AtmosFEAR!
SCREAMLAND • DREAMLAND THEME PARK • KENT – UNITED KINGDOM • SCREAM PARK

CREATING A MULTI AWARD-WINNING SCREAM PARK

AtmosFEAR! were the principal designers and producers of Screamland at Dreamland for its inaugural season in 2015 and second season in 2016.

Creating multiple scare entertainment attractions including scare mazes, experiences, streetmosphere and midway entertainments, Screamland won multiple awards across the first two seasons including ‘Best New Event’ – SCAR Awards, ‘Top Rated Terror Attraction’ – Terror Attractions, for Dead & Breakfast and the same for The Paradise Foundation and ‘Excellence in Design’ – Haunt Design Kit.

Production services provided to Dreamland included design, casting, marketing, project management and production management across the entire project for a two-year period.

23 ATTRACTIONS OVER 2 YEARS OF TERROR

In 2015 Screamland presented 3 scare mazes, one scare experience, one scare zone, a live dark ride and several streetmosphere and midway entertainment formats, the headline attractions were:

DEAD & BREAKFAST – A bespoke scare maze set in a bombed-out Margate bed and breakfast during the blitz.  Including an elevator and blackout chamber and presided over by the rancid landlady Fag Ash Lil.

THE FINAL CUT – A bespoke scare maze set in a decaying cinema with a two-part theme.  Firstly the foyers and auditorium, and subsequently a black and white nightmare where guests stepped through the movie screen and ‘into’ the horror film itself.

FESTINO’S FORGOTTEN FUNHOUSE – A huge bespoke scare maze set in a Big Top and filled with a motley hoard of carnival freaks fresh from Coney Island, and led by the diabolic Alonzo Festino.

ABRAMACABRE – An overlay scare walkthrough scare experience set in the existing mirror maze, which placed guests into the nightmarish world of Edwardian Magician The Amazing Mystero.

For the second season of Screamland we presented 4 scare mazes, one scare experience and several streetmosphere and midway entertainment formats.  The headline attractions were:

DEAD & BREKFAST 2 – MURDER HOTEL – The original scare maze upgraded with new rooms and effects and a new narrative featuring a serial killer.

THE FINAL CUT PRESENTS: THEY CAME FROM OUTER SPACE – A complete re-imagining of the core of the attraction to present a 1950’s science fiction movie gone awry.

FESTINO’S FORGOTTEN FUNHOUSE – KING OF CLOWNS – A new design of the original maze featuring new scenes and characters and a new icon character – Pearlywight.

THE PARADISE FOUNDATION – A bespoke scare maze loosely based on the Frankenstein story combining multiple themes of cultural insurrection, body gore and a monstrous medical mastermind.

THE BLOODY MIRROR – A walkthrough scare experience set in the existing mirror maze and featuring the storyline of a vengeful spirit named Bloody Mary.

SECONDARY SCARE ENTERTAINMENT

The following secondary attractions were created in 2015:

STREETMOSPHERE – live performers roaming the park.

THE LAUGHING SAILOR – an ‘automaton’ seaside attraction which was actually a live performer.

THE ICE-SCREAM MAN – a rancid ice-cream seller in a battered ice-cream van.

SCREAM MACHINE SCARE ZONE – a free roaming scare zone featuring effects and live performers.

THE PHANTOM EXPRESS – a re-imagining of an existing dark ride ‘Ghost Train’ including live performers.

THE STRANGE SISTERS – a themed tarot reading exhibit.

The following secondary attractions were created in 2016:

THE FREED RADICALS – a hoard of characters linked to The Paradise Foundation scare maze.  These were used as on-park roaming performers and in various public appearances for marketing purposes.

ICONS OF FEAR

In order to stamp Screamland’s various attraction narratives firmly into the public’s minds, we designed and produced a variety of headline ‘Icon’ characters for each attraction and for Screamland itself.

In 2015:

PUNCHINELLO – The King of Screamland.  This character featured heavily in marketing, made public appearances and roamed the park itself.

FAG ASH LIL – the icon character of Dead & Breakfast.

ALONZO FESTINO – the icon character of Festino’s Forgotten Funhouse.

ARMAND – the icon character of The Final Cut.

THE AMAZING MYSTERO – the icon character of Abramacabre.

In 2016:

TERRORSINA – a companion character for Punchinello.

PEARLYWIGHT – a replacement icon character for Festino’s Forgotten Funhouse.

DOCTOR ISIAH PROMETHEUS – the icon character of The Paradise Foundation.

TOM FOOL – the icon character of Get Spooked – Dreamland’s daytime Halloween product.

ELIZA BODY – the icon character of Get Spooked’s The Storyteller stage show.

DAYTIME TREATMENT...

For the first season of Screamland we were asked to design a daytime attraction experience for younger audiences.  Monstrous Menagerie was an educational and interactive encounter with live reptiles and creepy crawlies, presented by a zany monster hunter named Hieronymus Drake.

In 2016 the daytime attractions were re-branded as ‘Get Spooked’ and increased to include the following:

THE STORYTELLER – a stage show featuring a sinister spinster reading ghost stories.

FESTINO’S FORGOTTEN FUNHOUSE – TOM FOOL’S TOUR – a light-hearted daytime version of the scare maze.

WICKED WITCHES MIRROR – an overlay of The Bloody Mirror featuring friendly witches for children.