Twice awarded as the UK's Best Scream Park, FEAR Scream Park has returned to Avon Valley for its 2026 season. Running across 12 selected nights throughout October, the multi-award-winning Halloween event delivers five core scare attractions, three extra bolt-on experiences, thrill rides, and an expanded roster of six live shows featuring fire performers, dancers, and aerialists.
At the start of every night, guests are invited to join an energetic Opening Scaremony featuring a lineup of characters you will later encounter across the scare mazes and live stage shows. It provides an exciting start to the event, with the performers running wild amongst the gathering crowd and setting a high-energy tone for the rest of the evening.
The site remains split into two main thematic zones: Stidham Village, with its eerie local folklore, and The Republic of England, home to the sprawling New World Order dystopian trilogy. Across the entire park, the atmosphere feels bigger and more vibrant than ever. The roving street team made sure nowhere felt entirely safe, with one particularly unsettling new addition catching our eye this year: a robotic dog equipped with an automatic rifle on its back, offering a truly chilling glimpse into a dystopian vision of policing and warfare.
Alongside the scare mazes, visitors looking for extra adrenaline can brave Venom, the biggest thrill ride on site. This pendulum swing ride features a large, outward-facing circular seating gondola that swings back and forth while spinning. Enhanced by brilliant lighting and heavy smoke effects, it looks phenomenal against the night sky. Be warned, however: it is an extreme thrill ride, and you may find yourself feeling rather dizzy and queasy by the time you step off!
New & Updated Experiences for 2026
The Autopsy (NEW)
Set within the Stidham County Mortuary, this brand-new theatrical bolt-on experience takes place in the immediate aftermath of the tragic events surrounding seventeen-year-old Evelyn Grace. Batched in groups of twelve for a 20-minute experience, guests are brought in to observe a post-mortem examination that quickly unravels into supernatural horror.
Unlike a walkthrough scare maze, The Autopsy attempts to merge cinematic storytelling, live performance, and practical effects. The concept and set design show immense promise, featuring high attention to detail and strong performances from the cast. However, the pacing felt somewhat uneven, and it would benefit from a higher frequency of scares and practical effects. Additionally, sound bleed from the outside intruded on the scene, disrupting the intimate, eerie tension the actors were working hard to build. At the end, guests have access to a special themed bar that is only open to those that have experienced the performance.
Malefica: Into Darkness (UPDATED)
The iconic 'Sisters of Mercy' church in Stidham Village has received a substantial upgrade for 2026 with its new sub-heading, Into Darkness. Following the mysterious disappearance of a group of teenagers near the abandoned ruins, guests are recruited by the local Neighbourhood Watch to enter the church equipped with torches.
The integration of remotely controlled torches completely transforms the attraction. The lighting changes dynamically to dictate the mood, plunging groups into sudden, synchronized darkness or flickering at key moments. This added interactive element made Malefica far more engaging and unpredictable than in previous seasons, creating an incredibly tense atmosphere as the vengeful spirits closed in.
Seeds of Evil (UPDATED)
Set during the village's Annual Harvest Festival, this award-winning scare maze follows the chaotic aftermath of 'GRO-GO' fertiliser creating giant, man-eating pumpkins. The scale of the set pieces remains stunning, with the visual detail and atmospheric smoke-filled scenes making this a highlight of Stidham Village.
The attraction presented at last year's event wasn't quite the final product, so this year the finishing touches have been added and there is something new to discover at the end. Overall, Seeds of Evil delivered a much stronger experience this year.
The Republic of England Zone
Located to the right of the main stage, the Republic of England continues to house the New World Order trilogy: X4, The Core, and VITA NOVA. The creative team deserves continued praise for linking these three distinct scare mazes through a shared overarching story arc, creating a cohesive universe that sets FEAR apart from almost every other UK event.
X4
In 1994, a subterranean complex was uncovered deep underground, prompting Omega Industries to establish a research facility to perform secret tests on an alien entity. This year, X4 was undeniably the standout, most relentless maze of the entire evening. The jump scares came thick and fast without a moment's breathing room. Featuring prolonged stretches of absolute darkness punctuated by sudden, startling actor encounters, it delivered a thoroughly intense gauntlet. The disorientation was so effective that our group actually lost its way entirely, spending several minutes wandering in circles attempting to navigate out of the pitch-black corridors.
The Core
Set within a rebel alliance hideout in an abandoned power plant, The Core forces guests to step into waders and wade through real water deep beneath the surface. Entering a maze in waders remains one of the most innovative and memorable concepts in the UK scare industry, setting an anxious tone before you even cross the threshold. While lighter on raw scares, it remains a marvel of set design and immersive fun.
VITA NOVA
Serving as the climax to the New World Order story, VITA NOVA subjects guests to Omega Industries' forced societal rehabilitation program. Featuring claustrophobic crawls, group separations, and high-impact isolation tactics, it continues to push nerve-shredding boundaries. Due to its sheer popularity, the queues can back up significantly towards the end of the night; we observed a 30-minute Fast Track queue alongside a two-hour main line, so planning your route through the Republic early in the evening is essential.
Other Experiences & Shows
Returning from last year, the Lock N Load interactive shooting gallery allows guests to pick up realistic guns with tracer ammunition and defend themselves against mutated alien escapes following the breach at the X4 facility. It provides a fun, tactical change of pace from standard walkthrough mazes.
With six different live shows, there is plenty to keep you entertained throughout the night. The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly Curse of the Blood Moon on the main stage. Combining high-energy choreography, skilled fire artists, and impressive aerialists. The production value of this live performance was excellent.
Our Verdict & Tickets
FEAR Scream Park 2026 demonstrates once again why Avon Valley's flagship Halloween event consistently takes home major industry accolades. By enhancing existing fan-favourites like Malefica through clever tech integration, alongside delivering sheer, unrelenting chaos in X4 and great stage entertainment like Curse of the Blood Moon, FEAR remains one of the most inventive and immersive Halloween events in the country.
The event runs on selected dates until 31 October 2026. Advance online booking is essential due to limited night allocations.
Find out more and book your tickets at www.fearscreampark.co.uk.
