Walsall Scare Maze named among UK's best Halloween attractions

A Walsall scare maze has been named the best-rated haunted attraction in the West Midlands and one of the top 10 scare attractions in the UK, according to new research.

Walsall Scare Maze has been ranked sixth in the country for scare attractions, with an average Google rating of 4.60 stars from 220 reviews, including 177 five-star ratings.

The findings come from research by web experts at seobacklinks.com, who analysed Google reviews for 46 haunted attractions, ghost walks, scream parks and scare mazes across the UK ahead of Halloween.

The Black Country performed particularly well in the rankings, with Stourbridge Scare Maze also making the national top 10.

The Stourbridge attraction was ranked eighth, with an average rating of 4.56 stars from 285 reviews, meaning the Black Country is home to two of the country's 10 best-rated scare attractions.

One visitor to Walsall Scare Maze described the experience as "properly immersive, with changing storylines that even include interactive elements".

Meanwhile, a visitor to Stourbridge Scare Maze, writing in October 2026, said: "This is the most intense scare attraction I've ever done."

Elsewhere in the West Midlands, The Castle Dungeon at Warwick Castle received an average rating of 4.37 stars from 127 reviews.

The three West Midlands attractions included in the research achieved a combined average rating of 4.51 stars, compared with the UK average of 4.53.

Leeds Scare Maze topped the national rankings for scare attractions, with an average rating of 4.82 stars from 522 reviews, followed by Yorkshire Scaregrounds in Wakefield with 4.79 stars.

The York Dungeon came third with 4.64 stars, while Pasaje del Terror in Blackpool and Hallowscream at York Maze completed the top five.

Researchers examined more than 60,000 Google reviews across 46 attractions, with each venue required to have at least 100 reviews and be operating in 2026 to qualify.

The rankings were calculated using the exact average of each attraction's one to five-star reviews, rather than the rounded ratings displayed on Google.

The research also found that traditional ghost walks performed particularly well, with The Bloody Tour of York, Red Hat Ghost Walk in Whitby and Shadows of York Ghost Walk all achieving average ratings of 4.98 stars.

Oliver Weston, founder of seobacklinks.com, said: "Halloween's the one time of year when people will happily pay to be frightened, and for a family it soon adds up once you've bought tickets, travel and food.

"What stood out to me is how well the humble ghost walk does, because it's usually just one guide and a good story, and it's outscoring attractions with huge sets and dozens of actors.

"A ghost walk is a much smaller outlay than a big scream park, so people judge the two very differently, and that's worth bearing in mind when you compare the scores.

"Whatever you're booking this year, have a read of the latest reviews first, because they'll tell you how this season's actually going."