When it comes to Halloween, a night watching Hocus Pocus and the Addams Family while stuffing my face with sweets is about as scary as I can manage. So it came as a surprise when I found myself at Avon Valley for the opening weekend of its FEAR Scream Park.
I’d never really heard of scream parks before, so I didn’t really know what to expect - which honestly, I think made it even more frightening. But what I realised very quickly is they pretty much do what it says on the tin - make you scream. And that’s basically all I did for the three or so hours I spent at the site near Keynsham.
There was also some crying (less than 10 minutes into arriving), hiding behind my husband (the feminist inside me died a little) and just a feeling of general dread that at any moment something could jump out at me. All in all, a pretty terrifying experience, but again this is the point.
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I should also point out that after most of the scares and the screams there was lots of laughter and plenty of what I would call non-scary attractions such as funfair rides, bottle smashing and axe throwing. There’s also plenty of great food stalls and a huge bar area where you can order a ‘Dragon’s Breath’ cocktail.
But the minute you enter the Scream Park there is just a general feeling of anxiousness and dread that takes over, and a quick realisation that nowhere is safe. In fact the safest I felt the entire time I was there, was when I tried my hand at axe throwing. Maybe that was because I was armed, or because I realised they’re not going to have a situation where performers in terrifying masks jump out at people holding axes.
The scares pretty much start as soon as you enter the park, you enter through a terrifying clown mouth and spinning tunnel to get into the main event area which is styled like a carnival.
It’s here, with pop music blaring in the background and the lights from the fun fair rides that I stupidly thought, ‘maybe this won’t be that bad’. A feeling that came to an abrupt end when a scarecrow-type creature on stilts with Freddy Krueger-esque fingers appeared suddenly behind me. Queue the first scream, and tears, of the night.
I suggested to my husband that we take a walk to try and find our bearings, and to get away from aforementioned scarecrow horrors. This however turned out to be a mistake, as close to the main stage surrounded by groups of people I didn’t notice the man in blue scrubs coming towards me.
Turns out he was not part of the medical team on site, a fact that became very clear when he jumped in front of my face talking gibberish. Now here’s the thing, all these performers (who were brilliantly terrifying by the way) have one very simple job - make people scream.
And to be fair that’s probably a task that has become increasingly difficult in a society where we watch horror movies that cause us to throw up or even worse, watch the real horrors of the world on the news. We have become a desensitised society.
So when these lovely performers find themselves in front of a person who actually screams at the sight of them, tries to run away, or cries, they don’t get that one scream and walk away, no. They want to get as much of a reaction out of you as they can. And as much as my husband would tell me to ‘not react’ that was not something that was possible for me - and also kind of ruins the fun of it.
As I said, at this point we were still only in the main event space - we haven’t even entered the real horror show yet, the mazes.
The mazes
FEAR at Avon Valley has five - X4, The Core (which is the new), VITANOVA, Malefica and House of Clowns. They are hidden behind the main arena space - which means visitors can only see the entrance to them and have no idea what happens once they enter. There is also a new attraction for this year aptly named The Exorcism, which you have to book a time slot for in advance and pay extra for (£10 per person).
I don’t want to give away any spoilers - but they all offer something different in terms of scares so it really depends on what specifically is your big fear. Mine are the dark and people jumping out at me - so I was screwed no matter what I chose.
I know that for one of the mazes, those taking part had to wear waders, in another they separate you from your group, and The Exorcism involves a group of very talented actors taking you through an exorcism which at times plunges visitors into complete darkness. Basically my nightmare.
Knowing I had to do at least one maze, I went with clowns. They don’t really scare me that much and I was told that was the best one for beginners, there was also no queue which was great.
Clinging to my husband's hand and the stuffed monkey toy he had won in the bottle smash, I very tentatively made my way into the maze which was themed as a horror filled fun house/carnival. It starts with a curtain maze which means you have no idea where to turn and what’s lurking behind the very dark corners. Spoiler alert…clowns. Clowns are what are waiting for you and they jump out of nowhere filling the maze with screams.
They do some great stuff with effects at FEAR - the curtain maze opens out into a strobe light section with creepy mimes and it all ends with a big bang. We left the maze running with another couple who were just in front of us, all of us sort of nervously laughing and holding each other once safe in the main event area again.
I should say that although I'm a novice when it comes to this, FEAR at Avon Valley was awarded the UK's Best Scream Park earlier this year at the Scare Awards for the second time, it also won this in 2019. And the Malefica maze was awarded the UK's Best Scare Experience last year.
So basically they know what they’re doing when it comes to scream parks and if it is your thing then a trip to Avon Valley should definitely be on your calendar this October. And if it’s not your thing you should go anyway, as it’s actually a pretty fun night and is what Halloween really is all about.
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