Every year, a pool of terror opens in Pennsylvania from the beginning of September to the beginning of November. Located in Mountville, PA, the Field of Screams has been terrifying guests for over 20 years.

  What began as a simple haunted hayride in 1993 has grown to now have four attractions: the Haunted Hayride, the Den of Darkness, the Frightmare Asylum and the Nocturnal Wasteland. These four attractions hold hundreds of actors, and, according to the Field of Screams Media Kit, entertain “over 80,000 patrons during their 27 nights of operation.”

  Also there for your enjoyment is the entertainment area, with games, food, music, and merchandise. While not the main attractions, these are an enjoyable way to come down from your adrenaline after a terrifying dash through the Nocturnal Wasteland.

The Haunted Hayride

  As the oldest attraction at the Field of Screams, there is a certain thrill of terror that comes from being moved at an inexorably slow tractor’s pace toward certain doom.

  New this year to the Haunted Hayride is the Tormented Twister, which happens to be the longest AND largest vortex tunnel in the world. Inside, your understanding of up and down will be challenged to the extreme as you stumble through it.

  The Hayride features several highlights such as Dirty Dan’s Moonshine Still, where Dirty Dan himself chases you in a (probably) drunken rage. Another fantastic stop on your haunted ride is Willie the Pig farmer, with his drove of pig headed freaks.

  Overall, the Haunted Hayride is a great stop for anyone who wants to have a good start to the night. A word of advice, though, is that if you are a bit nervous about it, sit at the front of the wagon. They tend to not mess with you there so much. The Haunted Hayride was a great way to start the night, and a thoroughly enjoyable ride.

The Frightmare Asylum

  The Frightmare Asylum has an entirely new wing this year, known as the Crazies Quarters. Inside, the nuttiest of the patients have been locked away, and are eager to drag you into their madness. Nail guns, blood, and bile abound as you desperately try and make it through. Those that don’t may be subjected to the good doctor’s experiments, and no one wants to miss their yearly check-up.

  Of all the attractions to see in the Field, this one is one no one should miss. With some of the best actors at the Field, it is sure to give you terror like you have never had before. And for those of you who think hiding in the middle of your group will save you, you are in for a rude awakening, as you may feel the stroke of a clammy, decaying hand across your cheek, as someone who wasn’t there before is now stalking their newest patient.

Nocturnal Wasteland

  As the newest attraction to the Field of Screams, the Nocturnal Wasteland is constantly receiving new attractions to terrify the living daylights out of you. The Nocturnal Wasteland is different from the other attractions at the Field of Screams because it is a trail through the woods, where you walk yourself to your doom every step of the way. This year, some attractions to look forward to are Carver’s Circular Saw Workshop, The Human Trapper and the living trees. This was a fun attraction, but not the greatest one I saw. The actors, being new to this attraction, were not as great as the other ones, and so it was rather underwhelming in comparison to the other attractions.

Den of Darkness

  The Den of Darkness, one of the scariest attractions at the Field of Screams, was scary enough that it was the only one to make me jump. Each room of the den is tailored to a different phobia, from the spider room, to the doll room and the newly added abyss. These rooms each house different fears, each one with it’s different theme.

  Mentioned before, the Abyss is the newest feature of the Den this year, featuring a maze of near pitch darkness, with horrors behind every turn. It was here that there is truly nothing you can do to avoid a scare, and once you jump, you can’t get through fast enough!