Deep in the Staffordshire countryside, centred by a historic, myth-filled Gothic manor and surrounded by stunning gardens, lakes and woodland, few theme parks across the globe can claim such a beautiful, natural, Halloween-ready setting.
The manor at Alton Towers, lit up for ScarefestImage credit Alton Towers
Halloween as a total season in the UK market has grown considerably in recent years, with some estimates placing spend at triple that of 2014.
That growth is visible in the leisure and attractions space, with an explosion of Halloween events, activities, overlays, and attractions all vying for that consumer spend.
And Alton Towers Resort has been part of that growth since the first scare maze attraction, Terror of the Towers, debuted at the resort in 2002. It had a special twist: it was housed in the Towers themselves and built to terrify those brave enough to step inside.
At the time, it was quite an innovation in the UK theme park market.
With growing momentum around Halloween, the ‘Scarefest’ event launched in 2007. Initially a select-date, limited-activity event, it has now grown into one of the busiest periods in Alton Towers’ calendar.
Now in its 19th season, Scarefest has become a destination in its own right, featuring rides in the dark, scare zones, scare mazes, live entertainment, and cross-park theming.
Larry Roles, pictured at Alton Towers' Scarefest
Image credit Alton Towers
“Scarefest is now a pivotal event in our operating calendar, with us seeing some of our busiest days of the entire season," explains Larry Roles, go to market director at Merlin.
"A significant percentage of our total annual attendance now visits us during Halloween, which used to be a quieter, shoulder period for us.
“It’s an event that guests look forward to nearly as much as our staff, who really anticipate spooky season at the resort.”
See also: Trick or treat: Halloween experts on the benefits of spooky events
Innovation is critical to keep growing share
The growth of the Halloween market can provide significant opportunity. But for established players, like Alton Towers, it’s important to keep investing in product and innovation to stay ahead and maintain and grow their share.
“The market is growing, and that’s great for us as long as we continue to innovate," says Roles.
The Dine with the Dead interactive dining experience, added to Scarefest for 2026
Image credit Alton Towers
"We can’t rest on our laurels, and so this year we have a brand-new scare maze, ‘Final Exhibit’; we’ve introduced a ‘Dine with the Dead’ interactive dining experience; and are continuing to evolve our F&B and Merch.
"All of this is on top of our core Scarefest product that has become a tradition for many of our guests now."
“We ask ourselves, ‘Why could only Alton Towers do this?’” - differentiating with ‘only at Alton’ experiences
“Also important is that we leverage our uniqueness – we have a phenomenally unique setting; fantastic IP and stories that guests love; and an impressive ride infrastructure we can Halloween-up.
The gardens at Alton Towers, decorated for Scarefest
Image credit Graham Speak
"With everything we look to bring into Scarefest, we ask ourselves the question: Why could only Alton Towers do this?”
“We’re incredibly lucky to have stunning Towers, impressive gardens and woodland. Putting some of our haunted attractions in the ruins and on the edge of our gardens might be challenging operationally but helps us create experiences that are totally unique to Alton.”
“Some of these differentiators are much harder to communicate in marketing than rides in the dark or a new maze story, but we know that when guests visit, they all ladder up to a totally unique experience."
Leveraging homegrown IP and storytelling expertise
Since the opening of Nemesis in 1994, Alton Towers have developed unique and ownable stories and brands – from Nemesis to Hex to Wickerman.
One example of ‘Only Alton Towers could’ is how homegrown IP is built into the event. ‘Compound’ is one example of a thrill scare maze in this year’s event and extends the Nemesis Reborn and Toxicator story with the terrifying Phalanx organisation.
“Leveraging our existing attractions that guests already know and love helps us connect visitors more deeply with our storytelling and brings them further into the worlds we have created at the Resort.
"Our ‘Burial Grounds’ scare zone is included for all guests and brings to life the lore of the Beornen – which is all connected to our Wickerman attraction story, one of our most popular rollercoasters.”
Scarefest's Burial Grounds scare zone builds on the Wickerman story
Image credit Alton Towers
“We also look to our location and history for sources of inspiration. Whether it’s using the Towers as a location for scares or local legends and myth to inject story – we know that our guests appreciate those special Alton Towers touches.
“The Alton Ancestors are a great example of that. Inspired by imaginary past inhabitants of the estate, and now a staple of the Scarefest event, these characters have almost legendary status, drawing huge crowds to watch their dance routines throughout the day across the park.
"The Ancestors are another great example of ‘Only at Alton’.”
The Alton Towers Ancestors at Scarefest
Image credit Graham Speak
Alton Towers is also home to CBeebies Land, and this year launched the world’s first Bluey rollercoaster, “Here Come the Grannies”. While Halloween activity is dialled down in this IP-based land, it still plays a role at Scarefest.
Roles explains: “Our IP partnerships with the likes of BBC Studios play an important role at Halloween for us as it helps to de-risk the event for families with younger visitors.
"Alongside some of our family-friendly, haunted attractions, they’re excited to know they’ll be able to have some spooky fun with the characters they already know and love – including Bluey and Bingo this year. It’s a great introduction to Halloween for younger children."
Becoming part of Halloween traditions
“We know that lots of visitors are choosing to come back to Scarefest year after year. They enjoy their annual rides in the dark, checking out what the Ancestors are dancing to, and braving our scare mazes.
Unique Scarefest decor at Alton Towers
Image credit Graham Speak
"Our aim is for Alton Towers to be part of memories and the place that people come to enjoy Halloween together annually. And we can grow with families – from young children dressing up and enjoying our family spook mazes all the way up to teenagers having their first Halloween adventure with friends together.”
“And we’ll keep evolving – bringing back the elements that they love and cherish, whilst always adding something new, exciting and innovative to enjoy."
Balancing commercial objectives and ensuring guest satisfaction
Cost-of-living challenges remain one of the biggest guest issues Halloween attractions must consider.
Alongside this, operators face their own challenges with rising costs and, as a result, continue to look for ways to cut expenditures and find new ways to get visitors to spend more.
But businesses are learning just how carefully this needs to be managed, as over the long term this can impact NPS (guest satisfaction) and lead to behaviour changes that can severely impact attractions.
Roles is passionate about the ‘base’ experience at Scarefest:
Symphony of the Towers at Scarefest
Image credit Graham Speak
“Everyone that visits us over the event gets to see and feel the Halloween atmosphere across the park. From the impressive, themed sets and photo opportunities to our iconic Towers being lit up at night. Everyone gets access to our rides that feel totally different in the dark!
"And we have loads of shows and entertainment that all of our visitors can experience – from the CBeebies Land Monster Ball for our younger guests to the iconic Alton Ancestors for those looking for flash-mob dancing action!
"We also have two ‘scare zones’ that are included for all guests and are a great way for visitors to see if they’re brave enough to try out our full-blown scare mazes.”
“We know the cost of living continues to be a big challenge, and so we want to make sure that everyone that comes to visit us gets good value for money. For us, Scarefest is a great way to recruit people to visit us again the following year too.”
“To grow revenue further, we have to innovate and create reasons for guests to choose to spend more,” adds Roles.
Creating products so compelling that guests are happy to spend
Like many Halloween events, there are ways for guests to spend more to further enhance their experience. Scarefest has four upcharge thrill scare mazes and two family spooks mazes.
In addition, guests can buy Fastpasses, Halloween VIP packages, and event-specific F&B and merch, and stay for Scarefest at the themed Alton Towers accommodation.
Special Halloween F&B and merch is available as part of the Scarefest event
Image credit Graham Speak
Roles explains: “Our base Scarefest product is brilliant – but we know some guests want even more. Our aim is to make sure everyone leaves with great memories and feeling like their visit was good value for money.”
“For example, we don’t want guests to think food is a necessary chore at Scarefest – so we’ve been working hard to develop event-specific themed products that guests don’t want to miss, like Pumpkin Spell Churros and Fang-tastic Chicken Burgers.
"We've also partnered again with Cargo Global Eats over Scarefest, bringing a diversity of street food options and adding to our Halloween party vibes, giving guests somewhere to chill out in between the spooks.
“It’s the same when it comes to our merchandise; guests might not come planning to spend, but we want our product to be so good that they can’t resist picking it up."
Taking inspiration from others
“There are so many brilliant Halloween and scare events out there – and we look across the board – from other theme parks to theatre and film to stand-alone scare attractions. We also work closely with our partner, RWS, which gives us additional access to their creative brain and library."
He adds:
“Sometimes we see amazing concepts but feel they wouldn’t be right for Alton. We try and strike the right balance; for example, being fully immersed in water or covered in live insects is not something that would be right for our core audiences."
"Even some of the activations at Merlin’s own Thorpe Park Fright Nights wouldn’t be right for our target at Alton. We have a fine line to tread to offer a broad scale of frights for the whole family.
"But one thing is for sure, we’re always looking for our next source of inspiration.
“This year promises to be our most ambitious, spookiest Halloween season yet – but we’re already working on how we keep pushing the event, and developing even more ‘Only at Alton’ experiences to make Scarefest even bigger and more iconic into 2027."
Scarefest runs at Alton Towers Resort on select dates until 1 November.
