MOUNTVILLE, Pa. — Field of Screams has frightfully good fun planned for its upcoming season.
The attraction opens for its 32nd year of hoots and haunts on Friday the 13th, and revelers will find some new thrills this year.
"These guys, all these monsters are really chomping at the bit to, like, get people out," Jim Schopf, co-owner of Field of Screams, said. "They're ready to scare people. It's their Christmas, really."
New this year is The Chainsaw Bar, a place for guests 21 years and older to take a break from screaming and enjoy a themed cocktail. Some of the scenes inside the attractions are also reimagined, including a new plane crash scene, doll room, bathroom/shower area, 3D shows on the walls and a "surprise" ending to the hayride. Organizers also redesigned the entrance and ticket booth.
"The indoor attractions are the scariest, so once you get in the Den and the Asylum, you're close and they are the most intense," Schopf said. "So if you have a little bit of a reservation, 'I don't know if I'm ready for it,' I would just start with the hay ride."
He says they are already working on plans for 2025 so that they can begin work on next year's shows as soon as this season is over.
"We have pages and pages of ideas in our heads and written out where we have different scenes that we're planning on improving for the future years," Schopf said. "So we get together; it's a collaborative effort, you know, we have a team of fright engineers that work full time, and year-round we're just working on new changes."
Aside from the four haunted attractions, Field of Screams also offers food, games, five-minute escape rooms, axe throwing, a souvenir shop and varying entertainment. There will be two special events in November: a night of extra intense scares during Extreme Blackout on the 15th and a Zombie Fun Run that benefits the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition on the 16th.
Schopf suggests visiting in September to beat the crowds and October for guests who prefer to be in the thick of things. Younger guests aged 2 - 12 may enjoy Corn Cob Acres, which offers activities like an animal barrel train and bouncy houses as well as special events such as live shows from Alison Thoms.
Tickets are available online now. Field of Screams is open every weekend evening starting Friday, Sept. 13 through Nov. 15. Both Field of Screams and Corn Cob Acres can be found at 191 College Avenue in Mountville.