Scaresville The Haunted Village Review (2026)

In terms of guest experience, we actually quite like the event’s website, being nicely themed while also conveying all the appropriate information in an easily accessible way. We also think the event takes group safety very seriously – you are encouraged to know your whole batching group so that you can all make sure you haven’t left anyone behind. The staff we encountered along our journey were very thorough with all of the information provided, all being quite friendly and talkative. There are good directions coming into the event, but slightly less signage on the way out.

Having gone on a somewhat quieter night, we didn’t have too long to wait for our time slot. Groups were relatively large, and we were paired with a slightly raucous group of about eight others. There is fun music whilst you wait for your timeslot, and plenty of food stalls. These stalls are accessible at the end of the event as well, in addition to an end-of-the-trail bar under a big top.

There were a few times during our trail where the groups started bunching together, but Scaresville seemed to have anticipated it and so put in quite a few moments along the way so as to stall speedier groups and keep them entertained before they could proceed. This happened to our group and the group behind us a few times, encountering monster picnics and an onslaught of clowns who deftly delayed us while making it all seem like one smooth experience.

Upon arriving at the event, you have to wait for your group number to be called forward before you can begin the experience. What we like about this event is this way of handling intake – you aren’t forced into a single queue line for ages while you wait your turn, but instead can wander about eating and drinking until it’s your turn, meanwhile gazing upon the gorgeously lit Kentwell Hall in the distance with some fun music in the background. While there isn’t any theming or entertainment until the trail itself, the wait isn’t terrible and there’s still plenty to keep you busy before the fun truly begins.

Once you’re on the trail you do feel immersed in it, even though there’s such a vast number and variety of different zones and scenes along the way. Themes are clear within areas but not contiguous, and while most of the trail has a zone to encounter there are some quieter, darker areas. The interior mazes at the beginning of the attraction are some of the strongest vignettes, with well themed spaces paired with immersive soundscapes and enthralling actors. The larger outdoor trails are equally immersive – you feel as if you’ve been dropped in the middle of the woods and in fields as the darkness surrounds you and figures sneak up on you out of nowhere. Finally, at the end of your journey you are invited into a big top with drinks and photo ops, which pairs well with the last scares of the night being clown-themed.

With the trail being an almost hour long journey across an expansive site, having a consistent sound across the whole trail would be difficult, and thus wasn’t something we encountered at this attraction. However, there was highly themed music where it counted, with grunts of murderous pigs as we traversed a hay bale maze, a dissonant sounding “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” in minor key as we navigated a Christmas-themed section, and great use of foley in the clowns zone as characters honked horns, chickens, and played with jack-in-the-boxes. There were also well timed and motion-sensored areas of sound, including engine noises from a stalled out car and gunfire in some trenches.

The variety of scenes we encountered was vast, from an optician’s office gone wrong, a corridor of strobing lights and mannequins, a seance room, an entire field full of scarecrows that came to life, and even a room full of real pine trees strung up for Christmas, which gave the room that nostalgic smell of pine. We crossed moving bridges over water, got locked inside an aggressively moving container by a troupe of murderous pigs, got lost in a red room filled with fog, to name a few of the most sensory-complex scenes of the evening.

Due to the variety of different scenes and vignettes that are along the trail, there is also a huge range of characters that live within all these worlds. There seemed to be a definite choice of concentrated characters in some areas and less in others, which did allow for some moments of respite from the adrenaline coursing through our veins. While some actors in the dark mazes were less interactive and more there for a jump scare, others were much stronger and active, such as a hilarious woman leading a seance or the ringmaster at the end of our journey who seemed far too happy to wreak havoc on us. A lot of the actors along this trail would pinpoint someone and terrorise them for a while, whether this meant blocking their exit, pinning them into a corner, or constantly stalking them, which definitely heightened the scares for those victimised in the group.

Costumes for some of the characters were particularly strong and effective, including pig men in frightening masks wearing butchers aprons, scarecrows who appeared static and bursting with hay until they untied themselves from their posts, and also memorably a teddy bear girl whose furry face transitioned into a skeletal form. We also particularly enjoyed the various clowns who tormented us both within and outside the final mazes, with strange masks and hyperactivity creating a heightened sense of unease.

Being at the back of what was a relatively big and slightly raucous group did make it difficult for us to experience some of the scares, but ultimately the cast of Scaresville did a pretty good job of scaring everyone in the group, especially when the zone was open and scares could come from any side, or when the group stayed safe in one room while a vignette was played out. However, even when we were in tighter and more claustrophobic spaces there were still fearful highlights, such as when one guy constantly stalked and tittered behind us, or another scene when a creepy woman just wouldn’t stop following us! There were quite a lot of rooms where our group struggled to find where the doors were, and while this sounds like it may have been a frustrating situation, we actually think this amped up the fear, at least until we were finally able to find the way out! We also loved the company’s use of misdirection – there were many times when our senses were overwhelmed as we were surrounded by multiple figures, never quite knowing which would come out and attack until it was too late. This was particularly effective in the scarecrow zone where even when we passed safely, we always had to keep looking behind our backs to make sure we weren’t being followed!

We particularly enjoyed the finale of Scaresville, which begins with everyone locked in a room with murderous clowns as a strobe light goes off and panic erupts. The room, while being completely surrounded by what seemed like doors, didn’t actually have any exit. After searching frantically and running around like chickens with their heads cut off, we were finally able to make our escape. But as we thought we had made it safely out and into the friendly-looking ringmaster’s hands, we realised only too late that he had the power to beckon all of his frightening troupe forth, and we were literally run out of the park by his motley crew of crazed killers.

While the ticket price may seem a little steep at around £38, the walkthrough of this trail took us a whole 50 minutes to complete. There were a huge number and variety of different scenes, so there is really something for everyone at this haunt, whether you like crawling through a hay maze, being harassed by creepy clowns, or looking over your shoulder for a moving scarecrow. There isn’t a ton of entertainment at the top or tail of the event to keep you wanting to stay, but the park does make sure you are taken care of from the moment you park up till the moment you drive away. We enjoyed all of the changes the park made this year to the event, and we look forward to seeing what chaos they bring next season!