WHAT: Christmasacre: The Big Slay!
WHERE: Walsall Scare Maze, 41 Birchills St, Walsall WS2 8NG
WHEN: 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, 22th, and 23th December, 2023
PRICE: £22.10
OUR RATING: Do It!
Following our hair-raising Halloween experience at Walsall Scare Maze, we were brimming with excitement to uncover that the team had conjured up a reimagined Christmas horror spectacle. While the notion of Christmas haunts might be more familiar across the pond, here in the UK, Walsall Scare Maze holds the distinction of being the solitary destination offering such a spine-chilling immersive seasonal attraction – and they didn’t disappoint! Their ability to craft an evening teeming with bone-chilling thrills and eerie holiday vibes was nothing short of remarkable, leaving us spellbound with every twist and turn.
Masterminded by the brilliantly imaginative Matthew Lee and Zac Humpage, Christmasacre: The Big Slay! invites you to a secret underground Christmas rave that everyone’s been dying to attend. Part of the challenge of taking an existing attraction and then reskinning it for a different season is the possibility that there will be too much crossover between the two. However, straight off the bat it was clear this would not be the case here, as the entire experience is upended from the very first room.
The Christmasacre reskin and experience at Walsall Scare Maze harkens to blackout events in the US during the Halloween season, where audience members are given merely a glowstick to navigate the dark depths of a scare attraction – usually creating a more extreme experience. Between a single glow stick and Christmas lights throughout, an eerie but festive atmosphere was created, the level of darkness allowing audiences who’ve been to the Halloween experience to have a new adventure even if many of the sets and decorations were still those from October. With simple tricks of lighting and strategic rejigs of their main setup, Walsall Scare Maze have been able to create an entirely new haunt just weeks after their massive Halloween event – a truly superb feat!
We don’t want to ruin all the surprises in store here, but you can expect an absolutely fun, fearful, and snowy experience at Christmasacre, full of ridiculous Christmas party music, joyful lighting, and a troupe of amazing performers anywhere from naughty evil elves to merry Christmas ravers. The maze takes approximately 15-20 minutes, and after your trek through it you’re spit back out into an amazing atmosphere where you can enjoy their fully stocked merchandise store, the festively decorated Lion Pub, the delicious offerings at Burger Queen, and the main hub completely decked out for the holidays and complete with a massive Christmas Tree alongside their ultra fun Sparky’s shock chair!
Final Thoughts: We’re truly thankful for the freaky festive haunt Walsall Scare Maze has created this year. From laser rave lights, devilish elves, neon-painted partygoers, and completely mind-bending white-outs, it’s a skin crawling treat for all of you who need your spooky fix outside of Halloween. Lest we forget, the tradition of ghost stories for Christmas is a sadly dying one, but at Christmasacre you’ll be able to indulge fully in the more macabre elements of this darkest time of the year.
P.S.: A review of Walsall Scare Maze isn’t complete without mentioning the grand opening of their brand new experience Enola, which is finally available to the public after a much anticipated wait. Enola isn’t advertised as a scare maze, but rather an extreme solo experience at the Enola Clinic where a new drug is being trialed. At only £16, this experience promises a sick and twisted adventure – but be warned, you need to sign a waiver for this one, and it truly does sound quite intense! We’re not quite brave enough for Enola yet, but if you’re looking for a unique, strange and frightful experience, this may be for you!
