WHAT: Tullys Shocktober Fest
WHEN: 4 October – 2 November, 2019
WHERE: Tulleys Farm (Turners Hill Road, Turners Hill, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 4PE)
PRICE: £12-150
OUR RATING: Do It!
Storefront City is back from hiatus and what better way to
The last time we reviewed a haunted attraction was Thorpe Park’s Fright Nights. It’s good to know before you continue to read our review that as producers of immersive haunts ourselves and avid haunt-goers when we lived in the US, we have relatively high expectations and aren’t super easy to scare – although we try to put ourselves in the zone no matter the haunt!
Tulleys Shocktober Fest, with its wealth of history and huge playing space, is a must to visit with TEN haunts – eight scare mazes, a haunted hayride and a circus act.
We attended early in the season in the haunt’s second week of operation on a weekday. Since we absolutely had to experience every single maze, we arrived super early. The mazes open half an hour after the park itself does, which gives you time to walk around and get a feeling for the place. The park has a really smart flow as you go from haunt to haunt and encounter bars, food stalls, rides, and live music stages, with the smell of bonfires comforting you along the way. There are also really convenient boards that display live queue times, but on the night we went the queues were only between 5 and 20 minutes long. We were worried for no reason!
The Park has a truly spooky atmosphere – roaming characters who convey a rich mix of creepy and humour. Now for the haunts:
The Cellar
Our Scare Factor: 7/10
Atmosphere Rating: 8/10
“Those that dwell in the Cellar have not been forgotten.
We had read that The Cellar was one of the best and scariest haunts, so we decided to beat everyone to it and get to it first. This haunt was highly detailed and themed (the dank, miserable interiors oozed with terror), with interim rooms just as interesting as the main rooms, which really explored what you can do with different sized spaces. While we ultimately didn’t think it was the scariest maze we’ve ever been to, it was definitely one of the scariest at the park.
Twisted Clowns
Our Scare Factor: 6/10
Atmosphere Rating: 8 or 9/10
“The Clowns are here as you expected. An unhappy band of souls neglected. ”
We were very wary of the concept of a 3D maze, but man did we misjudge this maze from the outside! The 3D glasses you are given help the UV paint pop, making both the images and the actors jump out of nowhere. The rooms are slanted with a great funhouse feel. This also had one of the best executed Spin Tunnels we’ve ever experienced because the UV paint and 3D glasses really did make you feel like you were dizzily floating in space. The only downsides to this maze was that it was a bit too short and that it missed out on a few classic funhouse themed tricks we’ve seen before, but ultimately this was super memorable. Not for coulrophobia sufferers!
Wasteland Penitentiary
Our Scare Factor: 5/10
Atmosphere Rating: 5/10
“Beyond the explosion ripped through the world, bringing an end to civil life.”
When we first approached the outside of this haunt we were kind of blown away (some entrances weren’t themed at all, which was a really strange inconsistency in the park). There was even a real blacksmith working away on one side of the apocalyptic wasteland space while characters roamed around. However, the haunt itself was extremely underwhelming and one of our least favourites. But if you like a haunt that’s basically prison bars along most of the way with lots of banging about, strobe lights, and loud metal music, maybe this is for you.
The Wreckoning
Our Scare Factor: 5/10
Atmosphere Rating: 9/10
“These are stranded souls who have sunk to the depths of despair & depravity.”
For the first minute or two of the maze we were a bit underwhelmed and really – what’s so scary about adventure music and pirates? But suddenly around halfway through the maze the entire world opened up and the set design was ramped up to the extreme. The maze was absolutely gigantic with lots of very beautiful little worlds and some really fun floor elements – definitely one of our favourites. Certain to shiver your timbers!
The Chop Shop
Our Scare Factor: 4/10
Atmosphere Rating: 2/10
“You better be careful now, Billy-Bob is real handy with a reconstruction.”
Maybe this was a bit of a self-fulfilled prophecy; we went into this haunt with low expectations and luckily so as it wouldn’t have lived up to any. The maze pretty much consisted of just white walls and fake blood and chainsaws. It was a relatively short scare – the scariest part was how real the chainsaws were but that’s really about it. Our favourite part of this maze was the full grown bloke behind us, terrified to get away from the chainsaws as quickly as possible.
VIXI
Our Scare Factor: 5/10
Atmosphere Rating: 5/10
“A torturous, painful and tormented moment before finality.”
During this haunt a black hood is placed over your head to encourage the idea of sensory deprivation. It was a good idea in concept, but not as well executed as we hoped. It was a relatively short haunt and didn’t really touch on many teases to the senses – there were some smart choices and nice experiences but really – nothing at all to play with the sense of smell? What? It just missed one too many tricks for us.
The Village Coven of 13
Our Scare Factor: 6 or 7/10
Atmosphere Rating: 9/10
“A witch confirmed, tried and convicted; Death upon her was afflicted.”
Just wow – what a great atmosphere to this! Lovely woods and trees and then this absolutely riveting and somewhat terrifying trick they use with lasers and fog to make it look like the witches are emerging out of water to come and attack while you struggle through the set as if trying to swim away. Very surreal and very beautiful. An extremely effective atmosphere and use of the woodland spaces and a very nice change from the white wall interiors of some of the other mazes. Some of the actors really understood how scary quiet creepiness can be too, another nice change from all the banging and screaming.
Creepy Cottage
Our Scare Factor: 1/10
Atmosphere Rating: 3/10
“The occupants of this house would like you to stay for a very long time.”
We were warned in other reviews that this was the least exciting haunt, and those reviews were definitely right. There were some nice and creepy sounds and voices and a nice sensory trick but that was about it apart from some skeletons. Probably a good one for those first starting out though!
Circus of Horrors
Our Scare Factor: 3/10
Atmosphere Rating: 5/10
“Blending horror and burlesque with bizarre acts and live rock music.”
We actually attended a full performance of Circus of Horrors when they were in London. Gothic, crazy, and consisting of unusual feats of (impaling) swordsmanship, we liked the aesthetic, but some of their acts are most certainly gruesome indeed!
Haunted Hayride
Our Scare Factor: 5/10
Atmosphere Rating: 8 or 9/10
“Explore the abandoned backlot at the Horrorwood Film Studios.
An absolute must when you visit – it may not be the scariest
Summary: Go! Go with friends, go for a deadly night out, take your time exploring the whole park. Definitely go and see the clowns, witches and pirates and go for a nice hayride. Indulge in some not-too-expensive treats like choco-kebabs, fancy mac and cheese, or lots of other options in street food. Go go go, it’s the perfect combination of scary and fun – a great night out!
P.S.: For some more haunting fun, check out our review of Thorpe Park Fright Nights.
*All quotes and images credit Tullys Shocktober Fest
