FEAR at Avon Valley Scream Park, located between Bath and Bristol, is an award-winning scare park with 5 scare attractions, 2 experience zones, fire and laser shows, fairground games and rides, roaming actors and live performances, not to mention add-on experiences including a theatrical scare show. This year, FEAR has an updated maze, “Seeds of Evil,” and has also amped up their live performances throughout the park, meaning their already atmospheric venue is now jam-packed with thrilling shows and terrifying frights to keep you entertained the entire night. Besides their new maze, “Seeds of Evil,” they have their returning maze, “Malefica,” set in a village church undergoing restoration – these two mazes are set in their scare zone Stidham Village, with an amazing troupe of roaming actors including resident clowns Trixxie and Chunk. Meanwhile their other scare zone, The Republic of England, is a dystopian universe with themed roaming characters to match, and with three mazes that all tie into this overarching world in their own way – “X4,” “VITA NOVA” and “The Core.” And don’t forget the theatrical scare experience, “The Exorcism,” in which you witness and participate in a de-deviling (make sure you pre-book for this one, as tickets are limited).
The cast at FEAR continues to impress with their sheer deadly presence. Every corner of the park feels alive with undead, from the sprawling hubs to the packed mazes, with actors who are convincing and unafraid to get up close. The new “Seeds of Evil” delivered some striking performances, with Pumpkin People who got close and threatening, sometimes in your face or just over your shoulder. Likewise, “Malefica” opened with a standout scene, with a nun crawling across the table towards us, juddering wildly as she pushed her hands into our faces and vocalising loudly. These moments really showed the energy and dedication that make the event’s performers so successful.
Not every maze hit quite the same mark. “VITA NOVA” felt underpowered compared to previous years, suffering from overcrowding and too few actors to maintain the usual level of engagement. We think this might have simply been because it was such a busy night, but we did miss the isolation and personal interactions we’d had in the past. The lack of smaller group splits meant less one-on-one interplay with the actors, which dulled the intensity that this maze once delivered so well. By contrast, “The Core” offered a brilliant finale thanks to an actor emerging from a ceiling grate, with a small but memorable surprise that captured the creativity at the heart of the scream park’s best performers.
Outside the mazes, the roaming cast stole our eyes! The interactive clowns of Stidham Village and very “cheerful” doctors in the Republic of England were standout high points, muddying the line between performer and audience with clever improv – perhaps we were victims after all. Even when certain attractions felt thinner in cast numbers, these roaming characters kept the atmosphere fun yet terrifying, ensuring there was never a dull moment. While a few mazes could have benefited from more performers, the cast across FEAR remain energetic, inventive, and unrelentingly committed to character, making them one of its greatest strengths.
The costume and makeup across the park remains one of its strongest assets, bringing each maze’s world horrifically to life. In “Seeds of Evil”, the design team have outdone themselves particularly with the masks, crafting pumpkin-headed creatures that feel repulsively organic and at home in their overrun environment of greenhouses and grow rooms. The masks are detailed, their earthy feel and distorted features combining to make you almost believe these gourds have arisen monstrously. When these Pumpkinfolk creep behind you, the acting of course sells it, but there is also a sense that these beings truthfully belong in this corrupted maze.
“Malefica” continues this trend with its haunting nun costumes and makeup that is well-designed. The contrast of flowing habits and colourless-white, corpse-like faces works against the black, candlelit surrounds. The makeup, which includes harsh black lines accentuating hollow eyes and dead features, ensures that each performer cuts through the murk, transforming the familiar image of a nun into something otherworldly. It’s an elegant but sinister design choice that complements the maze’s oppressive religious terror.
Other attractions also displayed thoughtful costuming choices. “X4” leans into its sterile, experimental theme with convincing lab clothing, making you feel like unwilling test subjects in a chilly, clinical bad dream. In “The Core,” the use of waders and grotesque mutated details creates a dirty, industrial aesthetic that ties into the story’s sense of contamination and decay. In this maze, both you and the actors are attired in waders because it is filled with water to your knees. You might think that this would detract from the costuming of the actors, but quite the opposite it builds them into frightful creatures wallowing in a fetid sewer.
Meanwhile, “VITA NOVA’s” mad doctors and scientists are costumed appropriately, selling the illusion of you are about to be forced into taking the smile-inducing Vita Nova drug. Altogether, the costumes across the event show a high level of creativity and world-building. They are cohesive, thematic, and increase the immersion from maze to maze.
We found it easy to locate and park at FEAR at Avon Valley Scream Park. The signage at the front was well-lit and the parking lot is marked clearly, so that it’s only a short walk to the scream park itself.
As we noted when we previously visited, there are very limited safety concerns at this park. The only thing we would highlight again is the lack of visibility of the steps in “The Core,” which, if you’re not careful, could be a slight trip hazard due to their submerged nature, making them almost invisible. We knew they were there, so this was no trouble for us, but we think there might be a way of indicating these steps without spoiling the illusion, perhaps with some slight wall markings.
The staff working FEAR were, as usual, delightful and helpful, and we felt right at home here, and able to ask questions without judgement when the need arose. The accompanying website is detailed and thorough, and you can even see cinematic trailers for the mazes.
FEAR does an impressive job at creating really interesting and different pre-haunt areas that build on the stories within each maze. In the Stidham Village area, “Malefica” did a wonderful job of evoking an old church under construction or renovation, with scaffolding and red construction tape everywhere. “Seeds of Evil,” on the other hand, felt a touch less realised, with mainly signage hung from the ceiling for Stidham Stores and a projection that looked like a cell culture on the ceiling.
Meanwhile, in the Republic of England, which you enter through a huge gate, things take on an apocalyptic, dictatorial feel, with an abundance of metal constructions, each one of them unique with a feeling of harsh control. This area now also has a stage for periodic shows that play with this theme, as well as laser shows that lean heavily into the slightly near-future alternative timeline.
Storylines throughout were relatively strong, but you really benefit from reading up beforehand on their website about exactly what you’re going to experience. For example, “Seeds of Evil” has an incredible tale including a very secret fertiliser that has brought Stidham’s famous pumpkins to life, turning them into wicked human harvesters. Yet, you wouldn’t immediately know this from the maze itself, which doesn’t feature a pre-haunt narrative element.
Each attraction delivers you back to the happening central areas of the park – whether Stidham Village or the Republic of England, and sets you up to brave the further horrors that lie before you.
The special effects at FEAR at Avon Valley continue to impress with their inventiveness and total sensory immersion. Nowhere is this clearer than in “Seeds of Evil”, which transports you into the heart of a rotting horticultural world. At one point, we walked through a giant pumpkin that was complete with disgusting hanging, oversized seeds – a truly incredible piece of design! The greenhouses and plant-infested sets are comprehensive, mixing organic textures with sinister imagination and, of course, the body parts of the less fortunate. Even the withered figures consumed by pumpkins and vines add to the illusion that nature itself has turned predacious. The combination of low illumination and environmental sound design creates a space that feels alive (and hungry!).
“X4” leans on mechanised and sensory effects to deliver one of the most dynamic experiences of the night. What we think may be new animatronics inject a sense of eerie personality into the sterile lab surroundings. The iconic lift sequence, complete with movement simulation, red emergency lighting, and loud jolts, always surprises us, no matter how many times we experience it. The corridor climax, enhanced by air cannons, strobing lights, and plenty of smoke, provides a powerful, cinematic ending that shows how well the park balances theatricality with genuine shocks. “Malefica” relies much on darkness and flickering lights, as well as an eerie presence in the soundtrack constantly urging you to turn back (although this can become repetitive at times).
While “The Core” and “VITA NOVA” rely more on atmospheric continuity, both still deliver huge creativity. “The Core” reuses much of its previous setup, including its brilliant actual water filled sewers you wade through and animatronic swamp beast, but remains effective thanks to strong set dressing and immersive soundscapes. In contrast, “VITA NOVA” feels darker and more disorientating than before, with long periods of pitch-black navigation punctuated by flashes of light and even mild electric sensations (perhaps…we think this could also have just been static). Across the park, the mix of effects create a continual and almost tactile experience, cementing its reputation for some of the most accomplished high tech haunts in the UK.
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 7.2
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 9.2
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 7.35
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 6.85
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 7.25
The scares at FEAR remain physical and interactive, with a strong emphasis on proximity and performer energy. “Seeds of Evil” is particularly successful, surrounding you with hostile pumpkin creatures who invade personal space. Their habit of creeping up from behind or leaning over your shoulder adds a layer of unpredictability that keeps the tension high. Yes, this is a visual experience, but also it’s psychological, tapping into that primal discomfort of being watched. They were very good here at providing scares for everyone, working the line with really startling effectiveness.
“Malefica” continues to deliver some of the most intense individual scares. The nun in the opening room crawling across the table toward us and violating our space was quite chilling. The maze thrives on close-quarters interaction, where actors do go for jump scares but also waft around and menacingly jeer, maintaining a constant sense of fear, ending in a literal conflagration. “X4” focuses more on mechanical and sensory fears. While less actor-driven, it compensates with strong environmental effects: haze, air cannons, and dramatic lighting shifts, particularly during the lift with its sharp movements and red-lit corridor ending, which together offer a frightening peak.
“The Core” reuses several scares from previous years but still manages to deliver effective moments through pacing and positioning, with actors looming suddenly through water filled tunnels threatening to get you wet. The animatronic swamp creature also provides a solid jolt.
With a minimum priced ticket at around £33, and a scare maze walkthrough time of 27 minutes, the minutes-per-pound value may not seem that fantastic at this park, but the quality of the mazes and the absolute mania that is the atmosphere and all it offers makes up for this difference. Each of the mazes in the park are really unique, with “The Core” an unmissable experience in our opinion (“VITA NOVA” usually would be as well, but as we mentioned above, we didn’t have a great experience this year). The two zones of the park are complete worlds full of things to do, with roaming characters who interact with you to insane degrees to numerous different stage shows at all three of their stages – FEAR has really ramped up the additional entertainment this year, with many more dance, aerial and fire shows than we remember in recent years. And if you’re really wanting more, there are add-on experiences like a zombie shooting game (Lock N Load) and the previously mentioned theatrical experience “The Exorcism,” not to mention opportunities to experience mazes on your own! There’s more than enough entertainment for a full night of fun and fright at FEAR, and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for 2026!
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