Shocktober Fest turns 30 with four new attractions

What is new for the 30th year

Four new attractions join Shocktober Fest for its 30th anniversary in 2026. The headline addition is House of Hades, described as one of the largest live productions in the event's history. It stars the international performance group The Fuel Girls and combines fire performance, aerial artistry, dance and storytelling. The production is designed to sit at the centre of the anniversary programme, offering a staged spectacle alongside the walkthrough haunts that have become the event's signature.

Three new walkthrough haunts also open for the season. The Cellar Returns is set in tunnels and underground chambers beneath a house, creating a claustrophobic route through subterranean spaces. The other two, Appleton County Farm and Appleton Saw Mill, are connected attractions that tell the story of a fictional family across two locations. Visitors move between the farm and the saw mill as the narrative unfolds, with each setting contributing a different chapter to the same story.

Doom Town expands with Ross Records, a retro record shop scene created with writer, podcaster and Celebrity Gogglebox star Honey Ross, who is a long-time visitor to the event. The haunted Greggs shop inside Doom Town also returns for 2026. Owner Stuart Beare said it is the biggest and most ambitious event in the attraction's 30-year history, a description that reflects both the scale of the new live production and the number of new walkthrough routes added for the anniversary season.

Dates, tickets and getting there

Shocktober Fest runs for 26 selected nights from 2 October to 1 November 2026. Gates open at 4.30pm on each event night. Tickets start from £42.95 and parking is free. Visitors booking for the anniversary season are advised to check the official website for the full list of selected dates, as the event does not run every night across that period. The 26-night run covers the October half-term period and Halloween itself, with the final night falling on 1 November.

The event is held at Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill Road, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 4PE. The site is a fourth-generation family farm run by the Beare family, which also runs a tulip festival, a pumpkin festival, Christmas events and an escape room business. That mix of seasonal attractions means the farm operates different events across the year, with Shocktober Fest forming the autumn centrepiece. Free parking is provided on site, and the address places the farm near Crawley in West Sussex, within reach of much of the South East.

Beyond the new attractions, the event includes walkthrough haunts, live entertainment, roaming performers, live music, DJs, street food, bars and fairground rides. The combination means an evening at Shocktober Fest is not limited to the haunted houses, with entertainment running across the site alongside the ticketed attractions. Full details, including the selected dates and any updates to the line-up, are available at ShocktoberFest.co.uk.

From one haunted house to a major event

Shocktober Fest first opened in 1996 with a single haunted house. From that one attraction, it has grown into an event that the organisers say has welcomed more than two million visitors since it began. They describe it as Europe's largest scream park. The 30th anniversary in 2026 therefore marks three decades of expansion, from a single haunted house on a working farm to a multi-attraction event with live productions, walkthrough haunts and a full programme of entertainment across the site.

The farm behind the event is a fourth-generation family business run by the Beare family. Alongside Shocktober Fest, it runs a tulip festival, a pumpkin festival, Christmas events and an escape room business. That pattern of seasonal events has allowed the farm to operate across the year, with each season drawing a different audience. Shocktober Fest sits at the autumn end of that calendar, and its growth reflects a wider trend of farm-based attractions building large seasonal events around their existing land and buildings.

For the 30th year, the additions are concentrated in new productions and new walkthrough routes. House of Hades brings a staged live show with fire performance, aerial artistry, dance and storytelling, while The Cellar Returns, Appleton County Farm and Appleton Saw Mill add three new walkthrough haunts. Doom Town's expansion with Ross Records adds a retro record shop scene created with Honey Ross, and the haunted Greggs shop returns. Together they form the programme for a season that the organisers present as the biggest and most ambitious in the event's 30-year history.

Source: Shocktober Fest.

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Frequently asked questions

When does Shocktober Fest 2026 run?

It runs for 26 selected nights from 2 October to 1 November 2026. Gates open at 4.30pm.

How much are tickets for Shocktober Fest 2026?

Tickets start from £42.95. Parking is free.

What is new at Shocktober Fest for the 30th anniversary?

New attractions include House of Hades starring The Fuel Girls, plus three new walkthrough haunts: The Cellar Returns, Appleton County Farm and Appleton Saw Mill. Doom Town expands with Ross Records, created with Honey Ross, and the haunted Greggs shop returns.

Where is Shocktober Fest held?

At Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill Road, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 4PE. The website is ShocktoberFest.co.uk.

How long has Shocktober Fest been running?

It first opened in 1996 with a single haunted house and marks its 30th anniversary in 2026. The organisers say more than two million people have visited since it began.