WHAT: Dr. Fright’s Halloween Nights: Route 666
WHERE: Whites of Earl Barton (Clay Lane, Northampton NN6 0EP)
WHEN: Friday 13th October – Tuesday 31st October 2023
PRICE: £18.95 – £36.95
OUR RATING: Do It!
Let’s get one thing straight: the Halloween season wouldn’t be complete without Dr. Fright’s Halloween Nights! An annual tradition for us at this point, each year we are absolutely blown away by the sheer creativity of the team, enthusiastic professionalism of their actors, and the twistedly creepy shocks that they have in store.
This year, the bar has been raised substantially, with the traditional four mazes and central rest area replaced by a grand total of SEVEN mazes and two zones for a quick break from all that terror. The first six mazes are broken down into sets of two, with queue lines separating normal and fast pass patrons for each set of mazes, and with the seventh maze of the night having yet another queue line. These short breaks allow for a bit of a breath to be taken, but if you’re a fast pass user you can go straight into the next terrifying depths that await you. Route 666 takes you on a mega-haunt trail, where you test your mettle against the likes of cannibals, clowns, and classic movie monsters. It’s a totally wild road trip – come along with us!
Deadwood Forest: Embarking on an electrifying journey, this maze propels you into an adrenaline-pumping adventure, commencing with an intense experience within a timeworn cabin nestled in the woods. Your path unfolds to confront a mystifying assembly of nuns, while a relentless masked assailant soon looms in the shadows. The standout spine-chiller for us was the countless terrifying nuns materialising from the very depths of darkness, unleashing bone-chilling screams that reverberated through your soul. Surrounded by a multitude of props, their sheer abundance and carefully considered arrangement frequently left us feeling disoriented, heightening the excitement with unexpected, heart-pounding face-to-face encounters that sent shivers down our spines.
Downtown HelL.A.: Continuing the heart-pounding adventure, you are immediately catapulted onto the ominous streets of L.A., a dark and eerie transformation named HelL.A. Here, gangs of menacing masked killers prowl the urban landscape in a Purge-like environment, ready to strike fear into your very core. The level of detail in the sets is nothing short of extraordinary, including an authentic car, which heightens the intensity of the experience. The malevolent figures lurking in the shadows succeeded in keeping us on edge, with their ominous proximity and confrontations. And if you’re brave enough, watch out for Rabbit-Mask – a blood curdling presence that will haunt your nightmares.
The Grindhouse: Now that you’ve been sufficiently hacked to pieces, you’ll get a short respite in the gas station just in front of The Grindhouse. This was actually a welcome stop, as it let you regain your composure before the action resumed. We were quickly invited for a BBQ to celebrate the birthday of a particularly cannibalistic family’s grandfather. Humorous and terrifying, we were attacked from all sides by eager members of the family who wanted to sample a special kind of meat – us! What we really appreciated here was the actors, who made sure to stay in character at all times, but also took care to separate batches of people and guide us when we got a little too lost. The end result? Yum!
The Bunker: Our journey continued with a thrilling transition from the frying pan into the firing squad, as we ventured to The Bunker. This labyrinthine terror immerses you in a battle against relentless hordes of the undead, recreating the visceral experience of trench warfare. What left us in awe was the heart-pounding sprint down a trench, where it felt as though a legion of hands stretched out hungrily in our direction, creating an overwhelming and unforgettable moment of horror.
At the very end of The Bunker we were spat out in the Pit Stop, a rest area which was so cleverly thought of in the theming of this entire haunt. Complete with snacks, beverages, facilities, and a place to chill out, this pit stop also had plenty of spooky photo opportunities and the first two roaming scare actors of the night, two hilarious clowns who were a blast to chat with while we waited to catch our breaths and build our courage for the second half of our journey. This also provided us a bit of time to reflect on the awesomeness of the first four mazes before we got too overwhelmed with all the different themes and characters thrown at us at every moment. We were even provided entertainment by the Dr. Fright’s Tombstone Trio!
Devilsgate Cinema: The general theme of cinema is a tried and true classic at Dr. Fright’s, and this time didn’t let us down either! We were met by some of the most iconic faces of horror, from Jason to Freddy Krueger and even to Samara literally crawling out of a television. There was a remarkable set up done for Psycho, but unfortunately we missed Norman somewhere in the darkness so didn’t quite get the payoff. Yet hands down our favourite moment of the night was the recreation of the Scream scene with countless Ghostface replicas in a cinema room. Dr. Fright’s had a similar setup a few years ago, but this time went far and beyond and had us running from not one but two killers!
Bloody Mary’s Maze of Mirrors: This was without a doubt the best maze of the night, and still gives us nightmares. Think of the classic Bloody Mary urban legend but mix it with a bit of carnival aesthetic and an endless mirror maze, and you’ve got a terrifying adventure we were absolutely petrified to go through. At every twist in turn there was something else to run from, and we never knew which image or reflection or hanging body would come to life. This was yet another example of Dr. Fright’s amazing ability to scare, confuse and distract you, so that just when you think you know where the jump scare is going to come from, you are proved completely wrong when someone comes out of absolutely nowhere to chase you down!
Klownfest: In past years, Dr. Fright’s clown maze has almost always been one of our favourites in terms of comedic absurdity. We’ll never forget dancing with the clowns to Benny Benassi’s Satisfaction or hitching a ride on a set decked out like a real aeroplane complete with clown stewards! This year, music takes centre stage yet again with this maze, as you make your way through a twisted music festival with some killer tunes. While not as fully polished as some of the other mazes, we still enjoyed dancing with the clowns, and really appreciated the different soundscapes as we navigated each of the festival areas!
Final Thoughts: This was truly a mega-haunt experience this year at Dr. Fright’s, and although we missed the usual grand central marquee purely out of nostalgia, we really loved the setup of the rest area pit stop half way during our trip, and also enjoyed the bar, food, snacks, and entertainment at the end of the trail – especially the renowned scarecams where you can watch other people in the haunt getting terrified! With fast passes, this attraction took approximately 40 minutes to get through from start to finish – an insane length of scares! We weren’t sure what to expect with the new layout this year, but we were thoroughly impressed, and found ourselves screaming nonstop and shocked more than we have been at any other attraction this year. Dr. Fright’s merges absurdity and comedy with amazingly well-concepted and well-timed scares – in fact, it just gets better season after season!
