Journey to Hell Freak Nights is back at Blackpool Pleasure Beach for an extended run this October. Featuring eight scare zones, it’s the rides that really make this Halloween event stand out.
blooloop was there last week at the media launch for Journey to Hell’s four-weekend 2022 season. There was certainly something atmospheric about wandering around an amusement park after dark, with an autumn wind blowing off the Irish Sea.
Whether it will feel quite so chilling with larger numbers of guests now that the event is open the public we can’t be sure. Nevertheless, those who ‘dare’ step through the turnstiles of the iconic UK venue when ‘normal’ guests have gone home are promised a more exclusive experience.
“Journey to Hell Freak Nights will leave your adrenaline flowing and heart thumping and take your terror to levels that you have never experienced before,” says a statement from the park. “Face your worst fears with silent assassins, evil carnival dwellers, undead sorcerers and even aquatic terrors lurking around every corner.”
Rather than entire themed areas of the park, each of the scare zones comprises either a walk-though maze installed for the spooky season, or a well-loved Pleasure Beach attraction with a creepy twist.
Ghost Train more gruesome than ever
Offered this year on a free roam basis, the fun fright begins and ends at FY4. Named after the park’s postcode, this is the place to enjoy live rock music, food and drink around the dancing fountains as fire eaters and scare actors roam.
Close by are two of the park’s classic dark rides, which between them boast more than 200 years of history. Whilst the Ghost Train has been amped up for Journey to Hell, with added jump scares provided by a cast of gruesome characters lurking alongside the track, the Legend of the Cursed River Caves has actually been dialled down.
Provided with a torch to accompany them on their voyage, passengers float along completely dark channels, with only an occasional ‘intruder’ to punctuate the journey. It’s the fear of the dark and anticipation about what largely doesn’t happen that provides the fear factor. The same could be said about Pleasure Beach Hexpress, a reimagining of the park’s sedate train ride, where all the action takes place in the station.
Two of the Pleasure Beach’s roller coasters have been bundled in with Journey to Hell’s £39 ticket. Infusion (Vekoma’s Suspended Looping Coaster) has been rebranded as Sirens of Infusion, while the park’s signature Big One appears as The Controllers. The LED faces of the cloaked performers on the latter are a nice touch.
Journey to Hell: the mazes
And so to the mazes. Impossible, a walk-though fun house style attraction that includes both a mirror maze and haunted swing, gets a Halloween makeover as Impossible Freak House. Populated by a cast of clowns, what could be so scary about this? Unless you suffer from coulrophobia. Yet the clowns, some of whom have the most disgusting noses, are as witty as they are creepy. Unfortunately the haunted swing, with its ‘spinning room’ illusion, is not offered as part of the experience during the Freak Nights season.
Located behind the River Caves, Hell Tunnel is where the outcasts of society gather. It might be dinner time during your visit, but will you escape being on the menu? Obviously we did, but the experience almost put us off our chicken strips later in FY4.
Journey to Hell guests must venture further into the ‘abandoned’ amusement park, taking in the silhouettes of its roller coasters as they go, to find The Lost. This hellish maze of rooms takes over some of the former Space Invader building above the Big Pizza Kitchen in an otherwise closed off Nickelodeon Land. Who knows what may be lurking around each corner? We wouldn’t dare give away any spoilers now.
In addition, the Pleasure Beach’s resident Pasaje del Terror attraction is available for an upcharge on Freak Nights.
A unique way to experience Pleasure Beach
Halloween has, of course, become an important season for many theme parks and amusement parks. The UK has perhaps the biggest variety of seasonal scare attractions outside of North America. This includes two established brands within easy reach of Blackpool, Scare Kingdom and Farmaggedon.
With Journey to Hell Freak Nights, the Pleasure Beach isn’t offering quite such a terrifying experience. A few more roaming actors and scare zones that take over an entire area rather than a single ride or attraction might have got the diehard fright fans’ blood really pumping. However, the event does offer a chance to experience this much-loved British park in a unique way during Blackpool’s Illuminations season.
As guests enjoy this Halloween spectacle, work continues on the refurbishment of one of the Pleasure Beach’s most unique attractions: Valhalla. A launch date for the reimagined dark ride/water ride experience will be announced soon.
Freak Nights continues through 30 October. The event is reserved for guests aged 10 years or older. Those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Blackpool Illuminations, a free light show extending for roughly 6 miles (10km) along the resort’s promenade, runs nightly until 2 January 2023.
Images: Owen Ralph / Blackpool Pleasure Beach
