28/12/2025
Our Halloween 2025 awards continue as we honour the attractions that push the boundaries of terror, intensity, and mental stamina. We are proud to present Stourbridge Scare Maze with the Award for Scariest Haunt in the UK, recognising an experience that places you inside what feels like a relentless horror movie. As we ventured within, the atmosphere pervaded austere and intimidating, with dingy illumination, bloody walls, and a feeling of despair that never once allowed us to unwind. There is no farcicality and no respite, only unadulterated, unfiltered horror.
What sets this haunt apart is the extraordinary physicality and exactness of its troupe. The actors attack from overhead, underneath, and behind, hurrying towards you in full haste, dragging you backward, holding you against walls, or reaching from the ceiling to trap you in moments of inescapable fear. These interactions never feel random. They are thoughtful and perfectly choreographed. At stretches, actors used scares to manage group spacing in ways that felt completely natural to the world of the labyrinth, such as locking us inside a room with an attacking inmate until the moment of release became part of the performance. The result is a continuous onslaught where every second feels treacherous and volatile.
The intensity is amplified by the personalised nature of the frights. The actors target, separate, and challenge you in ways that feel intimate. We felt observed, hunted, and singled out throughout the experience, which made each scare land with far more force than anything we have encountered elsewhere. The cast’s improvisation and bodily commitment are excellent, and the entire haunt left us awe-struck and surprised. Congratulations to Stourbridge Scare Maze for being the most terrifying haunt in the UK this year! 👻🔥
