History Main / HedgeMaze

* J. J. Connington's 1927 ''Literature/MurderInTheMaze'' features two corpses, one in each of the two centers of the hedge maze. In life they were successful-yet-hated twin brothers.
* Creator/KatherineKurtz is partial to using these:
** In ''[[Literature/{{Deryni}} Deryni Rising]]'', just after Alaric Morgan's arrival from Cardosa, Kelson arranges for his meeting with Morgan to take place in a summerhouse outside a boxwood maze. Nigel conducts him there, and during their conversation: "Morgan suddenly realized it was almost symbolic of the dilemma he now faced: convoluted, enigmatic, with new and unforeseen difficulties around every turn. Except that there was a way out of the boxwood maze."
** In ''Literature/LammasNight'', a hedge maze is part of the coven's outdoor ritual area. Some gates are moved when the area is being used for magical purposes, and walking the maze in the new configuration helps to prepare the coven.
** The same maze appears in the third ''The Adept'' novel, ''The Templar Treasure'', where it's used for the same purpose.
* Sarah J. Mason introduced her ''Literature/TrewleyAndStone'' series in 1993's ''Murder in the Maze''. The body of a doctor's young wife is found in a hedge maze during a village fete.
* Karen Harper has a young Queen Elizabeth I as the lead sleuth in a series, including the fifth installment, ''The Thorne Maze'' (2003).

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', one of these serves as [[spoiler:the location of the final challenge in the Triwizard Tournament. In [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire the movie]], it's downright a LivingStructureMonster, removing the beasts that inhabited the maze in the book.]]
* In the ''Literature/TimeWars'' novel ''The Pimpernel Plot'', a clandestine meeting takes place at the centre of a hedge maze in the grounds of an English country house.

* In ''Literature/TheObernewtynChronicles'' a hedge maze forms the main route between the main house and the farms. It is made of greenthorn, the scent of which inhibits the Misfits' Talents.
* The Creator/MontagueRhodesJames story "[[https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/j/james/mr/more/chapter7.html Mr. Humphreys and His Inheritance]]" in ''More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' (1911) features a maze that can only be threaded by scions of the house.
* ''Literature/TheHouseWithAClockInItsWalls'': In ''The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder'', Barnavelt Manor in Sussex, England has one of these; it was originally made with the intention of having the guests go in from the road side and find their way through to the side closest to the manor's front door, though Arthur Pelham "Pelly" Barnavelt hasn't kept it up in years, thinking it's silly to have your guests get lost this way. There's also a trick to it, as if you keep one hand on the hedges to the right, you'll always find your way out. There's also a stone bench in the center, marking a square hedge with a stone tomb inside holding a malevolent spirit familiar answering to a 17th-century ghost. Lewis accidentally releases said familiar, causing a great deal of trouble before he and Jonathan can banish it back to the other side.

* ''Literature/PrincessesOfThePizzaParlor'': In Episode 2, ''Princesses Are Never Lost: (Everything Else Is Simply Misplaced)'':
--> a little path appeared beneath their feet. Pale green bricks fitted together in a complicated blocky pattern that led them through twists and curves. Without it, Gwen realized, they would be in trouble. The garden was a maze of hedges, with splits and forks leading every which way.
* The ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novel ''Choose Your Enemies'' features a hedge maze in the local governor's orbital residence. A retainer teaches Cain's party the "childishly simple" trick to reaching the center and getting back out, but it still has a reputation for mysterious disappearances. [[spoiler: The governor is actually the leader of a Slaaneshi cult that carries out sacrifices in the maze, and Cain has to go in there to stop them summoning a daemon. The hedges progressively mutate into MeatMoss as they get closer to the ritual site.]]

* In an episode of ''Series/{{CSINY}}'', the investigators find a college kid dead in one. It was the site of a banishment ceremony for a kid who wanted out of a secret group called Kings and Shadows. Another kid seized on it and killed the kid to cover something else up.

* ''VideoGame/HandsOfNecromancy'' has a greenery maze outside the castle you need to navigate across, while battling zombies, cultists, and assorted enemies along the way. The flying demon mooks takes advantage of the situation by flying ''over'' the maze to attack you.
* ''VideoGame/{{Spyborgs}}'' have one such maze in an outdoor garden, and sometimes enemies will hide themselves in the leaves before pouncing out to attack.
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' has one planet covered entirely by hedge mazes in which you have to chase rabbits there to obtain the Power Star.
** ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'': Mario has to navigate a hedge maze in Flower Fields to find Rosie so he can trade her a Crystal Berry for a Water Stone needed to save a dying flower named Lily.
** ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'': The Special Cup track Peach Gardens features a segment that goes through a hedge maze inhabited by a Chain Chomp and which has grassy floors that damp the drivers' speed. There's also a topiary of Mario, [[ImpliedLoveInterest which comes as no surprise]]. It makes a return in ''VideoGame/MarioKartWii'', ''VideoGame/MarioKartTour'' and the DLC of ''VideoGame/MarioKart8 Deluxe'' as a NostalgiaLevel; in the latter two games, topiaries of characters like Luigi, Toad, Toadette and the host Peach herself are present as well.
** ''VideoGame/MarioPartyDS'': The minigame Hedge Honcho has all characters, in their reduced size, navigate through a sequence of miniature rows of hedges to each a pond. In each row, each player has to remove the obstructing leaves by sliding them to a specific side with the stylus. If a bee is posed in one of the leaves, the player has to wait until it flies away, as touching it will provoke the bee and attack the player, stunning them for a brief while. If it's a ladybug, it has to be rubbed several times with the stylus to remove it. Whoever reaches the pond first wins; if five minutes pass and no one gets there before then, or if two characters do so at the same time in Duel mode, the minigame ends in a tie.

* ''VideoGame/SpikeOut'' have a level set in a greenery maze filled with enemies, though it's a relatively small one you're not likely to lose yourself in.
* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' features a hedge maze in the Mad Monster Mansion level. It is a lot easier to figure out how to get through it once you realize that you can actually hop on top of the hedges themselves.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodhound}}'' has one in the Gardens of Hell, though it's rather straighforward and easy to navigate through.
* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'': The backyard of Count Batula's mansion has a hedge maze, though its paths are wide enough for Conker to know where he is. The real danger is the zombies who overrun it, as they do through the whole place. Conker needs to go through this part to find one of the three keys (specifically the second) necessary to open the door to the exit.
* The InteractiveFiction game ''Curses'' opens in a BigFancyHouse, the grounds of which incorporate a hedge maze. One puzzle involves reaching a location that's completely surrounded by hedges.
* ''VideoGame/SheepDogNWolf'' has one. It's filled with ghosts.
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', there's one in the Wonderland area, and you once have to chase a Heartless through the maze.
* In ''VideoGame/Castlevania64'', you see one relatively early on, and are pursued by a chainsaw-wielding Frankenstein's Monster and two stone dogs.

* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'': Lanky Kong has to navigate one located in a greenhouse in the Creepy Castle area to get a few normal bananas, one of his Golden Bananas, and, once that's done, spawn an Arena Pad.
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' the Parfum Palace has four of these in its back garden. One of them hides the [=HM01=] while you and Shauna have to chase and catch a Furfrou through another to get the Poké Flute.
* In ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'', there is a hedge maze in Queensland... although the part you navigate isn't difficult, and once she's had a [[{{Sizeshifter}} bite of cake]] [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever (and eliminated]] [[PlotlineDeath a previously invincible minion]] responsible for many an EscapeSequence), you just sort of... step through it.
* One of the mazes in ''VideoGame/TheLabyrinthOfTime'' is this. Due to the titular labyrinth's [[PatchworkWorld convoluted layout that spans across time and space]], this hedge maze connects between a construction site and a MaltShop.
* In ''[[VideoGame/MysteryCaseFiles Mystery Case Files: Black Crown]]'', the Crown Estate features a very large hege maze, and the Master Detective has to use a dog's guidance to avoid getting lost within it.
* In ''VideoGame/IgglePop'', the first world consists of hedge mazes. In fact, it is actually ''named'' "The Hedge Mazes". The later worlds' levels also are built like these, but they lack the vegetal theme.

* In ''VideoGame/SecretOfEvermore'', there is a hedge maze between Ivor Tower and Ebon Keep that also has a [[HumanChess human-sized chessboard]] in the center.
* ''VideoGame/TheWitness'': The keep on the north side of the island features two different ways of activating the laser. One of them involves navigating through such mazes and inputting a specific path into the panel.
* ''VideoGame/RollercoasterTycoon'' and its sequel allow you to build these, either to a preset design or custom-made. Unfortunately, they're coded to rely on the same [[ArtificialStupidity somewhat iffy pathfinding AI]] used by guests to get around the park, rendering more elaborate designs AwesomeButImpractical.
* The gardens at Halamshiral Palace in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' resemble one of these, with assorted side paths and hidden fountains.
* The north-west part of the maze from ''{{VideoGame/Grow}} Maze'' will become this after clicking on a grassy button.
* ''VideoGame/AVeryLongRopeToTheTopOfTheSky'': In front of Brunhilde and Solomon's mansion in Silver Spring, where {{Brick Joke}}s happen with people trapped inside:
--> ''Soldier:'' Why the hell did they install this maze?!
* ''VideoGame/DisneyFriends'' features a tall grass maze which [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Simba]] can visit, whereon the goal is to find the giant tree at the end whilst also finding Simba, Timon and Pumbaa hidden within the maze.
* ''VideoGame/TombRaiderI''[='s=] Croft Manor has one, briefly seen in an FMV and fully navigable in the [[VideoGame/TombRaiderII sequel]]. With some effort, you can find a switch which opens a door inside the mansion proper to find Lara's TreasureRoom. ''VideoGame/TombRaiderIII'' had it gutted to make room for an ATV course.
* ''VideoGame/GarfieldsScaryScavengerHunt'': In the second game, by collecting all the donuts and muffins, Garfield unlocks a hidden door in the library leading into one of these, which he has to make his way through to escape from the haunted house.
* A hedge maze can be found in the Kortz Center in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV''.

* One of No Heart's schemes in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CareBears1980s'' involved leading the bears into a hedge maze that he had augmented with magic thorns, making the experience considerably more dangerous.
* ''WesternAnimation/MartinMystery'' has an episode where Martin have to battle a spectre-possessed Diana in a hedge maze, in a ShoutOut directed at ''Film/TheShining''. Although it does raise some questions that since possessed Diana could ''fly'', making audience wonder why can't she just hover ''above'' the maze and destroy Martin from an elevated position.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'': Charmcaster's debut episode has one.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' has Duke with his own hedge maze, where both Pope John Paul II ''and'' Don King are lost in it and discussing ways to get out of it.

* ''[[Literature/{{Perfume}} Perfume: The Story of a Murderer]]''. While playing hide-and-seek in a hedge maze (filmed in the Labyrinth of Horta in Barcelona) Laura Richis is stalked by the killer, but fortunately someone else finds her first.

* ''Film/TheAvengers1998''. Steed and Mrs. Peel encounter one of these on Sir August's estate. While traveling through it Steed is attacked by Sir August and Mrs. Peel falls down a hole and is captured.
-->'''Mrs. Peel:''' Ah, yes, it's clear now. A love maze in a trapezoid shape. [snip] Originally late 17th century design, then copied.
* ''Film/TheShining''. The Overlook Hotel has a rather large hedge maze. Wendy and Danny [[ChekhovsGun are shown exploring it midway through the movie]] and Danny's insane father Jack stalks him through it in the finale. [[spoiler:Having had the chance to explore it earlier, Danny lays a false trail in the snow to get Jack GoingInCircles until he gets lost, eventually freezing to death.]]
* In ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' starring David Bowie, part of the titular maze is made of hedges.

* In ''Film/TheShining'', the Overlook Hotel has a big one. Just the place for a scary chase scene.

A subtrope of TheMaze. Compare TheLostWoods and LostInTheMaize.

** In a nod to ''The Shining'' example above, the "WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror" parody had Bart cheating by using a chainsaw. Groundskeeper Willie gets understandably annoyed at first.

The hedge maze was a must-have part of Western European gardens in the 16th and 17th centuries, including Hampton Court Palace in the UK. You can see [[http://www.labyrinthos.net/photo_library09.html maps, photos and engravings here.]]