Screamfest Review (2026)

Getting to and parking at Screamfest is easy, with the site indicated with a large roadside sign. The haunts themselves are very widespread so make sure to clock the handy signs pointing at you in the right direction at a few points. Facilities were generally well-maintained and staff helpful, although sometimes line attendants didn’t seem quite sure where certain other haunts were located.

There is a mainstage, which has some fun shows whilst you grab a bite to eat, but otherwise entertainment whilst waiting in line is rather limited. Queue flow can sometimes also be rather gummy, due to the huge popularity of the event, which tends to result in larger batch sizes – with everyone game for the scares of course!

Stepping into the world of Screamfest is almost like stumbling across a giant carnival, with glowing signs above each maze, only to be met with some more startling elements: namely, the giant skeletal animatronic looming over the lake at the center of this scream park, which periodically springs to life as you explore. There are a respectable variety of themes and storylines throughout the mazes, from the plant-based scientific repulsions of “Mutation Damnation”, where Atheria Life Sciences’s undertaking of “Feeding Today. Tomorrow” has gone outrageously wrong with genetically modified food, to the demonic penitentiary of “Hellcatraz”, where you are loaded into separate cells upon entry. “Cortex 17” takes you into a clandestine 1960s neurological institute, where Project Eidolon is pushing the boundaries of human potential through its state-of-the-art experimental trial, whilst “Insomnia” reconnoiters the fears and dreams that lurk in the subconsciousness of sleeping children.

Another maze, “Freakout on Tour”, makes its purpose clear with a gargantuan inflatable clown face serving as the entrance to its circus-themed revulsions within, whilst “Hillbilly Joe’s Zombie Zoo” presents its undead population in a series of chambers resembling a particularly unpleasant collection of almost zoological exhibits. “Area 52” offers something different completely, with a trailer-based paintball mission centered around an alien incursion, with one of the captured aliens outside in glass as a moving animatronic. This is a park with plenty of thematic range, all tied together through the buzzing atmosphere, stage shows, and music.

We really enjoyed some of the environments spawning up at Screamfest and think that the creativity of concepts was generally well executed. Embracing its vegetal foundation “Mutation Damnation” has plant and corporate lab-inspired scenic design, and an inflatable passage (interestingly optional) that provides tactility. “Hellcatraz” makes outstanding use of sensory effects inside its individual jail cells which you’re herded into, where unexpected air cannons and bashing loud blasts are indisputably shocking when trapped in such a small space, with water sprays adding another creepingly disagreeable surprise in the shower block – yes, getting wet here is part of it! “Cortex 17” uses LED strips running lengthways across the ceiling making the experimental surroundings feel close at hand, and an initial fog discharged from above transports you to a situation where you really do feel endangered by the institution’s “therapeutic trial”.

“Insomnia” has some exceptionally imaginative effects, with a bewildering room seemingly out of Alice in Wonderland, where the room seems to shrink as you advance, and a long passageway where wind blows through windowpanes as though a storm is uncontrollably raging outside, greenery adding to a very garden-like atmosphere in the “outdoor” sections of this maze. Optical confusion of the circus variety ensues in “Freakout on Tour” which uses many flaps and mirrors, as well as neon cryptograms embellishing the walls. “Area 52” brings its trailer-based paintball idea to life with enormous containers behind which actors hide and explosive light effects. In contrast to these successes “Hillbilly Joe’s Zombie Zoo” experiences unsatisfactory illumination, making it challenging to appreciate the zombies and their environments clearly.

We discovered a huge variety of characters across Screamfest’s haunts, although we do think some concepts were stronger than others. The strange and eerie plant-masked figure at the end of “Mutation Damnation” had a rather enigmatic presence, all a mess of tangled plants. Entering “Hellcatraz”, you come up against much more physical demon characters who get very touchy and indeed pushy with you. “Cortex 17” allows you to witness unbalanced test subjects bearing unusual growths across their faces; unsettling to say the least and deeply in keeping with the institutional medical context.

The horrors of nightmares came out to play in “Insomnia” with large outdoor-style stretches with monstrous actors stalking at close range and a particularly memorable “something” at the bedroom window. “Freakout on Tour” has threatening clowns everywhere, with rather cool, visually distinctive, and pointed masks helping establish their individuality. And at “Hillbilly Joe’s Zombie Zoo” the zombies were bloody and very ready to attack you – screaming at every opportunity. We will say that the characters in “Area 52” were much further off and therefore any deep evaluation is rather challenging, although there were certainly a lot and did act in lurching, otherworldly ways.

There were quite a lot of scares uniquely suited to each maze. Beginning strong, “Hellcatraz” shoves you into individual cells and then bombards you with loud noise and sudden air blasts as you transition into Hell, which is genuinely startling. Once inside, water sprays add to the unpleasantness in the shower block, and the demonic characters will be up incredibly close to you at this point, jostling, pushing, and tugging at you in a frenzy of hands.

Playing with the familiar fears of childhood, “Insomnia” has more creeping psychological horrors, jumping forth from the least expected places (although we don’t want to spoil from where) and threatening you with stalking just behind your ears, sometimes with a whisper, that being a most unnerving presence. And a consistent threat of insanity is nicely played out in “Freakout on Tour” with not only plenty of clowns, but also flaps and mirrors galore, further confusing matters, so any encounters you do have are harder to expect. Other mazes felt a little less intense, but there were good jolts of fear provided throughout, especially in the form of unexpected jump scares from concealed nooks and chambers.