The Howl Scream Park at Mead Open Farm Review (2026)

The Howl has a great variety of different haunts, some with very unusual theming and narratives that have over the years matured into distinctive experiences you can really look forward to. Stepping up to the curb of “ShriekEasy”, a classic car from the 1920s-30s is plastered across the hoarding with a streetscape evoking the seedy gangsterism within. Once in the line, a piano stands ready to be played, whilst the theme surrounds you with burning gas lamps and US street signs, such as Lincoln Drive. In prior years, we had some live entertainment on the piano and it is rigged for this, although sadly not this time around. There is a bit of jazz music wafting in whilst you wait too. As you enter this den of iniquity, it’s clear that you are in the world of gangsters, gin, and cards. Slightly less so is why those same gangsters become zombie-like creatures in the latter part of the maze, but we think it might have been the bathtub gin!

In “Red”, some queue actors harassed us whilst waiting, being bloody hillbillies rather than associated with the Big Bad Wolf. The theming outside this maze is very simple, with a lone tree standing before the entrance. There’s an eerie atmosphere evoked through music coming from ceiling speakers in line, but unfortunately this was slightly drowned out by the DJ next door. Once within, although the environment was quite limited, you really do feel like you’re in a massive forest, evading both Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.

Other exteriors were also simpler, with marquees and signs, such as those for “Howl Valley High” and “Full Moon Manor”, with no music and sometimes painted facades within for the latter. “Noxious Alley” on the other hand, had this simplicity with a sign and marquee for queueing, but also put up radioactive signage and a flowing green light. Slightly electronic metal was the music of choice here. Once inside, you learn the gas is loose and has mutated the clownish beings within. “The Shed” also had a simple sign indicating its entrance, as did “Squealers Yard”. In the former, some music was present too with the line decorated with cornstalks. And at one point a colourfully decorated clown-like character leapt up onto the railing to shout at us, providing a bit of fun whilst waiting.

The many worlds of The Howl stretch some both beautiful and horrifying environments. In “ShriekEasy” bathtub gin is in full production, with splashes of neon across the room revealing that gin’s true nature. Lots of interconnected rooms lead you from casino stage show, to card den, to the descent into chaos as the gin takes over. “Red” takes you to the deep woods of Riding Hood fame, with really beautiful use of light and colour creating a depth of field that makes it appear the forest stretches on for an eternity. Waist high inflatable canals simulate walking through a marsh, whilst the noises of the outdoors interlace the soundtrack. Finally, expect to encounter the Wolf himself in all his animatronic glory.

“Howl Valley High” was true to its namesake and contained various school environments within. We wandered through a battered locker room, mouldering lunch hall and kitchen, classrooms, library, and a grimy gym. Music pulsated here, with 1980s synth qualities, reflecting the 1991 setting. And warning: one of us got a jet in the face here from a rather angry janitor who misdirected us by making us look at the floor and then deployed a spray gun!

Splashed in glowing neon, “Noxious Alley” also lives up to its name, with a strange, strong and toxic smell hanging over the maze simulating the escaped gas. Cars, walkways, and clever perspectives were in play, making you walk past areas of the maze twice from different angles separated by fences, all the while being air cannoned, and finally making it into a spinning tunnel (where one of the inhabitants might just join you).

Upon checking into “Full Moon Manor” you are delivered into an elevator that judders as it travels up and down, finally arriving in the basement. Hotel life is in full swing with tables littered with props, with a party going on in one room, plenty of bedrooms, and a steam room at the end filled with fog and heat. You also must head through a shower at one point, leading to a bathroom with running water effects simulating blood gushing into the bath. And whilst the rooms may seem made up for guests be warned: that hobby horse might just start rocking on its own.

Inside “The Shed” sets had large farm implements, tractor wheels, and tons of props. Barrels rolled via animatronics and there was a low inflatable canal to cross. Music trickled in, ambient and low. Just across the way, “Squealers Yard” had a similar aesthetic, with low creaking music greeting you and then metal music and someone playing harmonica the further you moved in. We saw a horsebox, delivery vehicle, and even clambered through the back of several vans. Lots of pallets were used to construct the exterior portion of this maze, with plenty of burlap sacking hanging from it, along with body parts and pig carcasses suspended and upon tables dripping with blood.

The Howl gets characterisation spot on, not only in the haunts, but with the scores of roamers – cheerleaders, zombies, coffin merchants, flappers, the list goes on – all of whom are some of the most fun and interactive in the country. When arriving, we were immediately assaulted by a hillbilly type, who took a warped interest in us. Once within the mazes, “ShriekEasy” provided some very interactive performers, with whom you’ll play card games, roulette, or be asked what type of tailoring you desire, with each decision leading to dire consequences. This maze is definitely more immersive than in prior years due to this acting, but it is a mix between actual acting and more guttural zombie-fied gangsters meaning not all performance is equal.

Introducing some excellent makeup is “Red”, with strange contact lenses of different colours and theatrical wigs and half masks for the wolves. These characters really came for you, and whereas in other haunts you might be safe from pursuit in inflatable canals, here you are definitely not and you will have a wolf in your face, with actors following you up and down. Physicality was good, with a woman hanging from above and then dropping down, each character using a combination of grunting and yapping vocalisations. That mix of acting styles can also be seen in “Howl Valley High”, where the range was from guttural and lunging students, to an interactive lunch lady who tried to make us try soup, to a teacher asking us how long we could hold our breath before drowning. The students here exuded threatening moves, hanging off lockers and even the ceiling at some points.

Springy actors covered from head to toe in neon were everywhere in “Noxious Alley” and got right in your faces, laughing, crazed, and striking up conversations – and hilariously rude ones to boot! One particularly memorable fellow with a painted beard followed us into the spinning tunnels, cackling and hounding us all along. Also with brilliant acting was “Full Moon Manor”, starting with the desk attendant telling you the rules but in an incredibly creepy manner whilst smiling and raising a phone to her ear. She would walk about to members of the group and have full on eye locked interaction. Other characters included bellhops, guests, and a party that had a very Moaning Myrtle-type character, with other characters wanting you to eat things. We didn’t bring any presents and so they were very angry!

“The Shed” had lots of actors crawling up and down – coming from floor positions, the ceiling, and one actor literally sitting on the flats higher up. Attacks came thick and fast whilst in the inflatable canal, with guttural sounds and lunging towards our faces with hands. “Squealers Yard” was much more interactive than in past years, with actors telling us it was Janine’s birthday, who was in fact a woman on a spit. Other interactions included making one of us kiss a decrepit skeleton, before abruptly pulling it away. Costuming and makeup consisted of bloody overalls and faces, each actor emitting oinking sounds at every opportunity.

The unpredictable variety of scares at The Howl kept us on our toes all night. In “Red”, the actors followed you into the inflatable canal, making you feel trapped and isolated from your group. The height of scares here for one of us was the swoop of a shocking wolf head towards the end, but unfortunately the effect was intermittent and didn’t quite catch the other of us. In “Full Moon Manor”, the acting was very physical and jumpy, with actors violently accusing us of being in their rooms and trying to drive us out. At other gross-out moments, we were asked to try (very disgusting looking) plastic food.

And as to finales, “The Shed” went all out: in a room with a tractor, three actors emerged from above and below, pushing off the tractor to terrorise us from different positions, getting awfully close to our faces. And “Squealers Yard” made sure to shock you periodically with air cannons and had a chainsaw finish, but these same chainsaws were sounded throughout to build creeping anticipation for the finale to come.