Spooky World boasts a collection of eight different scare mazes on the edge of Warrington in the North West of England, including a corn maze and one of only two operating haunted hayrides in the country. Spooky World takes a minimalist approach to haunted attractions, different from anything else we’ve seen in the country, and having been running since 2006, it’s clear they’ve got a unique gem on their hands. If you’ve never been slaughtered by murderous pigs or soaked to the bone by a foaming oil rig, then boy have you got a surprise in store!
For not being a touch haunt, it is still amazing how physical the cast are at Spooky World, often stopping us in our tracks, pinning us to the walls, and jumping or flying from out of nowhere. The cast of “Slaughterhouse” and “Carnevil” are perhaps the most impressive for their physicality and believability – stalking us from the sidelines before sprinting in for an attack, their energy seemingly limitless. The exuberance of the clowns who soon turned menacing disoriented us, and we never felt safe in “Slaughterhouse” knowing we were within sniffing distance.
There was also great cast energy in “The Institute”, with inmates running around, reaching for us through bars, and cornering us in the darkness as the sirens wailed. These prisoners would sprint from point A to B, always finding themselves in between and amongst us, separating individuals from groups and grinning sadistically.
Despite the stripped back sets of most of the mazes, the costumes, makeup and masks were on point and unique for all of the attractions, whether that be the uniforms of the prison inmates, the disgusting pig masks and pig snouts of the murderous hogs, or the ghostly dwellers going about their daily routines in “The Haunted House”. The best character designs for the night went to the creatures in “Deadman’s Creek”, with creepy masked figures in every room dressed in fully camouflaged bodysuits, which distorted their figures while also hiding them in the shadows. These intelligent character designs transformed mere humans into swampy beings of the night, hellbent on seeking out their victims and dragging them to the depths.
While we’ve seen some complaints on the lack of aesthetic facades at Spooky World, we think their bright black and yellow signs actually make for a really easy navigating experience, especially for first timers. There’s also a lit up sign directly at the entrance to the park when you pull in, with dozens upon dozens of yellow and black signs showing the way to the parking area. We do still wish there was an easy to find site map, as we spent awhile going in loops to find “The Institute”, ultimately giving up and having to ask a member of staff.
We also had absolutely lovely interactions with all of the staff we came across on our visit, from a really friendly ticket taker at the front to the queue staff and security at all of the maze entrances. Many of the crowd around us were quite rowdy, and the staff treated everyone with friendliness and decorum, which we found really impressive.
Being used to fuller set designs, it took us a maze or two to really settle into the aesthetic and ambience of Spooky World haunts. We did struggle with the pre-haunt areas, as all these are pedestrian barriers outside warehouses with the same black font on yellow background signs identifying the name of the attraction. The only maze where this was different was the new “Channel Zero”, which had a neon sign lit up in different colours and did a much better job of giving us a taste of what was in store for that attraction. The atmosphere post-haunt was pretty much the same, usually spitting us back out onto the main path which had very little around it, but we appreciated the ability to exit one haunt and then almost immediately be able to join the queue of another.
We do think the cast and the maze constructions did, however, offer some immersion, especially in mazes like “Channel Zero”, “Carnevil”, “The Institute” and “The Slaughterhouse”, in all of which we felt we were dropped within different and other worldly zones of terror. And despite the larger batch sizes we never felt like the flow stopped or that we were inhibited by the individuals in front or behind us – the larger and less claustrophobic spaces really helped in the movement of audiences from one space to another, and allowed us to experience each maze at our own pace regardless of those around us.
While most of the mazes we attended had general atmospheric music, the highlight of the night in terms of sound was definitely “Deadman’s Creek”, which incorporated a swampy soundscape that really added to the immersiveness of the maze. In general, while set design and special effects were limited in all mazes, there were a few standouts, and each maze had their own really strong elements that were both effective and memorable. “Carnevil” and “Channel Zero” incorporated neons and colours really well, with neon lighting strips and stark colourblocking making one really feel like they were on a reality TV show for “Channel Zero”, and lots of neon lighting, red LED strips and low tunnels making up the fun maze that was “Carnevil”. “Deadman’s Creek” had the most immersive set of the night, with lots of camouflage netting, the soundscape mentioned above, vines hanging off of everything that included a touch element as they hung by our faces, and a beautifully lit boat scene.
“The Institute’s” stark prison set up with metal music, red police sirens, disgusting toilets and bunk rooms, not to mention effects simulating electricity, was a really fun and chaotic setup to walk through, almost meeting in intensity “The Slaughterhouse” which incorporated the actual smell of pig carcasses in the pig dressing room! Finally, last but not least we must mention the effects in “The Haunted Hayride”, which included flames, sparks, chainsaw effects, an endless tunnel of beautiful lights, and last but not least an oil rig which sprayed us with tons of foam (not once but twice!) and then a disinfectant area with loads more water, ending in a claustrophobic birth canal tunnel – one of the most insane things we’ve been through!
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 6.25
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 8.19
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 6.84
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 5.88
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 5.41
Due to a limit on special effects in the park, the cast had to step in, ultimately working really hard to scare each and every audience member on the site. Some of the batches were quite large, but the cast truly worked to break these groups up and single out different individuals, no matter what their place in the queue. Some of the spaces we went through were rather large, allowing actors to move around freely in the space and giving them absolute freedom in cornering us or pinning us to walls.
While there were plenty of jump and pop up scares on offer, we think Spooky World were really strong in their menacing scares, often utilizing this up to the very last minute before then ending their interaction with us with a jump or scream. This variety of scare really kept us on our toes, and we never knew what to expect. “Carnevil” also brought lots of misdirection and disorientation into play, at times stalking or jumping out at us when we were lost in an endless maze of plastic strips, not knowing where to go next.
Spooky World may have a heftier price tag for mazes that have simple facades and aesthetics, but you get quite a lot of different experiences out of the night that result in a generous minute per pound value, and with unique offerings like a corn field and hayride you can’t get in too many other places in the country. And while there doesn’t seem to be stage entertainment, there’s still plenty to do outside of the mazes themselves, with funfair rides as well as a few free playground offerings like giant slides and a zipwire that offer a few laughs and remind us that we’re all still kids at heart! We think it’s admirable that Spooky World doesn’t focus on brand or aesthetic facades in their park, instead relying on tried and true scares both within the maze walls and outside of them in classic formats that are guaranteed to thrill and delight.
Stretton Road, Warrington, England WA4 4NW