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As parents to two young boys, 11 and 8, Halloween usually means a trip to a kid-friendly theme park for spooky celebrations. We're a big fan of Howl'o'ween at Chessington and have enjoyed the season at Drayton Manor, but this year was all about us adults, as my husband and I headed to Thorpe Park for the launch of this year's Fright Nights, which celebrates 25 Years of Fear.
The Mazes
If you don't include The Crows scare zone, which is included in the standard entry, there are FIVE mazes. These include: Stitches, Survival Games, Trailers, DeatBeat and the brand new maze Tenement.
Stitches was the most popular maze during our visit and it's easy to see why, as it has an intriguing facade. Howell's Toy Emporium has a colourful exterior and toys in the window, but step through the front doors and it all takes a sinister turn, as you're greeted by a deranged shop assistant, who invites you to delve deeper inside the toymakers workshop. It was giving me creepy Freddy Fazbear vibes and one jump scare in particular sent my heart racing, when what I thought was a statue suddenly came howling and rushing towards me. We loved the theming of this maze.
In Survival Games, contestants become terrifying test subjects after being exposed to a bio-engineered chemical. We didn't have time to experience this maze, which was a shame, as the premise sounds thrilling and we heard great things from other visitors.
Trailers is a cinema-themed scare maze. We congregated in the foyer of an abandoned cinema before a power surge caused havoc and the jumps scare began. To be honest, I struggled to followed the theming and references in this maze and it was my least favourite.
We loved the concept of DeadBeat - ravers gather at an underground club, but the music doesn't sooth the soul, it devours it, as soul-sucking creatures target partygoers. The music was banging and the theming was so distinctive. As we took the steps down to the entrance of the maze, it felt like stepping into an underground club. This was the last maze we experienced, so by now, I'd become a bit desensitised to the jump scares and was able to take in RWS Global's attention to detail in the set designs, such as the empty martini glasses on tables.
Does the new Tenement maze deliver?
Damien Gray, VP Creative at RWS Global, the company that produced Fright Night's 25th anniversary, told us: 'Halloween has become such a major entertainment moment because people want to step inside the story. They want atmosphere, spectacle, fear, and something they’ll still be talking about afterwards. With Fright Nights' 25th anniversary, we wanted to honour that legacy but also raise the bar for what's possible. With Tenement, we've created an attraction that combines darkness, light, live performance, illusion, and a constantly evolving environment to draw guests deeper into the story. Every element, from the performers and soundscape to the lighting design and the torches guests carry, is intentionally crafted to shape the experience.'
So does it deliver?
This brand new pitch black scare maze is themed around a retirement home, where the lights have gone out and visitors enter in small groups, acting as electricians, who've got to make it to the basement to restore the power, all while being hunted by lost residents and dark powers. As the new attraction for 2026, I expected a little more from the exterior of this attraction, but it just looked like a marquee from the outside and lacked Stitches' attention to detail. But as we were place into a group of four and I was handed a flickering torch, I felt a tingle of nerves before we stepped inside. I felt this was the scariest maze I experienced at Fright Nights, but I don't know if that's because it was the first one we braved. There were some great effects, such as a shifting wall, crawl tunnel and mirrors that intensified the jump scares. Tenement definitely set our hearts racing.
Night rides
It was such a thrill to ride the rollercoasters at night, as the darkness made every twist and drop feel so much more intense. The opportunity to ride Hyperia, the UK's tallest rollercoaster, in the dark is reason alone to visit Fright Nights. In the spirit of Halloween, we had to go on SAW - The Ride. The sinister music as we approached felt particularly chilling in the dark and the whole theming of the stall, with the flashing lights of the police car outside, felt made for Fright Nights. Being launched from 0 to 80 miles per hour in 1.8 seconds on Stealth was another highlight.
The atmosphere round the park
The moment we entered the park, zombie-like creatures wearing hessian sacks over their heads and dressed like tattered scarecrows, came lurching towards us. In Purgatory Town, we enjoyed meeting the restless spirits, who haunted the streets. Blood splattered brides fixed their gaze upon us as they muttered incomprehensibly to one another. An aproned ghost wanted to make ice-cream with my guts, and further inside the park, Lucifer appeared on my shoulder, following me and muttering 'you're pathetic'. I begged him to go pick on my husband instead.
The scare actors at Fright Nights did a great job. In Purgatory Town, they were equal parts spooky and entertaining. Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in the twisted town, and it was a lot of fun as we stopped to chat and get to know some of its sinister residents.
There were food and drinks vendors - Bone Shaker was rattling up cocktails from the back of a hearse. Elsewhere in the park, a pint on Singha cost a reasonable £7. And there were plenty of food options, including pizza, nuggets and spicy chips, alongside warming seasonal sweet treats, such as hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows.
Ticket prices
The mazes aren't included in your standard entry cost. You'll need to purchase a Fright Nights Entry & Scare Mazes Pass, with prices starting from £71 if purchased online. But this doesn't include the new maze, Tenement. If you want to experience this attraction, you'll need to purchase an add on ticket, which costs an additional £12. So, if you want to visit Fright Nights and experience all the mazes, you're looking at upwards of £83 per person. It is possible to purchase maze one shots from £8.
Verdict
It's a bit of a hefty price to purchase the Fright Nights Entry & Scare Mazes Pass alongside the separate Tenement one shot. So, I feel this should be included in the bundle, especially as you can't predict what the queue times are going to be and during peak times, it's likely you wouldn't be able to experience all the mazes. I also would have liked to see more Halloween decorations throughout the park. But overall, we had a great night. I don't know if there's a word to describe the eerie yet cosy feeling of strolling around a theme park at dusk, but there's something beautiful about the arching ride tracks against the dimming sky. Later, a three-quarter moon shone bright, and it was thrilling to hear the creepy music from SAW - The Ride and to experience Hyperia at night. It was great fun meeting the sinister characters roaming the park, and the mazes provided a rush of nervous excitement and immersed us in the spirit of Halloween. My sons, who love a jump scare, were keen to hear all about it. They're a little too young for the mazes, but I'm really keen to take them to Fright Nights, as the rides in the dark and the fun of the characters at Purgatory Town would be right up their street. Find out more here