Goostrey Graveyards 2025 - 18+ Night

We were kindly invited along to the first of three 18+ nights, whilst we were given 2 free tickets and paid for a third, we have full editorial control of what our review of the event says. Our Slasher Review IMPORTANT- As this was an 18+ night it is mandatory to bring ID, everyone is checked regardless of age and you may be refused entry if you don't show valid physical ID. Goostrey Graveyards is a brand new scare park for 2025 which is located on the site of Goostrey Home and Leisure in East Cheshire. Upon entry to Goostrey Graveyards you will be met with the gates of the park that make a great first impression. The park features 5 attractions, one of which is an extremely unique attraction like none we had done before. The 5 attractions are Restless Waters, Toybox of Terror, Shadowbound, The Fort and The Hunt. I will say now if you are looking for the longer, 10 minute plus length mazes with Hollywood style sets this might not be for you, but if you are looking for a great attraction that harnesses a plethora of scare tactics across 5 attractions then this could be what you are looking for. While the 18+ title does state that you will be touched which you will be, don't expect to be manhandled aggressively,(all touching will be done safely and professionally innkeeping with the attraction theme) But the scares will be ramped up. Usually this is where we state the strongest and weakest attractions of the night but for us we were that entertained and terrorized equally across the board that we simply can't do that way this time around. Restless Waters is a showcase of sustained scares not relying on jumps, Toybox of Terror utilizes tight confined spaces to great effect. Shadowbound shows that sometimes unrelenting darkness can really create unease, The Fort while simple has some of the best sets of the park and a family not afraid to make you very unwelcome at every turn and The Hunt will bring out the competitive side and will literally have you running. Every attraction had was perfectly cast and all clearly love what they are doing. Not one weak cast member in the bunch. Goostrey Graveyards also features a couple of food options and a big teepee tent with plenty of hay bales to sit on in-between scares, Goostrey Graveyards also caps the guest limit to ensure you only enter with your group into an attraction, which we were very impressed to see. Finally on your night you might even come across a few roaming actors too which bring the hub area to life, Art we are looking at you. Top Tips-Arrive early although with the guest cap you shouldn't be waiting too long, wait till it is darker to do The Hunt and Restless Waters as these are both fully outdoors. Things that bite-We are going to have to really split hairs at this point and we have debated and tried and the only thing we have come to agree on is that Toybox of Terror could do with a tad more theming, but due to the style of attraction it is we, understand this would not be easy. Value for Money-Although we were gifted two tickets, we did purchase the third and that was £27 with £1.50 booking fee and we all agreed the event while simple in design is value for the price paid. Scare Rating-A respectable 4.5 out of 5 as we have only done the 18+ event and not the family run. Do we recommend- 100% absolutely, we had a fantastic night and will be back again for next year for sure. Our Stalker Review On the 12th of October we headed to East Cheshire to take on the brand new scare park for 2025 Goostrey Graveyards located at the back of Goostrey Home and Leisure. The first thing you will notice is the graveyard gates adorned with flames either side which makes a fantastic first impression, The night also turned eerily foggy which just added to the atmosphere, after a short wait sat in the car as we arrived a tad early, we headed through the gates and had our IDs checked as it was an 18+ night, Like we said before this check is compulsory and failure to show physical ID can result in refusal to the event so please make sure you arrive with your ID. After a cheery welcome at the desk we collected our wristbands which give you unlimited entry to the attractions which we really appreciated, No pesky ticket to lose. Now Goostrey Graveyards might not seem busy on your night but this is simply due to a guest cap which allow them to only admit your group into an attraction at any one time, again something we were very impressed by.

As there were short lines for some of the closer attractions we decided to head to back of the grounds for our first attraction which is The Hunt. One of the more unique attractions at Goostrey Graveyards and was nothing like we was expecting which in this case turned out to be a very good thing. The Hunt in effect is not just a scare attraction but a game and is unlike anything myself, Dane or Abby has experienced at a scare park. The premise of The Hunt is a capture the flag game but you are the flag and the opponents are the inhabitants of the forest. If you have ever seen Yellowjackets you will know of the sacrifice run, that is the closest we can compare it to. When your time comes you will be given a Velcro belt and 2 orange tags to have either on your hips or over your shoulders, you are then told to go to the entrance of the forest and await the signal with your oncoming mission to simply survive the forest and exit with both tags intact. The lights went out and came back on with the sounds of the forest erupting with howls and screams which put us all on edge and gave a great start to the attraction. Then it was time to enter, we started slow along the path but it was not long before our first scare, an animal masked opponent and the first of many ahead. We duck and dived, weaved and most importantly ran for our lives trying to escape the creatures of the forest within, this is one linear route but each of the cast members within were extremely imposing and didn't make our run easy, each howling and screaming as we tried to get through, lunging frantically at our tags. Adrenaline on high and getting out of breath we made our way to the final run our with one actor stood in our way, using each other as human meat shields we escaped almost unscathed, Abby lost one tag and was marked on her face with blood for her failure. We exited cheering and applauding this awesome unique take on a scare attraction.

After catching our breath and grabbing a quick drink to compose ourselves we entered The Fort aka The Forgotten Fort. From outside The Fort we heard many screams and shouts and the familiar roar of a chainsaw, this just from first impressions seemed like it was going to be an interesting attraction. When it was our time, the usual safety spiel delivered. We entered into the attraction unaware of what the theme would be but soon discovered this was Goostrey Graveyards crazed family style maze and the lost children of their fort, the first interaction delivered with perfection sent Abby on her own as "no girls" were allowed, Whilst Abby headed into a room where she was allowed be, we stood taunted and terrorized in our own area but appreciated in a dark manner for our skin. But soon after we met up with her and we carried on along the route, Along the way we met more deranged members of the family and children all played fantastically and without fault. I had to play a game of "ring around the roses" whilst other cast members were planting scares on Dane and Abby ahead, There was not one area of dead space at all throughout the attraction, Other cast members carried on the skin narrative. We then come to the final room where we believe the same actor from the beginning through the use of clever tunnels welcomed us again this time to play with his special toy, queue the familiar sound of a chainsaw hidden from view and within seconds the chase was on for the exit, the entire maze erupting into a cacophony of screams and shouts adding to the chaos of the final escape. We exited once again cheering and applauding another attraction perfectly executed and cast again with not one weak link in the chain, A true family of scarers for sure delivering sustained and impact scares in equal measure.

Next up it was time to face Restless Waters. Restless Waters is another unusual attraction, while not strictly a scare maze and more of an extended scare zone but one we loved nonetheless . We entered down a wide misty and eerily lit path by the waters edge, and before long met the first character in this narrative oriented attraction. That of a "ferryman" who told us of the dangers ahead and asked for 3 coins for safe passage, naturally the coins we didn't have and his improv to this was impeccable. So it was time to make our passage of our own, one which we were now told would not be safe of the lost spirits ahead. Now I will say if impact scare after impact scare is what you are looking for then you might not like this attraction, but that is not what this one is about, it is a haunting walk with some of the best sustained and drawn out interactions we have seen for a long time, from the heavy breathing and down right boot fetish of the first character which left me wondering if I was ever to be allowed to leave, to the a lost lover who was searching for her husband to the mother of the route searching for her lost babies, Note to self, never ask if she put them in the water, it will not end well. And finally the aforementioned and warned Witch of the route. Each cast member played their respective roles down to an art form. And the haunting theme definitely makes a nice juxtaposition to the other attractions at the park. Notable moments that must be mentioned alongside the boot worshiping lost soul are that of the tag team moment on Dane threatening to send him to a watery grave and the chilling portrayal of the Witch with her promises to find me in my sleep and eat my heart and that I would never find rest, And Abby's muddy face interaction leaving her soul marked for the rest of the night. All the roles like in the other attractions have been cast perfectly and each cast member has honed their craft to chilling perfection. While it might have been nice to have maybe one more character in the mix, we understand due to its exit location this would be difficult to achieve.

Now is where things just turn bonkers as we met a familiar face from another attraction that we won't mention but lets just say he remembered us too, this is Goostrey Graveyards very own Art The Clown, a familiar face at many a scream park now, but this one is our favourite. The actor who plays this role never lets up and takes absolute joy and glee in terrorizing those walking around and for a character that says no words, which is very hard indeed to pull off, he leaves a very lasting impression, armed with his horn and the ability to cause chaos, be throwing hay over guests or feeding me my hot dog, to even joining us through two of the attractions but never taking away from the actors respective roles in the mazes. Art the Clown, alongside the Pig Man, who introduced us to his family "sausages on the food outlet" and Floppy" A creepy ass clown armed with a baseball bat, reminding us that not all clowns are friends" might not be the largest of street teams or roamers we have seen, but they are a trinity of excellence that can not and will not be ignored and we love them for that.

Time for maze no 4, Toybox of Terror with the added addition of Art in our little group clinging onto my back throughout the maze. Toybox of Terror is very simple like the other attractions in design but has it's own uniqueness being that it is set in a inflatable maze. The Toybox of Terror is home to possessed playthings, including clowns and dolls and even a giant teddy bear. The attraction is quiet claustrophobic but the cast members within work their spaces with precision, Now the theming in this one is quite sparse with set pieces dotted around but due to the nature of the material the attraction it is housed in we can understand why they have gone with this design. We will say it might be nice as the event progresses through the years to have a more shall we say permanent style home which would allow to more theming being introduced all that being said, just like every attraction before, every cast member made their roles their own and chased and delivered a good mix of jump and long scares with absolute dark glee. We especially liked the turn around section featuring a small simulated ball pit which was unexpected to see and the attention to detail with the teddy bear which can't have been easy to walk around given the low ceiling. And even when "if by accident or on purpose" the head came off, a back up plan of a full painted face lay below, again a detail that was not missed. Every cast member within this attraction made sure to play with us to the best of their ability whether we wanted to or not, we were new playthings and they wanted us to stay forever. Another smaller maze admittedly but once again no dead space either. And we must mention the extremely creepy finale character with the split open mask, adding a real point of dread in a mostly playful attraction.

Finally it was time to face Shadowbound. Shadowbound is possibly the simplest and shortest attraction at Goostrey Graveyards being based in a shipping container, and again you could argue more of an experience than a linear maze, but oh my does it deliver and although some might say gimmicky being a mostly pitch black attraction, we all decided it was clever and unnerving in equal measure. The first thing you will be asked is to place your phones in a box inside the attraction, not that anyone with a ounce of sense would turn their torches on but we all no doubt have been in attractions where it has happened and the illusion ruined, not this time round though. We entered into the container and door was shut behind us. Now truly in darkness it was time to find our way forward, Now don't expect a rope to guide you, this is a feel your way forward attraction and before long loud bangs start attacking you from all sides, you can see no way forward and have no idea where the next scare will come from making this little attraction quite an intense experience of sorts. As you make your way to the end you will be presented with a puzzle, one of two lit areas , the other being a disorienting strobe section, we tried and failed to succeed on the puzzle and the environment was proving intimidating to some of us trying to work out the puzzle, while audio scares came from all around and were they getting closer? we honestly don't know, but it was time to head back. This where the escape part begins, you would think retracing your steps would be not as bad, but it is like the interaction is ramped up on the return run with more sound effect scares, leg grabs and other effects in the dark and claustrophobic space. Again Shadowbound was maybe 10% of what we were expecting it to be and it might be the shortest attraction but it packs a punch when you are isolated in the dark with no way to prepare for the scares aiming for you. My only critique is maybe that it could do with in the years to come being extended with another container to flesh out the depth of the experience, that way you could have another group enter when the 1st group leaves the puzzle room to traverse a separate path to the exit while adding a little length without affecting batching . But we really are splitting hairs at the this point. We are unsure if there were more actors than we believed to be being that you never actually see an cast member at any point, but the ones delivering the bangs did so at perfect times getting jumps and screams out of all of us at one moment or another. After Shadowbound we took on another run in The Hunt where we were less successful in our escape, Dane got left behind to the mercy of the creatures of the forest while I ran forward shouting "my tags!" for some reason, I'm not sure why, I think I just got lost in the moment, I would have succeeded but the familiar Pig Man was laying in wait ready for my imminent capture which he swiped me clean right at the exit. Abby escaped with her tags intact and if the creatures of the forest all with very impressive masks had gotten their way, Dane would still have been there now. We also ventured back into The Fort, where all the family remembered us and were mostly happy to see us again, we say that trying not to forget they want to skin us alive. Once again each cast member even though it was late in the night still keeping energy up and scares fast and on point. The chainsaw finale was even more chaotic than our first run and felt awfully close as we made for the exit. Finally it was time for one final run through Restless Waters, This was mainly due to the fact that Dane was made to promise he would visit again in return for his safe passage, rest assured all the cast remembered us again just like in The Fort and played up to our return with beautifully haunting and somewhat disturbing performances, this time round I got marked by the Witch alongside Abby and harassed by the boot worshiping spirit too. This was a fantastic way to end our night to the Goostrey Graveyards experience.

After a quick catchup with our hosts for some personal feedback before this review, it was time to head in the car back home, all of us agreeing it had been well worth the trip. Like we have said before I shall say once more, if you are looking for very long mazes with masses of theming this might not be for you, but for a start up event in their first year, starting with 5 attractions has been very brave and each one delivered something unexpected and in some cases even new to us. We would like to thank all the cast and crew for delivering an exemplary night of performance ,skill and scares in their respective attractions and the management and designers for their roles too. One thing is clear leaving Goostrey Graveyards, They are not in it for the money, they are in it for the scares, and the entertainment and the profit is just a happy extra. Rest assured we will be back in 2026 and we can't wait to see how things progress beyond the gates next year and they years that come after. Goostrey Graveyards is open on the following nights for the family friendly run. 17th ,18th, 24th, 26th,29th and 30th of October, Two more 18+ nights are on the 19th and 25th of October and a Halloween party event is on the 31st. If you would like to book to visit Goostrey Graveyards you can do so at the link below.

https://goostreysgraveyards.co.uk/ Once again thank you for inviting us, we wish you all the very best for a successful rest of the scare season.