Scream Fields - Halloween 2021
After operating the successful Fear Fields drive through event in 2020 and returning with a linear walkthrough in April 2021 Thornton Hall Country Park and DWO Events have returned with a brand-new Scream Park for the Halloween season.
Our first stop for the evening was Operation B30, a maze set within an ominous nuclear facility. Almost immediately we knew we were in for a treat as we received multiple scares within moments of entering the attraction. The initial army sergeant character gave us a good fright thanks to his sheer aggression and great use of props and environment. This maze is clearly meant to be the most intense, providing relentless scares from all sides. The layout twists and turns in near darkness ensuring you feel trapped within its confines. It’s quite a claustrophobic attraction, making great use of crawl spaces and hanging radiation suits to create an uneasy atmosphere. Whilst the theming is rather minimalistic, it works given the industrial setting.
One thing we noticed is how many hiding spaces there were for actors to use. On both of our runs we had scares coming from a vast variety of hidden locations. It was almost impossible to predict where the actors would be lurking, especially in the disorientating strobe maze towards the end. B30 was an incredibly impressive attraction that wouldn’t seem out of place at a seasoned scare event, let alone one in its opening year.
We continued our evening by heading towards Death House. Based on the slasher era of the 80’s, this attraction created its own family of brutal killers hungry for your blood. The personality of this attraction shone through with a stellar performance from the opening character, setting the scene for the grisly goings on throughout the house.
As we proceeded through, we were impressed with the theming which felt like a step up from the more minimalistic approach from B30. It really immersed us into the attraction and created a creepy atmosphere that permeated throughout the maze. This was definitely the tamest attraction of the evening, with a slow start in the first couple of rooms where some more jumps wouldn’t go amiss. However, once it got going the scares came thick and fast. These interactions were interestingly rather unique as each of the actors took the role of a family member within this murderous lineage. It was great seeing their different personalities coming through with each of the scares, often leading to some rather hilarious interactions. Grandma and Grandpa were definitely our favourites, appearing out of nowhere throughout their maze-like section.
We really enjoyed Murder House and its unique personality. Whilst it started off slow, it picked up quickly and ramped the scare factor up to 11.
With the standard of attraction being high already, we were expecting great things from Deeprave. Upon seeing the spectacular entrance, taking place within an actual ambulance, we knew we were in for a treat. This maze takes place within a haunted hospital overrun by manic ravers looking for fresh meat to join the fun. It’s a quirky theme that was utilised to its fullest with a vibrant cast of characters including an absolutely hilarious drag queen who had us in stitches.
Whilst this attraction certainly provided a good laugh, there were plenty of scares to go around too. B30 was the most intense maze at the event, but Deeprave had some of our favourite scares of the evening. We really enjoyed how well the humour and scares were blended together with a lot of crude humour being used to great effect. We won’t ruin any of the surprises in this attraction, but one of the crawl spaces actually had us refusing to enter thanks to a unique gross out element that made us feel very unnerved.
Deeprave was a very atmospheric attraction, using some great theming elements to set the scene. Once again, the actors were spoilt for choice as to where to hide and caused us to scream out loud countless times. This particular maze felt very lively and seemed to last for quite a long time. We were absolutely terrified by the time the maze came to a close and left us running out the exit.
This was without doubt our favourite attraction of the evening. It combined the intensity of B30 with the humour of Death House, creating what we felt was the perfect balance of scares and laughs. It’s a very well-designed maze with some uniquely hilarious elements. It’s astounding that this attraction exists at an event in its first year.
Being an attraction that is entirely outdoors, we decided to leave Happy Endings till last. Thankfully, as the name would imply we ended our evening on a high note. Whilst this attraction certainly wasn’t the most intense of the evening, it was one of the most enjoyable, being a brightly themed carnival attraction.
From the outset the maze had us smiling with its charm and humour. In the initial scene the ringleader in the big top tent had us cringing with their hilariously bad dad jokes. He was an absolute highlight of the maze and really helped set the tone for what became a fun and playful experience throughout the rest of the attraction.
Whilst most outdoor mazes take place in cornfields, Happy Endings is set within a junkyard. We were very impressed with the set, which utilised abandoned vehicles and miscellaneous scrap to great effect. The actors made great use of the props, hiding within the vehicles and popping out at the perfect moment to get a good scare. It was absolutely chaotic, and we managed to get an impressive number of jumps throughout the experience. It was clear the actors were having a lot of fun tormenting us. These attacks came from all angles with a remarkable level of verticality being present in the scares. To make matters worse, it was almost impossible to escape the never-ending barrage of clowns due to just how many actors there were on our run.
For an event in its opening year Scream Fields has done incredibly well to come up with four impressive mazes. Each attraction provided some top-quality scares, alongside a few laughs for good measure. We really appreciated the cheekiness present within the attractions as it added a unique aspect that is rarely seen to this level in other events. Overall Scream Fields is a promising event that is already well worth a visit!
Our first stop for the evening was Operation B30, a maze set within an ominous nuclear facility. Almost immediately we knew we were in for a treat as we received multiple scares within moments of entering the attraction. The initial army sergeant character gave us a good fright thanks to his sheer aggression and great use of props and environment. This maze is clearly meant to be the most intense, providing relentless scares from all sides. The layout twists and turns in near darkness ensuring you feel trapped within its confines. It’s quite a claustrophobic attraction, making great use of crawl spaces and hanging radiation suits to create an uneasy atmosphere. Whilst the theming is rather minimalistic, it works given the industrial setting.
One thing we noticed is how many hiding spaces there were for actors to use. On both of our runs we had scares coming from a vast variety of hidden locations. It was almost impossible to predict where the actors would be lurking, especially in the disorientating strobe maze towards the end. B30 was an incredibly impressive attraction that wouldn’t seem out of place at a seasoned scare event, let alone one in its opening year.
We continued our evening by heading towards Death House. Based on the slasher era of the 80’s, this attraction created its own family of brutal killers hungry for your blood. The personality of this attraction shone through with a stellar performance from the opening character, setting the scene for the grisly goings on throughout the house.
As we proceeded through, we were impressed with the theming which felt like a step up from the more minimalistic approach from B30. It really immersed us into the attraction and created a creepy atmosphere that permeated throughout the maze. This was definitely the tamest attraction of the evening, with a slow start in the first couple of rooms where some more jumps wouldn’t go amiss. However, once it got going the scares came thick and fast. These interactions were interestingly rather unique as each of the actors took the role of a family member within this murderous lineage. It was great seeing their different personalities coming through with each of the scares, often leading to some rather hilarious interactions. Grandma and Grandpa were definitely our favourites, appearing out of nowhere throughout their maze-like section.
We really enjoyed Murder House and its unique personality. Whilst it started off slow, it picked up quickly and ramped the scare factor up to 11.
With the standard of attraction being high already, we were expecting great things from Deeprave. Upon seeing the spectacular entrance, taking place within an actual ambulance, we knew we were in for a treat. This maze takes place within a haunted hospital overrun by manic ravers looking for fresh meat to join the fun. It’s a quirky theme that was utilised to its fullest with a vibrant cast of characters including an absolutely hilarious drag queen who had us in stitches.
Whilst this attraction certainly provided a good laugh, there were plenty of scares to go around too. B30 was the most intense maze at the event, but Deeprave had some of our favourite scares of the evening. We really enjoyed how well the humour and scares were blended together with a lot of crude humour being used to great effect. We won’t ruin any of the surprises in this attraction, but one of the crawl spaces actually had us refusing to enter thanks to a unique gross out element that made us feel very unnerved.
Deeprave was a very atmospheric attraction, using some great theming elements to set the scene. Once again, the actors were spoilt for choice as to where to hide and caused us to scream out loud countless times. This particular maze felt very lively and seemed to last for quite a long time. We were absolutely terrified by the time the maze came to a close and left us running out the exit.
This was without doubt our favourite attraction of the evening. It combined the intensity of B30 with the humour of Death House, creating what we felt was the perfect balance of scares and laughs. It’s a very well-designed maze with some uniquely hilarious elements. It’s astounding that this attraction exists at an event in its first year.
Being an attraction that is entirely outdoors, we decided to leave Happy Endings till last. Thankfully, as the name would imply we ended our evening on a high note. Whilst this attraction certainly wasn’t the most intense of the evening, it was one of the most enjoyable, being a brightly themed carnival attraction.
From the outset the maze had us smiling with its charm and humour. In the initial scene the ringleader in the big top tent had us cringing with their hilariously bad dad jokes. He was an absolute highlight of the maze and really helped set the tone for what became a fun and playful experience throughout the rest of the attraction.
Whilst most outdoor mazes take place in cornfields, Happy Endings is set within a junkyard. We were very impressed with the set, which utilised abandoned vehicles and miscellaneous scrap to great effect. The actors made great use of the props, hiding within the vehicles and popping out at the perfect moment to get a good scare. It was absolutely chaotic, and we managed to get an impressive number of jumps throughout the experience. It was clear the actors were having a lot of fun tormenting us. These attacks came from all angles with a remarkable level of verticality being present in the scares. To make matters worse, it was almost impossible to escape the never-ending barrage of clowns due to just how many actors there were on our run.
For an event in its opening year Scream Fields has done incredibly well to come up with four impressive mazes. Each attraction provided some top-quality scares, alongside a few laughs for good measure. We really appreciated the cheekiness present within the attractions as it added a unique aspect that is rarely seen to this level in other events. Overall Scream Fields is a promising event that is already well worth a visit!
Fear Fields - Review 2021
Picture this, it’s the middle of April and the UK has been in a national lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic since late in 2020. Under the Government’s roadmap to get the country out of this situation, a four-stage plan was announced with outdoor venues and pubs able to open from April 12th. So surely no-one would be mad enough to run an event just 4 days into the new restrictions? Would anyone even turn up? Well this was a gamble that Fear Fields Psychopath were willing to take.
Originally designed as a full scream park event for Halloween 2020, Scream Fields ended up getting cut back to a drive thru called Fear Fields. The event was so successful that it remained open longer than planned and migrated into a walk-through experience. Originally planned to return for Valentines, the team were forced to reschedule again, and instead of playing things safe – decided to open for the first weekend they legally could!
Well it appears that the gamble paid off, as upon arrival at the scenic location in North Yorkshire, we were greeted by a long queue of excited guests, all ready to make the most of the chance to be outside their houses and actually doing something.
Once through the main gate, we entered a main courtyard that was home to the café, toilets, a photo opportunity and roaming characters. In one corner an organized batching system was in place and we were swiftly allocated a group. After a short wait with the roaming characters” entertaining” us we were sent on our way in a group of about 10.
Our tour started as we walked through the Fear Fields archway into a smog filled tunnel with an introductory video playing on one wall. This was a perfect start to the experience and really got us in the mood for the long walk ahead. From here on in, we passed through multiple different scenes, meeting several creepy and scary characters along the way. There was no overriding narrative to any of the experiences, with each of the disparate scenes separated by short walks through the countryside and or past the animal exhibits. We felt sorry for the poor goats who got excited every time a group went passed as they hoped for some food!
So, along the way we experienced killer clowns, clairvoyants, zombies, deranged nurses and so much more. Each area was decorated with some theming or tent/marquee structures to help tell the story. Being only a 2-day pop up event, the sets and scenes weren’t the most elaborate we have seen but served their purpose and created a setting for the lively actors to bounce off.
Probably more impressive was the detailed lighting and sound at each of the scenes. As we walked through the dark towards each area there was a sense of anticipation as to what was ahead of us each time.
One thing we particularly liked was the cheeky nature of the actors throughout. The clowns kept taunting us that they had matched with us on dating apps earlier that day, and the clairvoyant was the foulest mouthed psychic we have ever met. Being an outdoor event, and keeping social distancing, it wasn’t always possible for actors to get jump scares, but their characterisations made each experience just as enjoyable.
And then just when we had got used to the external nature of the event – we were led into the Slaughterhouse for an intense strobe finale that had us struggling to find our way out. Utilising an open sided tent with Heras fencing, crazy lighting and very dense fog, we were teased and taunted mercilessly throughout this final scene with the occasional roar of a rumbling chainsaw somewhere in the fog!
We would like to say well done to everyone at DWO events and Thornton Hall Country Park for putting on such a fun event. We genuinely had a great time at Fear Fields and were so happy to experience some scare entertainment after the long drought over the winter. For a 2-day pop up event, the team have some impressive ideas and infrastructure behind them, and we can’t wait to visit at Halloween for the full scream park experience.
Originally designed as a full scream park event for Halloween 2020, Scream Fields ended up getting cut back to a drive thru called Fear Fields. The event was so successful that it remained open longer than planned and migrated into a walk-through experience. Originally planned to return for Valentines, the team were forced to reschedule again, and instead of playing things safe – decided to open for the first weekend they legally could!
Well it appears that the gamble paid off, as upon arrival at the scenic location in North Yorkshire, we were greeted by a long queue of excited guests, all ready to make the most of the chance to be outside their houses and actually doing something.
Once through the main gate, we entered a main courtyard that was home to the café, toilets, a photo opportunity and roaming characters. In one corner an organized batching system was in place and we were swiftly allocated a group. After a short wait with the roaming characters” entertaining” us we were sent on our way in a group of about 10.
Our tour started as we walked through the Fear Fields archway into a smog filled tunnel with an introductory video playing on one wall. This was a perfect start to the experience and really got us in the mood for the long walk ahead. From here on in, we passed through multiple different scenes, meeting several creepy and scary characters along the way. There was no overriding narrative to any of the experiences, with each of the disparate scenes separated by short walks through the countryside and or past the animal exhibits. We felt sorry for the poor goats who got excited every time a group went passed as they hoped for some food!
So, along the way we experienced killer clowns, clairvoyants, zombies, deranged nurses and so much more. Each area was decorated with some theming or tent/marquee structures to help tell the story. Being only a 2-day pop up event, the sets and scenes weren’t the most elaborate we have seen but served their purpose and created a setting for the lively actors to bounce off.
Probably more impressive was the detailed lighting and sound at each of the scenes. As we walked through the dark towards each area there was a sense of anticipation as to what was ahead of us each time.
One thing we particularly liked was the cheeky nature of the actors throughout. The clowns kept taunting us that they had matched with us on dating apps earlier that day, and the clairvoyant was the foulest mouthed psychic we have ever met. Being an outdoor event, and keeping social distancing, it wasn’t always possible for actors to get jump scares, but their characterisations made each experience just as enjoyable.
And then just when we had got used to the external nature of the event – we were led into the Slaughterhouse for an intense strobe finale that had us struggling to find our way out. Utilising an open sided tent with Heras fencing, crazy lighting and very dense fog, we were teased and taunted mercilessly throughout this final scene with the occasional roar of a rumbling chainsaw somewhere in the fog!
We would like to say well done to everyone at DWO events and Thornton Hall Country Park for putting on such a fun event. We genuinely had a great time at Fear Fields and were so happy to experience some scare entertainment after the long drought over the winter. For a 2-day pop up event, the team have some impressive ideas and infrastructure behind them, and we can’t wait to visit at Halloween for the full scream park experience.
Fear Fields - Review 2020
Located at Thornton Hall Country Park, near Skipton in North Yorkshire, Fear Fields, was a new drive thru scare experience, which replaced the Scream Fields scream park which had to be cancelled due to Coronavirus. As a first year event, the team behind the event should be proud of what they achieved, as it was one of the strongest things this reviewer has done all year!
Obviously we shall start off with the safety of the event, due to the UK currently being in unprecedented times. All guests are in their cars for the entirety of the event, which meant that there was no chance of getting close to the actors. For the whole 45 minutes of the experience, we felt totally safe whilst being totally terrified for completely different reasons! Despite the long drive to get there, it really was good value for money!
The event had clearly been well planned and we could see how much thought had gone into the setup of the route around the venue, including the entrance and exit to the event. Whilst waiting to be dispatched into the pre-show, we were attacked by a couple of zombies, which was a great build up to the start of the event! The actors were cowering around the car, even when we were showing our entry tickets to the staff!
From there, we drove into a hugely themed tent, where there were lights, mist and sound effects. They all turned off after a couple of minutes and we were made to watch a short video preview on a large screen of what was going to happen during the drive thru. It really set the scene for what we were about to experience. Once directed, we drove out of the tent and onto our first real scene (of a total of about 7). Each individual scene was heavily decorated with different horror themes, such as a graveyard, a hospital, and a circus.
The acting quality in each of these themed areas were absolutely fantastic. Some were aggressive, which is what many scare enthusiasts appreciate, but other actors were tamer and more unnerving. This was great, as it showed the diversity in the style of scares and performance. Even so, we got a lot of jump scares throughout the event, which we think is the fear of being trapped in your car and having nowhere to go to get away!
Overall, we had a great time at Fear Fields. It is very different to most scare attractions and as such made for a great evening's entertainment. If you’re a scare enthusiast or a fan of horror, then you’ll absolutely adore the event. We can only see it getting bigger and better - make sure you book yourself a ticket in 2021!
Obviously we shall start off with the safety of the event, due to the UK currently being in unprecedented times. All guests are in their cars for the entirety of the event, which meant that there was no chance of getting close to the actors. For the whole 45 minutes of the experience, we felt totally safe whilst being totally terrified for completely different reasons! Despite the long drive to get there, it really was good value for money!
The event had clearly been well planned and we could see how much thought had gone into the setup of the route around the venue, including the entrance and exit to the event. Whilst waiting to be dispatched into the pre-show, we were attacked by a couple of zombies, which was a great build up to the start of the event! The actors were cowering around the car, even when we were showing our entry tickets to the staff!
From there, we drove into a hugely themed tent, where there were lights, mist and sound effects. They all turned off after a couple of minutes and we were made to watch a short video preview on a large screen of what was going to happen during the drive thru. It really set the scene for what we were about to experience. Once directed, we drove out of the tent and onto our first real scene (of a total of about 7). Each individual scene was heavily decorated with different horror themes, such as a graveyard, a hospital, and a circus.
The acting quality in each of these themed areas were absolutely fantastic. Some were aggressive, which is what many scare enthusiasts appreciate, but other actors were tamer and more unnerving. This was great, as it showed the diversity in the style of scares and performance. Even so, we got a lot of jump scares throughout the event, which we think is the fear of being trapped in your car and having nowhere to go to get away!
Overall, we had a great time at Fear Fields. It is very different to most scare attractions and as such made for a great evening's entertainment. If you’re a scare enthusiast or a fan of horror, then you’ll absolutely adore the event. We can only see it getting bigger and better - make sure you book yourself a ticket in 2021!
Links:
Fear Fields at Thornton Hall Country park website
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