Haunt Review- Field of Screams

Haunt Review of Field of Screams

 Well, we'd been hearing good things about this Lancaster Area Haunted House for a long time but until this season we hadn't been able to make it out. Happily we were able to arrange enough time and finally got to check out and see if the rumors are true!

Field of Screams was different, in a fun way. We didn't know much of what to expect so when we arrived and saw a Haunted House meets Carnival, it was a pleasant surprise! Plenty of options for food and drink, bathrooms and various shopping. But.. how good are the haunts?!

Haunt: Field of Screams
Location: Mountville, Pennsylvania
Date:October 10th, 2014
Cost: $14-$33
Overall Rating: Good
Opinion: Worth a Visit
Website: Field of Screams

!Disclaimer!

We were invited again this season to visit Field of Screams. This has in no way effected our opinion or the haunts rating, they earned that entirely on their own!

 Field of Screams seems much like a normal haunted attraction- until you manage to get inside.

 Haunt actors are running about through the crowd, inside a 'courtyard' type area you'll find plenty of amusements. Carnival Games themed for Halloween, Food Booths, Merchandise and Bathrooms. Inside your going to have a ton of choices about what to do- easily making it a full night worth of entertainment.

Inside you'll find this place offers up four separate haunted attractions for your enjoyment.  With the crowd being low you shouldn't have an issue but once this place gets busy, it can get confusing quickly! So I'd really recommend going in with a game plan- Know where you want to go first!

So to get started we jumped in line for "Den of Darkness". Having arrived early, we managed to get into a short line and looked around- This place as theming all over, from the ramshackle appearance of the front to the actor controlling the line.. the setting here was just perfect.

Moving inside your given a small pre-show involving a seance and a secret door! You'll move through some chaotic environments that are physically challenging. You'll be walking through tight spaces, up and down stairs and even having to crawl threw some areas. Changing the various heights does an excellent job of really disorienting you to the fact your in a haunted house!  The actors here are all excellent, on top of their game and enjoying the work. The whole house didn't involve one person just trying to get by- but a good word of warning.. THEY WILL TOUCH YOU! A lot, and some are a little overzealous with the prop use also. While I did enjoy the haunt, it was rough- I got smacked in the head with a head, and nearly knocked over by a few who got a little too into their jobs..which kind of put a damper on the night to be fighting off a headache and sore ear the entire time.

Up next we moved into "Frightmare Asylum" which is really the haunted attraction here which left me speechless. This one house was enough to boost their entire rating form "Decent" into "Good" simply because of how well done it is.

 While using your typical 'lunatic asylum' as a theme, inside your walking inside the walls and wishing you hadn't come inside! The actors in here are simply amazing. From the crazy woman who wants to wear your skin down into the chaotic dentist with his lovely assistant- Everyone here is perfectly freaky. The setting inside the house is also well done, every room makes sense and fits. When you add in the overall length plus the multiple stairs, tight walkways and enclosed spaces.. this is what a haunted house should be!

Completely pumped up, we moved onto the hayride. It had been a while since we'd been on one and had heard good things.

While the long line was rather annoying, we survived but started to ask- Why?

While the settings are good and the themes work- this hayride had a complete lack of actors to really bring the experience to life. I can't recall one part of this attraction which stood out, simply because there wasn't an actor which really made it real. In the end we're not sure if it was the cold weather or the threat of rain, but it seemed like the attraction was just there to hold crowds. Only one or two actors at the most in each scene, no one on our wagon was even frightened by chainsaws. Perhaps if this had been better, if we'd seen the amazing effort and work found in the first two haunted houses, the rating would be higher but I'm not going to lie- I was disappointed.

 Moving away from the hayride, we'd hope to find something good inside Nocturnal Wasteland.

Themed after an 'apocalypse' type event, inside your going to come across a group of crazies surviving after the world (and zombies) have ended. As a haunted trail, it's got some great settings and length. From the freaky ice-cream truck you have to crawl through to the giant tesla coils, this place has one excellent setting! The downside- not nearly enough actors for the scares to be effective. Inside we found another haunt scant of actors, while the ones inside did a damn good job (better then the hayride) of getting screams from folks, it felt empty. Long stretches of walking without an actor or scare in sight really dragged down the overall feeling.

In the end, we enjoyed Field of Screams but some parts of it are in need of help. Again, I can't say if this is due to the weather which made our experience less then wonderful, it's still the fact that this was the show we saw. I'd highly recommend "Den of Darkness" and "Frightmare Asylum" but can't say I'd pay for the other two attractions.

Give it a shot and watch the weather- That will likely effect the show!