A Staffordshire scream park has helped to launch a new industry body in time for October to oversee Halloween haunts across the UK as the appetite for gruesome fright nights continues to increase.
The National Forest Adventure Farm, in Burton, which runs festival of fright Screamfest on 15 selected nights in October, is one of a handful of scream parks behind the newly formed Halloween and Scare Attraction Association (HSAA).
Launched this year the trade association represents the UK’s industry leaders and is committed to raising the standard of attractions through sharing best practice, agreed codes of conduct as well as quality standards and customer service.
Tom Robinson, who has been running night time attraction Screamfest at his 40 acre farm park for 10 years with brother Ivor, said that it was important as an industry that best practice is shared to make sure every Halloween visitor gets the very best experience.
He said: “From the outset we have always worked hard to deliver the very best experience and it is why people come back year after year. The HSAA will help the growing number of scream parks, whether just starting out or fully established, to share knowledge and skills to enhance the industry and make sure that everyone visiting a Halloween fright night this October gets the very best experience.”
It is estimated the UK is home to more than 50 adult Halloween scare attractions with conservative estimates of over half a million visits being made to events each October.
In Staffordshire, Tom and Ivor, who are huge scare fans themselves have also visited Transworld – America’s largest scare convention – to gain ideas and tips to further improve the Screamfest experience.
2022 marks the 10th Screamfest event which has rapidly grown each year. The scream park hosts 5 individually themed scare attractions each with their own storyline, special effects, lighting and even 18 different smells including ‘sewer’, ‘rotting egg’ and ‘musty’.
The scares feature over 100 live actors and terrifying props from chainsaws and axes to dentist chairs and cages. A team of seven make-up artists will use over 100 tubs of face paint, 15 litres of fake blood and apply 300 handcrafted prosthetics to create everything from scars, gauged eyes, stiches and facial disfigurations.
Every year the park updates the attractions so no two visits are the same and each room is meticulously designed to create the perfect scare. With new scares continually added it is an ongoing process as attractions can take up to a year to create with guests taken on a terrifying journey through metres of carefully crafted corridors centred around a unique twisted plot which could best be described as something out of a horror film.
Attracting over 24,000 visitors every year, Tom explains that hosting a night like Screamfest takes a lot of careful planning and preparation.
He said: “Each visitor might enjoy a bloodcurdling few hours of frights and entertainment, but years of planning has gone into creating that perfect experience.
“It is about telling a story and bringing people’s fears to life so that they find themselves in a fully believable interactive scare.
“Every detail is carefully thought out to impact each and every sense as visitors enter that door. From what they see and hear to how it smells, how the actors move and enter spaces to the lighting and decoration.
“With thousands of people going through we want to make sure each person gets the very best experience, so timing is crucial not only for safely navigating through the dark spaces but also in making sure that they are in exactly the right place and the right time for that perfect shock moment.”
Work starts on crafting the intricate sets in the summer with everything designed in a way to disorientate and build tension as guests are brought a long carefully crafted corridors lined with props and special effects.
Kaii Songhurst who has been a scare actor for the past six years says it is an experience like no other and a real opportunity for actors to enhance their skills.
The 28-year-old farmer from Lichfield, who works for English Heritage protecting rare farm breeds by day, put her name forward on a whim while studying Musical Theatre at Staffordshire University. She never expected to get as hooked by the excitement and drama, even meeting her partner in the Love Hurts scare attraction at the deadly speed dating pub the Diced Heart.
She said: “Every night is just full of screams and laughter. As an actor you see it all. Your job is to scare but it is all done in a controlled way which means that every person gets the very best experience.”
More information on Screamfest is available at www.screamfest.co.uk or for details of HSAA visit www.hsaa.uk
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