Alton Towers Scarefest - counting down the best horror mazes
Alton Towers Scarefest is back for another year of thrills for fright fans - we take a look at the best horror mazes over the years
Alton Towers hosts its 16th annual Scarefest event this week and we will be there to preview the latest horror mazes that the resort has to offer guests wanting a fright in the dark.
They take scaring people pretty seriously and over the years there have been demons, escaped killers, insane clowns and mutants, all frightening and delighting people for a decade and a half.
I have managed to survive it every year since its conception and joined in with all the screams, laughs and bumps in the night along the way. I’ve slept in the old ruins of the Towers for a Haunted Sleepover, been chased around a cornfield by zombies, and had dungaree-clad madmen chase me with chainsaws through tunnels on my hands and knees.
This year the resort has combined a scare maze with an escape room experience, dreamt up by YouTube sensation, Daz Games aka Daz Black. Billed as a horrifyingly unique and totally immersive scare attraction, Daz Games: PANIC looks set to offer something different.
But will it be up there with the best mazes the resort has had to offer? Scarefest veteran, Steve Wollaston counts down the best frights over the years.
I went to Alton Towers to ride The Curse at Alton Manor and one thing really blew me away
10 The Welcoming - Be Chosen (2017-2018)
"You have been chosen!"
Those were the words whispered to me as I had mud smeared on my face and a band of flowers placed on my head.
Weird enough at the best of times, even stranger when you are surrounded by a mysterious group of villagers in the woods at the world’s most unsettling pagan folk festival.
I was surrounded by fire, murder and ancient rituals with all kinds of ghastly creatures jumping out from all angles high and low.
There was a dismemberment, jump out of your skin frights, and nothing at all pleasant.
Even more so when I had a sack placed on my head and was told to walk.
In total darkness I had people grabbing my legs, stroking my face, grunting and whispering disturbing things in my ear. They also covered me in soil.
All to the strains of eerie music, wailing and screaming. The ending, well, that was something else indeed!
In all my time covering scare mazes at Alton Towers, this was perhaps the best themed maze I have been in.
The setting was spectacular, the props and decoration were suitably atmospheric, and the characters and storyline had been very well thought out.
The maze was the prequel to the now world famous Wicker Man ride.
1 of 109 The Darkest Depths (2019-present)
What first started out as a family maze focused around the sea creature the Kraken and a sinking pirate ship, has somehow become somewhat of a cult hit at the park.
Ramped up into a full scare maze rather than just a family friendly walkthrough, it’s becoming increasingly popular over the years.
It’s actually a far better experience than I think it was ever meant to be.
The greatest thing about the maze is the atmosphere and the theming of the maze as you walk through the different stages of the boat being taken to the bottom of the sea bed by the mythical sea monster.
There is a transition from start to finish that sees leaking water, panic, and even the floor evolving from wooden planks to the sandy seabed.
The end is magnificent.
2 of 108 The Haunting Of Molly Crowe (2015)
This scare-maze was a multi-sensory experience which saw you encounter the possessed house of Molly Crowe - blindfolded.
Molly died in this very house, engulfed in flames and as the story unfolded around you, you realised she never actually went anywhere.
Now I don't scare easily, I have done lots of scare mazes, but even I was a quivering wreck by the end of it.
This was an attack on the senses and a real psychological thriller for fright fans that included an incredible finale.
The techniques used to tell the story and play with your brain at the same time were simply brilliant and there's nothing more unnerving than people whispering in your ear and grabbing your legs in total blackness..
This was a great maze, strange that it was only a one-off.
3 of 107 Carnival Of Screams - (2010-2013)
![Alton Towers clown]()
Clowns, knives, twisted face painting.
A huge favourite with the Scarefest visitors.
The Carnival Of Screams was the most dysfunctional circus you could ever imagine.
There’s people with a fear of killer clowns that are still suffering after stockpiling their nightmares for years to come.
Wonderfully inventive, perfect jump out of your skin frights, and a big top nobody was in a hurry to visit again anytime soon.
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