Ghoulish guide to the most fangtastic night of horror...
It was a frightful mission for reporter KIRSTY BOSLEY who was tasked with finding the most haunting Halloween theme park experience in the region.
AS our in-house creep and year-round lover of all things strange and unusual, I visited both Alton Towers and Drayton Manor in a bid to find the spookiest Halloween event.
I’m not sure my heart will ever slow to a normal pace again.
Alton Towers’ Scarefest left me in the murky bowels of a pirate ship under attack by a kraken, a close encounter with a vampire and a manor house experience that reduced one girl to tears.
At Night At The Manor, over in Tamworth, I had a near miss with a homicidal butcher and a hair-raising journey on a haunted train while rocking out to Ozzy Osbourne.
This weekend is a big one for Halloween celebrations and you might be thinking about heading to one of the theme parks in easy driving distance of Coventry for a fright.
BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
The first thing to take into consideration, especially at the moment, is price. By the time you factor in taking a family of four to a theme park, you’re dropping a chunk of your half term cash in one fell swoop.
Alton Towers Scarefest tickets are priced at £42 if you buy them in advance, or £65 on the gate. That gets you access for the full day, with 40 rides and attractions open until 9pm every day (including four new scare mazes) from now until October 31.
On the other hand, Drayton Manor’s Night At The Manor event will be priced at £24. That gives you access from 5pm until 9pm, but not every ride is open. There are four scare experiences and Thor, Loki and Jormungandr are open to ride in the dark. Apocalypse, the drop tower ride that opened in 2000, is set to close at the end of the month - and you can ride it at the horror night while it’s surrounded by zombies. It really does depend on your budget, plus how much time you have to dedicate to being scared out of your wits. Alton Towers offers more bang for a bigger buck, but Drayton Manor is cheaper while still being very cheerful. Alton Towers is a much longer day, so you’ll need to factor in extra spends as you go too. That in itself can be quite scary!
SCARE ATTRACTIONS
Alton Towers is definitely one for adults and much bigger kids - the scare mazes are absolutely terrifying, the rides are bigger and more exhilarating and there’s a lot more walking to do to get around it all. There are four new mazes, each a little intense, frenetic and heart-pounding.
Drayton Manor relies a little more on storytelling, weaving ghostly tales and developing spooky characters through the use of talented actors.
To choose between them, you might be best looking at what kind of horror movie you like. If you’re into chaotic slashers, choose Alton Towers. Into psychological thrillers? Drayton Manor.
The beauty of Drayton Manor this year was the diversity in the scare experiences. Torch-lit wanders in the dark zoo, jump scares in the Castle of Screams and an impromptu disco aboard a Haunted Express train just really filled my heart with a childlike sense of happiness. Alton Towers was definitely more frightening, with much more going on in terms of set design and what feel like a million actors rushing by you, bumping into your backpack, generally making a nuisance of themselves.
If you have bigger kids (or no kids, for that matter) then I’d choose Alton Towers. If your brave teens are younger (they need to be at least 14), when I’d go for Drayton Manor.
If you’re a thrill-seeker, go for Alton Towers. If you want to stay on the safer side of scary, Drayton Manor is for you!