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Essex and Halloween? Not words that have until now come together. This year Essex Country Parks joined the playing field for two nights with their first major attraction hoping that it would be successful enough to grow over the next few years. So whats it all about? The back story is of the Havistock Family, rich land owners that look after the villagers and each year hold a fair and circus (oh yes, there will be clowns!) to celebrate the harvest... however when the harvest fails and ruins the villagers and the family, the fair is cancelled... but the villagers come anyway, as does the circus! All this is very well, but like with many back stories only comes through in bits and pieces (or if you’ve been able to track it down in the local paper or website).
The attraction starts at the discovery center building in the form of the ‘asylum’ where we are informed by the asylum guard that all those driven mad by the circus are kept! The asylum is very dark indeed but strangely quiet. We get some good scares here and although quite short, sets a promising tone! What helps of course is the screams of the people inside already, the groups going in a backing straight back out in terror, quite unnerving for those waiting!
The rest of the mazes are set out in the park itself and involved walking along torch (flame not battery) lit paths, a nice effect especially when a low mist moved in to cover the field making it look VERY eerie indeed! The next maze we come to is ‘Havistock Hall’ although it was more of a house, but probably the best piece of themeing of all, lit by flame torches with boarded up windows and a carved pumpkin glowing softly under the porch. Again we are greeted by an old crone given the rules and sent on inside. Here is very different from the Asylum, themed dilapidated corridors, rooms, and a mixture of characters and some nice little scares. What added to the atmosphere was that there was a soundtrack to it, bits from famous horror films I think all mixed together to a heartbeat that seemed to follow us through the house all the way to being chased out by a little girl from behind a torn up curtain. Again fairly short, in fact both mazes felt like ‘tasters’ but I understand that if all goes well, it’ll get bigger next year!
After the house we were led into a field like maze, not a corn maze but a hay field with a path mown into it with guide ropes again lit by torches and lanterns. With the mist this was incredibly creepy and hearing screams from in front and behind us added to the creepy atmosphere. In the field we found scarecrows (some on crosses)that you couldn’t tell were real or not, zombies laying in the grass by the path and popping up only inches away and even some reaper type characters one of whom just stood and watched us pass which was quite the most frightening thing! Through the field and through a small graveyard and we were led up to the circus tent. Not the best themeing as it was just a marquee, and some extra age themeing would have been great! The ringmaster introduced himself and again sent us in, only to be greeted by a demonic clown painted on the wall just inside….so THAT was why the group in front of us refused to go in! Again it was very dark in here but there was a demented circus tune playing and the actors made use of torches (battery ones this time) along with a spark machine which when it come out of the darkness is great, but I cant help thinking a little light would have helped, I mean I was told there was a gorilla in there but missed that completely.
The last part of the experience was the Vault, back at the main park building, very short but extremely effective with strobe lights and a demented death row prisoner in the electric chair. This maze was made of hanging plastic and all I could see was shapes of the actors moving behind it quite disconcerting altogether!
It was advertised as 9 years and up, but judging by what I saw that may have been too low although some of the middle aged women screaming there way round were the funniest! Lots of scares over about 45 minutes and all for 9 pounds (Saturdays price per person).
The first year of an attraction is always hard, but Essex Parks pulled out a good start! If anything, more themeing, longer mazes and a little more work with the actors as just sometimes they were a little bit ‘boo!’ and once I was followed for a few feet by a scarecrow limping and struggling to come after me and when I looked back next was walking calmly back to position. Just a little thing but call me a perfectionist! Keep up the hard work and never get complacent like some places have. Its all down hill from there!
Well Done Essex Parks, more More MORE next year!
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