throughout and really creates a sense of being in an old abandoned house - albeit one with multiple hiding places and a poor sense of decoration!

We could write more, but The Cellar is one of those attractions that really has to be experienced to be believed!

Esmerelda welcomes ScareTOUR to her Cellar!

The ScareTOUR crew inside The Cellar

Unlike the hayride that gets away with random sets and scares, the Field of Screams really doesn't make sense. It's never really explained why we step from a child's bedroom into a corn field, but if the inhabitants of the field are meant to be characters in her dreams, then that girl needs to see a shrink - pronto!

The attraction is very long and utilises many different types of scares along the way, including several long tunnels that left even the non-claustrophobes among us desperate to get out!

New for this year is a terrifying new maze section that was populated with lively monsters and some of the densest smoke available. It seemed to take forever to escape this maze as we bounced into walls and raced to escape from the monsters rampaging everywhere.

It's a shame about the disjointed story of this attraction as the scares and set pieces are really effective. Unlike some corn mazes, there is something going on nearly all the time and the combination of live actors, animatronics and sound effects means that this is probably the longest attraction at the whole event.

ScareTOUR in the Field

The reason for the scared expressions above!

The Creepy Cottage was the first attraction Tulleys ever created and although it doesn't stand up to the scares and excitement of the Cellar or Hell-ements, it still packs a number of good frights within its small layout.

Most of the sets and effects are clearly aimed at a younger audience but with the addition of 2 or 3 lively actors and some ingenious cut-throughs and effects, The Cottage is capable of providing even a grown man with a few scares.

We would recommend doing the Cottage first to get yourself in the mood for the rest of the event before hitting the bigger mazes.

ScareTOUR meets the bride!

"Stop looking at me"

One of the residents of The Cellar

The beautiful bride from Creepy Cottage

The key thing to note about Tulleys is the diversity of the different mazes. Unlike some parks that effectively rehash three or four versions of the same experience (just with different themes), each attraction here has a completely different vibe. From the old school charm of the Creepy Cottage, through to the chaos of The Cellar and the pyschological fear of Hell-ements.

Add in the day time versions of some of the attractions, and other diverse activities like pumpkin cannons and the animatronic chicken show, then Tulleys really have created an event that is suitable for everyone.

Finally, we visited Tulleys as part of an exclusive ScareTOUR trip . Delegates were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the attractions, special privileges and a Q&A session with the creators. We would like to thank everyone at Tulleys for the amazing support and attention they gave us. A more detailed article covering our behind the scenes experiences will be available on-line soon.

For more details about Tulleys Shocktoberfest - visit their website:

All photo's inside the attractions were taken with permission and are copyright Stephen Candy photography

You review - tell us what you think

It's a bit late in the year to do a review but hey ho! I will start with going in, the atmosphere was great and our little group of four headed straight to the creepy cottage which was not open when we got there...after about 5 minutes the creepy cottage opened and in we went! This is definitively one of those 'old school' haunts but was still a lot of fun and managed to fit in a couple of good scares (even though there only seemed to be about 5 actors)! After that we decided to go to It's Curtains Maze and the anticipation was building up (I am quite scared of clowns!) Going in there it didn't seem as scary as the 2010 version which was a real shame but we still had fun and got scared! next we went and lined up for the Haunted Hayride (with one of the BIGGEST queues there!) in the background we could hear a chainsaw coming from the Field of Screams which got us excited! Once on the Hayride we went round the trail and got a few good scares a long with a nice 'chat' with some of the 'monsters'! After this we awaited Helements the newest attraction and without giving too much away it is definitively worth having a go! Following ropes with creatures in your face - Scary! after this we went onto The Field Of Screams - this was my first time so I could not wait to find out what it had in store! The first (and newest) part of the Field was definitively the scariest part of the maze with some of the thickest smoke I have ever seen! Otherwise the rest of the maze was quite a let down and along with a lot of people I did not run out at the finale. We decided to sit down and eat and while doing so got to talk to two of the Shocktober sisters who loved to sing! and then witnessed a break out, one of the monsters stood right behind me! This got us ready for the cellar so in we went! After a short conversation with Esmerelda we entered the Cellar to be attacked by a lot of very lively creatures! This ended our night on a high point and I would recommend going! apart from the let down in the Field Of Screams it was a great, scary and fun night!

You Review 2

Whilst entering the gates to the Shocktoberfest we were greeted by some spooky characters, one which had their head chopped off!!
Once inside the scream park we joined the queue for the creepy cottage. This was one of the least scary attraction at Tulleys - it could do with a face-lift but still fun for all.

We then headed over to the haunted hayride which was AMAZING!! scare after scare. The clown part was one of the scariest.

After a quick loo break we then headed over to the NEW attraction Hell-Ements. Without giving to much away it was one of the most intense attraction at Tulleys it was pure genius THIS IS A MUST DO!! - nothing like I have ever seen or experienced before.

After recovering from Hell-Ements we then went to THE CELLAR. Before we went in we had a quick chat to the delightful Esmerelda who's never short of a few words. Once inside, all the creatures inside were very hyper and all over the place which made it even more scary!

We then finished the night off at It's Curtains maize 3 which just like always had us going in all sorts of directions and bumping in to walls as well as THE CLOWNS. This was yet another great attraction at Tulleys.

To sum up the whole night it was truly amazing, however some of the haunts could do with some more scare actors and it was VERY VERY BUSY. But it was the preview night and I believe Tulleys will have all of this sorted out for the main run (it can only get better) . I definitely recommend getting there early.

You review 3

Went for the 1st time last night and found it really good, the one i found scariest was the cellar lol. the actor's were also brill! deffo going again next year.

Your Review - tell us what you think

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