Fear Fields 2021
So it’s been a while since we last experienced a good old scare. Halloween in fact. So we’ve missed the usual Christmas and Valentines offerings around the country. With lockdown lifting and things starting to return to normal what a great surprise it was to see that Fear Fields were back this time with an outside walkthrough attraction.
Fear Fields takes place on the absolutely massive site of Thornton Hall Country Park. This site offers everything from quad biking to weddings and now a scare event.
After the successful drive through event at Halloween I was keen to see how it would work on foot. While some sets were similar there were enough differences to make it worth while and to be honest experiencing an event on foot is personally far more immersive.
The fun starts as soon as you arrive with roaming actors getting everyone in the mood for some scares. The event was well organised with people being batched into areas ready for dispatch.
The storyline starts with a familiar introduction talking of the old hospital. While it was the same video from the drive through it must be said the video had high production value and with the loud sound effects made for a fabulous beginning to the walk atop the hills. The video ends and an eerie character summons you forward to make your way through the dark paths of Thornton Hall country park.
Up first was the grave digger an ominous character giving everyone a good jump using his spade effectively. He added a splash of humour to the proceedings which I personally always enjoy mixed with the scares. Getting us to line up he got as close as possible to make people feel very unsettled. I liked the scenery in this section with large grave stones on either side.
Onwards we went walking through a dark wooded area, sound effects playing, smoke effects and lighting added to the experience and these effects were to continue throughout the experience. As we got to the end of the wooded section an actor charged at a fence causing the group to jump backwards in shock. This was an effect used throughout rather effectively I feel.
After the short walk through the woods we arrived at the medical tent where we were told of the patient inside. They definitely weren’t okay locked up in a straight jacket waiting for the perfect moment to pounce, leaving our group running to the exit.
Next was my personal favourite section, the clowns. Lots of bright lights and wooden walls obstructing your view. This enabled the actors to get some excellent scares. They had props which permitted them to get up close and personal without being too close. These scares came thick and fast with the space being used well. Again lots of humour added to this excellent section.
It’s worth mentioning a little bonus scare that well and truly got our group. It appeared straight out of a porta-loo and was timed perfectly.
Now on to the section that I felt had one of the best actors in. This section was full of zombies and wrecked vehicles after a virus had infected them and turned them into flesh eating creatures. We had an introduction from the civilian zombie hunter telling us to beware of the zombies who will chase us and may bite. Almost as soon as we were sent on our way we encountered our first zombie and these weren’t your average slow zombie these zombies would come up pretty fast. It was after this first experience we encountered a zombie in a car my personal favourite of the event. She was able to bend her body out of the vehicle in an eerie way and continue to stalk our group hitting numerous scares time and time again.
After the zombie section there was a fun encounter with a clairvoyant. She had many funny lines and improvised around the group causing a lot of laughs. Unfortunately this section was cut a little short due to a slight backlog of groups.
The event ended with a slaughterhouse scene. This scene started strong with us being herded into the back of a trailer where we met the first actor using the space to make lots of noise and land a few scares. We were then left to roam a vast strobe maze section in a big top tent. I felt that this was lacking a little something. This may be due to not quite enough fog, a large space or actors needing to be spaced out due to current restrictions. Saying this it was still a fun and disorientating experience that had the group running scared out of the exit.
Overall the event was absolutely fantastic. While the sets were simple they certainly worked well and were appropriate for what was a short 2 day run. The actors all worked really hard and when we encountered more than one actor they worked well together. Each scene had a high quality soundtrack, impressive lighting and smoke effects. I am definitely looking forward to what the team have in store for Halloween
Speaking of Halloween DWO Events and Thornton Hall Country Park will be back with Scream Fields this Halloween and if Fear Fields was anything to go by I would highly recommend checking it out.
Fear Fields 2020
After quite a few alterations to our plans this weekend due to Coronavirus we finally made it all the way up to Skipton for Fear Fields. After a long drive through tier 2 and 3 territory we made it north and into Skipton for Fear Fields which is currently tier 1.
This event takes place on the grounds of Thornton Hall Country Park a venue that offers everything from weddings to quad biking. This is a drive through attraction that weaves its way up in the hills around the site.
The logistics on arrival worked well with the queue of cars maintaining a consistent length that we observed as we left the attraction. What’s nice is that while waiting to go in you meet a few characters who manage to deliver a handful of scares before the event even really starts.
We will try not to give away specifics as the element of surprise is what makes this event so enjoyable. We liked that we were asked to keep our windows down. This enabled us to hear the actors easily as well as the great sound effects throughout.
The way the event starts is really innovative with your car enclosed in a tunnel. Audio plays loudly, introducing you to the event and runs through some of the rules. You are then left to navigate the long pathway through many different scenes.
As far as jump scares go this team really delivered. As hardened scare attraction visitors it can sometimes take some work to get a good scare but this team managed it over and over again.
The actors managed to keep the cars a safe distance from each other delaying us at times with longer eerie scenes.
The start of the event told the story of a hospital and the people that had visited which was a nice touch though we felt this story kind of vanished half way through. It would have been nice to see this progress fully throughout the scenes. Saying this even though the narrative stopped the scenes continued to deliver with zombies, slaughterhouse and clowns.
Speaking of clowns there was a great little scene with scares and humour throughout. One character used a pick axe which delivered some funny and scary moments.
Overall an impressive event that even though clearly put together quickly delivers a fun and enjoyable experience. While drive through events are new for 2020 due to the current climate we feel you could continue to deliver scares in this way offering another alternative option to the Halloween offering in the UK. One benefit to this event is that no matter what the weather you stay dry which would definitely add to the appeal.
We would highly recommend visiting. If you can get a ticket, the event runs until November 1st.
