Field of Screams in Lancaster, PA is one of the strongest Halloween festivals in the northeast.

They have 4 haunted attractions and one of the most impressive midways (games, food, merchandise, tables) I’ve ever seen. This is less than 1/2 of it. Click for Larger:

We always get a hot apple cider, pumpkin whoopie pie, and peanut butter chocolate chip whoopie pie because running from ghouls is hard work:

Anyway. Haunted Houses!

The Haunted Attractions:

Nocturnal Wasteland was new last year. What was remarkable about it then was the design. Unlike most haunted attraction owners, these guys build upward. They do not stop at your eye line. Field of Screams is one of the few places that you can still get scares from above.

Last year Nocturnal Wasteland was good. This year it’s great.

They moved the tesla coil from the hayride into this attraction and greatly redid the paths. I believe it was longer. Most impressive were a bunch of hand made demon trees. I unfortunately don’t have a picture because we don’t photograph inside attractions as a courtesy to the attraction owners. But trust me – it was impressive. I heard from my pals over at the Haunt Review Crew that these took 12 hours each to build. They have moving branch arms and glowing faces. Definitely not off the shelf props.

Truly over the top!

Frightmare Asylum blew us away.

The intensity level in all of the attractions is off the charts. The actor training all around is flawless. Most haunted attractions just have their actors do the Lunge and Scream. Not here.

You will see combo attacks, improv, and even actors who are there simply doing insane stuff to provide atmosphere for the other actors who are scaring. When you come into a room they might be standing at the end of the hall staring at you and leading you in while their partner gets you. The best quote from an actor in here was, “You smell different when you are sleeping!”

Oh. My. God.

Kudos must be also given to the hilarious actors working the line. A+++++. The only other people to get the actor training to this level yet this year is Pennhurst. We are going to have a tough time when OniHaunts Award season comes out.

Den of Darkness was similarly on point. The fireplace room that leads through the parlor and up to the crawlspace is the 3 rooms combo in all of haunted house history that I think nails it every year. That’s what I can’t get over about Field of Screams – the phenomenal design of each attraction that works perfectly with your psychology.

The people on wires were back – so you can even expect people to FLY at you in here. I missed them last year when I was here.

This place was bananas! We were exhausted when we got out.

The Haunted Hayride has a new snake room this year that you have to see to believe. They don’t do things by halves here. Each section of the hayride is a complete scene, with outdoor areas alternating with enclosed barns which function as ride buildings. In the buildings you pull in and the doors come down to provide you with a dark and scary experience. It’s a controlled environment that works way better in some cases than being exposed to the open air. I felt that the scenes were better executed by the actors this year than before. In past years I had had some issues with the medieval scene because it was hard to hear. This year it was great.

Bonus points go to the guy in the hillbilly scene who called Harknell “Mr. Clean Bacon Boy!” Whatever that means. It was funny!

Conclusion:

Field of Screams has always been one of our favorite haunted attractions. Harknell even bought the hat:

Every year these guys are an event that I can confidently recommend to someone who is looking for a Halloween festival that does it all well. This year they took the training and intensity level up a quantum level higher than any other year to the point where we were exhausted at the end of the night. I was all like ARRRR and here is proof:

DO. THIS. ONE.