By Aprille Mohn About half an hour away from Wilson High School, in Mountville, PA, is one of America’s best haunted attractions. Field of Screams is open for the 2015 fall season and off to a wonderful start. Owned by two brothers, Jim and Gene Schopf, and run on their family farm, the haunted attraction came into being as a result of the shared passion for scaring people. Jim Schopf told the Paw Print that when both brothers were younger, they would run a haunted house in one of the barns with the brothers running alternate scares and rushing to their next to be ready for the group as they moved through the haunted house. Schopf described the pure adrenaline rush that came with scaring someone - a rush now shared by many others now that the Field of Screams team has grown exponentially. Schopf also told the Paw Print that Field of Screams is still run because of the fun in scaring others and being scared, rather than for the monetary benefit that similar attractions in the country are run for. This passion for striking fear into people is reflected in the employees of Field of Screams. There are about 450 volunteer actors working there. A great number of these actors are high school students who share the same thrill in the scare that Jim and Gene Schopf felt when they were around that age. The actors go through a brief acting camp, tour all of the attractions, and are talked to one-on-one basis by a manager before deciding where to work. If acting isn’t someone’s thing, they can help with directing cars in the parking lot or assisting with running the games in the central courtyard. Upon entering the horror attraction, visitors find themselves in a courtyard reminiscent of a carnival. If one did not look close, it would seem like any carnival: fried or sugary foods advertised by brightly lit stands, a line of games along one edge of the perimeter, and even two clowns making routes through the area to entertain guests. Looking closer, one would find the resemblance to a carnival stops there. The clowns speak minimally and are sinister in attitude and even the games have a morbid twist. One game has the player shoot a decapitated head into a toxic waste barrel, and another has the player try to get rings over bottles of what appears to be radioactive sludge. Interesting enough the courtyard and games may be, that is not the main reason a visitor goes to Field of Screams. There are four main attractions, and each attraction offers a different and immersive environment with detailed sets and brilliant costumes and actors. The visitors decide how many attractions they want to go through - and it’s cheaper to do multiple attractions in one night than to go to a different one each night - and can even upgrade to VIP and skip the lines. As Halloween approaches, Field of Screams will get busier, so VIP tickets are likely a wise investment depending on the time of visit. Another tip - bring some buddies along, as there is safety in numbers, and while the danger is only fabricated, there is still the same mentality. My favorite of the four attractions was the Den of Darkness. The Den is indoors and features a “haunting past.” Each phase of the structure's life is represented by differing sections in the den. Differences in entire environments from room to room are startling in and of themselves, without the change in actors dialogues and mannerisms in each section. Going through the Den you should prepare to be scared, and an additional warning goes out to the claustrophobic. The next attraction we visited was the Haunted Hayride. While the Hayride isn’t the scariest, it is unsettling, but generally a lot of fun. During the Hayride, the wagon travels through a path in a field with tall grown corn that kisses the back of the neck, giving the rider the chills. The wagon travels into different settings for different horrific scenarios to occur. In most of the scenarios, personal space is a nonexistent barrier. The actors will come up onto the cart and get directly into a rider’s face. I definitely recommend this ride if you don’t mind others getting close and personal. Just as good as the Hayride, but more frightening, is the Nocturnal Wasteland. The wasteland is a post-apocalyptic walk through the woods. In this reality, you never know who you could meet upon a wooded trail late at night. Whoever you come upon may ask if you are lost and tell you to get out, or they may invite you to stay forever. Nocturnal Wasteland is impressively detailed and the atmosphere is sure to make you think twice about ever venturing into woods after dusk again. Last but not least is the Frightmare Asylum. You are cheerfully welcomed into the attraction, but it proves to be more difficult to leave. The Asylum is a multi-level attraction that is as detailed as the others and great overall. I have heard it was the best attraction by a landslide, but we were ultimately disappointed. While it was a good asylum attraction, it was just that; you can only do so much to beat the expectation that the title already brings with it. Besides the slight letdown in the Frightmare Asylum, the only other real downside to Field of Screams is that the only bathrooms on the property are portapotties. I cannot vouch for the cleanliness of these, as we only went on the second night of the season, but for you germaphobes, don’t let that hold you back. Overall, Field of Screams is a great way to spend a weekend night, especially as we draw nearer to Halloween. The attractions are thrilling and impressively done, the atmosphere of the whole place is fun with a sinister twist, and any night spent at Field of Screams is one to be remembered.
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