Hysteria at Connors Farm Review (2017)

When we went through this year we couldn’t help but notice how the cast was a mix mash of enthusiasm. I’d say almost half of them actually tried being a character and put in a great effort while the other half really hardly did anything. One of the first actors we came across was this old dirty witch like character. She was hunched over with her hair covering her face and shaking like a lunatic towards us. I think it was the next actor on the trail was sort of slouched against a tree and slowly stepped out of the shadow as we walked by. The majority of the haunt was much of the same when it came to the actors.

Connor’s Farm is a highly active attraction right on a main road and four minutes from the second biggest highway in Massachusetts. You will instantly notice the abundance of lights beaming from the giant farm stand while driving down the road. There is no other businesses on this road, making it practically impossible to miss especially at night.

First and foremost Connors Farm is a excellent farm stand. We would say easily in the top 10 in Massachusetts. Tickets are purchased within the store where the magical aroma of hot cider, hot apple crisp, and fresh out of the deep frier hot cider donuts fills the whole area. With all the nice produce and baked goodies all over the place it’s easy to forget why we showed up in the first place. If that wasn’t enough, after you purchase your ticket they make you walk around the back of the building where the BBQ stand is! Pulled Pork Sandwiches all day every day for this guy.

Behind the farm stand is where the haunted attraction begins. They have a mechanical bull riding pit and a big bon fire for everyone wanting to take a break for a few minutes before embarking on the trail.

General admission lines get very long at Hysteria. We were lucky enough to get the VIP tickets that cut out waiting time down to maybe 1 minute as opposed to some people who had been waiting there for almost 2 hours. This year the lines were put in the orchard and it provided some great opportunities to scare unsuspecting guests.

We start at a well-lit farm stand with absolutely nothing scary at all. If anything it is filled with the best fall time cheer you can get. Then we made our way into a dark apple orchard with nothing scary to really speak of but the darkness was a little eerie for us. We enter the haunt beginning at the treeline that surrounds the orchard. The tall trees tower over us with red, blue, green lights scattered throughout the forest. And all we can hear is the screams and pounding music echoing their way out of the woods. Things go from happy to evil in a matter of minutes.

Other than the hot cider donuts I think my favorite aspect of Hysteria is the barriers they make for the trail. For the majority of the trail we were surrounded by a creepy collection of branches with jute netting all over it. At one point there were some giant branches sticking out of the ground and it felt like I was walking through a giant’s rib cage. The lights in the woods reflecting off the trees and all the strange textures they made for walls was the scariest part for me.

Hysteria does have a few new animatronics this year that are all working in pristine condition. A zombie falls from overhead and shakes and rattles all over the place making a great screaming gurgling sound. These are the kinds of props I like to just stop and watch for the duration of the animation.

There were a few times we were listening to general creepy halloween music. In the particular spots we could hear the music it was very faint. However there are multiple sections throughout the haunted trail with loud techno or heavy metal music.

I’ve been through too many vortex tunnels in my haunted house adventures, the big spinning tube you walk through and feel like you are going to fall. Going through one of these things lost it’s magic around the fourth time I went through them. There isn’t many things that bother me more than walking through one that isn’t working properly or at all. That being said I would like to say that Hysteria has one of the best vortex tunnels I have ever been through. Not that there is anything special about it, it’s just working the way they are supposed to work. You would be surprised how many attractions paint the inside walls the wrong way and it ruins the effect. Hysteria has it painted and moving just right that I actually had the same disorienting feeling I had the first time I ever went through one.

For us the creepiness of the lights in the woods played out very well and was a great distraction for the actors to get us with loud bangs and screams. The farm stand and BBQ make the place feel much more family friendly than it really is. In effect this made us jump from one mood to the next by bringing us some happiness with the sweet smells of fresh fall baked goods and suddenly we are walking in the dark towards an evil forest. We didn’t have much time to think about what we were going into, only that we were pleasantly happy with hot cider and doughnuts. The loud banging of heavy metal and techno music makes walking forward a little difficult too. When you walk out of the woods towards a rusty trailer with strobe lights flickering inside but all you can hear is Marilyn Manson’s music getting louder and louder your brain doesn’t think about what the danger could be, it just says danger and tries to stop your legs from moving.