There is something special about fall and the Halloween season in New Mexico. The cooler weather brings out the color of the leaves and we have all the fun events that happen in the fall. Farms are a great way to enjoy fall activities with friends and loved ones. Located near by Route 66, in Moriarty, is the McCalls farm. They have provided entertainment to New Mexico residents and visitors for twenty-seven years! During the day, families can enjoy picking pumpkins, seeing and petting farm animals, and navigating through a corn maze.

When darkness creeps over, McCalls Haunted farm takes on a more frightening appearance. There are two haunted attractions: Field of Screams, their haunted corn maze, and the Haunted Barn. Please keep in mind that McCalls Haunted Farm uses a timed ticket system, so it’s good to plan ahead.

While waiting, you can eat, play zombie paintball at the shooting gallery, play carnival games, and go through the Curtain Chaos maze. All are a separate cost from the haunted house ticket. When your time slot and group number show up on the multiple TV screens, you can choose which haunted attraction you want to visit first.

Walking through Field of Screams and the Haunted Barn, we encountered a wide variety of terrifying creatures and creepy characters. Both attractions were filled with actors. There was at least one actor per room in Field of Screams, as was the case within the Haunted Barn.

Throughout both attractions, each minion and creature we encountered stayed in character throughout the scenes. In Field of Screams, we had several characters that emerged from the corn while others hid and made extremely creepy noises. Each actor we encountered that had lines were well prepared for guests trying to have a conversation with them.

Inside the Haunted Barn, we noticed more creativity with what the actors were saying. The variety of characters in both attractions was immense, no character seemed out of place.

In Field of Screams, some of the standout characters included the woman in black who did not need to say a word to creep us out. The swamp creature, blended perfectly into the scene, and the werewolf that did a great job of acting like a statue.

McCalls costuming is very detailed and complete. Throughout both attractions, and in the midway area, costuming is complete from head to toe on each character.

We did not see any standard costume, each seemed to be customized. Each area had costumes that matched the room. Props, when used, also accessorized well with the costuming.

The masks were very detailed and realistic in both haunts. We noticed they seemed to be customized specifically for the attractions. We also appreciated that actors had makeup around their eyes that matched the coloring of masks to help their eyes blend. Wandering throughout the attractions, we noticed that the makeup was perfect.

We appreciated that makeup also blended with the clothing. The clown makeup in both attractions were unique for each character. The use of blood effects in the makeup was very realistic, while other characters had realistic brushes and grime. Each scene had costumes and characters that fit perfectly, nothing out of place. While wandering the grounds and waiting our turn for the attractions, we encountered several actors with very detailed makeup as well.

McCalls Haunted Farm is easy to find, located right off the highway. There is a large entrance arch that says McCalls and there is plenty of free parking in a well lit parking lot. Safety is very important to McCalls. There are police and security on the premises, a first aid station, emergency exits, and plenty of staff to answer any questions one might have. Each staff member we encountered was friendly and super helpful.

There is even a staffed information booth for any questions or issues you might have. The McCalls website is very easy to navigate with information on both the daytime and nighttime events. You can purchase tickets and find a map, and the address, for the haunted house.

Have you ever watched a horror movie and wondered what it would be like to step into one? Haunted houses are that opportunity to safely experience what it would be like to star in a horror movie, and the McCalls farm does just that. Taking visitors to a different place where nightmares become reality!

Once you enter the line for attractions, they play basic music and a creepy voice is heard over the rules. While navigating through Field of Screams, there is no storyline we could identify. There is a detailed story on the McCalls website that tells what happened on the farm years ago.

The Haunted Barn also lacks a storyline, but both haunted attractions have a variety of scenes that flow together to make a mini universe that only exists at McCalls. From the moment you enter to when you come running through the exit, you are immersed into the world that was created. Even when walking through the corn stalks in Field of Screams, there are props and sets to keep your attention. Field of Screams and the Haunted barn are located on opposite sides of the haunted farm, but the wandering actors keep the frights coming.

Lighting, sights, sounds and even smells create a different place. Meandering through Field of Screams, the corn plays a important part of the soundscape. With a slight breeze flowing through the rustling of the corn stalks added to the intensity. Within each storage area, is a unique scene and soundtracks playing to add to the believability.

Actors made us jump a few times with the creepy sounds they made, some were very unhuman. The sets through both attractions were beautiful in a disturbing way.

Field of Screams has sets that are located in large storage buildings that are scattered throughout the corn field. From a werewolf den to a creepy mobile home, each set is filled from floor to ceiling with extremely detailed sets and props. Each scene transports you to a different world, sometimes enveloping you literally until you emerge back into the corn. The Haunted Barn is filled with movie quality sets. Walking through, our jaws were dropping with how in awe we were over the striking sets.

Some of the steller sets include a dank sewer, mental institution, and butcher shop, as well as many more surprises. While actors were excellent with scares, animatronics added a whole different type of scare. McCalls Haunted Farm is filled with animatronics.

With the team being haunt addicts and members who have worked for haunts in the past, it was a feast for the eyes! We have seen these incredible pieces at Transworld, a massive, yearly, convention with everything haunt related. There were animatronics in the corn stalks too. On the ground, eye level, and even above, each animatronic is set to activate at just the right moment. What makes the animatronics even more effective is that several animatronics attack at once!

One thing we did notice at Field of Screams was that a few animatronics were not functioning properly. Keep your eyes open for the finale as there may just be an animatronic like we have never seen before!

Within the Haunted Barn, there are tons of animatronics trying to grab haunt goers at close range. Each was functioning properly, and just as in the Field of Screams, there are parts where several animatronics come at you, all at once.

Both attractions had smells ranging from popcorn, to dirt, to rotting meat. The scents are not too overpowering, but can play tricks on your mind and add to the believability of the scenes. Fog in both attractions was excellent as well. From a low fog that creeps along the floor, to rooms that are so filled with fog its hard to see! Strobe lights were also flashing through the haunted attractions, and one room in the Haunted Barn left us discombobulated. There was a vortex tunnel, laser swamps, and other surprises hiding within both haunts.

Nothing can beat a good fright during the Halloween season. McCalls Haunted Farm is intense, with both the Field of Screams and the Haunted Barn, there can be frights around any corner. Field of Screams does a great job of providing consistent scares!

The use of actors combined with the animatronics keeps hearts of visitors racing. Some of the best scares we got were from a werewolf that popped out of no where. Several of the actors followed us as well, creeping us out. The Haunted Barn is a little more intense than Field of Screams. There were several times when we were surrounded by actors with a well-timed air blast or animatronic to scare unsuspecting guests.

Actors in both attractions did a great job of scaring everyone in our group. We had a great ping pong scare in the Haunted Barn, which is a scare that involves several actors scaring a guest back and forth. Actors had excellent hiding spots catching us by surprise. We had many actors stalking us from behind in Field of Screams. Actors would creep out us out as they chose their next victim.

The scares in Field of Screams were pretty well hidden. Animatronics looked like static props until they pounced. The actors also had great hiding spots, one in particular with creepy dialogue while hiding in the darkness.

The Haunted Barn was also very hard to predict, each scare coming out of secret places. The use of animatronics in close proximity combined with the use of special effects, and excellent timing of the actors, kept the intensity flowing throughout our journey.

Throughout both attractions there was a wide variety of scares. They used jump scares, air cannons, and animatronics, but the majority of scared came from actors. The actors use everything they can to scare the daylights out of guests there!

Throughout both attractions were several realistic looking props that look like realistic people and creatures. Several times we were looking closely at the details of these props, and at times we realized too late that we were looking at an actor perfectly executing a statue scare! Animatronics are great for a jump scares, but actors can really frighten you to the core.

Haunted attractions are not great without a finale. Field of Screams had one of the most stunning animatronics we have seen, as mentioned before! The ending of the Haunted Barn had a high intensity ending that came from all sides. We will note that there seemed to be issues with the chainsaws in the Haunted Barn finale, but otherwise the end was effective!

During our evening spent at McCalls Haunted Farm we felt thoroughly entertained. With all the scares in both haunts, as well as the additional attractions, there was plenty to do. McCalls Haunted Farm is a great attraction to visit if you want to have a high intensity haunted attraction you can experience that you will remember for many nights after!