Behind the scenes of recent scare maze designed to totally terrify folks

This week, our resident paranormal expert and Queen of All Things Horror, Brocarde, gets an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at a scare maze to find out what really goes into making guests jump

The magic and mystery of a scare maze can seem to fade away in the cold light of day, but does it really? The silent, still, sleeping animatronics, the empty spaces where no scare actors are hiding, and all the intricate, gruesome details suddenly visible to the naked eye.

You could call a lights on maze a spoiler, but I felt positively spoilt to have the opportunity to go behind the scenes at SeaWorld and see what really goes into bringing a scare maze to life.

Howl O Scream at SeaWorld San Diego is now in its sixth year. However, 2026 marks the first year that the brand has turned to a Hollywood blockbuster for inspiration. This year, its hottest attraction is the new I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Final Catch maze, which feels like a fitting choice given its references to the sea and its vengeful fisherman.

As you can imagine, I’m no stranger to a scare maze, which is ironic really because at the moment I’m probably the jumpiest person on the planet. Honestly, even my own reflection scares me! What’s struck me on my American Halloween expedition so far this year is that, when it comes to jump scares, the mazes really haven’t made me flinch or bat an eyelid.

Over here, things are a little less rough and ready, with larger budgets being poured into the back end production and set design, particularly when you’re dealing with a huge brand like SeaWorld. I was fascinated by my behind the scenes look at the I Know What You Did Last Summer maze, and when I got to experience it after dark in full force, knowing how everything falls into place only added another layer to the experience.

I started my journey at the fictional Southport Fish Packing Co. Due to SeaWorld’s proximity to the ocean, the building fitted in rather nicely, and I could quite easily have believed I was there to purchase a crab or two. After dark, the building is illuminated with siren style flashing lights. I scurried through the shop curtain and found myself under the sea, well, almost. There was definitely something fishy going on!

For those of you who haven’t seen the I Know What You Did Last Summer movie, this maze takes you back to that fateful 4th of July, when a group of teenagers dump a man’s body into the sea. He returns exactly one year later from his watery grave. The maze therefore centres around the vengeful fisherman, who almost stalks guests throughout, constantly reminding them that he knows, he knows what they did last summer.

Thankfully, the vengeful fisherman doesn’t know what I did last summer, and it can’t have been too bad because it wasn’t the year I decided to marry a ghost!

The vengeful fisherman makes his first appearance quite swiftly as you enter the maze. His role is played by both mannequins in hooded trench coats and scare actors wielding fish hooks. During my daytime walk through, you could see exactly where the mannequins were placed behind fabric seascapes, giving the illusion of him waiting in the shadows.

I also learnt a few scare maze spoilers, which were fairly obvious if you analysed the set up for a few moments. Essentially, the maze uses a combination of mannequins, animatronics and scare actors. Typically, a scare actor will jump out while you’re distracted by a possessed animatronic, or while you’re wondering whether a mannequin is actually plastic or, in fact, human.

The nature of the vengeful fisherman concept isn’t really about giving you the fright of your life. It’s more about reminding you of his constant presence. So, when he appears, it’s slow but menacing, a reminder that, as I said, he knows and he’s watching.

My favourite aspect of a scare experience is when they take a multi sensory approach. It always adds an additional layer of fun. In this maze, you enter the cooler, or fish locker, and immediately feel the air turn cold. You can even smell fish in the air. I’m sure the scare actors smell absolutely delightful when they return home from work!

Here, you’ll find plenty of bodies, severed and laid out on ice, naturally. The penultimate scene sees you thrust into the path of an animatronic seagull feasting on the flesh of a dead policeman, which makes a change from them stealing your chips!

This is a decoy prop, which illuminates to provide a quick scare before you find yourself at the mercy of another scare actor.

Before I left the maze, I even got the chance to disappear into a few of the scare actors’ hiding places. I eagerly waited to pounce like it was my calling in life, but sadly, no unsuspecting guests arrived.

Such a missed opportunity. After all, I do tend to scare people quite naturally!

On exiting the maze, I was hit with yet another reminder that, yes, you guessed it, he still knows what I did last summer…