So All Hallows Eve is upon us, the night of ghouls and all manner of terror, or at the very least plenty of trick or treaters getting their fill of sweet snacks at our doors around the country. One source of frights that’s been booming for years now are scare attractions, which tend to be spooky spaces, like dimly lit woods, or a funfair hall of mirrors, filled with actors of various abilities trying their best to freak out visitors as they pay hard-earned cash to get their scream on.
From their humble roots in Liphook, England where the first recorded purpose-built haunted attraction was built in 1915, today’s scare mazes which the good folk of the USA turned into an art form, tend to be intricate and sometimes pretty extreme as boundaries of people’s fears are pushed to the very limit in the name of entertainment. Here we take a look at seven scare attractions from across the globe that are guaranteed to scare the bejesus out of you.
Woods of Terror (Greensboro, North Carolina, USA)
It’s named woods of terror for good reason as this location in America’s deep south is home to no less than 15 horror attractions from the Jeepers Creepers-esque Night Stalkers to Horror Movie Classics, where you’ll face off against three of film’s most familiar and fear-filled monsters. Dare you enter the woods of terror?
Lost Souls Alley (Poland)
Promising to “turn your worst nightmares into reality”, this haunted escape room in Krakow, Poland had been scaring people silly since 2013. Visitors can choose from three ‘pain levels’ of the game with yellow being the most squeal inducing and hands-on of all the options. It’s far from what you’d call a normal fun day out, unless being trapped in a house filled with snarling psychopaths and tortured patients is your typical, but thrill wise, it’s hard to beat.
Shocktober (Leesburg, Virginia, USA)
What sets this particular attraction apart from most is that it’s set in a house named Carlheim Manor that is renowned as being actually haunted. Obviously this has been a helping hand in it being named in the top five scare destinations in the States. Although a house alone isn’t enough, but a house with a basement filled with creepy clowns for ‘The Carnival of Souls’, that’ll bring the nightmares.
Loftus Hall (Ireland)
We’ve covered Loftus Hall here on The MALESTROM before, being as it is Ireland’s purported most haunted house. This ancient pile has a dark, storied history with legends of the Devil himself entering the Hall’s hallowed walls. No wonder the experience you can take on at the house is not for the faint of heart and requires visitors to sign a waiver. This haunted tour in a location with serious credentials is one of the most dread-filled you can encounter.
Labyrinth of Fear (Japan)
With a country renowned for its groundbreaking horror movies it’s little wonder Japan also houses one of the most pant-wettingly (they sell spare undies), nasty scare attractions going. The super Scary ‘Labyrinth of Fear’ at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan’s Yamanashi Prefecture is touted as the scariest and longest haunted house in the world where you spend 40 minutes exploring a haunted hospital. And as you’d expect you’re not alone as some seriously freaky staff and patients are on hand to give you the fright of your life.
McKamey Manor (USA)
Last but not least comes “extreme haunt’ McKamey Manor, known as the scariest haunted house in the world. This place has courted plenty of controversy due to the fact is’s known more as a torture chamber in disguise, forcing the entrants to undergo horrific suffering after they’ve filled in the 40-page waiver and provided a doctors note! Those brave (read stupid) enough to take this one on are covered in duct tape and paint, waterboarded, buried underground, let’s just say it ain’t very pleasant.
The events are organised by the sadistic Russ McKamey who claims that no one has completed his current haunt ‘Desolation’. An online petition has been launched to get the McKamey Manor events shut down permanently. See what all the fuss is about…
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