It is one of those moments that mark the unofficial start of Fall around these parts. The Field Of Screams in Mountville PA once again adds another chapter to their legacy of terrorizing young and old alike from September 11th through the middle of November. It is located about forty miles from where I live, but I have never gotten around to visiting it. Still, as a huge Halloween guy it seems like something I should make the trip for.
There are four main haunted attractions that require separate admissions, but the cost structure is designed for attendees to secure a “Scream Pass” (or even a “Group Scream Pass” for large parties) which gain you entry to each one.
I do have a few thoughts based on the Field Of Screams info provided about each attraction…
Haunted Hayride – “Prepare yourself for the most disturbing, the most heart-pounding, and the most intense ride of your life! There is no turning back as the tractor-pulled wagons take you on a horrifying hayride into the depths of our dark and sinister cornfield.”
“In just twenty minutes, every horror you have ever imagined will come to life and haunt you for the rest of your days.”
Dark and sinister cornfield, huh? When I was a kid who hadn’t taken possession of common sense yet, one year a bunch of us hid out in a big cornfield the night before Halloween and threw handfuls of corn at passing cars. Mind you, this was a back road where the top speed was approximately 10 mph, so it wasn’t quite as heinous as it sounds. However, during our Mischief Night adventure when those kernels hit one car in particular, the driver hit the brakes, parked in the street, and flung open their door.
My friend Mikey may still be running.
Den Of Darkness – “Three stories of sheer terror await as you creep through the dismal passageways and maddening mazes of this 200-year-old original barn. Incredible detail, dynamic set design, and a multitude of grotesque inhabitants guarantee high-impact scares and sensory overload!”
“The dark and mysterious past of the Den began when the Murter family resided there. Mr. Murter tortured both vagrants and locals who approached their land, and their blood still stains the ground. Years later the residence was renovated into The Garden Hotel and ironically the horrific killings increased. As the demented hotel staff committed torturous murders, many checked in but few checked out.”
Three stories? 200-year-old barn? I’m not so much worried about all those dismal passageways and maddening mazes as much as whether or not the barn floors will support any visitors. The Garden Hotel clearly has a severe Human Resources problem. To be honest, this place sounds an awful lot like The Hotel California. You can check out anytime you like…but you can never leave.
Frightmare Asylum – “Welcome to your worst Nightmare! Check in to your new living quarters at the Frightmare Asylum and become a part of the bone-chilling madness as you explore four floors of the demented and the deranged! Feel the fear as you meet the disturbed doctors and nightmarish nurses who have taken up residence here! Experience elaborate theming, state-of-the-art scares, and seemingly endless scenes and rooms that are packed with more cutting-edge special effects than you can handle. In the Frightmare Asylum, no one can hear you scream!”
“The malpractice of the doctors and nurses in the Asylum has caused the inmates to become unstable and prone to seek their revenge on all who enter the condemned building.”
Four floors? Condemned building? Visitors here clearly have to be more worried of dying from the Asylum collapsing upon itself more so than all those demented, deranged, revenge-minded inmates running amok. You say no one can hear you scream? That certainly tracks if you wind up under a massive pile of rubble. (It appears I might have some residual trauma from exploring less-than-safe abandoned structures on my town’s “wrong side of the tracks” when I was a kid…)
Nocturnal Wasteland – “In the foreboding and desolate woods on the Field of Screams property lies the Nocturnal Wasteland. As you walk down the narrow, winding paths through the dense overgrown vegetation, you will come face-to-face with the mutant creatures of this fear-filled forest! Your screams and cries for mercy will be too distant to be heard.”
“A walk-through Nocturnal Wasteland provides intense scares and heart-pounding experiences that will leave you screaming through the woods. The inhabitants of this Wasteland watch their visitors squirm and they show no mercy once they track you down. Experience the hair-raising touch of the brander’s tool and smell your own burning flesh as he presses the brand into your skin.”
Sounds like you make your way through a thick Jumanji-like jungle with bad actors trying to keep you from getting where you want to go. I have never experienced anything like that specifically, but I suppose it is a bit like those old 6 AM Black Friday sales. Those crowds always made me feel like I was in a cattle roundup, but fortunately for we shoppers there was no branding or burning flesh involved. (One Thanksgiving however, I did have the burning flesh experience while transferring the turkey from the oven to the counter but I digress…)
Now…for those of you who might for some reason (or lack thereof) need even more terror and horror at the Field Of Screams…I give you…Extreme Blackout.
Extreme Blackout – On Friday November 13th only, all four attractions of the Field of Screams show will be darker, more intense, and hands-on! You will be subject to new methods of torture, physical restraint, and isolation that are not a part of our regular season show. Extreme scare tactics and fear-inducing techniques will be incorporated as part of your Extreme Blackout experience. Not all will survive. Release waivers must be signed in order to participate!
And straight from that release waiver itself…
I UNDERSTAND THAT BY PURCHASING A TICKET TO PARTICIPATE IN EXTREME BLACKOUT, I MAY BE SUBJECT TO PHYSICAL RESTRAINT; ISOLATION; TORTURE; MISDIRECTION; DARK AND NARROW AREAS; DISORIENTING LIGHTING, SOUNDS, AND SPECIAL EFFECTS; PHYSICAL TOUCHING; AND OTHER SCARE TACTICS AND FEAR-INDUCING METHODS AND TECHINIQUES NOT MENTIONED HERE. I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS AGREEMENT AND I AM AWARE THAT BY SIGNING THIS AGREEMENT I MAY BE WAIVING CERTAIN LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO SUE.
OK, this does NOT sound OK. Is it breaking news you have to sign a waiver to participate?
My wife is not into the horror performance art thing at all. She told me when we first met in the autumns of her youth, her youth group managed each year to find their way to various haunted hayrides and houses. She reminds me of this whenever I mention the two of us possibly going to Field Of Screams together. She thanks me for the offer, but advises she has already been sufficiently traumatized for life.
Me, I don’t know if I dream of doing this. I do love a well-done horror movie as much as the next person. But, do I really want to live one out, immersing myself in a hands-on experience like this? Extreme Blackout sounds very much like a near-Death experience, and since I’m on the backside of life, I don’t need to edge any closer to Death…so that one is a hard pass.
As for the four main attractions, I have a concern about the proximity of all those performers who jump out and grab at you while your senses are in a heightened, frightened state. I am concerned I might instinctively knock one of them out while in attack mode. Then…you’ve got real blood mixing with fake blood…various lawyers involved, etc. I think I’d have to recruit at least one person to accompany me to Field Of Screams…if for nothing else than to serve as a witness for the police report.
I know they get a ton of visitors there, and it sounds like everybody makes it back home in one piece. I don’t know what your experience is regarding attractions like this but I’ll pose the question here…would you dare go there for scares?
Pictures Courtesy Tripadvisor/Haunted Pennsylvania
Waiver!? “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Or Pennsylvania! Man, each of the four realms is more terrifying than the next, and that bar starts high… Your story of juvenile mischief sounds hauntingly similar to one I have from middle school… This sounds positively terrifying and fantastic. It’s been 3 years since I would even consider doing anything as scary as this due to an ailing heart. But I’m working up to it again… Let the madness…. BEGIN!🌽😈🌽
Now that you mention it, I probably do need to get a waiver from cardiology before venturing out to this place.🩺🥼💓
The scariest thing is how early Halloween starts! All Hallow’s Eve is just one night when the dead leave their graves and I avoid the churchyard and stay at home handing out sweets to ward off evil local children!
People were buying costumes at the Halloween Adventure store three weeks ago. I am a big Halloween fan, but it would be nice if we could get into September before starting up. We at least wait that long to buy those sweets!
If I want those kinds of scares, all I have to do is attempt to cross a street at a corner with a stop sign here in Florida. Suburban drivers in SUVs the size of the Queen Mary II and with windows tinted black, or in massive pickups that never have hauled anything heavier than a youth’s soccer gear but sound like a Space Shuttle lifting off from Cape Canaveral, or in some freakish-looking Tesla designed by someone with severe insecurity issues, exercise their self-anointed freedoms by refusing to stop on their way to somewhere important.
Our parallel road would be our four-way stop sign intersections, which drivers have yet to figure out even though our state is very much old-er. Some refuse to go, some refuse to stop. Some start out and then stop. You might say we have a little bit of everything.
My first thought was “what if somebody fights back?” I mean, creatures getting all handsy with my bod, nothing good is going to happen. Do the actors have to sign a waiver too? What if a karate expert goes through and kung-fu chops everybody?
or even worse, what if a real psychopath goes and “accidentally” kills all the actors in “self defense”? Or EVEN worser, what if a psychopath gets hired as an actor and “accidentally” kills a bunch of the people going through? Not much consolation to the dead people if he signed a waiver 😉
I have to say, it just seems like a very bad idea from top to bottom. But then I’m just being a negative nancy at the moment 🙂
I don’t know what kind of vetting goes on for the performers, but you can be sure if I ever head in that direction I will (now) already have interviewed them first.😉
I vaguely (because trauma has blurred the past) remember being a teen and getting talked into a haunted house experience somewhere. I think it was a pretty small, very local one. Clearly I’m still alive but I remember strobe lights, walking through hanging things that I swear were spiders and webs and the rest has been wiped from my brain. As much as I used to tell myself how fun places like this sound reality held me in check and I never made it back to any haunted house, decrepit building, field, forest or even the many warehouse turned horror show thankfully.
If I had done this when I was younger, it would have been easier to take in and might even have been a fun evening overall. Then again, I’m pretty sure if I had gone as a kid and something truly frightening happened, it probably would still be lodged in my brain to this day and that wouldn’t be fun at all.
Hard pass. These days life is frightening enough without zombies jumping at me from around a dark corner.
😉
I probably would have to practice around the house first. I am sure my wife would jump at the opportunity to jump out at me from all corners, especially since she says I am always scaring her.😁
My Lord! I’m with your wife. It sounds terrifying!
It would seem to be helpful to keep trying to remind yourself this was only a “tourist attraction,” but I suspect that wouldn’t last long.
This definitely is not my bag. Count me out!
You were on the short list of people I might ask to go with me…I guess it just got shorter.😁
Mischief Night…nobody does that anymore, do they? Such innocent, more or less, fun when we were kids.
Years ago, when our kids were younger, for whatever reason, we all went to a haunted house downtown. And our haunted house was nowhere near as creepily haunted as anything you describe here. We were only about a quarter of a way through and one of my kids was about to have a panic attack–they were so scared. We were let out of there. No waiver involved.
These descriptions are great, Bruce. Whoever wrote them up did an excellent job. I would be shaking in my shoes in the parking lot. Hard no from me. But I really think you should give it a try! 😱 And report back.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Lois. If I go there I would absolutely file a full report…right after I file that police report.😁 Yeah, Mischief Night has lost a lot of its “fastball” over the years, but around here we still buckle down just in case somebody gets the bright idea to…say…toss corn kernels at drivers.
Nope. Never gonna happen for me, thank you very much.
But you go, and tell us allllll about it 😉
I might be able to pull this off if I take a journalistic approach and just convince myself I am doing it for my WordPress readers. If I focus on getting the right shots, I might have a shot at getting out of there in one piece.😄
Now you’re talkin’! I’d get into reading about it!
Waivers are on ski lift tickets so the waiver for the Field of Screams isn’t surprising. But I’m not what I’d consider an adrenalin junkie so I think I’ll join your wife on the sidelines if you decide to go.
I did not know you had to sign a waiver to get on a ski lift. I kinda had more faith in that process, but then again once eye level with the mountain peaks I might understand that requirement a lot better.😁
Yup, it’s a big step down when you fall off. I think waivers are more prevalent these days with such a litigious society.
The medical procedure waivers are fascinating also, but I guess that is because doctors are just “practicing” medicine.😁
Well there’s that too, but mostly it’s because of the threat someone will try to sue them even when they’ve acted in an unsafe manner (i.e. lift tickets and amusement park rides). Everyone wants to cover their backside even if their equipment is faulty.
Chaplin: “Our Dada used to like haunted houses, but with his super duper startle response since The Event he doesn’t think he’s going to be going to any of them again any time soon. Especially not one that makes you sign a waiver!”
Charlee: “I’m with Dada on this one. Perhaps he would like to join me in hiding under the sofa until it’s all over.”
Chaplin & Charlee, I am sure people who come back from this experience check under their sofas and couches before sitting down on them for the first few days…😨
So far today I have been startled by, among other things, my wife unexpectedly appearing in the kitchen while I was putting stuff in the crock pot, opening a door and finding my wife going by in the hallway, and my wife turning on the blender AFTER I WATCHED HER SET THE BLENDER UP. So yeah haunted houses are definitely off the menu now lol
When my wife comes around the corner and scares the hell out of me – one of her “habits” – her first response after I’m left gasping for air is “well, who did you think it was?”
I’ve realized those things are not for me. But a fully unhaunted corn maze? Yes. Love it! My favorite “scary” fall tradition started once when I realized all household cars were doing other things when I needed to get to a hair appointment. It was close so I hopped on my bike and took a bike rail trail almost the whole way to the salon, about 12 minutes. But once I left, it was dark. The rail trail is boarded by tress and lit, and the shadows were really pronounced and unpredictable. But it was exhilarating! Like when ET rides a bike across the moon. I try to repeat it every year. No waiver is signed. 🙂
I can picture that return trip from the salon being a really exhilarating ride, and I love the fact that has settled in as an annual tradition/goal of yours. It sounds like a real hair-raising experience.😉
I think I will pass. Norman Bates did it for me. I don’t need any more fright in my life. That extreme blackout did me in just reading the release.
Every time I watch Psycho that Bates dude freaks me out. Extreme Blackout is definitely not for the faint of heart. I think if I ever did it I’d make the performers sign a waiver as well for their own protection.😄
NO, I WOULD NOT! I did one of those kind of Haunted House things when I was a teenager. Thank God, my Dad was with me! There were zombies, mad doctors cutting up people, blood everywhere, things, scary things jumping out at you, touching you, reaching for you, people screaming -me included, The noise was awful. I think I could literally smell the blood. My Dad was laughing. I was screaming trying to run to get out. No, I’m a hard pass. I don’t even watch thriller or horror movies after that.
So, you never saw Mikey after that corn throwing thing? He had my reflex for flight! I scream too. 😂
That’s the thing…if you do this when you’re young it will stay with you forever (as with your experience). If you do this when you are old-er it might finish you forever. Mikey showed up in school the next day, asking what happened next. There wasn’t much of a story to tell because we were trying to catch up to him.😂
😊
I don’t know which is better: the title to this blog post, or the name of the event itself. In any case, I would love to attend something like this!
But alas, Tara’s a big ol’ chicken, and where’s the fun in going alone? (Psst, Bruce…what are you doing in early October?!)
Mark, early October is probably the very best time to go, as the performers have had time to sharpen their axes…um, skills. Of course, it also gets more crowded the closer you get to Halloween. This should happen!
An original 200-year-old barn would be worth the price of admission for me. I mean, we had an original barn that was 120 years old when I was a kid. That’s an old barn but man they built those things to last back in the day.
On the one hand this sounds like a great attraction. But it’s not really my thing. I’ll let you take it on and give a full report.
My grandparents house was pretty old, and I specifically remember their steps. If you were changing floors, people had plenty of notice. You always knew where someone was in the house. As a kid, I sometimes wondered if my next step was my last. Kind of like going to this attraction…your next step could be your final one…and if I do (and live) I’ll be sure to file a full report.😊
I got the goosebumps while reading through the various horrifying realms. The asylum sounds back, but the one where they try to brand you sounds worse. I went to Cedar Point once where they had the whole place decorated for Halloween, and it included a house of horrors type section. It was pretty scary but nothing compared to what’s being described here. I think my kids (both in their 40s) might go, but it will have to be a no for me. If your wife won’t go, would one of your buddies?
I first have to convince myself I really want to go…that’s step #1. I don’t have any friends to speak of these days, but I have a feeling if I really had to scratch this itch my wife would go…maybe not go in mind you…but go.😁
🙂
The last time I went to Field of Screams was 2020, yes, the Year of Covid. Attendance was sparse to say the least. Add to that the attraction was practicing social distancing and welp, long story short, me and my daughter ended up going through the Haunted House by ourselves. SCARY! It was by far the scariest experience I’ve ever had at one of these attractions because it was just the two of us. There was no group to get lost in the middle of.
This news though, it ups the ante.
I might have to try it.
That Haunted House experience with your daughter had to be thrilling and chilling at the same time. They definitely are firing on all cyclinders post-Covid there.
It FELT real. When I realized that the “group” going through consisted only of me and her, I contemplated pulling a hamstring. But she would have known I was acting and I never would’ve heard the end of it. I had no choice.
It’s very well done.
I cannot believe there’s a waiver! Whaaaaat? lol I would NOT be into this at all. My husband loves horror movies. Maybe he’d go. I used to read a lot of horror, but I stopped abruptly in my 30s. No idea what happened. Now I basically can’t stand it unless it’s a classic like The Exorcist or something. What’s great and amazing is the showmanship of this place and its variety. When are you gonna finally do the 40 miles and attend, Bruce? lol
Stacey, sometimes those 40 miles seem a lot farther away when I think about all the potential mayhem that awaits. I guess I could start out “slow” with just taking their Haunted Hayride. I suspect it doesn’t get to the point where they are actually pulling people out of the wagons. That, of course, would trigger another waiver requirement to be sure.😁
LOL ! ! !
A damn waiver??? lol… nope…Max is out. I DID love your hilarious descriptions! When I had no common sense…wait…that was yesterday…but I will proceed. We got the bright idea of throwing water balloons from a cliff to passing cars…stupid stupid stupid. I remember… my buddy Kenny hitting a car…then another car was coming…I heard him say “T-Top” and the car stopped. He must have seen the car in front of him…he screamed…IF YOU THROWN ANOTH… thats all he got out before Kenny launched one perfectly into his T Top. Kenny might run into your Mikey somewhere lol.
Thanks, Max. I am still laughing from reading that comment. Mikey abandoned us, but he also had the right idea, and we quickly followed suit and tried to get out of that cornfield asap.
OH yes…we came off that cliff on the backside of it with the quickness!
Sounds terrifying! I
Woth your wife, Bruce; you’re
Never catch
Me there but maybe you’ll find you friend still running 🏃♀️ so Maybe it might be worth it!
Corn throwing sounds pretty mild after this whole thing!
🥹😱😅😇💓
Right, Cindy? I mean, after being manhandled by creatures in a 200-year-old, pitch-black barn…corn throwing kinda doesn’t move the needle. And as for my friend Mikey, he definitely could run fast…at least on that night!😁
Right! Wake me up when it’s over!!! 😂 he’s probs still running!! 🥹
What a menu, Bruce!! I love your comments – I’m still giggling. No, I wouldn’t go. Not my cup of tea – so let your wife know I’m with her!!
Wynne, you have joined the majority on this one. My wife clearly has the right idea based on most all of this feedback, and sitting this one out is the runaway winner here. Runaway to see another day!
Field Of Screams, ahah, that’s a clever name, but like your wife, I don’t think I have the stomach for it. That waiver makes me even less likely to participate in anything like this. The only thing close to this kind of thing I’ve visited is the Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussauds London when I was a preteen, and even without live actors in disguise, it was quite a fright, so I definitely won’t be able to handle Field Of Screams, Bruce. I might very well pass out!
Ruth, it sounds like you were sufficiently frightened as a child and won’t require any further terrorizing.😉 If I had gone to this attraction when I was a kid, I’m pretty sure I’d still be reliving the visit from time to time.
Yeah that Chamber of Horror scarred me I think, and I also saw The Exorcist right after high school that still terrified me to this day! 😱 So yeah, since this Field of Scream is quite far from you, I’d skip it. I certainly wouldn’t drive even 4 miles for it, let alone 40 😆
Nope! If you find some bravery, and a friend to accompany you, please let us know.
I will definitely follow-up…if I show up!
Haha!
Years ago I worked at a haunted house for a few Halloweens. Nothing anywhere near as elaborate as this, but it was definitely more fun working there whether as a guide or part of a scene than it is visiting haunted houses. That one had an early exit for the easily frightened and some people did opt to take it. Before that I did go to a couple of them as a teenager and found the scariest thing at one of them someone chasing people with a real chainsaw (which I found out later had the chain removed, but didn’t know that at the time) and in another the scariest thing was that it was in a house that had been abandoned for decades so who knew if someone would end up falling through the floor at some point – kind of like your ancient barn except it was just put on by some local group as a fundraiser who probably never even had the place inspected to see if it was safe rather than being a commercial operation. None of those required a waver. The field of screams sounds like it could give people nightmares that would last a whole lot longer than the attraction itself.
Safety was properly considered with regards to that chainsaw, but then again people were probably running so fast they didn’t have any time to look back and ascertain the chain. Indeed, this attraction sounds like it would have a post-visit period where you’d visit it again in your dreams.
Probably nightmares for weeks.
The best haunted house attraction I’ve been through was in Las Vegas.
I’ve never thought about Vegas at Halloween until now. That has to be a wild time, and I’m sure they do it up right.
That last one definitely sounds extreme, the moment it mentioned it was “hands-on” hahahah I’m curious what people thought of it, those who actually go through with these activities. I can see myself doing this with the right friends, but man, there’s probably a lot of convincing that would need to be done!
I think there might be “strength in numbers” with attempting it. As you noted, if you have a group of people you know and like, the experience may be more easily endured. Then again…if they take off you’re on your own anyway!
Oh wow, Bruce! This sounds way over the edge! I am not into horror of any kind! I think your wife is right! You might want to rethink this one and live vicariously through your dreams!! :>)
Dwight, perhaps you are right. Maybe if I just visualize this experience fully, I might just determine enough is enough lol.
:>) Maybe….
Hey Bruce, good column. I do not like horror stuff at all. Haunted houses are creepy and scary for sure, especially for the reasons you mentioned. I would kick the kids ass if he surprisingly grabbed me while he was wearing a haunted creepy costume. I can’t even believe the Extreme Blackout. It actually used the word “torture” in the description. Are they serious!?! You need to go check this out and interview customers after they get out. That would be an excellent follow-up article. You might even get it published in a newspaper. By the way, the descriptions by the advertiser were well-written. They made it sound interesting, if not mesmerizing. You should totally go.
Thanks, Reid. I think they do a good job of promoting their product too, which originally drew my attention since a lot of haunted attractions around here seemed like they were lacking in the marketing area back in the day. The Extreme Blackout thing is amazing, isn’t it? I do wonder what customers who give it a go would say immediately after that experience…once they caught their breath, of course!
I absolutely would not get involved in such a thing, so I understand your reasons for not having done so yet either. The waiver part gives me the most cause for concern. But perhaps you can just skip that section of the experience, and definitely skip November 13th.
On the other hand, you really do love Halloween. So… treat yourself! 😁
I was thinking of starting out “small” with the hayride as it seems like the one activity that wouldn’t be totally chaotic…I mean, it’s not like they’re gonna toss you off the wagon…right? Of course, my wife mentioned the “fun” of being surrounded by hay and the potential for rodents in the field, etc., so any enthusiasm for that was quickly dashed.😁
Oh my goodness! The idea of rodents in the field is more than enough to guarantee that I find something else to do right away.