Fear Field is located in the backwoods of St. Clairsville, Ohio, and has returned for its fourth season. It seems every September and October those hillbillies pop up trying to lure city folk onto their lands. People think they are arriving at a ‘haunt’ but in reality, they are arriving for dinner. This clan does not like outsiders because of the time an unknown woman came across their land cursing the family that lived there, causing them all to die.
This witch trapped their souls in these woods for eternity. Now angry and hungry these souls are looking for revenge’ and a meal.
Fear Field is an actor-driven experience. When we arrived we noticed a few actors providing scares outside of the ticket area and waiting area. The two best performances of the evening were from the older lady who was playing with a decapitated head on a post. She creepily told us about her son Charlie who was a good boy but people like ‘us’ killed him. I assured her I had no part in these activities, but she did not seem convinced. The other notable interaction was with the first actor who provided us the back story of the haunt. He kindly welcomed us in to have a seat and proceeded to tell us a ‘scary story’ about what happened to the people who occupied or occupy the woods. His voice was low with a southern accent drawing us in then raising it loudly to catch us off guard. This is the guy you want to tell ghost stories about around the campfire.
We encountered around eleven other individuals that evening who provided mainly yells, noises, or other audible jump scares. We did hear a ‘Where’s my mommy?’ ‘Dinner time!’ and ‘Get me their heads!’ Some individuals provided multiple scares as they quickly popped in and out of different areas. We also encountered some stalkers, a contortionist, and some chainsaw-wielding maniacs.
As the majority of scares are from actors we didn’t quite feel the intensity and commitment to the characters as last season. It is also notable that they had some first-time actors this season and on this particular evening were short-staffed.
Variety of Characters – (35% of score)
Complete, Finished Appearance – (30% of score)
Creative, Detailed Costumes – (20% of score)
Creative, Detailed, Realistic Makeup – (15% of score)
Due to the lack of light in the haunt, like last season, it was very difficult to see what actors were wearing amongst other things. From what we noticed, most stayed to the country, farm, and redneck theme. Overalls, jeans, flannels, slacks, and suspenders seemed to be the shared dress code.
The Contortionist wore an all-black stretch material because you can’t twist like that in overalls. We did notice some masks on characters that appeared to be animalistic such as a pig and maybe a wolf? We could not make them out for certain. The line actors we saw seemed to have detailed outfits fitting the farmer theme with blood covering their faces giving a realistic and unnerving appearance.
Overall, with the simplicity of the back story and the darkness of the haunt, extravagant costumes would be hard to see anyway.
If Masks, Effective – (25% of score)
Costumes Appropriate for Scenes, Themes – (30% of score)
Easy to Find, Navigate – (25% of score)
Safety – (20% of score)
Finding Fear Field was easy using GPS. On Fear Field’s website, there is a link to take you directly to Google Maps for directions. Unlike last season, we didn’t see the signs pointing to Fear Field. The signage was removed to provide the feeling of “Am I in the right place, is this a haunt”. A bold move.
As we arrived closer it felt even darker than last season. We were pretty much in the middle of nowhere with only moonlight and headlights to see. In the distance, we could see the lights from the movie screen and the flashlight of an employee so we knew we had arrived. There was plenty of parking in the field and there was an individual guiding customers where to park with a flashlight. This year, if you have tickets you can head to the red light, if not you have to go to the dimly lit ticket booth. Unlike last season, you do not wait in your vehicle to be called. There is now a queue line/waiting area.
As previously stated, the haunt is all outdoors and has very limited light outside of natural moonlight in most areas, and on the night we visited it was fairly cloudy so things were dark. The trail will take you through the woods so there will likely be wood chips, dirt, rocks, trees, and tree branches on the walkway. There are also a few small hills to travel up and down. We did not find anything dangerous outside of walking through the woods in the moonlight as you never know what may find you. Keeping at a normal walking speed and paying attention should keep you safe. Unlike last season, we were not told to use our phones for light. I imagine too many people were shining it on the actors.
Speaking of Fear Field’s website, it provides plenty of information to the most frequently answered questions. Tickets can also be purchased through their site. Fear Field also has a strong presence on most social media platforms.
We did not notice any Covid precautions as we did last season. But they did keep the groups separated and it’s an outdoor attraction.
Staff Professional, Helpful, Friendly – (25% of score)
Ease of Finding Info Before Arrival – (20% of score)
Obviously a Haunt Before Entering – (40% of score)
Prepared for Experience Inside – (15% of score)
Fear Field goes for the bare necessities to keep things as realistic as possible. They want that dark and mysterious feeling. Outside of the haunt things are darker than before the only light is from headlights, moonlight, and the movie screen light spilling from inside the waiting area.
Inside the waiting area, you see the most light of the evening. It is brightly lit with some d������������������cor around as well as photo ops. Wood pallets, old laundry, blood, and some dead bodies surround the waiting area. The movie screen was playing pop music. I would have liked to see something more horror-themed instead of the music videos. The line actors intimidated the patrons as they tensely awaited entry.
Sound Effects Effective – (20% of score)
Creative, Original Scenes, Props – (30% of score)
Detailed Scenes – (30% of score)
Achieve, Maintain Suspension of Disbelief – (20% of score)
Fear Field is an old-school, low-tech, bare-bones haunt going for realism over flash. The whole set is in the natural surroundings of the woods with additional walls and bridges made of wood and pallets. We came across a moonshine area, a church, and some shacks. There was one enclosed area that was narrow and gave us a vertigo-type effect that was very original. Decorations stayed to a minimum, we did see some animal bones on plates, scarecrows, blood, hanging body parts, hanging cans, and laundry. Everything felt natural.
The only sound effects and music we noticed were in the first area during the scary story. Throughout the majority of the haunt is the real soundtrack of nature with a sampling of screams and chainsaws.
Fear Field accomplishes what it wants to do, provide a realistic setting. Walking in strange woods at night is pretty creepy, to begin with. It does feel that this area could have been designed by a group of recluse individuals.
SFX Effective at Scaring, Entertaining – (35% of score)
Could Tell What Theme Was Without Asking – (15% of score)
Theme Well Executed, Believable – (25% of score)
Location Authenticates Theme – (10% of score)
How Scary – (15% of score)
The theme of individuals living in the woods is pretty clear in this haunt. The natural wood environment on top of the wood structures fit the theme well.
Provide Scares to Entire Group – (50% of score)
How Predictable – (25% of score)
Variety of Scares – (25% of score)
The location itself felt creepy to walk through. Fear Field was able to produce scares throughout, as mentioned mainly with jump scares from sudden or loud outbursts. As our group was kept small they were able to focus on both of us. There were some additional scares, outside of the audible jump scares, from stalkers and the contortionist. As the visibility is so low it makes it difficult to tell where someone may jump out from. FF stuck with the classic finale that most haunts had in the ’90s showing its dedication to old-school haunting.
71320 Center Street, St Clairsville, Ohio 43971