Follow Me Through Field Of Screams
AMY LIRIANO — Staff Writer, NAITZABEL RODRIGUEZ — Editor
I thought Field of Screams was going to be the same as Halloween; I could not have been more wrong.
Before meeting the terror within Field of Screams, I felt I was prepared along side my sister, but nothing could have prepared me for what was to come. The drive was 45 minutes long, filled with calmness and confidence that would soon vanish as soon as we arrived. The field’s minimal light and dark, overpowering music left my family confused for what was to come. We went to the booth to purchase our VIP entree to the field’s 4 haunted attractions.
Pro tip: You do not actually need to buy a ticket to enter the park, just for the attractions. It is also a good idea to get a VIP ticket because it is only $15 dollars more for a shorter wait.
As we walked into the Field, we notice clowns roaming around, frightening those simply trying to talk. Controlled fire ignited to the beat of the song from eerie statues. The side parts of the field are where the food stands and souvenir shop that match the aesthetic of the field lie. Moving further down, there were entrances into the attractions, carnival games, and screaming. Some buildings had a line to enter, but one knows too well not to dare. There were a range of monsters such as cursed pirates lurking around. As we were deciding which to go on, I noticed the clown far too late, as it was already behind me. The clown took me by surprise, and he simply walked away to find another to play with. My father left the rest of us to take a seat near the front of the park. He didn’t get a ticket, since he has high blood pressure, so he was blessed with the opportunity to sit out. All there was left to look at were the buildings where monsters await for victims.
Pro tip: Bring spare cash to play the carnival games and food.
Leaving my father behind, my mother led my sister and I into the line for the Asylum. Already spooked up from the outside, my sister decided she wanted to hold my hand. We scanned our tickets and mentally prepared ourselves to go to line 1. Without wasting a second, an animatronic creature reached for my mother’s leg. Before we could fully process what happened, someone started banging on the bars, reaching for us. Me and my sister was petrified and she couldn’t move forward with the fear that paralyzed her. Without a doubt in her mind, she could not go in an asylum filled with lunatics prepared to grab her without a second thought. Regrettably, we turned around and walked out of there. However that calm walk quickly turned into a chase. A chainsaw man was running our way, and we quickly picked up the pace to meet up with my Father. My Mother who was running behind us quickly became faster than Usain Bolt, and ran faster than I ever saw anyone run before. She quickly created distance between her children, leaving me and my sister in the dust. We quickly found where my father was as he was laughing quite boldly at our fear. Without wanting to return home, without attempting one of these terror filled attractions, we waited for the hayride to be open.
Pro Tip: Just keep going and try the attraction. You will probably regret not trying it out.
Determined to partake in the screamfest, we got into the VIP line for the Hayride. There was no going back as we were in the middle of the line waiting for our turn. As I gazed upon the environment that stood before us, I noticed a fire-lit tractor above an arch. My focus was quickly disturbed when I heard an ominous voice coming from a giant tree-like skeleton. After the warning the skeleton gave, we were left with our thoughts and the continuous beeping of a random car from the attraction. As we approached the front, the general was led to the right and those with VIP status sat to the left of the hay-filled cart that was being led by a tractor. The tractor then dragged us under the arch towards the trail that lies ahead. The ride came to a hault in front of the house of a farmer. The murmurs that we heard throughout the cart was silenced by the screeching by the farmer that hastily stood up. Our breaths hitched when the sound of his gun shot rung through the air.
Pro Tip: Sit near your friend for excellent entertainment.
Relief washed over me when the tractor started up again along the long trail. That feeling of relief quickly was taken from me when the tractor stopped inside of a barn. The doors to the barn shut, darkness taking the place of light, leaving everyone in the dark of what’s to come. My sister cowardly closed her eyes and tried to hide under my arms, regretting her decision to come. The darkness was quickly dispersed as murdered pigs, that appeared to have been hung above us, dropped closer down to our faces. The slight silence quickly became noisy as the crowd screeched from the pig-headed human that started attacking them with axes. My sister, wanting to see what the commotion was about, opened her eyes only to see a pig hybrid swinging the ax near us. After a few minutes of screeching and yelling, the barn doors opened and we were relieved of the suffering.
Pro tip: Try not to show too much of your fear.
Going through multiple stages of the hayride, the worst one came close. As we neared the circus shed, a little boy, around ten, had the nerve to say it was the worst one out of all the sheds, and that the ride wasn’t even close to being finished. That is when I learned I signed myself up to a 23 minute ride filled with terror, flashing lights, and jump scares. I didn’t have the time to regret my decision making as the door to the shed closed and the circus commenced. The kids warning wasn’t enough to prepare myself for what was to come.
Pro Tip: The ride does have flashing lights and the actors can touch you. Also note this ride does take 20 minutes.
The clowns appeared out of strange doors with this murderous laugh. Immediately, the clowns started bothering my sister. Let me add she was next to me and attacking both my mother and I out of fear. All I heard was screeching next to my ear and the sounds of clowns mocking people. After the few minutes of screeching and attacks left and right, my sister “accidentally” slapped on of the 4 clowns near us. The tractor started moving forward quickly after, and my mother had a bruise on her face and arm. Though I had no such injury, she squeezed my hand to the point of breaking, so I made fun of her on they way to the next stage. The next stage, I remember vividly, was the slaughter house stage. The actors were equipped with chainsaws and attacked me three times with them. They even went as far as dragging me just to use the chainsaw on me again.
Pro Tip: Wear long pants and don’t wear nice clothing. They will get dirty.
My sister was also attacked after they finished with me, complaining that it was my fault that they came towards us. The rest of the ride consisted of flashing lights, a moving 3D dinosaur, and getting spitted on and blood splatted on you. The ride finally came to an end, and we came out exhausted with a headache. We walked down the path laughing about what had occurred, when we had to go through a dark, gloomy tunnel. We were prepared for another attack that could come from around the corner, but luckily for us, nothing came. We jogged back, as to not run into any actors, to where my dad was seated to complain about what had happened.
Pro Tip: Drink water after each attraction.
We convinced ourselves, not including my Father obviously, that the Hay Ride wasn’t too bad, it was, and we should try a haunted house. This was a horrible idea as even the path leading towards the attraction caused a fright and a chase. On our way to the Den, a maniac with a chainsaw started staring me down. Not being in the right mind because of the hayride, I stared back causing him to run towards me. My animal instincts kicked in and as I was about to run to safety, I embarrassed myself by tripping on the first few steps, causing dirt to stain my precious jeans. I immediately got back on my feet, only to see my companions hiding out, leaving me behind with some vicious murderer. Unaware they were at the wrong spot, I pointed towards the area we had to go and ran over there, carefully this time as to not trip again. Once at the location, my mother quickly follow suit, and the maniac went to bother someone else. However my dear younger sister, who may I remind you begged to come to Field of screams, was no where to be seen. My mother and I stood dumbfounded looking at the area she once was. Looking towards our right, there she was. Seeing the fright that was already given, she was already speed walking towards my father, a good distance between us may I add. She had the audacity to leave us behind once the attack took place. We quickly caught pace and met up with her talking to my Father, who was laughing once again.
Pro Tip: Scaredy cats always run, so keep an eye on them. Don’t look at monsters in the eye. Finally, once again, don’t wear nice clothing.
Failing to convince her to come with us once more, My mother and I gained the courage to attempt it ourselves. As we stood waiting in the line, a pair of guys stood next to us, seeming like this wasn’t their first time. The fear of what in lies in the Den overtook the fear of talking, so I simply asked a few questions to ease my nerves. Luckily the pair were nice and eased my fear quite a bit. The light for our line turned green, indicating that it was our time to enter. The lady holding the door spoke to us, though I couldn’t recall what she had said because I was focused on the interior of the attraction. The first hallway was lightly dimmed and filled with state of the art decor. It gave off an eerie aura of an abandoned house. For the moment, I had forgotten what the point of the attraction was, admiring the decor along the way, when some strange woman jumped from the shadows to say hello, and direct us to the next area. The talk was short lived as I grabbed my horror buddy’s hand and ran out of there to the next room.
Pro Tip: Try not to run everywhere; I don’t know if it’s allowed, but I did.
The entirety of the experience consisted of me dragging my mother by the hand to get us out of there. Let it be known, she stood planted on a spot and screamed. I had to drag her or we weren’t getting out. From what I could recall, I once again fooled myself by tripping, you guess it, from running. I attempted to run up the stairs, the den was like a 2 story home, tripped along the way, and abandoned my own mother. I, of course, waited in the shadows for her arrival. She came 2 to 3 minutes later, taking her sweet time, no speed walking either, and saying my name when she saw me. It was then I realized that I have to drag her through the entire thing or we would get out an hour later, and that was not needed. Another memorable moment was when we had to crawl through an attic. We were unsure for a moment, looking for another path, however it was obvious it was the only way. The attic was dark and gloomy with light only shown in the open door ahead. The floor was not the cleanest either, especially because they left a body behind. I hadn’t realized it was a body when I first touched it, however it caused my mother’s soul to touch heaven and back. She yelped in the attic, and I simply thought she was overreacting as I had as well. However when my mother touched it, a light shown on the body, causing her to rush out, something she hasn’t done the whole attraction. These weren’t the only moments as the Den could be as long as the hayride, with plenty of rooms you are forced to run through.
Pro Tip: Try not to rush through like I did, enjoy the moment.
At last we found the exit. We, oh so joyfully, walked back to the table were my father and sister waited. We came back fatigued and dehydrated, it was then I had realized my adventure in the Den caused me to lose the ticket that was in my pocket. Relieved, I stated I had lost my ticket and there was no chance of ever getting it back. Of course my Father had insisted on using my sister’s ticket, but I refused once again. Then we turned to my Mother, since she hadn’t lost hers. She quickly turned it down, making excuses while at it. He, of course, laughed at our fear of trying a new one, and made fun of us for it. Wanting some memories for the future, we went to the photo booth for some photos. I continuously look out of the curtain as they were getting the iPad inside ready, simply because those actors always await for a chance to scare. We got through the photos safely, and were able to get a GIF in, both being sent to my Father’s email. The moment we arrived home, we displayed the memories onto the TV. The photo’s turned out nice, except for the first where my mother was attempting to come into the frame. It seemed as though the scare wasn’t enough as something possessed our screen and showed us a GIF of random people, without sending ours. However the trip was filled with memories and laughs, and definitely an experience that should be attempted with those you care for.
