The Howl Scream Park

[JoshuaWAHH3]

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

 

 

 

[Martin Doyle]

Been going to the Howl since its first year. Aside from a disastrous visit last year, it has always been amongst the highlights of the scare season.

 

Squealers Yard and The Shed are two fantastic scare mazes and the set designs of Red (that damn giant wolf), Attic and now Howl Valley High are fantastic. The roaming actors are also highly entertaining to a similar level of their sister event at Tulleys farm!!

 

Well worth visiting during october!!