If you love Halloween, this is one of the best days out you can have, around an hour and a half from London and not far from Gatwick Airport, easily reachable by train if you don’t fancy driving.
There’s something about the way this park throws itself headlong into the spirit of the season that makes it feel like stepping into a haunted dream where anything could jump out at you at any moment.
From the moment you arrive, you are immersed in a world where the ordinary rules no longer apply.
Characters wander the park like shadows brought to life: vampires with piercing eyes, shambling zombies, grotesque monsters, nurse figures who are more sinister than caring, and even dead ravers who seem to have wandered straight from the underworld’s dance floor.
Musicians perform across different areas of the park, each band dressed as a Halloween character, and their haunting tunes echo across the grounds.
Of course, no Halloween adventure is complete without snacks – though be warned, everything is on the pricier side.
I treated myself to churros – four for £4 – and added a spoonful of chocolate sauce for £1.50 more.
The taste was worth every penny, sweet and comforting amid the eerie chaos around me, though your wallet might feel the pinch.
This year, the weather was absolutely brutal, transforming what is usually a walk through hauntingly themed paths into a soggy endurance test.
Rain fell in relentless sheets, turning the mazes into puddle-filled obstacle courses, and by the end we were little more than drenched rats.
I’d advise all park go-errs to wear wellies or shoes you don’t mind completely ruining, because the wet conditions don’t stop the fear – they enhance it.
Despite the weather, the actors never wavered, staying fully in character, dripping with rain yet committed.
The heart of Shocktober Fest is, of course, its mazes.
They are not for the faint-hearted, pregnant visitors, or anyone with heart conditions – health and safety briefings are serious and clear before you head into your chosen maze.
There are twelve haunts to explore, each more intense than the last, and while it’s difficult to complete all of them with a standard ticket – especially as it gets closer to Halloween and queues grow – the longest wait we encountered was just thirty minutes, which is remarkably short for the kind of experiences on offer.
We braved seven mazes between 7pm and 11pm – a solid four-hour marathon of scares, aided by our fast pass.
Prices start at £42.95 for a standard ticket, which is excellent value for the immersive horror experience you get, though the ultimate fast pass ticket – which guarantees access to all twelve haunts – costs from £122.95.
It’s undeniably expensive, but for anyone who lives and breathes Halloween, I’d say it is worth every penny.
Here’s a glimpse of the mazes we explored: Electrik Circus, Doom Town, Wasteland, Coven of 13, Haunted Hayride, Glitch, and Chop Shop.
The new maze for 2025, Glitch, is set in an abandoned barn where a government experiment spiralled disastrously out of control.
It was unnerving in the sense that I had no idea what to expect, but in terms of scares, it didn’t quite reach the terrifying highs of some of the older haunts.
My most terrifying maze of the night was Electrik Circus.
I am utterly, hopelessly terrified of clowns, and this maze took full advantage of that phobia.
The combination of dark surprises, fake clowns dangling in unexpected places, and moments where I found myself trapped between two of them had me screaming, flinching, and nearly in tears.
My favourite maze in terms of the setting was Doom Town.
Walking through this post-apocalyptic, zombie-filled town was frightening, yes, but also endlessly thrilling.
You move through the streets of a made-up town, entering a church, shops, a pub, and even a Greggs store, all overrun with the undead.
The detail is astonishing and its clear why Doom Town is award-winning – it’s immersive, terrifying, and oddly fun all at once.
I also loved Wasteland, where strobe lights and eerie sound effects made it feel as though you were tripping through a nightmare, and Chop Shop, where the sound of chainsaws and the near panic of being chased by actors heightened the adrenaline rush to the max.
We didn’t manage to see the Cabaret this time, but I have before – it’s a place to take a breather, enjoy some strange circus acts, and refuel with food, a welcome pause in the otherwise relentless onslaught of scares.
Despite the rain, the chaos, and the occasional mud bath, Tulley’s Farm Shocktober Fest remains one of the best spooky days out in the UK.
It’s immersive, thrilling, and perfect for anyone who loves Halloween and isn’t afraid to be terrified.
If you’re within reach of London, Surrey, or anywhere in the south of the UK, it’s absolutely worth the journey.
