Scare Kingdom Scream Park 2020 shows that socially distant scare mazes can be achieved and they can still be damn scary!
Having never been to a scare maze experience outside of a theme park being invited to Scare Kingdom was a dream come true.
My first taster of an independent scare attraction!
Situated in Blackburn just a short 60-minute car journey from sunny Stoke On Trent we hopped into the car full of anticipation.
Returning for its 12th year of frights this multi-award-winning event is back in 2020 with all the procedures in place to comply with social distancing and more.
I was hesitant as I thought all of these new safety implementations would dampen a scare experience with your face mask and social distancing providing that extra barrier of comfort and safety, boy was I wrong!
How to get to Scare Kingdom Scream Park
Scare Kingdom Scream Park is located at Mrs. Dowson’s Farm Park, the home of Mrs. Dowson’s Ice Cream, minutes from the M6 junction 31 on the A59 near Preston and Blackburn in Lancashire, UK.
Open on selected nights between Friday, October 2nd and Saturday, November 7th, 2020 inclusive.
Tickets are available from just £18.00 per body, plus booking fee.
Just whack in the postcode BB2 7JA into your Sat Nav and look out for the giant Mrs. Dowson’s Ice Cream sign, you really can’t miss it!
Mazes at Scare Kingdom Scream Park 2020
This year consisted of five mazes and two scare experiences including the return of ‘The UK’s Sickest Attraction’ Psychomanteum.
A maze that you have to sign a waiver to enter and the only upcharge maze (priced at £6) at the venue exclusive of the ticket price.
Dare to brave it and you’ll come out with some freaky memories and awkward experiences.
Psychomanteum returns in 2020 with a more toned down non-contact experience with ‘Scared Stiff’ but it’s worth checking out for the complete insanity of it all.
HORRID HIGH TEA WITH SCRAPFAGGOT & MRS FILTCH
A character interaction starts your journey as you enter a giant teepee and are greeted by Scrapfaggot and Mrs Filtch.
Providing some hilarious unscripted entertainment to put those with a nervous disposition at ease before your journey continues.
With some wonderful banter exchanged between the characters, it was great to spend some time in there and get an instant idea of what could potentially be in store for us.
After feeling rather relaxed and being absolutely confident that the night wasn’t going to be too terrifying we were plunged headfirst into The Paradise Foundation.
THE PARADISE FOUNDATION – BLISS TV
Facing economic disaster, the devious mastermind Doctor Prometheus has resorted to shopping TV to promote his unique brand of ‘treatments’. Broadcasting live from within the Foundation, and hosted by the sardonic Servalax, those who view Channel 666 will never be quite the same person again. Are you a patron or a provider in The Paradise Foundation – Bliss TV.
As we headed towards The Paradise Foundation we were greeted by Jerkov who was adamant on trying to sell us both on some virtual live network before we even walked into the venue.
After some hilarious interaction, the mood shifted ever so quickly when we were greeted by the manager of this foundation.
Built like a brick s**t house and with an attitude to match we were marched inside in quite an intimidating manner.
Being from Stoke I feel as though I’m better equipped to handle intimidating situations so I started laughing at him knowing full well I couldn’t be punched unlike a standard night up Hanley.
Big mistake.
The cold stare down began.
The no blinking contest was engaged.
Erm… help?
I love how the actors stay in character despite the stupid things that come out of my mouth when I’m nervous.
After not being impressed with my Chandler-like humor we entered the maze where we were sold in record time to willing buyers.
This maze was wonderfully detailed with a mix of tech themes and gore.
With intertwining corridors and some wonderfully narrow passages to get through we escaped but came out incredibly impressed.
The use of strobe lighting in one particular room made me feel as though I was in the vampire club slaughter scene in Blade 2.
It was here where we got an idea of theming and at this stage, it was on par with any theme park scare maze I’ve ever visited.
Little did I know that the quality of theming would step up to another level entirely within the next maze.
Scare Factor – 4/5
Theming – 3/5
Acting – 5/5
MANORMORTIS – GHOST STORY
The world’s most famous ghost stories come eerily to life as Manormortis presents the ultimate ghost story. Lifted from the pages of the world’s greatest ghost writers, a portmanteau of the macabre comes vividly to life in four dimensions inside Manormortis – Ghost Story.
I’m currently sitting here in my office trying to put Manormotis into words.
From approaching the graveyard and entrance to the property in the beginning through the dark winding path that led us there to the first room.
Mere words don’t do this maze justice.
My jaw hit the floor and was dragging along in front of me the whole way around.
You can tell this is a permanent attraction at Scare Kingdom, the walkthrough experience is absolutely beautiful.
As people were being let through in their bubble groups only and with it being very quiet for the press night we made sure to walk through the maze extra slowly.
Taking in as much detail as we could and appreciate the craftsmanship and effort that has gone into this incredibly themed maze.
Manormortis would not look out of place at a Universal Halloween Horror Nights event.
Absolutely phenomenal and you can see that considerable money, time, and effort has gone into weaving this visually stunning spectacle.
The maze evolves with every horror season with new characters, new experiences, new rooms, and more, and I was fully immersed.
I was no longer walking through a farm, I was deep inside the world of Manormortis and I wanted nothing more than to pull up a chair in the dining room and just take in my surroundings.
Whilst this certainly felt more like a tour than an intense/jumpy experience compared to The Paradise Foundation it still delivered in every other department.
A certain effect towards the end of the maze was phenomenal as we began walking through this misty watery murky depths.
Hats off to the incredible actors, set decorators, make-up artists and more for their hard work and dedication.
This is a UK horror gem and something to truly be proud of.
Scare Factor – 3/5
Theming – 5/5
Acting – 5/5
BLITZ! – THE HUNGER
Step back in time to 1943 where a deserted chapel provides sanctuary from the bombs of world war 2.
Grab a searchlight to light your path through the foggy darkness as you make your way through the twilight world of Blitz! – The Hunger.
With an exterior that even I somehow managed to make look incredible with my poor photography skills Blitz The Hunger was a unique experience.
Armed with a flashlight we made our way through narrow black corridors as sliding doors and panels brought us face to face (socially distanced) with these hungry captives.
Regretting the KFC the night before my extra padding had me feeling as though the walls were getting more and more narrow with every turn.
Not a maze for anyone who is claustrophobic but a very unique way of navigating this maze made it an enjoyable experience.
I didn’t particularly find it too scary, I was more concerned with navigating the maze than anything that was jumping out at me.
With zero theming (only black walls) it was certainly the weakest maze but take nothing away from the ‘scare factor’ that this maze lacked the unique way you walk through gave it that unique selling point.
I’ve only scored acting at a 3 here because other than the incredible actor who introduced us to the experience (who would ranked 5/5 all day) the rest of the cast were simply opening doors and shouting stuff.
Not too much acting talent involved there but take nothing away from the actors inside it’s just a maze such as Blitz limits your range to shouting a few words before the shutter slams back down and the guests have moved through already.
Scare Factor – 2/5
Theming – 1/5
Acting – 3/5
BODY SNATCHERS – CHAMBER OF HORRORS
At the end of Knox Alley, the eminent eccentric Madame Tussaud has installed her world-famous cabinet of curiosities inside Brimstone & Black’s disreputable funeral parlour.
But the oddities upstairs are nothing compared to those that lie in the depths of the old cellars.
Pay a visit to Body Snatchers – Chamber of Horrors if you dare, but be warned – the exhibits have an eerie inclination of coming startlingly to life…
Face to face with Madame Tussaud we are sent into another beautifully themed funeral home.
With hints of Aromaprime scents drifting through the air, we come face to face to props and live actors and have no idea which ones were real or fake.
Body Snatchers had a set that looked like it was pulled straight from a victorian novel with a sinister twist.
I enjoyed every second in here including the biggest jump scare I’d had in a maze all night!
Scare Factor – 4/5
Theming – 5/5
Acting – 5/5
ZOZO’S GRIND HOUSE
Get your ‘freak on’ in a surreal and sinister sideshow where laughter and fear collide.
Creep into a gruesome gala as you worm your way through the hallways of a run-down carnival and face the infamous killer-clown and his hoard of unholy horrors in Zozo’s Grind House.
Into the creepy funhouse, we went as this UV painted wonderland capped off an incredible night of mazes before our final experience.
With a morph-suit funhouse sequence that felt as though it was pulled straight from the IT Chapter 2 movie I really enjoyed this one.
Creepy clowns, lots of jump scares and the actors were really on-point to make you feel a part of this crazy clown carnival.
Scare Factor – 4/5
Theming – 3/5
Acting – 5/5
PSYCHOMANTEUM – SCARED STIFF*
‘The UK’s Sickest Attraction’ is presented in a brand-new way as Psychomanteum – Scared STIFF* offers an insidious double-dare which is shocking and graphic in equal measure.
*18+ only, proof of age required, entry in pairs, an extra charge of £6 per body applies.
Well, this certainly did what it said on the tin but upon exit, we so wished there was more.
Sadly the current pandemic has rendered Psychomanteum a much tamer experience.
Don’t get me wrong you’re going to see some weird things inside (expect nudity) but knowing the actors can’t touch you, slap you around or tie you down to anything well, I felt in control.
Knowing full well they couldn’t get anywhere near me felt as though I had this invisible forcefield around me.
It’s such a shame as you can see exactly what could potentially go down in that room and that thought excited me (weird I know).
I’m the kind of person to always try and push limits and sadly this tamer experience subjected my eyes to such sights (some good, but mostly bad) but my body remained unaffected.
For £6 I personally felt as though it wasn’t worth the money if you’ve been before BUT if it’s your first time (like us) you should definitely go in and see some completely bonkers stuff!
Entering the maze had you crawling through a metal door and in what can only be described as an American Pie movie crossed with a sadomasochistic inbred freak show Psychomanteum is one messed up creation.
It’s not something I should rank as scary as it’s not that, it’s just messed up beyond recognition.
Psychomanteum is NOT a maze for snowflakes.
These actors whilst restricted will still mess with your mind and my sick and twisted ass loved every second of it!
Freaky / Uncomfortable Factor – 50/10
Theming – 3/5
Acting – 50/10
Scare Kingdom Scream Park 2020 Overall
With mazes that blew me away, wonderful staff members and actors that really go above and beyond to deliver an experience I loved my first ever Scare Kingdom experience.
I thought the street actors between mazes were superb.
I loved how each maze was linked through winding paths within the forest.
Exterior theming was spot on and the interior theming was drool-worthy in Chamber of Horrors and Manormortis especially.
There was a bar and food stall and portable toilets that were very fancy indeed.
Everyone was socially distant, there was hand sanitizer at every maze entrance with actors in character reminding you to sanitize.
I truly loved it.
Going in I wasn’t expecting anything too fancy, too crazy, or too detailed.
Coming out, I was blown away.
Those who frequently read Back to the Movies know that no matter if we’ve been invited to an event free of charge we’ll review it openly and honestly regardless of consequence.
Other than Psychomanteum being toned down to a much more tolerable experience there’s not one bad thing I can say about the entire event.
It’s safe, socially distanced, and eerily chilling.
To all the team, thank you for inviting us.
To all the actors at Scare Kingdom Scream Park 2020, thank you for being so dedicated in your roles and pushing the limits despite the restrictions you’re currently facing, and finally to all the staff members, thank you for being warm and welcoming putting us at ease before we entered the depths (and depravity) of Scare Kingdom Scream Park.
For more information on Scare Kingdom Scream Park 2020 head on over to – https://www.scarekingdom.com
