Scare Nights at Thorpe Farm Centre Review

I hadn’t heard of Scare Nights before a few weeks ago. It was found by a friend of a friend who had it pop up on their social media and pointed it towards us. It’s an event that has completely gone under my radar. It could be because it’s not a big event, it could be that its main focus is locals to the Barnard Castle area, but either way, it found its way to us and I thought I would pop along to see what it’s all about. I won’t lie, I went in with very low expectations, and if I’m honest, I’m glad I did as it exceeded all my pre conceived expectations.

Upon arrival, you have to walk up a long field to get to the little marquee they have put up. Inside you check in and they also make you sign a little waiver. It’s not because the event is extreme, it’s a pretty standard practice for the scare industry with other events doing this. There’s a couple of fire pits, a little cafe in the marquee which serves drinks and cakes and a pizza van. The staff are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Our time came and we queued and waited to go into the maze. You do go through in your group, which is always great.

The maze itself is a corn maze. I’ve done a few corn maze scare mazes but this one felt different. There was no atmospheric lighting. It was natural darkness and it added an air of creepiness that worked really well. It made you uneasy at every shadow and sound. The scares came out of nowhere and really hit each and every time as you just couldn’t see where the actors are until they are right in front of you. There is a couple of strobe sections, both worked well and didn’t feel out of place. The only critic I have for this little event is there is that the ending doesn’t have that one last scare. You meet an actor and then proceed to walk down two long empty straight areas to the exit. There is a great opportunity to have one last scare and I as much as they don’t affect me personally, a chainsaw chase or leaf blower scare (like in The Shed at Howl) would work perfectly here.

Scare Nights at Thorpe Farm Centre provided a really fun night full of unexpected scares. It had me jumping and screaming for a solid 20 minutes and at £12.50, it was an affordable scary night out. They should be proud of what they achieved.

Top Tips - Wear appropriate footwear.

Things that bite - It just needs that one last scare.

Value for Money - 100%. At £12.50 it’s very value for money.

Scare Rating - 4 out of 5