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The Howl is a fairly new event- debuting in 2015 in Leighton Buzzard, it has slowly became more and more known amongst the community. It is the sister park to Shocktoberfest, so it shares a lot of DNA with its brother. I first visited in 2015 on opening night- I found it to be very fun and had an AMAZING street team, though with its mazes it very much was very similar to Shocktoberfest, which meant that if you had been to Shocktober, you generally knew what to expect. 7 years on, and the event has grown and evolved into its own thing. This year it felt like a total different place to how it was in 2015, it was amazing to see the growth and its unique quirks that it has developed over the past 7 years. One thing I would like to comment on first about The Howl is that I believe it is great value for money- I paid about £30 for entry, which sounds like a lot. But at Towers and Thorpe you are looking at £32 minimum for 3-4 mazes, but for £30 you get 6 at The Howl. I also believe the roaming team are amongst the best in the country- the characters are now completely different to Shocktoberfest's, but keep a lot of the wit and charm, and made me laugh in between mazes. RED: Red is a small maze- it has a pretty small building, and lasts only a few minutes. Despite this it manages to cram in so many scares in that short time period. It reminds me of a little of Creepy Cottage if it took steroids. It has a great puppet moment, and some brilliant masks mixed in with a cast who harass you. The maze is short, but jesus it packs in so much it completely makes up for it. Attic: This maze has some beautiful theming- I love the use of levels and it has a few genius moments for scares. The actual Attic section itself is brief though intense, and certainly is a quirky moment that'll stick it out from the other mazes. The cast were more than lively too! Toppers Twister: I love clown mazes- I love the interactions, the freedom for the actors, and the contrasting colors to other mazes. Clown mazes always stick out to me, and forever have a place in my heart. Toppers Twister is a very good clown maze- it has a great trommel tunnel, some weird sets like a ball pit, and a pretty tried and tested finale- a true tulleys hat trick. The cast were very lively, full of wit, and seemed to be having a fun time- being in a clown maze is also a fun time. If you're not scared of clowns, you'll still get some laughs and fun out of this. Its a solid maze that oozes joy. Howl Valley High: First off can I comment on the theming? This maze is SO well themed it feels like a complete new chapter for the mazes at The Howl with its sets. I also love the theme, it is fairly unique in my opinion, and is a very cool concept. The cast were very interactive and lively, and in the second half became increasingly more threatening and scary. I feel the maze is a really good addition, and I cannot wait to see how it evolves over the years, and the future of new mazes at this event. The Shed: This maze is the same as it was in 2015, but I do not mind as it was great then, it is still great. I love some of the outdoor sets, and its use of hiding spots and holes for actors to come out of nowhere. There was also a moment where I saw 5 actors in one room, which was pretty amazing and equally scary as hell. Squealers Yard: Now, all of The Howl's mazes are good/great, but Squealers is by far the crown jewel in my opinion. It is the longest on park, the most varied with its sets, the most intense in my opinion, and even confusing at one point with a crazy room that ruin your sense of direction. The ending also is savage for people like me who have a certain fear. The maze even had some good comedy in the first half, which just is the cherry on the cake. Overall I would say the lineup is very equal- no maze stood out as bad, and a lot of them had very spread out queues due to this. I had an amazing night there, and I have not even mentioned the Circus Of Horrors! But yeah it is a very solid event, and great for those who are north of London and a little too far from Shocktoberfest

Okay I know its only April but fu** you I'm writing this review. So the London Bridge and Tombs is an attraction that has always been on my radar- whether it be the rave reviews from Scaretour or walking past it when the Dungeons was down the road. So after a trek down to London I thought I might as well experience it for myself- does it compare to The Dungeons? (apologies for these straight outta snapchat photos ) **Mild Spoilers** The London Bridge Experience So after a somewhat overly long intro video- you are ushered into the London Bridge Experience. Overall I found this experience to overall be well themed, well acted, well scripted, and educational- but sadly I feel like a lot of scenes and rooms lacked the crescendo or 'oomph' that the Dungeons has. For example there is a scene in a pub here which the landlord discusses a bunch of murders which references Jack The Ripper. You then hear a scream to which you are ushered out of the pub by the landlord to find a corpse. But then after you see the bloody mannequin- you abruptly move on to the next scene. This scene in particular had a lot of tension and it constantly felt like something big or Dungeons esque would happen- but it doesn't. I felt like they really could of added some more dramatic reveal to seeing the bloody mannequin too- we really just walked past it. This was a issue for many scenes- in particular 'the fight verses the Romans' scene had a great script and seemed to be building up to something jumpy- but then it just kinda fizzled out and next minute we were on the next scene.. I do have to give credit for some scenes within the experience though- there is a huge scare involving a large moving animatronic that made me jump out of my skin towards the beginning of the experience. I also really enjoyed the incredibly disorientating spinning tunnel towards the end- it was even worse than the one at Tulleys! I think London Bridge with some more special effects could easily match the Dungeons- but for now I think it really lacks the 'oompth' and the finales of The Dungeon's scenes. Despite that though- the theming is brilliant and perhaps even greater than The Dungeons. The acting was also top class and the groups were much more intimate than the 30+ groups that The Dungeons has. The Tombs After nearly throwing up from the spinning tunnel you are warned about the intense scare attraction that awaits you- after a photo opportunity and a intro video, you enter the lifts.. This lift scene built up tension perfectly and the lift had some nice special effects to make it feel like you were actually going down! Once out of the lifts, you form a conga line and you enter the main maze. The main maze itself was nicely themed and had a huge variety of scenes. A hospital, a Chop Shop style room, a prison style room, and even a clown section- you name it, its in The Tombs. The maze overall has tonnes of variety within its long layout- I never quite knew what the next room would bring. The acting was brilliant throughout, with actors using various hiding spaces to come out of nowhere or harass us. My only problem was there was quite a few rooms that were sparse on actors- but the theming and animatronics kinda made up for it. Overall The Tombs was a long and varied scare attraction that I think really made the trip worth it. Conclusion Overall I think The London Bridge Experience and Tombs are both well themed and acted experiences- though if you want a educational and witty trip back in time I think The Dungeon's is a much more polished and superior experience- though if you want to get sh** scared then The Tombs makes the trip down to Tooley Street more than worth it. The groups in both The Bridge and The Tombs are also much more intimate so you don't have to deal with the overcrowding that The Dungeons has. Anyway sorry for the six month early post

Hello Members of Thorpe Park Mania, I know this isn't really Thorpe park related but it is theme park related. I consider myself to be probably the worlds biggest fan of Trauma Towers, however there is a significant lack of information and photos (particularly of the inside the attraction) online. This is pretty disappointing for me as you might imagine so I decided to create this forum because I would like to see the photos you guys have got of the attraction along with any information you may have of it. I am also particularly interested in the attraction previously located in it's spot 'The Haunted Hotel', there's basically no information about it online aside from one or two photos. If you do have anything please do share it because I would much appreciate that. I have attached some photos that I took when I went in October 2017. I am particularly looking for photos of the red eyed Gargoyle, the building at night and the werewolf head that was mounted above the stairway. Thanks guys - Thade.

so...has anyone been to this? considering going tomorrow. was just wondering what the "phobophobia" show entails. it says it's for adults only, and is extreme...should I expect something as extreme as face it alone at Thorpe, or is it just a scarier version of the normal Tombs show? cheers!

As spooky times are fast approaching I thought I'd create a little topic where we could express our creative ideas for potential mazes/scarezones etc. Not park specific either so go wild! The first idea I have is a maze for Thorpe Park, not too sure on a name yet so ideas are welcomed... UNTITLED A maze focusing and playing on the nostalgia of Thorpe Park. Taking you back in time to have your childhood memories distorted and warped into a mushy nightmare. Primarily the characters involved would be the old Rangers. Their severed heads would be scattered around and occasionally they'd pop out whilst the pitch changed carousel song would play, using old props to really create the immersion. Old uniforms and costumes would be used but not in a lazy way, more of a I'm gonna remind you of how things were kinda creepy way! Use some failures the Park has had previously and really grind them up, show everyone that the happy feel was in fact quite dark and twisted. I feel like they could really use dark humour in this too so everyone could enjoy (both new and old guests to the park) whilst still creating a horrific environment... Would also be 10x better than Dead End and less reusing items more taking advantage of lost childhood memories! Try and keep ideas unique and fun and constructive criticism is encouraged. This one's gonna be more of a serious topic so any joke ideas should be directed in the topic below, have fun!

Last year, a new, independent, scare company burst onto the scene - Twisted Attractions. Opening up in Birmingham in a disused nightclub, 'The Morgue: Live' caught the attention of many people, and got amazing reviews from the scare industry. Fastforward to May this year, and Twisted Attractions had moved to an old warehouse, bigger than the nightclub, with 'The Facility'. The reviews of The Morgue caught my attention, and upon hearing about The Facility, I really wanted to go try it out, but alas, I couldn't for a variety of reasons. After The Facility closed, it was announced that two new attractions would open in its place for Halloween - 'House of Insomnia' and 'Ward 78'. And, well, I just had to go try it out. And that's just what I did tonight, on the opening night! I arrived just before the 7pm opening and after a slight delay due to some actors being caught in traffic (to which they offered free tea or coffee whilst we waited), it was time for the scares to begin... NB: I'll give a review of both mazes in the order I did them - I'll do a non-spoiler review followed by a spoiler review (in spoiler tags). Ward 78 Ward 78 is very different to most scare attractions, in that it's designed to be done either by yourself or in a group of two. Essentially, the maze involves you going through a Victorian hospital ward where, of course, not all is well. The website describes it as follows: After being told the instructions and signing a waiver, I was given my candle (one of the electronic torch-like ones, not a real one!) and ventured down the hospital corridor... Non-spoilers: The maze involves a lot of tight spaces, loud noises and disorientation. Being by yourself already leaves you on edge and the actors take advantage of it; they like to bully you! After a while, my candle was taken from me, leaving me seemingly without hope. This actually turned out to be near the end of the attraction, which involved some nice trickery and a lot of special effects. Spoilers: So, all in all, a fun scare attraction. It makes good use of scare tactics and special effects, but I think it was a bit on the short side and needed a bit more to it. The entrance/exit. Image from ScareTOUR. House of Insomnia House of Insomnia is more of a traditional maze; you go through in groups, though there's no need for hands-on-shoulders. The vague idea is about a pair of twins in lived in a house who essentially went crazy due to mistreatment from their parents, lack of sleep and whatnot (from what I understood) at least. Here's what the website says... Non-spoilers: The maze starts with an introduction to the story, telling you about the Demurrer Twins. Very nice idea and from what I heard, very cleverly done, however, there was noise bleed from inside the attraction, making it difficult to hear. After that, we ventured into the maze. The maze is quite possibly the best themed maze I've done - lots of details and consistent storytelling theming about. Each scene follows from the previous and usually builds upon it. The maze is again very claustrophobic and makes great use of a small space. The actors are very well placed and each add to the story line - there's no 'random' actors or anything. The ending isn't particular special and is something that has been done before (indeed, I don't think it's a spoiler to say what the end is, since it's rather obvious from outside, but alas, I shall not say here...). Nonetheless, still very good. Spoilers: Overall, House of Insomnia was a very good attraction, again making brilliant use of scare tactics, tight spaces, creating a great story and some top-notch theming. I think the fact that people quickly ended up holding onto one another, even though you weren't required to have your hands on shoulders, shows how unnerving the attraction can be. In fact, the girl being me was seemingly clinging onto my shirt for dear life! Entrance to House of Insomnia - taken from ScareTOUR. It's hard for me to compare these two attractions to their previous ones, but I personally think that the creating of two attractions may have been a bad thing. The Facility was one attraction in the same place as these two, and had a Face it Alone feature as well. Instead, they've created two separate attractions, a Face it Alone one which feels like it needs to be longer and have more substance, and an 'ordinary' attraction which should go on a bit longer. Maybe it just needs more time to settle; who knows? However, I guess I shouldn't really complain when I really enjoyed both attractions! For anyone interested, the cost of both the attractions was £12 (though it goes to £14 on peak days) and I definitely think it's worth every penny! The main issue is of course getting to it, but if you're near Birmingham at some point when Twisted Attractions are running a show, definitely give it a try (they're about a 10-15min walk from Birmingham New Street train station). A link to ScareTOUR's review, where I got the photos from - http://www.scaretouruk.com/review---halloween-scream-nights-by-twisted-attractions.html So yeah, all in all, some great scare attractions from an independent company who only have good things for their future!