We were given free tickets to experience this year's Spooky World. Whilst we were given the free tickets, we have full editorial control of what our review of the event says.
Our Slasher Review (Short Review)
Just outside Warrington near Manchester you will find Apple Jacks Farm, Home to a fantastic attraction known as Spooky World. Whilst the name might seem somewhat unassuming it's not wise to sleep on this event. This year Spooky World features 5 scare mazes and a haunted hayride attraction with a short tunnel addition at the end. These attractions are The Institute (which is new for 2022), Evil Carnevil, Field of Screams, The Haunted Hayride, Slaughterhouse and The Haunting. The Institute was the most impressive maze of the night with The Haunting being the weakest. Whilst the event might not have the biggest budget, it makes up for it in actor quality with not a bad actor in sight.
Top Tips - Like we said earlier don't go in expecting the sets of Towers or Thorpe Park, That is not what this scream park is about.
Things That Bite - The Hayride can get uncomfortably moist even on dry nights
Value for Money - Absolutely
Scare Rating - 4/5
Do we recommend - A resounding yes.
Our Stalker Review (Long Review)
So on the 14th of October, we took a trip "t'up north" to Apple Jacks Farm just outside of Warrington to experience this year's Spooky World event. We will say now the event is very dark with little to take pictures of so we only have minimal photo content. Spooky World features 5 mazes and a haunted hayride alongside a small eatery section, indoor seating area and even a row of ziplines in the near pitch black. We started the night immediately met by a mad doctor roaming character who hit us metaphorically with some great banter and set the scene to come. We then headed over to our first maze of the night, The Slaughterhouse. After a short wait, we headed into the maze and were met by one of the best and possibly rudest introductions to an attraction in a long time. We believe she was the mother of the family and was not afraid to tell the rules by no mistake necessary. She was a fantastic actress and really set the scene. Going in we were met very quickly by the family themselves each more manic than the last and all baying for our meat and blood alike. Each character was fully realised and you can tell a lot of thought and prep has gone into making Spooky World's most intense maze just that indeed. Right down to the PERFECTLY timed chainsaw finale which nearly knocked Dan on his arse. Whoever was on the final chainsaw that night BRAVO to you.
Leaving Slaughterhouse it was time to head to the next attraction The Haunting which has no queue, so it was straight in.The Haunting is more like an entry-level attraction for someone who is new to the world of scares and although the sets might not rival that of the Slaughterhouse, what it does make up for is actor quality. The Haunting has a plethora of nightmare nasties roaming the halls of this condemned building from the frantic mother who has lost her child, to the lost souls over a bridge of fire and even a damned pirate that was unexpected to say the least. It feels unfair to say it's the weakest maze as in all honesty none of the mazes are particularly weak. I think it's just that compared to the other mazes it feels a little old. But once again not a bad actor in sight with all inside giving 110% to work the attraction's scenes and deliver scares. Leaving The Haunting it was time for a short break for some needed sustenance in the form of some very modestly priced burgers and chips. This is also where we met an inmate character who made no mistake on knowing she was going to terrorise us, From bending us backwards over benches to getting us on the floor and even feeding Dane his chips, It was a scare experience none of us was expecting and she played this role perfectly and confidently. Next up was maze number three of the night, Evil Carnevil. One theme that Spooky World always delivers on and knows so well is that of the scream park staple, The clown maze. Literally from the moment, you enter Evil Carnival you are hit with an assault on the senses. From the bright neon paint to the flashing multicolour strobes and of course, the blacklight-painted residents within, Every clown inside this maze is just brimming with maniacal glee, if they are not making you run they are making you dance or just making sure that you are getting well and truly lost in the curtains/mirror maze. Once again every actor was on point and it's just so easy to see why the creatives behind Spooky World hold their actors in such high esteem.
After a little moment of getting lost we headed to Spooky Worlds corn maze offering, Field of Screams. Now the first thing you will notice when entering and be very appreciative of is that Spooky World is kind enough to pave the way for the maze with hay so you are not bathed in mud by the time of your exit and believe me when I say not all attractions do this. The second thing we will say is damn is it dark in there. And believe me especially as we have worked in corn mazes too when we say they know how to get their scares in, Hiding in the most opportune locations to get you when you least expect it. The Scarecrows within are as creepy as they are menacing and will take no time at all to hunt you down in the corn rows. And once again it bares repeating but we shall anyways. Once again every actor was on point, with not one weak moment and to top it off another well-timed and professionally executed chainsaw ending. Next up was the highly anticipated NEW for 2022-The Institute. Within seconds of entering you will soon be completely immersed in a very dark and twisted tale of sleep deprivation-induced insanity in this giant strobe-lit room. As you navigate the subjects within you will soon come to realise that this maze is not about the scares but rather something more delicate and artistic. From the almost pseudo-soothing soundtrack and the crazed antics of the inmates within, The Institute is a total mindf*ck from the moment of entry, It might even go as far as disgusting you when you enter a certain subjects chamber, I know for us we definitely did not expect this scene and let's just say it was a total WTF moment for us all. As you venture further into the room the subjects get more and more insane right up to the doctor who started the whole experiment in the first place. The Insitute was like The Sanctuary meets the Russian Sleep Experiment and we loved every second of its warped descent into madness. We also have to give huge kudos to the cast within these walls, The Strobes are strong and every actor just took the story with a huge stride and threw us down the rabbit hole whether we wanted to go or not. Once again not a weak actor insight and to all, we gave a hearty round of applause.
It was now time for the most dreaded part of the evening and if you have been to Spooky World you might just know why but safe to say this time we came prepared. I'm talking about The Haunted Hayride. The first thing we noticed whilst waiting for the Hayride to arrive was the masses of foam littering the road in front of us. This was not going to be like last time, it might even be worse. For those that don't know the Hayride features a few effects designed solely to saturate its guests and on cold autumn nights, this can become uncomfortable, But were wrapped up in big coats so prepared for the worst. The hayride is about 10/15 minutes long with many an interaction with actors along the way and rest assured they are not afraid to get close to you. This can not be the easiest area to work within so a big mention to the actors along the route that will go as far as climbing on the side of your truck or even running a chainsaw over your back. If you sit on the right side of the truck you might even find out which so much foam lays on the ground... Then you arrive at the "Decontaminate" Scene and this is where the dread comes in as your truck rolls to a stop and the water sprays come in sight, I Say "Sprays" it's more like a jetwash on a low setting. Leaving the Hayride you enter the Tunnel of Terror. Just like in previous years, this is just a long dark tunnel that seems laden with what seems like low-level explosives that go off in the darkness. We understand this provides a way to exit the Hayride but it just feels like an exercise of how much your back can take, in previous years there have been actors but I think we just counted one. Leaving the tunnel it was time to enter the night once again but this time to head home to our AirB&B in the arse end of the countryside.
When it comes to actor quality Spooky Worlds creatives know just how to get the most out of their staff and it shows in leaps and bounds, we wish we could mention more individually but when they are all on top point it just so hard to pick one or two out. Just like we mentioned in the 2020 review we echo the sentiment again."It is evident that all the actors love working for Spooky World and live and breath the attraction they are in rather than just being in it for a paycheck". It has been an absolute joy to come back and if you want to visit Spooky World (and you should) then you can book using the link below.
Review written by Dan and Dane