Scream Factory – Review

I am a big fan of Halloween however since having my son 3 years ago we no longer really celebrate it or do anything Halloween-ish because he was born on that day. Now the 31st October is just our son’s birthday to us and we want to keep it that way until he tells me he no longer wants a party and just wants to go trick or treating with friends…yes the thought already makes me want to cry. I always see photos of people dressed up and going to parties and although I am more than happy to be dedicating my full time to my little one at this time I do miss it all slightly. So when I was offered the opportunity to review Scream Factory In Redcar, I jumped at the chance. I was pleased to see that there were dates I could go the week leading up to Halloween, so it wasn’t imposing on our little guys Birthday.

I hadn’t really heard much about Scream Factory although I had heard of it before, after doing a bit of research online and looking on there website I did get a little idea as to what I was letting myself in for. It is a live action event heavily relying on actors to create the experience. The experience lasts around 45mins – an hour (depending on how slow you go through it all). The event is an experience that you walk through and you go in to different rooms/scenes where the actors only goal is to terrify the living day lights out of you. It is a ticketed event that you need to book for and there are lots of time slots (half an hour apart). There are also different ticket options (shown below):

I was really overwhelmed  with how many people were at the event, and this was just the Thursday night. I am assuming a Friday or weekend night would be much busier so I was very impressed with the turn out. Bit of advice, if you buy the standard ticket then get down a good 15+ mins before the time you booked, to make sure you are near the front of the queue. You could be waiting a very long time if you turn up bang on or after the time you booked. When we got there at just after 8.30pm there was a very big queue and behind us there was another queue which was for people who booked the 9pm slot. Another little tip is to dress warm but wear something that you can tie around your waist if you get too hot. I was cold standing in the queue but then running around the event I was getting quite warm and ended up with my hoody around my waist so I didn’t have to carry it.

The Experience

Well, all I can say is that I had a very sore throat after I had finished from all the screaming. My Mr said that he had developed tourettes during that as he felt like he was constantly shouting out swearwords and be both jumped out of our skin more than a few times. From creepy zombies to maniac clowns jumping out in front of you in the pitch black, you certainly weren’t ever bored. I don’t want to give too much away and all photos/videos I have posted on here I have had permission to take and to share . Please note that you are not allowed to use your phone or capture anything from the event as it could ruin the experience for people who see it before attending. I was granted permission for writing the review only. Also a lot of the event is in the pitch black and using your phone could spoil the experience.

There were a few times that I genuinely nearly wee’d myself, especially when one clown decided to jump up and bang on a secret window that I had my back against without realising. What really surprised me was how creative they were and it wasn’t just some people running at you with a Halloween mask on. Each area/room you entered you felt this unnerving feeling and you entered with caution. You could have a psycho clown in front of your face without knowing and then they turn on a light and jump at you. It truly was a terrifying experience but still somehow enjoyable. No amount of reminding yourself that they are ‘just actors’ worked. When you have some freaky, weird thing walking intimidatingly towards you in a very creepy dark room, you just can’t help being scared. The props were all fantastic too and there were some great bloody scenes. I loved the effort that had gone in to it all and it was so much more than I was expecting.

Going backstage was brilliant too because I got to peep through secret little holes and watch others being terrified. Between groups of people coming in I got to grab my photos and videos quick, so although they may not be the best you can definitely get a feel of what goes on and what it is like. I was very impressed by all of the staff’s enthusiasm and by how great they all were even though they were all rushed off their feet with so many people. From the people who greeted you at the car park to the staff dealing with tickets and entry and of course all the actors, everyone was amazing. Katy, who invited me to the event and took us around backstage was so brilliant too and so lovely. She went above and beyond to make sure we had the best experience and that I could get the necessary info/media for my blog. I love that the event is a family run event and has grown so much over the 5 years it has been running. They hand make all of their props too which is very impressive and I just love that you can tell they put their heart and soul in to it.

I didn’t want to give too much away when writing this post as keeping the experience a surprise is what makes it so brilliant but also wanted to give you a little insight. I 100% recommend attending this event if you live near to the area (we travelled an hour to get there and it was worth it!). Keep an eye out for next year in October for tickets being released! The only way to find out what it is really like is to go to the event yourself! Until then, you can watch my little video below (the video isn’t the best but the screams are very real!).

Screamfactory.co.uk