Tulley’s Shocktober Fest is celebrating 25 years of screams in 2021 and therefore, returned with one of the biggest Halloween events in Europe once more. After not being able to return in 2020 during the pandemic, this huge event showcases some of the best scare attractions, roaming theatre and other haunting entertainment through selected evenings this October. With 9 scare mazes for 2021, The Circus of Horrors performing in the big top, 2 stages with bands performing alongside an endless list of other entertainment, you can see how Tulley’s Shocktober Fest is an event like no other. 

This isn’t our first visit to Tulley’s Shocktober Fest. Check out our other reviews from previous years here – Tulleys Shocktober Fest 2019 Review – Thrill Nation | Tulleys Shocktober Fest Scream Park 2018 Review – Thrill Nation

Street Theatre

Tulley’s are award winning in their street theatre department and we can see why. They have such a large cast of roaming actors, even outside Wastelands Penitentiary. With the scare event being the sheer scale it is, you would think they are easily missed but you would be wrong. 

During our visit, we had multiple great interactions with the roaming team, from the creepy dolls, to the vampires, to even mummies. Nowhere is safe around the park, though most of them are there to make you die from laughter. 

We highly recommend you interact with them during your visit and if you want to know where to find them, don’t worry, they’ll find you!

The Island

“Something more than man. Something more than animal. They hunt. They kill. They reason. The scientist is no more, but his creations are loose on The Island and will protect what is theirs. RUN!”

The Island is the new maze for 2021 and has replaced The Wreckoning, which was also a new maze for 2019. Both of these themes was an overlay of The Colony, this is the longest maze at Tulley’s by far with it lasting over 10 minutes. As a single attraction in a scream park, this is likely to be the longest maze which is super impressive when there are 8 other mazes to do. With this said, it did disappoint in a few areas. Whilst there were a few scares within, the huge scale of the haunt does allow for a lot of empty space. With even a big cast, they can’t be everywhere at once and due to this, we found most of the attraction very light on actors. The themeing has changed a little bit from The Wreckoning & The Colony, with some new scenes and new characters but a lot of the old attraction remains hidden within. This isn’t a bad new overlay with this use of space however, we feel with the high quality Tulley’s strives towards, they do need to find a better way to use this space in the future. 

Scare: 4/10 – Themeing & Storyline: 6/10 – Actors: 5/10

Twisted Clowns

“Pop on your 3D glasses and enter a demonic circus like no other, the band of freaks and showmen conceal their evil nature with sinisterly smeared on make up and colorful costumes. Your laughter will soon turn to screams as you realise their insidious intentions. Three dimensions of dark, twisted evil that spring at you with every step. Step on in, the show is about to begin!”

Twisted Clowns is always such a fun attraction but always quite creepy. With one of the only mazes that makes good use out of 3D glasses, this haunted house literally stands out. With all of the funky artwork and scenes within, this makes Twisted Clowns very trippy. They don’t just limit the use of 3D on the sets and props, the actors are covered in it too so your standard jump scare now becomes a little more alive. Whilst this isn’t the scariest or best haunts at Tulley’s, it is always a strong performer with it being fun and unique. One of the best elements in the haunt is the actor on the bungee, we don’t see this used often.

Scare: 6/10 – Themeing & Storyline: 7/10 – Actors: 7/10

The Cellar: Imprisoned

“The Cellar has long been a place where things are kept and forgotten. Lost things in the darkness scavenging to survive. But those that dwell in the Cellar have not been forgotten, they have been purposefully locked in. Imprisoned. Incarcerated. An experiment. What once was human is now a feral and malnourished murder of scavengers. Live These ‘Creatures’ have ransacked their ‘comfortable’ surroundings and turned it into a deadly game of cat and mouse. So when their captor releases the ‘live food’ into The Cellar they are the cat and YOU are the mouse. The Cellar door is open, come on it, they’re waiting!”

The Cellar has returned and its another one of those decent haunts at Tulley’s that shouldn’t be missed. It’s pretty even in scares, themeing & storyline and actors within. It all comes together to create an immersive scary maze. The creatures within truly work their space well as they dart across the darkness and also within some heavy strobe scenes. There is also some very haunting scenes that can be found and these can easily be overlooked as a whole but they were highly detailed. With plenty of jump scares and a great number of actors, we thoroughly enjoyed our experience through The Cellar. 

Scare: 7/10 – Themeing & Storyline: 7/10 – Actors: 7/10

The Creepy Cottage

“Throughout the years, the cottage has seen a lot of comings and goings and some say many of its previous inhabitants have stuck around, unable to pass over. That doesn’t mean to say the long standing tenants aren’t friendly. They’d like you to stay.  Stay for a very long time!  The ghosts in here believe in a traditional welcome and will show you all around the house – even the winding corridors where the lights don’t work and the rooms where the floor boards have been eaten away by creepy crawlies.  There’s a lot of long since passed family members hanging around in there too. Shocks and scares to bemuse and bewilder you.  Once you get in, will they let you back out?”

The Creepy Cottage is another Tulley’s classic and it has been around for a fair while now. One of the tamer attractions, it is the most realistic haunted house out of them all, with it being set in a creepy cottage of course. With some detailed themeing, it had a lot more sheets than before we feel? The actors were pretty creepy within and made good use of the space but they were just not as scary as the other mazes at the event. It is always a great warmup haunt to start your night with however, with it being purely indoors and usually the quietest due to it being right at the back of the event. 

Scare: 5/10 – Themeing & Storyline: 4/10 – Actors: 6/10

The Circus of Horrors

“The world famous Dr Haze and his army of freaks have arrived at ShocktoberFest and will be taking you deep into  the heart of the Asylum where the most deadly dangerous & greatest Circus of Horrors performers from out inglorious past are detained inside the confines of the notorious Psycho Ward.”

Located at the lower end of the scream park, you may be mistaken that it’s even there as the big top is not visible, however once you step inside you’ll be soon immersed into their world of horrors. Plenty of bench and chair seating is around the arena to be able to view the show. Dr. Haze himself wasn’t present, but Camp Dracula and their cast of freaks were certainly there to put on a show!

It would appear they have the ability to change up each show with different performances, as it is only a 20 minute show. However, they fit in as many impressive displays of talent, skill and freakish nature as possible during that time, and even a small group dance number. During our visit, we seen a scary sword swallower, jaw-dropping juggler, awesome aerial displays, and even a dangerous game of limbo with fire!

The Circus of Horrors show is included with the passes, and during our visit ran every hour. It was a great opportunity to sit down, and watch and impressive show!