SCREAMS at Thornton Hall Country Park Review (2024)

Each of the three mazes at Screams! had very distinctive worlds and characters. Every one had a huge cast of characters, there was almost never a moment when we felt alone; but, when there was, it felt deliberate. The level of interactivity of the cast varied largely, however, with most actors at Malkin Manor and Jinxed reaching out of nowhere or hovering menacingly, versus actors at Black Market who got right up in our faces and physically forced us around into different rooms (even tying us up!).

One female actor essentially gave one of our team members a lap dance! Actors in this maze were not afraid to get up close and personal. Another highlight cast-wise, was how physical the cast at Jinxed was in their own performances. From the introductory jester, who jumped into the room, to a contortionist blocking our path midway through the carnival.

Our favorite cast members of the night, however, were probably the roaming scare actors. There were quite a few actors, with a few bags on their heads, that scared us with their silent and menacing presence that soon gave way to them chasing victims around the park with axes; also a rather camp vampire ringmaster, with a light up umbrella, who gave us good pointers for getting around the park. A helpful, charismatic, killer vampire, what more could we have asked for?

Costume and makeup were varied throughout the different mazes and locations. Malkin Manor had very simple costumes, evoking the despairing maids and other victims locked behind the walls of this home. Often, the characters were obscured, making for a proper assessment of costume and makeup difficult, but those we got a glimpse of were appropriately attired for their scenes (think very dead maids), but otherwise limited, and quite clearly masked.

However, the costumes within Black Market and Jinxed stepped things up! The former had each actor clad in a deep black mask, completely obscuring their identity and fitting well with the idea we were meat waiting to be processed. Jinxed featured a welcome transformation of the regular clown genre of maze, with realistic jester masks that were quite unnerving. One female jester wore a jet black tutu that blended well with the marauding carnival effect. The faces of the actors were either well-masked as jesters or convincingly smeared with clownish grins.

In addition to the maze actors, the roaming actors also wore effective garb with ominous bagheads stalking us around the park, which worked well with the farm setting we were in, and a helpful Ringmaster Vampire, with light-up umbrella, and excellent makeup, pointing the way.

We can’t applaud Screams! more for all of the information laid out on their website and of how well their park is laid out upon arrival. There is plenty of free parking, and everything seems really well organized.

We had staff saying hello to us at every turn, and asking us how our experience was when we exited some of the attractions. Even the security guards at each of the queues interacted and spoke with us (the security guide at Black Market even seemed to enjoy watching us squirm as we learned what was in store for us!).

The bar staff were lovely too, and all-in-all, it was a very personable experience. The fact that one of the roaming actors came straight up to us, at the start to show, where everything in park was, while staying in character, was really a highlight!

Screams! at Thornton Hall Country Park had a beautiful aesthetic throughout the with pumpkin-glow lights that illuminate and guided us from one area to the next, along with a bit of unexpected pyro along the way. The park layout was really interesting, with all of the guest facilities at the bottom of the park, and the mazes at the top of the hill.

The exterior of each maze captured what was within, with a creepy manor facade of Malkin Manor, and a light up Jester outside of Jinxed. Very simple, but themed. Malkin Manor was a theatrical experience, and it felt like we had the whole run of the place, exploring every nook and cranny as the ghosts haunted us.

This maze was really an adventure, and we had so much fun with the other group we were with, exploring this derelict and haunted house. Jinxed was equally immersive and felt like a fun house we couldn’t escape from, and we really appreciated the fresh take on a clown maze. We were dropped within a deranged carnival, with all its different characters…a complete world within its own!

Finally, Black Market was most definitely immersive, especially as it was so interactive. The actors really put in their all, and created a really menacing and terrifying atmosphere. And although we were hooded, tied up, and forced within different aspects of the maze, never once did we ‘actually’ feel unsafe. It was a perfect technique for this type of scare attraction. The set, red lighting, and loud rave soundscape, along with the orders shouted at us from all sides, made this a unique and immersive human-sacrifice experience.

Overall, the three mazes at Screams! were relatively low-tech, but there was plenty in store for guests with their interesting set designs, immersive soundscapes, and beautiful lighting. Malkin Manor had an effective set design with ramshackle interior of an old manor, adding doors that opened onto brick walls, and secret passages. This was a really fun set to explore, and we really felt like it was a choose-your-own-adventure kind of experience. However, other than a few well-placed air cannons, the special effects here were quite simple.

The simple set design continued into Black Market, but for this experience, every single set piece seemed to make sense. We were in some type of factory set to manufacture us! We truly felt like we were on a sort of production line ourselves, whether it was being forced onto a conveyor belt, tied up to a production line, and sent through various rooms, or forced through butchers plastic into rooms with hanging corpses.

Loud rave music played here which was an interesting choice, and it definitely got our adrenaline up for the chaos that was happening all around. A strong air cannon at the very end of the maze, mimicking a shot from a rifle, was quite a strong sensory ending!

Jinxed had fun circus music and theming throughout, but with a twist that was more carnival and New Orleans themed. There were a few large set pieces, including a car with lights and a mega airhorn. And what circus maze isn’t complete without an inflatable birth canal?! One particularly memorable highlight, set-wise in this maze, was a fun-room with a jester, and the floor was at different angles that we had to walk up and down, like a fun house. The whole set, in fact, felt like a fun house, with us never quite knowing where the exit might be.

The types and intensity of each maze meant that no matter our flavor of scare, we received a good jolt of adrenaline! Malkin Manor offered a series of jump scares, and while the atmosphere kept us on edge, the scares themselves felt repetitive, with the main tactic being actors emerging from hidden spots in the walls. Though the predictability lessened the impact over time, it was effective enough to startle everyone in our group.

Black Market provided a unique and unsettling experience. The fear wasn’t rooted in typical jump scares, but rather in the tension of feeling vulnerable and isolated. Hooded and separated, each of us received individual attention in different rooms, which created an unsettling sense of helplessness and anticipation. This approach intensified the experience by creating a psychological fear of mistreatment, rather than straightforward horror.

In Jinx, the scares were more subtle, building a creeping sense of unease, rather than outright terror. The opening scare, a sudden jumping appearance by a jester, was particularly startling, but the rest of the experience leaned into a quieter, more atmospheric tension. Don’t get us wrong, we did get many creepy scares there, including having the venture extremely close to certain characters because of the funhouse flooring. But this was a subtler, more humorous fear, and the possibility that we might be dragged off into the carnivalesque atmosphere.

We were really satisfied with the main attractions. While we timed them at being on the slightly shorter side, we felt like we were inside the haunts for quite a long time, as there was a lot to take in and experience.

There was also a lot included in the ticket price outside of the three mazes, with a beautiful pumpkin patch, that was completely free to walk around and immerse yourself in the ambience. The park also had a live band performing in a beer garden, lovely lights and decorations throughout, and of course the roaming scare actors we mentioned before, which all contributed to a lively and quality atmosphere.