Alton Towers, one of the UK’s leading theme parks, has shared top tips for creating the perfect scare attraction experience ahead of this year’s Scarefest.
James Mundy, Creative Theming and Scenic Manager at Alton Towers Resort, is the mastermind behind some of the UK’s most popular scare mazes. Mundy has dedicated his 20-year career to designing immersive ways to terrify the public and leads a team of 10 that designs and builds the resort’s scare mazes, a defining part of its annual Scarefest event.
According to Mundy, the key to a good scare maze is part-film, part-theatre. “You need a strong story, just like a movie. Guests want more than jump scares—they want to feel like they’ve stepped into another sphere,” he explains.
With people harder to scare than ever, Mundy focuses on timing and variety, blending atmospheric tension with heart-stopping jump scares. The challenge, he says, is creating an experience so immersive that visitors forget their surroundings and feel as if they’ve truly entered another world. This year’s event features a terrifying new maze called Edge Of The Forest, where guests confront a lurking presence known as Leshwall, a sinister entity that twists the trees and plays tricks on the mind.
Mundy’s passion for fear-inducing experiences stems from his own childhood fears. “I was a really scared kid. I hated haunted houses so much that I’d go around with my eyes shut,” he says. But by pushing himself with scary films, he discovered an addictive rush of adrenaline. Now, he makes a living creating the very experiences he once dreaded.
Terrifying Experiences
Edge of the Forest is situated deep within the eerie Dark Forest at Alton Towers, an overgrown woodland shrouded in mystery and legend. “There’s something timeless about woodland legends,” Mundy says. “With Edge of the Forest, we want visitors to feel that they are stepping into a dark fable.”
In addition to the new maze, guests can once again brave the chilling Altonville Mine Tours and descend into the unnerving depths of the COMPOUND scare maze, which debuted in 2024. A new scare zone, Dark Hollow, adds this year’s scare-packed lineup.
Top Tips From a Scare Maze Expert
With decades of experience behind the scenes, Mundy is well-versed in the biggest blunders people make when braving a scare maze. To get the most out of your scare maze experience, Mundy offers his top five tips for thrill-seekers:
- Don’t close your eyes: It is a natural reaction to close your eyes when you’re frightened, but try to resist. You’ll miss out on the incredible detail and storytelling that make the experience so immersive.
- Take your time: Many people sprint through scare mazes out of fear, but the slower you go, the more the suspense builds, making the jump scares even more intense.
- Explore different routes: Most mazes have unique scares on different paths. To get the full experience, consider repeat visits and try a new route.
- Stick together: Sharing the fear with friends is part of the fun. Hold your nerve and don’t get separated. If a maze does split you up, embrace it and compare stories afterwards.
- Remember it’s not real: Nothing in the maze can harm you. You might scream, you might laugh, or you might swear you’ll never do it again, but that’s the power of adrenaline.
Scarefest 2025 kicks off on September 27th and will continue through select dates in October and early November. For more information and to book tickets, visit the Alton Towers Resort website.
Photos/videos: Alton Towers Resort
