Alton Towers Scarefest Is A Triumph!
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Gloriously spooky and not for the feint hearted!
Back for a fifth bloodcurdling year, psychopathic clowns, demented killers, grunting zombies and plenty of other devilish nasties have descended upon Alton Towers for two weeks of frights and delights at the annual Scarefest.
Tweaked and improved for 2011, this year all the Scarefest attractions are now embedded within the theme park itself (Carnival of Screams and The Boiler House were previously held adjacent to the Alton Towers Hotel) crucially ensuring that visitors can get spooked and enjoy the white knuckle thrills of the rides until 9pm without ever leaving the site.
A Halloween themed spectacular that has something for every member of the family, arriving on site on Saturday morning the first thing we encountered were the cute Scarefest characters Skelvin the skeleton, Franklin the Frankenstein monster, Patch the pumpkin and Phil the mummy on the Trick or Treat Party Stage singing along to the Ghostbusters theme tune. The toddlers at the front of the stage clearly loved the light-hearted entertainment almost as much as the Mums and Dads!
After getting our breath back following the sheer drop terror of Alton Towers favourite Oblivion, the first Scarefest attraction we plucked up the courage for was The Boiler House. Now situated inside a tent in the X-Sector instead of its previous outdoor home, the enhanced attraction now guarantees spine-chilling, pitched-black horrors whatever the time of day. Strictly not for the feint hearted, as you enter the maze any niggling fears you have are heightened with ominous warnings that those of a nervous disposition or with any underlying health problems are advised not to proceed. Duly alarmed, you’re then told to put your hands on the shoulders of the person in front and walk into the complete darkness. A paranoia inducing blur of masked boggled-eyed psychopaths (known as The Hamble Twins), strobe lighting, confined claustrophobic spaces and disorientating obstacles, if you don’t jump or scream once inside The Boiler House then you’re made of much sterner stuff than us!
Deciding to give the scary stuff a rest for a while for the remainder of the afternoon we opted to enjoy the rides including the super-fast Rita, the wobbly-leg-inducing Nemesis, the adrenaline-pumping Thirteen and the gravity-defying Air. With Scarefest expertly integrated throughout the site, there are unexpected horrors waiting for you in the ride queues (we won’t spoil the surprise for you), giant pumpkins scattered across walkways, cobwebs everywhere and plenty of freaks in fancy dress as you wander across the park.
With light fading, we headed over to the Carnival of Screams for some twisted terror. A quick warning now, if you have a fear of clowns then this warped funhouse definitely isn’t for you! Even scarier and freakier than The Boiler House, evil clowns invade your personal space as you shuffle through the dark void to deranged fairground music. Clearly superb actors, the gravelly voiced clowns are delightfully scary as they taunt you and whisper in your ear – one threatening whisper of “I’m going to get you!” tipped a lady over the edge in our group! A sensory overload, towards the end you prize yourself through confined blow-up walls as clowns cackle and push the sides before a final scary-as-hell clown chases you out of the exit. It really is superb and shocking entertainment.
Just when we thought these horrors couldn’t be topped, the Terror of Towers: What Lies Within definitely upped the ante. Lurking within the menacing underbelly of the site’s Towers, the endlessly scary attraction forms the centrepiece of the Scarefest and barely wavers in its ability to shock amidst the dark, dank ruins. As you progress deeper into the Towers, it gets freakier and freakier with fiendish beings intimidating and sniffing you as you negotiate the fallen chandeliers, putrefying smells and grotesque dilapidated rooms. Ending at heart-pounding high, the final terrifying room is a maze of wire mesh and incessant, bewildering strobe lighting as pale-faced freaks jump out at you. Weird and eerie, if there’s one thing you have to experience at Scarefest it’s undoubtedly the Terror of Towers.
When judged against its fellow attractions, the ZOMBIES! Scare Zone doesn’t quite reach the same petrifying peaks. Like walking onto a film set, the ruined cars and deserted streets are littered with the grumbling undead who do their best to scare you with their grunting noises and vacant expressions. Far too short and lacking the shock factor and all-out darkness of the other areas, it doesn’t quite get your pulse racing the same. Endlessly reinventing, improving and expanding the Scarefest, I’m pretty sure Alton Towers will iron out this minor quibble by next year though.
For those of you that opt to stay in the Alton Towers Hotel, the frights don’t stop there. Manned by the zombie-like hotel porters (one delightful undead lady even followed our group to our table at the restaurant) and with a clown band playing in the bar, there are chills aplenty until the early hours. And if you’ve got the guts to book an infamous Scare Room you’re guaranteed plenty of bumps and surprises in the night.
A spine-tinglingly brilliant event, Alton Towers has come up trumps with Scarefest once again. You’d be a ghoul to miss out!
Alton Towers Scarefest runs from now until 31st October 2011.
For more information and to book head over to the official Alton Towers website.
Words: Scott Colothan
