Monday, 15 October 2018 20:00

Screamland 2018 - review & photos

Back for its fourth year, this chilling and thrilling event immerses visitors in a frightening world of interactive scare mazes set to horrify and haunt even the darkest soul.

We were invited to Dreamland Margate for a special preview event on Saturday 13th October 2018, and are delighted to report that Screamland once again offers a fantastic collection of theatrical attractions that are all completely original, highly creative and packed with scares.

Screamland tickets include access to all seven scare mazes and unlimited use of the rides in the theme park. ‘No Scare’ tickets are also available for those too terrified to enter the mazes but who want to soak up the atmosphere with unlimited ride access.

The seven scare mazes:

  • Dreamland Sleep Experiment - new for 2018, featuring a unique concept and storyline, fantastic acting and a brilliant use of special effects. The particularly surly receptionist explains the purpose of the research facility, which contains criminals being used as test subjects on the affects of sleep deprivation. You are warned that there have been some issues, but this does little to prepare you for the chaos inside!

  • Mary Decomposed - another brand new scare maze for 2018, which is really detailed and immersive, with plenty of scares throughout. Mary Decomposed is an excellent addition to Screamland, with the legend of a famous ghost ship brought to life.

  • The Upside Down - with a subtle nod to Stranger Things, this attraction takes over the park's Mirror Maze with smoke, lightning and creepy creatures. It's simple and effective, but not up to the same standard as the other scare mazes. 

  • Festino's Funhouse - back for another year, but Dreamland has gone above and beyond to make this the best one yet! Some highlights of the scare maze included wading through a ball pool occupied by a maniacal clown then climbing through a dark and winding tunnel on our hands and knees!

  • Dead and Breakfast - this has been part of Screamland's lineup every year and while not a patch on the 'Murder Hotel' version from a couple of years ago due to it's reduced size and complexity, we still enjoyed our encounters with Fag Ash Lil and the infamous serial killer Jack Mudget.

  • Tunnels of Terror - as a second part to Dead and Breakfast, you descend into a basement and the tunnels beyond. Along the way we met a construction worker experimenting on a potato, a cockney woman selling jellied eels and masked creepy characters lurking in an abandoned air raid shelter... yes, it really was that surreal!

  • Punch and Judy Horrorshow - our final attraction of the night, and what a great way to finish. After a 'welcome' from the sinister puppeteer, you are sent inside the show where you encounter giant versions of Mr Punch, Judy, The Baby, The Constable, Joey the Clown, The Crocodile and The Skeleton. The costumes are fantastic and the whole experience is completely bonkers.

Part of what we love about Screamland is the use of its locality to inspire most of the horror attractions, rather than relying solely on the usual genres. The attention to detail inside each scare maze is also impressive, and the only downside is that six of the seven take place in a long line of large unthemed marquees.

Many of the park's attractions are also open for rides in the dark, including the iconic Scenic Railway and new additions such as The Dreamland Drop, Pinball X, Dreamcatcher, Air Force and Pendulum, plus some vintage fairground classics.

The event runs on selected nights until 31st October 2018 - don't miss out on this award-winning event! Find out more and buy your tickets at www.dreamland.co.uk/screamland

Top