Melton Mowbray, England — The shortlisted nominees for the 2026 SCARE Awards have been announced, with winners set to be revealed at ScareCON on May 19 at the Heart of England Convention Centre.
The nominees were unveiled in a specially commissioned video filmed at Xtreme Scream Park in Melton Mowbray, with footage shot inside each of the park’s seven mazes. Presented in a short movie format that mixes comedy and horror, the video walks through the shortlisted attractions and mazes category by category.
About ScareCON
ScareCON, billed as Europe’s only trade show for the scare attraction and horror industry, runs May 18 through May 20, 2026, at the Heart of England Convention Center near Birmingham International Airport. The convention has previously been held at venues including Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Dreamland Margate, and Blackpool, and has been running since 2007.
This year’s programme includes the trade show floor, a workshop and seminar schedule, and the Scare Ball on May 19, where the SCARE Awards will be presented after a full day of trade show activity. ScareCON has also partnered with Stourbridge Scare Maze on a new daytime experience called Aztec Zombie Golf, a Halloween-themed mini-golf course featuring live actors that will run alongside the convention.
SCARE Awards 2026 Nominees
Best Set and Design
- Spoors — Xtreme Scream Park
- Gallows Hill Asylum — The Nightmare Realm
- Seeds of Evil — Fear Avon Valley
- Stourbridge Scare Maze
- The Cage — Walsall Scare Maze
- Shriek Easy — The Howl
Best Costume and Make Up
- The Nightmare Realm
- AquaPhobia — Horrorland
- Spoors — Xtreme Scream Park
- Shipwrecked Survivors by Area 51
- Seeds of Evil — Fear Avon Valley
- Traumatica
Best Original Concept and Idea
- Snap — Fear Island
- Killer Clowns Greatest Hits — Dr Frights Halloween Nights
- Taylor Swift — Horror at Hinchingbrooke House
- Shellton Motel — Doncaster Fear Factory
- Shriek Easy — The Howl
- Spoors — Xtreme Scream Park
Best Scene/Set Piece
- The Ballroom — Shriek Easy — The Howl
- Blood Moon — Seeds of Evil — Fear Avon Valley
- Bed Scene — Psychotorium — Psycho Path
- Spinning Cage — Forest of Fear — Primevil
- Broken AI character — Damnation Mutation — Screamfest Burton
- St Sinisters — Scream Factory
Best Scare Zone and Roaming Characters
- Street Team — The Howl Scream Park
- Street Team — Fear Avon Valley
- Street Team — Fairground Frights
- Street Team — Statfold Scream Park
- Street Team — Tulleys Shocktoberfest
- The Crows — Thorpe Park
Best Entertainment
- Eden Manor — Traumatica
- Stages at York Maze Hallowscream
- Fire Shows — Fear Avon Valley
- Circus of Screams — The Howl
- Creature Campus — Thorpe Park
- Finale — Psycho Path
Best New Event/Attraction
- Shipwrecked Survivors — Area 51
- Brackley Horror House
- Terror Scream Park
- Statfold Scream Park
- Frightworks
- Scream Time
Best Out of Season Experience
- The Cage Lights Out — Walsall Scare Maze
- My Bloody Valentines — Scream Factory
- Lander 23 by Punchdrunk
- Hyams Haunted House
- Vampires, Werewolves and Zombies oh my — Zombie Infection
- Scare Me Christmas
Best Year-Round Experience
- Pasaje del Terror
- York Dungeon
- London Dungeon
- Granny by Screamworks
- Zombie Infection
- Edinburgh Dungeon
Best Theme Park Event
- Fright Nights — Thorpe Park
- Halloween at Bobbejaanland
- Peur sur le Parc — Parc Asterix
- Halloween Horror Festival — Movie Park Germany
- Halloween Fright Nights — Walibi Holland
- Fear Island at Fantasy Island
Best Multi Part Scream Event (mazes done in set order)
- Horror at Hinchingbrooke House
- Scream Factory
- Dr Frights Halloween Nights
- Yorkshire Scare Grounds
- Scare Kingdom
- Scare City Experience
Best Scream Park Event — UK
- The Howl Scream Park
- Tulleys Shocktoberfest
- Xtreme Scream Park
- Psycho Path
- PrimEVIL
- York Maze Hallowscream
Best Scream Park Event — Europe
- Horrorland
- Traumatica
- The Nightmare Realm
- Scare Me
- Farmaphobia
- Horror Zone
ScareTOUR Rising Star
- Trinity Screams
- Statfold Scream Park
- Newsham Scream Park
- Descend into Darkness — Watermouth Castle
- Screams at Thornton
- Scream Time
Best Scare Experience
- Snap — Fear Island
- Shriek Easy — The Howl Scream Park
- Shellton Motel — Doncaster Fear Factory
- Seeds of Evil — Fear Avon Valley
- Spoors — Xtreme Scream Park
- Aquaphobia — Horrorland
Event dates and ticketing
ScareCON 2026 runs May 18 through May 20 at the Heart of England Convention Centre near Birmingham International Airport. Tickets are available at scarecon.org, where the SCAR Awards announcement video can also be viewed.
