You might think Kentwell Hall, a grand stately home near Long Melford, Suffolk is just that: a historical site. First logged in the Domesday Book as a holding a Frodo (no, not that Frodo) it welcomes visitors to its extensive grounds throughout the year. But, the locals murmur of something else in these parts – a secretive village that appears each October in the murkiest corner of the county in which that thin veil between our world and the next is pierced, allowing phantoms to walk abroad. Scaresville: The Haunted Village, is an extensive scare trail that offers an unceasing, multi-part ramble across the estate, where you encounter intense, disorientating, and sometimes funny frights for a night quite unlike any other. Are you valiant enough to cross the threshold and expose what prowls within?
We felt the cast really delivered a strong and all-surrounding performance across the numerous spaces they populated. In particular, we were thoroughly spooked by figures evocative of Dementors or floating Grim Reapers, who shaped a nerve-wracking scene where we were drawn into a ring of them, hesitant as to which were real and which were not, with those who were very much the living dead swooping off their plinths towards us. The actors shined at decoying, which made the whole experience extremely unpredictable. Certain vignettes stood out, such as the dentist section at the start, where the crack of voltage administered to a patient entertainingly altered his aristocratic English accent into an Irish one. We had no idea that electricity could be so transformative of personality!
Interactions in the doll room were also wonderful, with cast members picking on and interrelating with us for an extended period. We were told subsequently that illness was ripping through the cast that evening, and consequently many players were off sick. That being said, we didn’t notice a discernable drop off in energy or presence, the remaining performers doing a magnificent job in maintaining the supernatural atmosphere.
When it comes to costume, makeup, and masking elements, there were some strong highs and a few parts that could be reinforced. The bandage-faced nurses were acutely remarkable, being uncanny, while the hog and boar masks were finished very well, standing out as highlights of the costume design. The makeup on the chief actor in the doll room was also imposing, with care to the details that put the hairs on our backs up.
There were areas that could use some development. The finale’s masking felt a little under-fulfilled, as the result came across more like a child wearing a Mike Myers mask; even with the lambent and strobing illumination, it didn’t produce the level of terror that might have been achievable. The costume and makeup through the haunted trail performed well but is subtle, and while such delicacy can work well in a dim, gloomy setting, some areas could have benefited from a bit more refinement. Notwithstanding this, the standout masks and sturdy individual makeup aided in upholding a sense of atmosphere and made the visual experience haunting.
Our customer service experience at Scaresville was very positive. Staff contributed full and thorough explanations throughout and upheld a welcoming and engaging presence. The team members at the front of the trail who conducted the safety demonstration were particularly good, providing entertaining touches to the safety briefing.
We do think there are a few small areas that could be enhanced. While it was easy to locate and navigate through Scaresville, a little extra signage in the car park would go a long way to making arrival even smoother. Moreover, in terms of safety, this trail had some incredibly dark (almost pitch black) moments, which did include very small steps that might catch the less careful of us off guard. It might be worth exploring a creative way of highlighting these subtly, perhaps through atmospheric lighting, just to make extra sure everyone can see them.
That being said, we must emphasize that the customer service experience here is outstanding, and with a few thoughtful tweaks, is sure to excel to new heights.
There is very little in regards to a pre-haunt area, only the food trucks to begin with before you then queue in front of a few buildings lit by fairy lights. Before the trail begins you are brought into a barn-like room to receive instructions on how to safely navigate the trail. As before mentioned, the host in this room was very entertaining, getting us in the mood for what was in store.
In terms of the experience itself, we felt consistently immersed on the trail. Granted, we did catch up several times to the group in front of us, but the queue areas before some of the sections and the staff attending them allowed us to wait and give these groups some time to get ahead of us. In this way we were able to enjoy each section without it getting ruined by the group ahead, which was helpful. Initially we thought that the group sizes were too big, but ultimately by the end we felt that the groups did feel about the right size as we went through the trail itself, but we did have the benefit of going first for the majority of the experience.
Despite there being several differently themed areas that make up the trail, each of these are connected by well-lit paths that keep up the spooky ambience, always keeping us both mentally and physically within the terrifying world we were navigating.
Our overall takeaway from our trip through Scaresville is that in some ways it felt like an adventure play park, with lots of different areas to traverse, crawl through, and puzzle our way out of. We had to creep through a series of grated cages in a junkyard, crouch in sewer-like tunnels complete with water-dripping soundscapes, escape from clowns in huge rooms drowning in fog and red light, navigate dark and hay-bale mazes, trek through mirror mazes and spinning tunnels, and most memorably walk along both a rope bridge and another bridge that was floating on the water. Another fantastic moment was a juddering lift where we had to hold on for dear life!
There were so many different soundtracks in each of the spaces, with unique soundscapes that enhanced the environments we were in. Of specific note was the soundtrack in one of the trails through the woods, which had various people saying “follow me this way” in creepy ways.
While some of the darker mazes were simpler in terms of scenic design, some spaces had very full and realised sets, including an eerie doll’s house, a deranged hospital and a fairground area including jack-in-the-boxes and giant demented bunnies behind bars. There were some sets that we thought were a bit too empty and under-utilised, such as dug-out trenches and an olde-timey room with a fire and animatronic rocking chair, but we were impressed with how many different spaces we navigated and at times we felt like kids in a spooky playground!
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 6.5
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 7
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 8
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 7
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 6.25
Scares at Scaresville varied from quick jump scares to stalking. A lot of the sections rely on disorientation and confusion, with lots of dark areas where you navigate by touch, often not knowing where the exits are. There was quite a lot of scare anticipation when steering in-between spaces. As we were often leading in the front, it was us who were often tasked to open doors, and this caused a lot of fearful anticipation about what might be waiting on the other side.
The area at the beginning of the experience definitely had the strongest scares, with deranged actors everywhere, from crazed nurses in bandaged faces attacking us to killers in animal masks locking us into a lift. Other strong scares also came from the experiences set in abandoned open spaces, such as an area with a ton of reaper-like mannequins that you had to walk through, never knowing which was going to assault you. We definitely feel like there’s room to improve in terms of scare factor at this haunt, but Scaresville has the right idea, and the varied spaces are amazing for putting audiences on edge not knowing what to expect next.
With a ticket price of £28 and a walkthrough time of 54 minutes, this attraction provides incredible value for the night, with a ratio of under 2 minutes-per-pound of scares, making it one of the most valuable experiences all season. Granted, there is no live entertainment nor any roaming actors at this haunt, but there are many food trucks on offer to keep you entertained while you wait for your spot to enter. What’s nice about this attraction is that you’re given a ticket number that is called when the park is ready for you, meaning you can spend some time on arrival grabbing a warm drink or a yummy bite instead of having to queue for ages. There’s also a lively hostess in costume at the front who calls out numbers and generally tries to keep the audience entertained and informed as the night progresses.
Scaresville covers a huge area, and you journey through lots of different spaces with very unique themes and layouts for scares, making this a varied and interesting adventure. It also turned out to be quite a social event by the end of the night, as we started to get to know the other individuals in our group, especially those who were more susceptible to screaming! Scaresville is an extremely distinctive and unusual experience unlike other scare trails we’ve traveled on, and is well worth a visit!
High Street, Long Melford, Sudbury, United Kingdom CO10 9BA