16 October 2024
Are you ready to be living the scream this October with the only and only Screamfest Burton. a highly anticipated event which contains 4 returning mazes, one brand new maze, a paintball attraction, fairground rides, a roaming street team plus food, drink and merchandise. This event proves to be popular by many, as it sells out on many nights and is known for its unique & fun attractions. With Love Hurts now leaving the lineup, you get to experience HELLCATRAZ, which is advertised as their most intense maze to date!
You are able to find Screamfest Burton in Burton upon Trent, located in the Midlands. Using the grounds of National Forest Adventure Farm, they have a number of dates throughout October to spend a night to celebrate Halloween. Tickets are required to be bought online as they will likely sell our before your visit, with prices starting from £32 for standard and £89 for VIP.
We visited on opening night to take a closer look at all of the changes, from entertainment to the new maze. Additionally getting to experience the returning attractions which have had some changes from last year.
@thrillnation we were truly #LivingTheScream at @Screamfest UK - With a new maze, returning favourites and of course the fabulous BABS, you should definitely take a further look this Halloween! #Scary #Thingstodothishalloween #2024 #ScareMaze #Halloween #screamfest ♬ Gothic Horror Dark Creepy Music Box(1316996) - kurata
Our First thoughts…
We’ve been visiting Screamfest Burton for a super long time now and it’s great to see for 2024 they have changed things up. With the new maze HELLCATRAZ, we were excited to see what could replace and stand where Love Hurts once stood. Additionally, we noticed Creed Farm & Freak Out on Tour have had noticeable changes. Whether for the better or not, you’ll have to find out later in our review…
Our night started with a huge welcome from the roaming characters. Being attacked by a creepy doll with her bloody toy sheep and clown ventriloquist doll. It was one way to start your night in fear. We started by getting a pint and trying out some of the food as the attractions were opening up. Options included loaded chips, pizza and burgers & chicken. They had two bars, one at each end of the event and a stage full of entertainment. It seems most of the entertainment is now focused at the far end of the event where they have more space, which we think is a great idea plus with a bar next to the stage, makes for a great pit stop throughout the night.
Below we go into more depth about the attractions, giving you our 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!
Hillbilly Joe’s Zombee Zoo – Scare Score: 74%
Theming 65% | Storyline 75% | Screams 65% | Laughs 90% | Actors 75%
This is one of the weirdest and most bizarre themed mazes you’ll experience over Halloween. With a pretty normal start with you meeting with Hillbilly Joe, it soon becomes clear what he has inside his zoo is not the normal. From a hotdog, Santa and even a lobster, these zombies create laughter and screams all the way through. Whilst caged, they are not contained and you have no idea what is around the corner, which is genius. If you’re looking for just a different maze to your usual and generic themes, then this is the maze to experience for 2024.
HELLCATRAZ – Scare Score: 75%
Theming 75% | Storyline 80% | Screams 75% | Laughs 75% | Actors 70%
There is more than one route to hell when stepping inside HELLCATRAZ! This new attraction is labelled as the most intense maze Screamfest Burton have created and they take this seriously. With a strong reminder in the safety briefing that they will separate you and touch you in this maze, which we seen many people turning back in fear! For the first night of this maze, it had some really fantastic moments although, it did feel like a maze of two halves. The first half had some great stand out sets and interactions, whilst the second half felt it got a little tame and it wasn’t at its best. But we are sure this will change night upon night, with more additions being added and actors getting used to the new spaces. This is something we’re going to love see return for next year and only get better!
Insomnia – Scare Score: 82%
Theming 85% | Storyline 100% | Screams 70% | Laughs 75% | Actors 80%
Step into a chilling children’s nightmare as you get to witness the crackerjack in full force across many scenes of terror. With a fantastic introduction before stepping into the wardrobe and starting with a bright, colourful scene, things get twisted very quickly. The theming inside Insomnia is something else, as you travel through so many different scenes which represent nightmares. From the Victorian age, the dentist to even a forest, you come across some of the most haunting sets. What makes Insomnia one of the best is the storyline that follows all the way along, with it being a children’s nightmare which transfers across each scenes, that builds up in tension and suspense before the finale. We really do love this maze and think again, it’s unique and different to your average scare mazes you see elsewhere, making it a perfect fit for Screamfest
Freak Out on Tour – Scare Score: 59%
Theming 50% | Storyline 55% | Screams 55% | Laughs 75% | Actors 60%
One of the more classic attractions and themed to clowns, FreakOut On Tour takes you into an abandoned club which ends up being filled with a riot of clowns. They are lively, chaotic and scary. This attraction has moved location next to Insomnia for this year which has meant the layout has changed slightly. Whilst not for the better, it still is a fun maze. If you’re afraid of clowns and looking for something a little more colourful and different to your average clowns haunt, then Freakout On Tour is certainly worth experiencing!
Creed Farm – Scare Score: 84%
Theming 65% | Storyline 75% | Screams 100% | Laughs 85% | Actors 95%
Creed Farm has really upped its game for 2024, with changes inside the maze making it its best year yet. With some changes in the route and features inside, it just works a lot better. For guests like us who have been year upon year, you’ll notice these changes from the very start, but they continue all the way through. Outside of that, we were absolutely terrified passing through the cornfield, with so many jump scares and just eerie moments combining together. Let alone the finale which had us on our knees, quite literally. We’ve never had chainsaws come so close to us! The cast were some of the best we’ve seen this year, providing a nice blend of story, scares and uneasy moments. A very enjoyable but petrifying scare haunt.
Area 52 is an upcharge attraction in which you assist in fighting back an alien invasion. You join the military task force, get the necessary training before stepping on board a modified vehicle to enter the battlefield. Using your paintball gun, you get to shoot the aliens in a number of scenes before they get too close. It is really fun in peliting aliens with paintballs and is a nice additional attraction if you so want or need it. You can buy more paintballs which we would recommend, as you do go through them so quickly. We found that an extra tube is plenty to top up half way round.
Overall, we certainly were living the scream in 2024, with terrifying reimagined attractions, new mazes and entertainment and just a whole host of Halloween goodness. We enjoyed each of the mazes, which were lively all night and the entertainment had a nice mixture of live music through to freaky acts. The new maze was a great surprise and we can’t wait to see how this event continues to grow over the next few years.
We would love to say thank you to Screamfest Burton for allowing us to visit and providing us Rip tickets during opening night. Whilst this was gifted, all opinions and comments are genuine and based on our experience during our visit.
If you want a further look inside the mazes and events, then check out our TikTok and if you want to visit in 2024 and reading in time, then book your tickets ASAP! As they will sell out!
Attractions 80%
Entertainment 70%
Atmosphere 80%
value for money 70%
uniqueness 75%
PHOTO GALLERY
COMPANY WEBSITE
book a visit
BOOK DIRECTLY FOR THE BEST PRICES
More REVIEWS & news
Psycho Path 2026 Review
INTRODUCTION Recognised as the North East's largest scream park, Psycho Path returns for the 2026...
Plopsaland Deutschland 2026 Review
Rich in history and home to world-renowned roller coasters, Plopsaland Deutschland is one of...
Energylandia 2026 Review
With summer drawing to a close, there was really only one destination on our minds to catch the...
Thrillnation.net is your ultimate resource for unbiased reviews of thrilling attractions across Europe. You'll find us covering theme parks, escape rooms, water parks and more.
Follow Us
For all of our latest news and up-to-date goings on, make sure you follow us on our social media channels!
WORK WITH US
We can offer a variety of different services from sponsored reviews to video content creation. Get in touch to discuss working with us.
Website lovingly created and managed by INOV8 Marketing