The cold chills of November filled the air, people were excited for Bonfire Night but us? We still had more scares to enjoy! Our hunt for Halloween festivities took us to the sea view filled Fantasy Island in Ingoldmells, near Skegness for the final weekend of the Fear Island III event.
As the name reveals, this is the 3rd iteration of the Fear Island event, and every year we have visited to see what the park had in store and we have enjoyed seeing it grow over the years. This year, the event has grown bigger than ever before, with more entertainment for the whole family, as well as those looking for a fright!
The event features four scare mazes and Circus of Screams, all of which are included in a ‘Fear Island Wristband’ which also includes your access to the rides for the day. As well as this, there is a family, Wicked Witch show, which is free for anyone who enters ‘The Pyramid’.
Torchure
As we saw the facade to ‘Torchure’, with its stone walls and portcullis, we were expecting a standard ‘Hooded’ maze, however, we were extremely surprised that is wasn’t. As we met the creepy jester in the darkness, we were given a flickering candle and told to go on our way.
The maze is rather unnerving as you head through with just a small light to guide you and as you make your way through the medieval dungeon, you are introduced by all manner of unusual characters and eventually, make your way to the king for the finale.
We thought that our visit to ‘Torchure’ was a great start to the day, the theme was very unique for a scare maze and nothing we have really seen before. The story to the maze was also very welcome to see. The only thing we would like to see improved was the finale as it was lacking something, it was creepy being locked in an elongated cage, whilst the actors inspected us, until we were let out and allowed to leave moments later.
Disturbiam
Our next maze took us to Blackwood Peak Sanitorium, a run-down hospital designed to cure any issues that might trouble you. As you walk up to the building, a derelict private ambulance catches your eye, with the name of the maze, ‘Disturbiam’, clearly visible on the side.
The experience in the sanitorium itself, was intense, hectic and terrifying! The actors were giving it 100% and the sets were authentic and detailed, immersing you into the theme. The actors loved keeping you on edge, following you around the halls of the hospital proving that nowhere was safe!
The fact that this maze is located in an old fast food restaurant and you would never realise this was the case (apart from passing the drive-thru windows after exiting the maze and hope that Fantasy Island continue with this level of detail for future years of Fear Island, I almost wish I wasn’t being scared as much as I’d have loved to admire the scenes more!
Psycho Vault
Psycho Vault continues the story of the past two “Psycho” mazes at Fear Island, Psycho Mansion and Psycho Mansion II: Possessed and now see us going on a journey underground, to the home of a famed serial killer.
The maze starts when we are met by a police officer who has been investigating the whereabouts of the serial killer and has found a mysterious lift, however, no one knows where it goes to. Luckily for him, we have been called in to help with the investigations and it was our job to see what was lurking in the vault.
As we enter the lift and the doors close, it springs to life and rattles and shakes as we head to the depths of the vault. The door that we entered before opens and the fabled serial killer themselves greets us.
He then sends us on our way through the vault, where we meet various creatures and have to crawl through one of the longest crawl tunnels we have ever witnessed.
Psycho vault is a great continuation of the story and it seems to become more and more sinister each year.
The House of Voodoo
Our final maze of the night was Hoodoo Voodoo, the sun had set and flames lit the area of Voodoo Bay, as the maze was soon to open we witness the hoard of shamans make their way to the shack.
The House of Voodoo was a mix between a typical maze and a hooded maze and balanced the two quite nicely, there wasn’t too much or too little of either so it was nice to see.
Throughout the hooded sections, you can feel the breath of the creatures around you, and during the none-hooded sections, you walk through the house and surrounding swamps. It was certainly one of the more interesting hooded style mazes we have been on and gives the excellent Hoodoo Voodoo at Xtreme Scream Park a run for its money!
Overall
Fear Island III is a great event and every year we visit and it blows us away, coming back bigger and better than ever, it really makes us excited for the following year to see how they improve.
Honorable mention at the event is Circus of Screams, although not ran by Fantasy Island, this outsourced circus show debuted last year and returns in 2019. The show provides great laughs and a wide range of performers and is a brilliant additional activity for those visiting for the day, especially as entry is included with some wristbands.
