From the moment we walked through the gates the atmosphere hit with lights, smoke, music and distant screams making it feel like Halloween had completely taken over the park.
If you love coasters like I do, the night rides alone make it worth the trip.
(Image: Amy Clarke)
Flying through the dark on Hyperia and Stealth with all the lighting below is unreal and the team has clearly worked hard on atmosphere this year.
Everything looks incredible and there are loads more photo spots and bits of spooky set dressing around the park so even walking between rides feels fun and immersive.
The scare zones are free and the mazes are ticketed but both feel like part of one big experience.
The Crows of Mawkin Meadow are back and creepier than ever.
The area feels more enclosed this year and the scarecrows have plenty of hiding spots.
(Image: Amy Clarke)
The actors are brilliant, moving in this eerie twitchy way that makes your skin crawl, and you can even spot them wandering around during the day which is both funny and unsettling.
New this year is Purgatory Town which turned out to be one of the best additions.
It’s not scary, just brilliant fun, full of weird townsfolk, flapper couples and a drunk pirate we found pretending to sleep off his drink in a coffin.
Every character has their own thing going on and they’re all up for chatting and joking with visitors which adds a lighter and more playful side to the event.
It makes the whole thing feel more rounded and lively.
Lucifer’s Lair was full of energy with a live band blasting out classic Halloween rock songs while Lucifer and his mischievous crew stalked the crowd.
(Image: Amy Clarke)
Creature Campus was also back and it’s been massively improved.
It’s part musical, part chaos, with students and monsters dancing, fighting and breaking into songs about the end of the world.
Watching it all unfold with Stealth towering behind them was properly impressive.
The mazes this year were strong across the board.
DeadBeat, the haunted nightclub, is still loud, grimy and brilliant with an awful smell inside that makes it feel a bit too real and one perfectly timed scare that got everyone in our group at once.
Stitches was my personal favourite.
It’s all dolls and toys, which I hate, making it even worse for me.
(Image: Amy Clarke)
You walk through the Toymaker’s factory surrounded by broken toys, whispers and flickering lights, and it’s creepy, claustrophobic and beautifully done.
Survival Games was a huge improvement on last year.
It’s far more intense now with more actors and a few nasty surprises that make you feel genuinely trapped.
At one point I got pulled behind a curtain and told I was being saved for later which made me scream and then laugh for about five minutes afterwards.
It finishes with a bloke chasing you out with a chainsaw which is exactly how it should end.
Trailers, which has been around for a while, still hits perfectly.
It’s got that 80s horror feel, a bit Stranger Things and a bit classic slasher flick, with some properly freaky clown moments.
It’s a good mix of nostalgia and scares and it still feels fresh.
Even outside the mazes the whole park feels more joined up this year.
There are themed food trucks, clever lighting and little details everywhere that make it feel like a proper Halloween takeover rather than just a few mazes dropped in.
Fright Nights 2025 doesn’t reinvent the wheel but it feels more confident and complete than every.
The atmosphere is spot on, the staff are clearly enjoying themselves and it’s just a brilliant night out.
Thorpe Park’s Fright Nights 2025 runs on selected dates from October 3 to November 2.
The event opens from 10am to 9pm, with scare mazes available through the Fearsome Four package from £70 including park entry, or from £36 when added to an existing booking.

