SCREAMS at Thornton Hall Country Park, located on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border, offers three live scare attractions, one scare zone, live entertainment, bar and street food – not to mention a small but motley crew of humorous and horrific scare actors. Their scare mazes “Malkin Manor” and “Jinxed”, which we experienced last year, returned again with a bit of a ramp up, and “BLACKMARKET”, their extreme horror immersive experience, was also reskinned as “Killstream”. This year the attraction also added a horror zone, “Horror in Hollowmere: Trick or Treat”. We’re huge fans of this attraction, especially with the lovely and talented staff and cast of horror actors, and this year they didn’t let us down!
The cast here throughout the attractions did well at unsettling and “playing” with us, whether it was lighthearted fun in “Jinxed” from a troupe of Mardi Gras clowns to the much more physical and threatening “cast members” in “BLACKMARKET: Killstream”. The cast in “Jinxed” were particularly good at populating the maze from odd areas, coming out of different levels of the building – some above, some from below, and some even crawling.
“BLACKMARKET: Killstream” had what felt like dozens of actors, all pushing, shoving, and manipulating you in their livestream of deadly chaos. They were particularly believable and as they handled you you felt that this could suddenly turn very real quickly…an odd feeling for seasoned haunt goers! This was intensely interactive: you’re going to be made to crawl, stand against walls, be verbally humiliated, strapped up, and even electrocuted. It’s an extreme experience and these are extreme cast members.
“Malkin Manor” surrounded you with ghosts, demons, and some very otherworldly creatures. The acting here extended not just to the devils within, but also to the initial presenter, who as a member of “Haunt Hackers” was undertaking a paranormal investigation with you within the haunted manor, complete with red-light DVC operating.
A special mention goes to Stitches the Clown, who followed up with us several times during the night, and tailored his dark humour to the patron, whether young or old. Fabulously interactive and thoroughly fun!
Costuming and makeup made a big difference to our experience of this scream park. In “Jinxed”, colourful green, yellow, and purple stripes extended from the set decoration to the characters themselves, and similarly “Malkin Manor” took the blue-dead tones of the lighting inside and applied them to the decrepit makeup and pathetically torn clothing of its residents. In the latter, the characters weren’t just dressed as ghostly apparitions, but progressed to bizarre demonic creatures with enormous, spidery fingers.
“BLACKMARKET: Killstream” was more restrained in costuming, opting for non-descript black masks that shielded the identities of the wearers, and all-black clothing. There was some variation, in that the “butcher” who eventually collected us for processing did wear a Hannibal-esque mask, but the recipe here was more in the physical preparation of the meat than the dressing.
One of the aspects we found so enjoyable about SCREAMS at Thornton Hall Country Park was the lovely and attentive staff presence. Having arrived slightly later than our timeslot, we were still welcomed incredibly warmly and assured that we hadn’t missed anything. Staff across the park made absolutely sure to chat with us at any chance they had, and share their own favourite mazes and scares. When it looked like we were getting to the end of the intake period, the ever-helpful Stitches the Clown took on the role of park helper, telling us to roll up quickly to the final haunt with just enough time to spare.
Nothing was unsafe about this scream park, even in the very physical “BLACKMARKET: Killstream”, despite being pulled and pushed about. Plenty of information is also available on their website beforehand, and all our questions were answered most quickly.
One area we slightly noticed an issue with was the lack of lighting on the sign from the main road, which meant we did a little double-take as to whether our satnav matched our eyes. It was also quite dark on exiting as well, so a few extra lights along the way, even if temporary, would go far to making sure people get in and out effectively.
The park itself is a beautiful site, twinkling with strung lights, billowing atmos, and blue-green glowing through the mist. Each of the three mazes has a large facade, with “Jinxed” and “Malkin Manor” standing out as looking like the front of a carnival attraction plastered with Jinx’s face and a broken windowed, light flickering manor house, respectively. “BLACKMARKET: Killstream”, given its more hidden location in the story, was more like a warehouse on the outside.
We really enjoyed the stories behind each of these mazes. In “Jinxed”, we were at the carnival, and Jinx himself greeted us to beware the reeling fun within. “Malkin Manor” had the brilliant idea of embedding us with the team at “Haunt Hackers”, who were conducting a paranormal investigation with us as guest investigators. At “BLACKMARKET”, we were told that we’d been tricked into participating in a livestream darkweb kill event, rather than the rave we had been promised, starting in a dingy office – we loved the addition of Michael Bolton’s (of ScareTOUR fame, not the singer!) beaming face on the wall as Employee of the Month, for all the months!
The vibe of the park itself was really wonderful. You felt you wanted to linger there, either outside the mazes themselves, or in the covered bar area with a performance stage, heaters, and fun music.
While most of the mazes at this attraction have slightly simpler set designs, the timing, placement and level of special and sensory effects really heighten the experience of all three mazes. “Jinxed” consistently brings a fresher face to your typical clown maze, this time focusing on Mardi Gras and carnival elements, along with a soundscape of cicadas and the outdoors of a carnival making you believe you might really be in Louisiana. However the blaring of car and clown horns and the inescapable laughs of the jesters remind you that this is certainly not the case!
“Malkin Manor” is a fun take on your typical haunted house maze, with banging doors, evil screaming, lights that go on and off at will, and moans barreling down the corridors. Strobe effects and well timed lighting are best used here, along with intelligently placed windows and doors which allow their cast to go appear in one place and then somehow immediately in another place entirely.
“BLACKMARKET” utilises the best special effects by far, incorporating so many different textures and smells, while also blindfolding audiences at times before forcing them to experience different physical sensations including electricity and air cannons. This maze, although intense, shows the best of what the park can offer in terms of effects and disorientating sensations.
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 7.08
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 9.5
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 7.92
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 7.42
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 8.5
Despite attending these three mazes last year (yet with a slightly different skin for “BLACKMARKET”), this scare attraction really upped the ante this year, especially with “BLACKMARKET” and “Malkin Manor”. We struggled with “Malkin Manor” last year, as despite the interesting beginning the rest felt a bit hackneyed, and the scares were rather toned down. This wasn’t at all the case this year – the cast didn’t hold back, with scares ranging from shock and pop up scares to evil demons menacingly following us, trapping us in cages. Scares were a little more hands-on this year, and while we wouldn’t qualify this as a full touch haunt, we did get touched now and then, and the finale of entrapment by the demon and the Lord of the Manor was a super intense experience that left us shaking!
“BLACKMARKET”, on the other hand, is a full-on extreme attraction – actors don’t hold back here, fully leaning on threatening, disturbing and sadistic scare tactics with full on sensory repercussions. From being humiliated, blindfolded, strung up like cattle, drawn on, forced to smell things, covered in liquid, prodded with electricity, shoved around, and being made to do all manner of other things, this maze is not for the faint hearted, and pretty much incorporates the entire gamut of all things scary!
At £23, this scare attraction is one of the most affordable around, with three mazes, one scare zone, a food and entertainment area and several roaming actors. The ticket price is quite amazing for what you get, providing a full night of entertainment for little more than it costs to go see a movie these days. The approximate maze time is twenty minutes, but if you add in their “Hollowmere” scare zone this easily jumps to at least twenty-five, and if you also think about the level of intensity and personalisation of “BLACKMARKET” it’s more than worth your money. Although some of the sets are a bit simpler, the quality of the mazes is still high, and the professionalism and performance standards of the cast are equally wonderful. The setting and layout of the park provide a beautiful and cohesive experience from start to finish, immersing you in a night both charming and terrifying, and full of laughs provided by their witty and talented actors.
Thornton-in-Craven, Skipton, United Kingdom BD23 3TS