11 October 2024
Doncaster Fear Factory returns for another year of torment & frights. Entering their 5th year of fear, Doncaster Fear Factory is releasing hell with a new maze and some upgraded stories on their existing attractions. Plus, they promise more surprises than ever before!
For those who haven’t heard of Doncaster Fear Factory, they are located at Thornhurst Manor in the north of the UK. They have built a name for themselves over the last few years by creating unique attractions and being one of the most intense you can find. From our first visit in 2021 when they had 3 attractions, they’ve come a long way to be bigger, better and bolder. With now 5 attractions and other entertainment in their arsenal, there is no better time to make a visit.
They are open during selected dates this October, with opening weekend tickets costing as little as £15, giving you access to each of the mazes once. They open the fear grounds from 6:30pm each night and last entry is by 9:30pm.
We take a further look at Friargate Foundry, the newest maze plus all of our favourites in this review, where we visited on an exclusive press night. Invited by Doncaster Fear Factory to showcase this years lineup and share it with you….
@thrillnation This Halloween event certainly fills you with fear! 🎃 @Doncaster Fear Factory 📍 Doncaster, UK #fearfactory #doncaster #halloween #scareevent #scary #fun #nightout #scaremaze #horror ♬ Creepy, scary, horror, synth, tension - Sound Production Gin
Our First thoughts…
Our night started as soon as we entered into the car park. Greeted by some of the roaming actors, as they welcomed themselves into our car to start the chaos. From here we entered into their events marquee for some drinks, nibbles and music. This was a lovely touch and great to see so many other content creators. They also mentioned that they do need some help for the future of the event.
Planning permission is required to secure the future of Doncaster Fear Factory, and comments in support of this are vital, and greatly appreciated by the events team. Please sign up below and comment as a supporter if you wish for this event to continue:
Then it was time to enter Doncaster Fear Factory itself to check out the 5 mazes and other entertainment. From a new maze, a dance show in the entertainment hub and even a fairground ride, you can see they’ve really grown for the 5th year.
Below we go into more depth about the attractions, giving you are thoughts and rating. Our ratings are completely separate and allows us to give a fair unbiased rating of each attraction. To know more about the ratings before you read below, do click here!
The Chasm – Scare Score: 64%
Theming 55% | Storyline 75% | Screams 65% | Laughs 60% | Actors 65%
The Chasm returns for its final year and the maze takes you into the tunnels to find the lost miners and become part of the rescue mission. Of course not everything is as it seems as inside the Chasm are inhabitants that shouldn’t be discovered. They hid in the smoky tunnels and jumped out at every opportunity. There really was creatures that lurked around every corner and many of them were terrifying, with it being very hands on. We think for its final year, it has bowed out as a solid attraction for Doncaster Fear Factory and we look forward to seeing what replaces this mine.
The Legend of Crackle Hill- Scare Score: 75%
Theming 75% | Storyline 85% | Screams 85% | Laughs 55% | Actors 75%
The Legend of Crackle Hill returns with a brand new story for 2024, with you entering into Agatha’s home and find it possessed from the children she murdered. The legend is brought to life with the screams in the walls and the creepy cries of the souls inside. As quite a tight & claustrophobic maze, the cast still manage to get you from all angles as you venture through the home. As some of the best theming and storyline at Doncaster Fear Factory, it really is a horror story you want to step inside and become a part of.
Pogo Club – Scare Score: 71%
Theming 65% | Storyline 65% | Screams 60% | Laughs 85% | Actors 80%
The Pogo Club is a fun, quirky & vibrant maze compared to the others. With terrible toilets & crazed clowns, you enter in a club setting with party performers as they immerse you into the history and story. Shortly after, you are whisked away to the toilets before being bombarded with clowns, more clowns and that’s right, even more clowns! The maze has seen a few changes over the last few years, with this year seeing the energetic music played a lot more. With it being one of the more enjoyable attractions, the team still really bring the fear with a hint of laughs along your route. With a more powerful introduction and ending, Pogo club could be super intense, so we look forward to seeing the future of this attraction.
Diabolus – Scare Score: 59%
Theming 60% | Storyline 55% | Screams 60% | Laughs 60% | Actors 60%
As the brand new maze for last year, this maze has seen the most changes. As a hooded attraction in year 1, this year sees the hoods removed completely and is now follows a normal maze format. Unfortunately it seems the story has been lost due to this and the charm of what it had on its opening year. Don’t get us wrong, we still got scared and the cast were good, just it felt flat throughout. The ending scene was still impressive but needed some work on to make it more impactful, which we’ve heard promising things about. Still a dark & demonic attraction for 2024 and well worth a trip, especially if you’re scared of witches.
Friargate Foundry – Scare Score: 90%
Theming 85% | Storyline 100% | Screams 95% | Laughs 75% | Actors 95%
As the new maze for 2024, Friargate Foundry enters a new timeline for Doncaster Fear Factory as the operator is introduced. The creator of all the nightmares that are produced here are made inside Friargate Foundry. Slowly unlocking our fears in each and every room, you step inside some familiar and unfamiliar settings with you learning the story of the operator. The creations inside were clever, witty and pretty terrifying. The story has been perfectly blended with the overall event and allows for everything else to work around that. With us having the most petrifying time, from being man handled by convicts, spooked by clowns and even being taken out to space. Friargate Foundry is a totally immersive attraction and we believe a start of a new generation of attractions we are going to see at the event.
As a side note, we even feature in this new attraction. Take a look in the prison room notice board or as you step into the first room and look at the timeline!
Overall, Doncaster Fear Factory is still totally insane and we enjoyed every moment we were with them. We always feel we need more time and want to come back every year, but that’s perfect for an event to do that. As they celebrate 5 years of terror & torment, it was great to experience the new maze and to see the different stories and changes in the rest of the attractions. We are very excited to see what replaces The Chasm, in the hope to see something as horrifying as Friargate Foundry.
A huge thank you to the whole team at Doncaster Fear Factory for inviting us and working with us directly during our visit. As it was a press preview, we were given free access to each of the mazes and were allowed to film during the night.
If you are looking for an event that still allows only small groups inside each maze for a personal experience yet still having a scary time, then make sure you visit Doncaster Fear Factory this year as they continue to grow & expand.
Attractions 90%
Entertainment 55%
Atmosphere 75%
value for money 85%
uniqueness 80%
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