Traveling through Fletcher’s Farm, we thought that there were some haunted houses that could only be found in the South, and this is one of the wildest. Nestled deep in the countryside of South Carolina, Fletcher’s Farm leans into its rural surroundings to build tension long before you even reach the first scare. The drive in alone feels like a prelude to the chaos with long stretches of dark road lit only by distant farm lights, until the glow of the haunt finally emerges through the trees.
Merging practical special effects with passionate monsters, this sprawling haunt offers a long descent into madness. The team here has employed engineering and ingenuity to create special effects and experiences that had us screaming with our arms in the air and our feet kicking. There are two bus rides, an extensive trail with haunted houses to travel through, and a unique ticket system that makes it so you don’t have to stand in line waiting for long periods.
As soon as the sun dips below the horizon, the property transforms into something out of a Southern Gothic nightmare: eerie lights flicker through the fog, and the faint sound of chainsaws carries on the wind. Bring comfortable shoes, clothes that can get dirty, and whatever stuffed animal or blanky you think can protect you. For locals or travelers looking for an affordable yet adrenaline-fueled Halloween night, Fletcher’s Farm should absolutely be on your list.
We weren’t even past the ticket window when clowns descended upon us and stole one of our members. Above us, a skeleton Go Go dancer mystified on a blacklit stage, and the undead slipped in and out of the crowd looking for victims. The actors commit fully to their roles, with plenty of interaction and improvisation that keeps guests engaged rather than just startled. On the bus ride out, we were easy prey for a set of monsters that managed to use the wild bouncing of the bus to enhance their special effects and sensory terror.
The trail and the houses lining it are filled with haunters that bring energy and love to their craft. We were immersed in screams from the first moment, and only some of those came from the monsters. Stalkers and hunters slipped in and out of holes in the environment, and haunters utilized every inch of the house to scare us.
A hammer-wielding clown managed to time his attack perfectly to scare one of our veterans, and a ghoul on the trail fooled us into thinking we were looking at a peaceful corpse before she launched at us. In the dark maze, as we were pondering where to go next, a sneaky monster spotlit himself in the pitch dark and sent us stumbling forward.
Fletchers Farm has managed to craft a number of costumes and accessories that weaponize blacklights to create unique and fantastic visuals. Zombies, mad rednecks, and other deadly predators have distinct looks and are easy to identify. The clowns here are clowns from top to bottom, and they have everything from masks and prosthetics to intricately painted faces. Monsters hiding in the dark made sure to blackout all skin so that they weren’t seen until they wanted to be, and details were paid attention to even in dark areas where they were hard to make out. A brilliant trick had a haunter wearing almost reflectively bright contacts but in all black, so when they loomed forward, it looked like disembodied eyes in the dark.
Marked by grandly lit gates and skeletons, Fletcher’s Farm boasts a large, convenient parking lot and easy ticket-buying experience. They have adopted a system that makes it so that the ticket line is your last line. Themed wooden tickets are given to visitors, and then you are called in groups for the first bus ride.
Fletchers Farm has worked to make sure that the experience flows smoothly as you make your way along. The staff were helpful and friendly, and they offer a lot of space once you get inside to spend time and enjoy yourself.
On a personal note, the team we were on was Pinhead Purple, and since Hellraiser is one of our favorite franchises and purple is one of our team leader’s favorite colors, we were excited to grab pictures of them.
Make sure you bring cash, comfortable clothes, and shoes, because this haunt will have you crawling and screaming.
Fletchers Farm starts with a grand hangout area for groups waiting to go through. The façade of the house looms over you here, and the skeleton dancers and prowling monsters make sure that you stay tense and ready. Everything at this haunt feels authentic, and they work to make sure that they are cut off from the surrounding area so that you really experience isolation. The layout of the trail and the house is set up so that you never see anything but woods and haunt, and they have decorated staging areas inside the haunt that allow you to take a moment to rest before moving forward.
Haunts like Fletcher’s Farm are one of a kind because they build their own custom special effects to enhance their haunt. The buses have a Twisted Metal look and are obviously crafted by the monsters to best trap victims. They have some ingenious sneaky little surprises (and other surprises that are less little and far less sneaky) involved in the bus rides that we refuse to spoil. Sounds are pumped into the haunt when necessary, but for the most part, they are created naturally as fire jets up around you and monsters bang on overturned cars. The scene detail is often exquisite, and even in the depths of the trail where we were rushing past, they took the time to put little add-ons like filled herb vials on an altar. They have filled the air with the smells of fire and dirt, enhancing the feel of descending into the Underworld. Dark mazes are genuinely disconcerting and set up to be truly dark. The blacklight-sensitive props and painted details really stood out and enhanced the manic feel. One of our favorite moments included being lifted into the air on a bridge of dreams.
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 8.93
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 9.13
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 8.55
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 8.3
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 9.43
At the first staging area on the trail, we knew when the next group was approaching long before we should have from the sound of their distress. The infrastructure of this haunt allows for multiple pass-throughs and hiding spots for haunters to both jump scare you and slide behind you to stalk you. The bus rides were exhilarating, and shoutout to the bus drivers who managed to make someone on our ride scream, “It’s like Carowinds,” while the monsters had another rider trembling and boxed in. There is a crawling portion that took our old bones about 6 minutes to get through, where tunnels close in on you, and even without claustrophobia, eventually these close quarters will start to mess with you. There was a clown in those tunnels, and I am certain they were teleporting to hunt us.
Fletcher’s Farm is a lot of bang for your buck. Between the value, creativity, and the sheer amount of entertainment, Fletcher’s Farm delivers one of the most complete haunt nights you’ll find anywhere. With two lively and lengthy bus rides and a long trail dotted with haunted houses, it took 45 minutes for us to reach the safety at the end. For only $20, that is an incredible amount of frights and fun, and they keep the energy high. Tickets are cash only, so make sure you prepare for that. Parking is free, and there are concessions inside to check out while you wait to be summoned to your doom. There are no lines because of their unique ticket system, so you can enjoy their large hangout area, DJ, and undead skeleton Go Go dancers. The only thing better than looking forward to writing the phrase “undead skeleton Go Go dancer” is an undead skeleton Go Go dancer.
765 Walton Way Drive, Hartsville, South Carolina 29550
