Scare Kingdom Scream Park 2018 Review

Scare Kingdom Scream Park is now open for the 2018 Halloween season, yet this is a season like no other. This year, Scare Kingdom is celebrating its tenth year of chainsaw-wielding, scream-inducing, fear fuelled entertainment. This event has continued to grow over the years, and to a Halloween lover such as myself, it is now the epitome of what makes this season special - an outrageously fun celebration of all things spooky and ghoulish; a chance to explore dark environments saturated in the aesthetics of Halloween, and to exist briefly in a real life horror film.

And with that celebration of turning ten, Scare Kingdom presented us with all the usual trappings of a tenth birthday. There were clowns! Oh yes, there were clowns. And a tea party. And a night of unforgettable entertainment from a whole host of creepy characters. Let the party begin…

Death Chamber

To kick things off, we were ushered into a dark, ominous-looking room by one of the best scareactors of the evening – a warden, who explained to us that our execution via electric chair was imminent. The theming in this room was much more comprehensive than I was expecting, and it really added to the atmosphere. With the dimming of the lights, the tension became unbearable, eventually broken by what I’d call a mini-scare. The real joy of this piece was the build-up, conducted (har har) expertly by the warden. The addition of some light wrist restraints would have really elevated this, but would have been tricky from an operational perspective. Overall, this was a delightfully unexpected opening oct.

The Sickness 3: Zombiegeddon

Trudging through the darkness towards the infamous High Hopes Hospital, I felt tinge of unease. I’ve always found the previous versions of The Sickness to be balls-to-the-wall terrifying, largely because anything with a medical or clinical theme tends to scare me the most, as many of you know! We were greeted by the doctor, who explained to us that his patients have been dying off following their mysterious illness, but they won’t stay dead… cue an entrance from an astonishingly convincing and energetic scareactor who delivered my best scare of the night.

The scares continued thick and fast, aided by disorienting lighting and detailed theming - the ward segment was even more merciless than last year. Aside from some light flesh-feasting, there wasn’t much different between the zombies and the patients from previous years; the overall feel of the attraction was much the same, but the zombies added a nice narrative twist.

Manormortis: Carnivale

The route towards Manormortis now has some nice touches of theming, and the new sheltered façade also features some props and a character to set the scene. Upon entering, we were met by macabre showman Voodini - a ghoulish ringmaster who was eager for us to experience his supernatural sideshow. As we sat before him, he delivered a fiendish scare which landed perfectly on one member of our group; his reaction had me in stitches.

The gorgeous gothic grandeur of Manormortis is as breath-taking as ever, but the first few scenes were light on scares for those at the front of the group. The scareactor in the chapel room waved us through, which was a shame, and the bedroom scene featured one scareactor who, despite being really unnerving, seemed to again serve the purpose of waving us through. Multiple scares usually land well in this room, so this was disappointing. The finale was strange and lacking in tension; we took a seat, a scareactor briefly baited us, a chainsaw appeared, we stood - a little unsure of whether there was more to come. The chainsaw was turned on; we left in a steady stream. It felt at odds with what had preceded it.

Black Mass

With trepidation, we then entered the chapel of All Hallows Haven, where the secretive Order of Crimson Wax were preparing for their annual ceremony. The scares in this attraction were pointed, uncluttered and unwavering. There is little variation here - the attraction itself is a simple one, but these factors aren’t to its detriment. Ordinarily they probably would be, but the combination of claustrophobia, complete darkness and proximity to the scares creates a unique foundation for the scareactors to do their thing. Jump scares abounded with no respite, and it wasn’t over quickly; my nerves were shredded by the end of it.

Body Snatchers: The House that Jack Built

A Jack the Ripper theme has been injected into Body Snatchers this year, which works well with the existing theming: ‘old London’ style setpieces with a stunning townhouse façade. As we made our way through the musty ‘upstairs’ rooms, the girls at the front of our group darted off as soon as a scareactor in a coffin made her presence known. Not wanting her to cut her short, I lingered, but she waved us through; I’m not sure whether she’d intended to introduce herself or not. Eventually we were met by Ripper victim Mary Kelly, who ushered us into the cellar with frenzied fervour.

The cellar sequence didn’t frighten me as much as last year; it was a little dark at times. I could make out the moving shapes, which were unsettling, but I could have done with a few more impact scares. A stand-out moment came from observing a target scare on the person behind me – a little misdirection in front of us gave the scareactor the opportunity to creep up next to her, and silently wait until she noticed. It definitely paid off!

Meat Market

Very few hooded mazes have impressed me, and sadly this wasn’t one of them. I tend to switch off as soon as the hood covers my face. If I find the theme interesting, I tend to engage more with what I can hear going on around me; if not, I just patiently make my way through. Unfortunately, on this occasion, it was the latter. The occasional hollering about what my organs might be worth felt as perfunctory as the poking and prodding. It is worth mentioning that others in our group were shrieking with fear, so this is clearly enjoyable to some, and the scareactor who greeted us deserves serious props for staying in character when he must have been freezing cold!

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Scare Kingdom’s final maze exits into the bar area, which was buzzing with activity as we made our way in. The queue for Psychomanteum, Scare Kingdom’s extreme attraction (which we didn’t partake in) was the longest we’ve ever seen it! This section of the park is a great area to relax, grab a drink or some hot food, and even interact with some of the roaming actors who are still in character.

Speaking of these – we wanted to acknowledge their efforts on what was sadly a very wet evening. Standing around in the cold for hours on end, they soldiered on, and in doing so they ensured that the guests’ spirits weren’t dampened by the weather. It can’t be easy, and we genuinely applaud that.