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Scarefest is a event that has somehow lured me back every year despite the painful drive and the overpriced maze tickets.. The event I think just feels so much more complete and well rounded than Fright Nights, and the mazes on offer feel longer and more fleshed out than the Thorpe offering. The atmosphere is solid as always, and Nemesis in the back row at night is perhaps the most orgasmic experience of my life.. Thirteen is also a great night ride. Anyway you're probably not here to listen to me ramble about how good the rides are.. ONTO THE MAZES! This review will contain spoilers, and sorry for the lack of photos- I sadly lost my phone in Sub Species! Freakshow Scare Zone: Freakshow for sure isn't anything to scream about, but its a fun little addition that brings a lot of atmosphere. The actors were for sure more funny than scary, but with it being near the entrance- thats probably a good thing! Terror Of The Towers: Stale enough yet? Well its back again- completely unchanged too! Look its not a bad maze per se- it has great theming, a long length, and a disorientating and intense finale, though next to the others, it falls flat.. The conga line approach also feels boring after the other three, and actors seemed a little hindered compared to the others as they couldn't touch you or be as intimate as Sub Species or Skin Snatchers.. 5/10 Skin Snatchers: Skin Snatchers is by far one of the best themed mazes at the park, and the theatrical approach at the beginning really sets the scene for the very jumpy and dark sections towards the end of the attraction. The actors inside like last year were lively and gave some pretty nice touch scares, and the maze built up a lot of tension throughout. My only niggle had to be the maze seemed a bit sparse on actors in the first section (especially in the gas mask room) though the strong second half made up for it. The new finale this year I thought was pretty funny and witty, though I think perhaps it wasn't utilised or executed as well as it could of been.. In this I mean we just casually walked past it, and I feel like the actor could of really caused panic if it was timed better.. 9/10 Sub Species: The End Games: Sub Species is one of the most hands-on and intense experiences I've ever seen, even in its third year it still shocks me how incredibly chaotic and intense this attraction is. The maze from the word go sees actors one-by-by dragging guests through one of the three doors, and from that point on, you traverse through everything from a genuine maze section, to pitch black darkness, to crawling tunnels. Actors inside are not afraid to push/shove you, and the actors try constantly to isolate you throughout the maze which amps up the scares even more. The ending is simple, but effective, and by that point I was desperate to get out! Its rare for me to be breathless from exiting a maze, but Sub Species is for sure one of the best mazes (if not the best) I've done this year. 10/10 The Welcoming: Be Chosen: The Welcoming is new for this year, and with a £8 upcharge, I had high expectations. The first half is very open as actors dance around the beautiful sets that resemble a village, this opened up the maze really well and actors seemed to know how to pop up from nowhere! The maze in tone slowly gets darker as it goes on, and the scares ramp up before you're instructed to put on your hoods. The hooded section was fairly short from memory, but it did well in building up the tension. The finale sadly fell a little flat, and our group just kinda walked out like "is that it"? I think with a killer ending The Welcoming could be a brilliant maze, and its easy to see that tons of effort has gone into theming this maze as some of the sets at the start are beautiful. Anyway The Welcoming is not as relentless as Sub Species per se, but it has great theming and some great scares, it is a shame though about the finale being a massive anti-climax.. 7.5/10 Conclusion I think Scarefest is by far a must visit for die-hard scare maze enthusiasts as it does house some of the most intense mazes in the country IMO. Yes I do think it is a little overpriced, though Sub Species was worth every penny. I sadly didn't get to experience House Of Monsters because I'm broke.. Though it seems like a fairly decent attraction for families. Oh and cheers to The Sub Species team for finding my phone in the end, I was so scared in Sub Species I dropped it without noticing draw me like one of your french gerstlauer infinity coasters

This Blog Will Contain Spoilers And Sarcasm you've been warned! So back in 2015 Scarefest really got a kick up the arse! Scarefest has created some of the best scare attractions in the industry, but back in 2013/2014 the quality of the mazes where really plummeting.. Thankfully last year was one of the best years in Scarefests history, so I was itching to get back! So after a grueling 4 hour drive, a fun M1 Traffifc jam, and a posh meal at Mcdonalds, I was there! FYI I can't review House Of Monsters as I'm not a f*cking billionaire, hence why I purchased a meal from scrubby Mcdonalds.. Terror of the Towers: What Lies Within TOTT returns, and it feels a lot toned down from last year. Last year TOTT was actually quite brilliant, actors where crawling from everywhere.. This year seems to have some scenes cut as well, making the maze not as long as it used to be.. No don't get me wrong even with scenes cut its still pretty long, its well themed, and actors got a lot of scares. But overall TOTT is starting to get stale, I think a new story/replacement is in dire need, TOTT has long outstayed its welcome TBH-4.5/10 Altonville Mine Tours Altonville Mine Tours is new for this year, and I gotta say, I was highly impressed. The beginning involved some talking scenes with some great actors, they really got up in your face, and set the scene for the main maze. First off the theming was brilliant, the smell pods also seemed to be a little too strong as well! The attraction also made use of the Haunted Lantern technology, which they handed at the start of the attraction. The Helmets themselves where a nice novelty, the attraction didn't rely on them, but they where a nice touch. The scares inside where pretty strong, the masks looked pretty freaky, and the actors where not afraid to manhandle you! The touching was not as strong as Sub Species, but it was still pretty intense! My only criticism is that the finale wasn't as strong as it couldn't of been, mainly as the first half is so chaotic! All in all- Altonville Mine Tours is a strong addition to the lineup-9/10 Sub Species: The End Games Sub Species returns relatively similar to last year, but in Sub Species case, its a GOOD thing! Sub Species really pushes the boundaries on what actors can do, I was pushed, I was grabbed, I even faced the second half of the maze alone! The maze section in particular was a highlight, it wasn't ME who was choosing which way to go, it was a actor pushing me that way! The maze seemed to be actors a-plenty, and at points they even worked together to corner people or separate groups! The touching was insane, it wasn't a little grab, it was full on push from room to room! The chainsaw ending is cliché, but it was effective and left our group running! Sub Species is IMO the best maze in a Merlin park for a while, and the scariest maze I've done this Halloween! My run through was utter insanity, this is by far one of the best scare attractions I've done this year -10/10 Scarezones Even though the new scarezones are constantly compared to the old ones, I do really like how Alton are trying to do proper scarezones like they do in the US. Yes the old ones where better, but there where akin to mini mazes, not proper scarezones TBH. Freakshow was a vast improvement from last years Nox Infernus, the zone was pretty tight, meaning the actors where pretty interactive. I liked the circus-y type props around the zone, though the zone felt more fun than scary. The freaks where more making us laugh more than scaring us, but the zone was still really good fun! I sadly didn't get to experience Dark Apocalypse, but it looked pretty good! As I mentioned earlier, I wasn't bothered to cough up a fiver for House Of Monsters, but it looked pretty good, and most reviews of it are positive. Conclusion: Scarefest was a pretty good event this year, most of the mazes where really strong, and the scarezones and family entertainment really do shape up a well rounded event. Anyway, here's some crappy pictures taken by yours truly.. Nemmy Selfie in Freakshow More Freakshow I'll leave you on this note.. Smile. Always..

So Scarefest is back! And it's better than ever! Day 1: So I started the day by a small drive of 3 HOURS! We arrived about 3ish, we got our maze tickets and then we were off. We got on Blivvy quickly due to the long que of 5 minutes.. After that we went to sonic-flopball which had along que due to it raining and only 3 per car. Then we went over to our first maze.. TOTT! Great maze: 9/10 Then we walked over to Molly. Unique maze 8/10 Sub Species The End Games: