18 October 2023
Have you ever heard of Yorkshire’s biggest, scariest & most exciting Halloween destination? This is Yorkshire Scare Grounds Scream Park, a scream park which is designed to thrill, scare & entertain you over the Halloween period.
For those who have not ever heard of this attraction, you can find Yorkshire Scare Grounds in West Yorkshire, Wakefield. They even have a cool road name (Hell Lane). This event is slightly different to other larger events you may have experienced, as you are put on a set route through all of the 7 mazes they have set out one after another. Each maze has a seperate theme, with some being labelled as scare zones and others being a scare maze. After you experience all of the haunts, the scare grounds at the end is somewhere you can relax, have a drink, play axe throwing and maybe scream some more!
Yorkshire Scare Grounds changes up every year, with some new experiences making the lineup and a handful return, possibly even revamped. This means year upon year, you can always expect the unexpected. Tickets are very popular for this attraction, with most nights selling out. You must buy a time slotted ticket from the website, which provides an entry time into the queue, which is the only queue before you set off on all 7 mazes within. Tickets cost £25 with a £1 booking fee online being additional. They often open between 6pm – 11pm and the earlier you attend, the more time you can spend in the refreshment area at the end. They run on selected nights throughout October up until the 31st.
With free parking, merchandise, Jack’s Backyard Bar, axe throwing, a stage show and 7 mazes to experience, there is more than enough to keep you entertained this Halloween!
Our thoughts for 2023…
Yorkshire Scare Grounds has been going for some time now and has built up a huge reputation in the area, with each year growing in popularity in the local area and even further afield. This is our third year visiting the event and it is certainly one of our highlights that we don’t consider missing for so many reasons.
Our night began when we arrived and parked up, as you enter into the queue line area, you have all of the roaming team out, interacting and providing the scares & entertainment right from the start. They have such a range of characters, from a devil like character, to the beast, to even a clown. Guests who return each year will know most of these characters, which we definitely did. This helps pass your time in the queue, as this will be the only queue of your night, waiting to get into the first maze.
Towards the end of our night after the mazes, we got to enjoy the entertainment area which had some new additions since last year. They have a new stage show and even axe throwing. This is in addition to Jack’s Backyard Bar, which has every drink you could possibly imagine, food stands, merchandise, sweet treats and even photo opportunities. It is plenty to cover once at the end. Don’t think you are safe though, as the roaming team are lurking in the shadows all around.
Below you can read our thoughts of each of the 7 mazes in some detail along with our ratings.
To know more about the ratings before you read below, do click here!
Carnival of Carnage
Theming 50% | Storyline 50% | Screams 45% | Laughs 45% | Actors 50%
The first outdoor zone you approach after heading into Yorkshire Scare Grounds is the Carnival of Carnage. This travelling carnival was in transit and suffered a fatal crash, the remains still lay dormant to this day… however the clowns do anything but rest! Along the path you travel past many familiar circus scenes from the derailed carriage itself, to circus signs and a wheel of death. The eerie atmosphere walking through immerses you into the storyline of the once-great carnival, now left to rot with the spirits still haunting it. The scares remained low overall, though did include a few unexpected moments plus creepy and humorous interactions with the few actors along the way.
This scare zone is a great introduction to get your lungs ready to laugh and scream across the rest of the night.
#IDT – InterDimensional Terror
Theming 65% | Storyline 70% | Screams 80% | Laughs 50% | Actors 70%
You’re sent into the maze as the last hope to assist as terror reigns over the scientific lab. A portal was opened attempting to step into another dimension, but terrifying beings found it first and broke through to earth. The theming is consistent with the storyline as you’re introduced to the story and sent in to find out what’s going on and put a stop to it. Featuring many dark and twisted corridors, along with themed futuristic and desolated scenes, this really throws you straight into the scares. The nervous laughs mostly come from the intro as they soon turn in shrieks of fear. The actors inside used their space well appearing out of nowhere and following through certain sections to certainly keep you on edge.
Will you find the doctor and make it out or be attacked by the monstrous creatures?
The Harvest: Keepers of the corn
Theming 60% | Storyline 55% | Screams 60% | Laughs 30% | Actors 65%
Heading back outside into this scare zone, you approach abandoned shacks and a distant rustle. Corn is no more for these scarecrows as they head deep into the woods looking for their next prey. Making your way through multiple environments from exposed walkways to enclosed tents and several small buildings, keep your eyes peeled as things may be following. With some elements surprising the group & left us finding it funny, before it took a scarier turn with some creepy and intense encounters. There may only be a handful of scarecrows but they know how to sneak up on you.
Will you make it to the end and face the main keeper of the corn?
The Pack
Theming 55% | Storyline 50% | Screams 70% | Laughs 40% | Actors 90%
You’re thrown straight into the next outdoor scare zone with no break, where the creatures of the night come out to wreak havoc. What should be a peaceful walk in the woods soon becomes fearing for your lives as the sound of footsteps and growls get closer and the hybrid beasts emerge. The attraction utilises the natural setting of the woods with additional ‘abandoned’ theming pieces from a car to army tents and netting to make your getaway that bit harder. You may laugh at the others getting picked on but it is sure to be your turn soon. Whilst it was quite light on actors, the ones that were there certainly had a pack mentality teaming up to surround the group.
Are they rats, are they wolves? We don’t know but they certainly gave us a fright!
Whitechapel – Vampires
Theming 80% | Storyline 80% | Screams 60% | Laughs 75% | Actors 85%
The streets of Whitechapel remain unsafe as Vampires have taken over. This scare maze utilises outdoor pathways and many indoor venues taking you on an immersive walk into Whitechapel. Along your way you meet the priest who warns you and sends you onwards into the streets and through a butchers, local shops and more. The laughs came from the scripted scenes as you enter each venue or have a surprising visitor along the way, but with the talk of blood it will soon turn to shrieks of horror. The actors were aplenty and utilised themselves in and out of the scenes in which they were based to draw you into the story and provide multiple types of scares.
Make sure you cover your neck in here!
Krampus
Theming 85% | Storyline 85% | Screams 90% | Laughs 80% | Actors 90%
A name almost as famous as Santa, and one that has haunted everyone’s nightmares since childhood. Is the legend real though? As you find yourself approaching the old manor house, you’re greeted by elves, but not all as it seems in this twisted seasonal tale. The torment begins as you are told the story and led through the lair by his tainted elves. The level of theming in this attraction is superb and really draws you into the storyline through various scenes in the house. Laughs and screams aplenty as you venture through meeting the different elves who really play the part, and maybe even something or someone else makes an appearance!
The question is, have you been naughty or nice?
Clown Clinic
Theming 65% | Storyline 70% | Screams 85% | Laughs 70% | Actors 85%
Finally you end up at Blackthorn Asylum with nowhere else to go but through to find freedom. You learn the facility has been taken over by clowns, where the ones who become too sane are given horrifying therapies to keep them as crazed as ever. They believe you are in need of some fixing as you walk the hallways and enter into some gruesomely detailed scenes inside. Clowns are meant to be funny, but they’re certainly focused on ensuring sheer panic and terror for their victims throughout with darkness, loud noises and more effects to guarantee screams. It’s the perfect finale maze with a large number of actors casted perfectly as twisted clowns to get to you!
Step outside of the maze and the scares’ of Yorkshire Scare Grounds are over right? And you’re instantly free to enjoy your night…. Right?
Overall, Yorkshire Scare Grounds is still a terrifying destination to visit this Halloween and is one of the biggest & best in the area. Each year, they seem to just get better & better, with new mazes and scare zones and we seem to get more scared. The team have done such a good job with making use of the actors cleverly, with such a large space to cover from start to finish and across the 7 mazes. It felt at times we were flooded with actors and you only get such a short break between some mazes to catch your breath. The whole package they offer is premium and well thought out and we can see why they do sell out each year. With Krampus being the surprise of the night and scoring the highest, we loved the unique theme and can guarantee you won’t find another maze like this elsewhere in the UK this year.
We love to say a huge thank you to the team at Yorkshire Scare Grounds for inviting us back for another year to experience the event. They provided us with 2 free tickets to experience the attraction and we did filming before the event opened, to provide the images & videos without ruining other guests’ experience.
We would recommend you check out our TikTok video of the event to get a snippet of our experience and all images are an exclusive look of what you may see when you are inside. If you did wish to visit, tickets for 2023 are almost sold out already, so do head to the official Scare Grounds website to purchase these.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts over on our socials and until next year…
Attractions 80%
Entertainment 80%
Atmosphere 65%
value for money 75%
uniqueness 85%
@thrillnation 🎃 @Yorkshire Scare Grounds 📍 Wakefield an attack on the senses with 7 attractions in a row... could you handle it? #yorkshirescaregrounds #yorkshire #wakefield #england #uk #halloween #scaremaze #scareactor #horror ♬ Spooky Ooky - NotYeti
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