Scarefest

FORGET kid-friendly Halloween events of pumpkin picking and trick or treating… this is the ULTIMATE nightmare zone.

This October marks 30 years since Tulleys Shocktober Fest first launched at Tulleys Farm near Three Bridges in Surrey.

If you are wondering what on earth a ‘Shocktober Fest’ is, it is exactly what it sounds like; a festival packed full of heart-stopping scares and 100 per cent adrenaline.

Tulleys Shocktober Fest is Europe’s largest scream park with 12 scare mazes full of live actors waiting to make you jump with real chainsaws (don’t worry, the chains have been removed), decaying dolls and a whole load of literal smoke and mirrors.

Be warned: it is strictly not for the faint-hearted.

The haunts have varying levels of scariness but I took no notice, deciding to enter The Chop Shop first.

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It felt like stepping straight into a morgue, with the temperature plunging the second I crossed the threshold.

The stench of oil and grease lingered in the air. Before I knew it I was standing in a garage beside a mangled car.

Out of the dark, a human-pig creature lunged at me with a chainsaw, squawking into my ear and setting the tone for the rest of my night.

Electrick Circus was next and certainly one to avoid if you have coulrophobia (an intense fear of clowns).

With sparks flying and sinister tricks lurking in the dingy corners, the abandoned circus was more like a scene ripped from a horror movie with Sparky the clown leading an army of dead clowns to make my stomach lurch.

Meanwhile, the award-winning Doom Town was the real-life version of Shaun of the Dead, complete with a zombie-infested Greggs takeaway where a worker chased me out when I was bold enough to ask for a sausage roll.

The Village Coven of 13 sent my pulse through the roof.

The maze felt endlessly long, kicking-off in a pitch black room filled with thick smoke.

For what felt like hours, I stumbled disorientated in the dark desperately hoping to find the exit and not accidentally grab something more sinister.

The maze then spills outside to an eerie cemetery where witches lurk in the shadows, chanting spells over your shoulder.

One stalked me right up to a closed door but what awaited me on the other side was far worse.

Stepping through the gateway, I thought I had entered a furnace.

Mimicking witches being burnt at the stake, the room was scorching, thick with smoke and crawling with dark figures ready to scream down my neck.

I felt lucky to escape in one piece.

Other highlights include the award-winning Wasteland Penitentiary – an abandoned prison haunted by escaped inmates – alongside new scare mazes; Appleton Sawmill, Appleton Farm and The Cellar Returns.

All bring different scares, thrills and blood-curdling screams but for the ultimate test of your bravery though, try Hell-elements.

You’re hooded and forced to navigate through total darkness with only a small rope to guide you.

Deprived of my sight, I felt like the jump scares hit ten times harder.

The maze plays on the four elements: chilly wind breeze past your neck, suffocating heat takes your breath away, damp mist sends a shiver down your spine and the scent of fresh earth overwhelms your senses.

Not being able to see the scare actors felt like a blessing in disguise until one breathed wetly on my collarbone.

Outside the mazes you aren’t safe either and if you arrive thinking you can avoid frights, then you are VERY naive.

Around the entire attraction, scare actors roam ready to pounce on you at every unsuspecting moment.

The production is staggering with the attention to detail being Hollywood-level from the cinematic sounds and flicking lights to minute cracks down brick walls and huge cauldrons with roaring fire.

There’s thrill rides too and a new show called House of Hades for when you need a break from the haunts, with transfixing fire stunts and daredevil performers – it is tantalising, thrilling and super sexy.

You won’t go hungry either as there are food vendors around the entire grounds from huge chicken burgers to tasty pasta dishes – though you’ll have to fork out extra cash for these.

There are loads of bars as well, with alcoholic drinks reasonably priced.

Imagine all your worst nightmares in one place and that’s what you’ll get out of Tulleys Shocktober Fest… I couldn’t think of a better way to test my bravery this spooky season.

What to know about visiting

There are a variety of different tickets available with the most popular being the XScream Pass costing between £46.95 to £69.95pp, depending when you visit.

It includes unlimited access to all haunts, park entry, street theatre, live music, food courts and free car parking.

Or you can get an XScream Pass with a number of fast tracks included.

For three fast tracks, it costs between £66.95 to £89.95, for six between £86.95 to £109.95 and for one for each maze (12 total) it costs between £126.95 to £149.95.

With previous visitors noting that queues can be as long as two hours for a single maze on some nights, I would definitely recommend purchasing a ticket with at least three fast tracks included.

The dates further away from Halloween are likely to have less wait times at each haunt, which is worth bearing in mind too.

The attraction is for teens and adults, though I think this one should certainly be left for those brave enough and with a healthy heart.

The nearest train station is Three Bridges, which is less than half an hour from central London.

You’ll then need to jump in a taxi for five to 10 minutes to get to the farm.

And be warned, all that screaming may leave you without your voice the next day…

HAVING braved Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights in Los Angeles, I thought I knew what terror felt like.

I was wrong. Nothing can prepare you for the sheer, spine-chilling fear of being shoved into a four-by-four cell, separated from your family and having a twitching, masked lunatic scream repeatedly in your face.

Welcome to Scarefest 2026.

I’d dragged my two thrill-obsessed kids — 12-year-old son Corben and daughter Piper, ten — along to Alton Towers for the grand opening.

We went in expecting a few cheap jump-scares, fake cobwebs and a bit of a laugh. Instead, we got a Hollywood-level masterclass in pure, unadulterated fright.

The big buzz this year is around Final Exhibit — the park’s newest scare maze which promises to “immerse guests in a world of fear”.

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Beyond the doors of the abandoned warehouse lies The Curator’s forgotten collection, where each room reveals a dark secret.

Upon entry, a strange, long-haired woman sits seemingly frozen at a desk.

But as we approach, what I think is a mannequin is in fact a terrifying, ghostly creature that comes to life, furiously thumping the desk with a stamp.

The corridors are filled with archivists — a silent workforce of hypnotised servants whose primary job is to terrify the bejesus out of you.

But this is more than just a scare experience. Visitors are told that those who fail to escape will be transformed into living exhibits, trapped within the archive forever.

The production value is off the charts and it all feels authentic.

Fortunately, my kids and I did eventually escape but we were blown away by the movie-style special effects.

But the real stars of the show are the scare actors — an army of performers that don’t just jump out from behind doors.

They stalk you from the shadows, crawl along the floors and track your every move before “attacking” with menace.

Monsters keep their distance in the other scare mazes, but at Alton Towers they reach out, touch your arms, grab your shoulders and brush past your neck in the dark. It turns a simple walk-through into an immersive nightmare.

Corben gasped in horror as a creature reached out from the shadows and grabbed his arm, sending us sprinting for the exit.

A serious word of warning to parents thinking of taking under-12s inside any of the scare mazes — they are NOT for the faint-hearted.

Visitors are spoiled for choice, with scare mazes including Final Exhibit, Edge of the Forest, Altonville Mine Tours: Tiny’s Revenge and the epic Compound. If Final Exhibit tests your nerves, Compound utterly destroys them.

In this terrifying attraction, visitors are torn away from their group and thrown into individual cells in a brutal mental asylum.

I was shoved into a tiny padded cell with a screaming lunatic frothing at the mouth. It was one of the most intense theme park moments I’ve ever experienced.

Thankfully, Alton Towers hasn’t forgotten about families with younger kids who want the Halloween atmosphere without the trauma.

The park is packed with fantastic, family-friendly frights that hit the sweet spot for younger children.

Piper loved Trick O’ Treat Town, which allows kids to knock on doors down colourful Spooky Avenue, collecting sweet treats along the way.

Another hit for families is Amigos in the Afterlife — a vibrant, Day of the Dead-themed walk-through bursting with brilliant costumes, upbeat music and glowing displays.

And, of course, a trip to Alton Towers wouldn’t be complete without tackling the world-class line-up of rollercoasters and rides, which take on a completely different personality once the sun goes down.

For those who fancy an overnight stay, the monorail will take you to the Alton Towers Hotel where family rooms come with a double bed for the adults, and bunks for the kids.

Good luck getting to sleep after those frights, though.