Walsall Scare Maze – The Scarehouse 2023 Review
Walsall Scare Maze is a perennial favourite of ours, so a trip to the event, a short walk from Walsall town centre was something we were highly anticipating. On arrival before opening there was already a pretty decent queue, which allowed us to take in a bit more of the exterior changes that had taken place. Most notably there is the addition of Sparky’s Shock Chair, an up-charge challenge that has seen a lot of popularity at a few Halloween events this season. Some props from above the outdoor bar / merch shop have been moved from the main entrance, and tantalisingly we could see the entrance to Enola, which sadly isn’t finished yet, but will be an 18+ solo up-charge experience when the team are 100% happy with it opening.
One thing that Walsall Scare Maze consistently strives towards is effective batching so that when you enter the maze, you don’t end up bunching up with other groups before or afterwards. There are a number of ways that Walsall Scare Maze achieves this, but first and foremost is that there is a healthy amount of time between groups of no more than 10 entering the attraction. This does mean that when it is particularly busy you may have a longer than expected wait, however in our view, this is absolutely the right thing to do and we wish more events had the same approach.
Last year Walsall Scare Maze made a bunch of big changes and extended the set which we thought was incredible. Somehow they have managed to build upon that and have improved things time and time again. Obviously we’ll avoid spoilers as much as possible, but from the moment you enter the initial holding area, which has some really impressive theming and effects, it was a relentless assault on the senses right the way through to a wonderfully chaotic and intense finale.
The overall theme has been kept as ‘The Scarehouse’ and we felt that this narrative was even more compelling than in its introduction last year. ‘The Scarehouse’ has recently been opened to the public and as some of the first few guests we get to go on a guided tour of the master’s secrets of a haunted house attraction. Sadly things go awry and we end up in the, off limits, cellar where even more mysterious secrets remain.
The sets, designs and special effects are top drawer from beginning to end, and honestly wouldn’t feel out of place in a mega-budget US theme park. The smells are particularly noticeable and in a few places, absolutely horrendous. Lighting, smoke and sounds are used throughout and really help sell the atmosphere to put you on edge, or in several sections are used to disorient and confuse you.
Last but by no means least there are the actors found throughout the maze. All of them were brilliant, mixing up more traditional scares with more theatrical elements, some more horrific than others. They use the space incredibly well allowing them to hit scares from multiple places and ensuring that no-one in the group is left without attention. This is an attraction where actors may touch you (but under no circumstances should you touch them) and this really helps to ramp up the level of intensity, without making anything extreme, as the touching is light and sporadic.
The whole maze somehow felt longer for us, despite it apparently being unchanged in length and lasted for about 20 – 25 mins for the entire run. Walsall Scare Maze is still an absolute no-brainer to attend if you are anywhere near Walsall and is something that we’re more than happy to travel a couple of hours each way in order to experience. For our tastes it really is that good. Every year we come out of Walsall Scare Maze praising it, and 2023 is no exception. We are still massively impressed with how Walsall Scare Maze can continue to go from strength to strength, year after year, improving every single time. Thanks to the team at Walsall Scare Maze for inviting us along and we look forward to returning for their annual Christmas event, Christmasacre – The Big Slay!.
Walsall Scare Maze will run on select dates through to Saturday 4th November with tickets available at the Walsall Scare Maze website. So don’t delay and get your ticket now before it’s too late.
Walsall Scare Maze – Christmasacre 12 days of HELL!
On a cold Friday evening we made the trip up to Walsall Scare Maze to experience this years Christmas themed event. This would be the first year that we got to experience Christmas in the newly extended maze.
On arrival there was a great atmosphere. The tunes were playing and people were in high spirits. As usual there are food, drink and merchandise offerings available before and after the maze.
Once the rest of our party arrived it was into the queue. A brief wait and we were having our group photo before heading into the batching area. Music set the scene while we waited as a few groups entered the maze. Batching is always superb at Walsall leaving big gaps between groups which allows actors more flexibility and great visitor experience.
We had the usual safety spiel and in we went. The scenes that were new at Halloween had all had a festive makeover with trees and decorations throughout.
From the very start actors were absolutely on point. The scares hit hard from the front to the back of the group. Not a single member of our group was left out. Scene after scene the scares kept coming managing to mix up how the scares landed, be it loud noises or the more subtle feeling that something was lurking in the shadows. The maze continued to be unsettling and chaotic in the best way possible. There was one scene that mixed subtle creepy scares from a silent emotionless character with absolute anarchy of the surgeon. This juxtaposition in character made the scene work incredibly well and if you aren’t smiling already on your journey round the maze after this you definitely will be.
The scares definitely built up throughout the maze, mixing scares with a lot of humour. For our regular readers you will know that humour within scares is something the team are big fans of and this was no exception. This all led to a finale ending in a great crescendo involving actors, sound effects, music and practical effects to leave us all running to the exit with nothing but beaming smiles on our faces.
Honestly heading through the maze I didn’t want it to end as I was having so much fun. A huge congratulations to the creative team and actors for putting on an incredible first night. We will return this season for sure. If you haven’t already got a ticket I’d highly recommend grabbing one before it’s too late. A great event for a few friends or even an alternative to the usual Work Christmas Party and the night doesn’t have to stop there. The maze is attached to a bar and club so you can grab your dancing shoes and party all night if you wish.
The event runs on Fridays and Saturday until the 23rd December with tickets available at the Walsall Scare Maze website.
Walsall Scare Maze – The Scarehouse
This year Walsall Scare Maze has gone big. What was previously a jam packed scare maze hidden behind a pub has expanded into a maze that the Walsall team should be proud of. Each element has been thought out well and really just works.
From the moment we stepped into the new maze it was clear things had massively changed, from the new briefing room through to the different scenes and sets throughout the experience. It’s clear a lot of time and effort has been put into this attraction.
If you have visited Walsall Scare Maze before you will not be disappointed with the same high quality scares and great set design just in a much larger footprint. This gives the actors and the creative team a lot of space to work with. Each room in the new maze takes the guest on a journey through the mind of the creator of scare attractions past.
The concept is strong and a really great way to hint at the previous incarnations of Walsall Scare Maze while feeling fresh and new.
The sets were stunning, every detail throughout the experience has been meticulously thought out from the floor to the ceiling. The scents and atmosphere as you walk through the experience just immerse you further into the experience. There is not a single part of the maze left unthemed and it really helps towards a truly brilliant experience.
While you could very easily fill this maze with traditional jump scares the attraction has gone beyond with a narrative developing throughout. The actors mix solid scares with great dialogue that takes you on a journey through the master of fear’s creations leaving you well and truly catching your breath at the end. We were not alone. Standing in the new merchandise shop at the end of the experience group after group left the maze screaming with fear and delight.
We absolutely loved it and it’s clear so did many more who visited. If this was the experience on night one I can only imagine how good it’s going to be by Halloween.
I quite often hear people say ‘It’s a long way to go for one maze’ but it’s not just any old scare maze, it’s something that keeps developing and growing year on year. I promise if you visit this year you will leave with a smile on your face.
Having been visiting Walsall Scare Maze for a few years now you can see we have never had a bad experience. Each time we visit there is a new engaging storyline and always something exciting in terms of set or scene.
We can’t recommend this event enough and hope you can make it to Walsall Scare Maze this Halloween season. The event runs on select nights through to early November with tickets available on the Walsall Scare Maze website.
Walsall Scare Maze – Christmasacre The Hellebration
It was a cold Christmasy evening when we attended Walsall Scare Maze for their event, Christmassacre the Hellebration!. As can be seen from our previous reviews of Walsall Scare Maze we have always had a fantastic time there and this Christmas was no different.
The Halloween version of the attraction had been decked out in a festive overlay as you entered Dr Keine Hoffnung’s Christmas Party. Everyone in the maze was in high spirits and ready to celebrate Christmas at the Bunker’s Christmas Party.
The maze, while not as intense as the Halloween incarnation, was still just as fun with more of a focus on the humorous side which we have always said works well this time of year and coupled with scares makes for an enjoyable night out that could be enjoyed by people who are less familiar with scare attractions.
The Christmas overlay was fantastic and the maze felt noticeably different from the Halloween run. There were a few returning scenes but again these had a different narrative to Halloween which again shows the level of creativity the team have managed to put into the maze.
From start to finish our group was laughing as we progressed through the maze emerging from the end in a frantic snowstorm of delight.
Keep your eyes open for whatever’s next for Walsall Scare Maze as I’m sure they will be back with a bang.
Brave it alone
We had a little extra bonus on our visit as we had attended as part of the Scaretour Christmas party. This included a brave it alone experience where things were ramped up a little more beyond the traditional scares of the earlier maze.
This run through was definitely far more adult. The cast were well and truly getting into the spirit of things and made the experience completely different to the normal Christmas version.
Personally the experience is a bit of a blur but all I know is that for around 15 minutes there was a complete onslaught of actors coming at you from all directions. The interactions were relentless and the actors really gave it their all for this run on our own.
We emerged covered in glitter, flour, cling film and who knows what else. Everyone left with a smile on their bewildered face.
This is the second time experiencing a ramped up version of the maze and we feel there could definitely be something in offering this as a bolt on extra after the normal operating hours of the maze.
The intense version is not for everyone.. sure, but there would be enough people curious that I think it could work as an upcharge addition.
As always another superb trip to Walsall Scare Maze, the team do an amazing job and gave us a fun and very enjoyable if very messy Christmas night out. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
Walsall Scare Maze Bunker 41
We had struggled to find an appropriate time to do Walsall Scare Maze so we did something crazy. After a day at Oakwood in deepest darkest South West Wales we made the four hour drive up to Walsall arriving with minutes to spare. Are we glad we made this crazy journey? ABSOLUTELY!
Walsall Scare Maze is built at the back of an unassuming bar on the edge of Walsall. A short walk from the centre. You will find the pub on a street that usually has space to park.
You make your way through the entrance and around the side of the pub to the impressive pub garden that has been decked out in spooky theming, there are also a few props you may recognise from a number of theme parks.
The facade of the maze has had a complete re-theme. Gone is the spooky house entrance to be replaced with a new corrugated metal one in keeping with the Bunker 41 theme.
We chatted to a few others before it was our time to enter. Not knowing what to expect, as Walsall make massive changes for every season, once inside we entered the first room themed around the MazTac Corp. In here we are given the safety briefing in theming with the experience. Very quickly after this the experience begins.
It would be easy to write a blow for blow account of what happens but I feel the maze has to be experienced for yourself to truly appreciate the theming, actors and experience.
From start to finish the maze is intense with actors coming at you from left, right and centre. There is nowhere safe to hide. Throughout every highly themed room you will never be far from the next actor prepared to scare you, often multiple times. The maze keeps things fresh with different scare tactics throughout so you never feel things get stale.
Scene after scene you meet the different characters slowly progressing the storyline. There are a number of very unique scares and one in particular for some will be truly terrifying. We went through as one of the last groups. The actors managed to keep the energy levels up and were some of the most energetic and enthusiastic we have seen all season. Something we love to see and really makes an experience. The costuming and makeup was all in keeping with the theme and again to a very high standard.
We left the maze with nothing but praise. From scene to scene the scares were relentless through to the finale that left us frantically flying towards the exit. I can’t recommend this maze enough. Even though it’s one maze in the back of a pub it is 100% worth the trip. We spoke to some people who had travelled 40 minutes and they absolutely agreed it was worth the visit so if you’re from around Walsall or even further afield. I’d highly recommend a trip to Walsall Scare Maze where you will truly have a night to remember.
Walsall Scare Maze runs beyond Halloween with dates running through to the 6th November.
