This past weekend we stopped in at the Fear Farm (FF) in Blacksburg, SC. Fear Farm is a growing, old-school haunt nestled in the mountains of upstate South Carolina. Since 2011, FF has been seeking out ways to elicit screams with shocks and startles. If they don’t get you scared, they’ll do their best to entertain you. This year, a journey through the Farm will take you from the darkness of the Abyss, into a circus school, down into a mineshaft, out into a dentist’s office, and then through the cemetery and farmhouse of a cursed local family. What frights lurk within? Come along as we recount our own journey through the Farm and learn what seeds of fear were planted.
There were about fifty costumed staff spread across the five internal haunts, but it honestly felt like there were more. If you tried to convince us that there were an average of ten actors for each zone, we’d say that you had surely miscalculated somewhere. Actors tended to be clumped together in groups with static props or animatronics interspersed between, so there were no dead zones that left us feeling lost.
The actors across the Haunt are very interactive, sometimes with the group going through and sometimes with their props. We highly enjoyed talking with some of the gatekeepers before each of the zones. Though they’re there for line control, but most of them were also costumed and in-character for the haunt behind them. Likewise, the actors in each area were appropriate for their locations ‘ you didn’t see any clowns falling into the mine shaft. Within each section there was some minor variety of roles, but each of those belonged in their respective places.
The clown who led us through the Abyss to the clown school was great. We also enjoyed some of the circus employees ‘ the twins were good at responding to dialogue and the stilt-walker was fun as well. The muttering miner who gave us vaguely prophetic warnings was a great little bit that added tension and a sense of suspense, while the dental patient with a lollipop stick was a frighteningly humorous chance for a break in the tension. Actors who can manipulate the emotions of visitors with more than just startles and screams is a great bit of theatricality that we highly enjoyed at Fear Farm.
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)
While we did have the misfortune of visiting FF on a swelteringly hot and humid night, the crew at the Farm did an admirable job with their make-up and masks given the sweaty conditions. We’re sure that the Fear Farm cast will be just as eager for cooler nights to come as we are.
The stilt-walker kept her make-up on remarkably well for the night’s conditions ‘ since we got to see her up close several times, it was easy to see the level of care that had been taken to get the make-up right. Our guide through the Abyss may have been clowning around, but his mask and costume fit right in with his over-the-top personality.
There were some costumes that could have been fitted out slightly better ‘ but given the size of the cast and the heat of the evening, the Fear Farm did an admirable job of getting things right. Many of the costumes and masks are comparatively simple ones, but there are some individual instances that jump out (sometimes right at you) with some great costuming and props.
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)
The Fear Farm is outside of Blacksburg, up in the mountainous countryside. GPS and cell signal comes and goes when one is visiting such remote places, as we discovered on our rambling trip up the mountainside. We’d advise being sure of your GPS directions ‘ some devices will let you download a route in case of signal loss. Not a bad idea when traveling the country to find these great haunts.
Once we got close, we easily found the haunt. The parking lot attendants had lights to direct parking and the entrance to the trail leading to the haunt was clearly lit. The non-costumed staff were friendly and wonderful to deal with. Too, we found plenty of signs to point us to the prominent spots along the way (merchandise, tickets, and so on). All of the information for the haunt was easily found online; they have a dedicated website and an active Facebook page.
The Fear Farm is essentially a walking trail, though you are venturing into structures along the way. Be sure to wear appropriate shoes!
The only negative we could find was that there were a few trip hazards that we inadvertently kicked while navigating the Abyss and, on a couple of occasions, there were some scares that hit the back of our group while the front of the group was heading down a set of stairs. This didn’t cause any issues for our seasoned crew, but we know that if we had some of our own screamers with us, they might have bowled us down the stairs to get away.
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)
The anticipation for Fear Farm builds from the parking lot to the front door. The parking lot is lit along the edges, but towering, dark trees surround it. We then venture down a darkened trail to find the ticket booth set up at the edge of an occupied carnival-styled set. Within the bounds of this area, we not only find the ticket booth and entrance to the Abyss, but also the Fear Farm escape room, mini-golf, and a carnival game. With some searching, we can spot the entrance to the mine shaft tucked away as well as the exit from the farmhouse. All of that adds up to some great anticipation for the scares that the FF has tucked away out of sight. While a DJ blasts music over our heads and some of the costumed creatures prowl around, we can definitely tell that we are in for a treat.
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)
We enjoyed the scares at FF. While there was some sound bleed from one scene to the next, it wasn’t distracting in most cases. In other cases, like the dentist’s office, it even added to the suspense-filled anticipation. There were a lot of effects that were either actor-driven or props held by actors, but they were used to a good effect.
Each of the internal haunts were relatively short ‘ our fear-hounded feet counted the shortest one at about four minutes, for example. But, they are each detailed enough to give visitors a good glimpse of the skill at FF from sets and props to sounds and screams.
Keep your eyes peeled in all directions, too! Fear Farm has learned to tuck some things away in multiple places. There could be something lurking above you instead of just along your line of sight. They’ve also done a fantastic job on the timing of their animatronics ‘ they don’t just pop out for the front person in a group but are managed to spring out in different locations as they are triggered. That is a level of skill and detail that some larger places still struggle with in our experience, so it was great to see someone doing it well.
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)
There isn’t a singular theme for Fear Farm. Instead, each of the five sections that we traveled through had their own individual theme. These were carried out well through set design, d������������������cor, props, and costuming.
Some of the internal haunts are great for the location. The mineshaft and the farmhouse are both very appropriate for the area as Blacksburg was once known for its mines and there are plenty of old farmhouses in the region.
Provide Scares to Entire Group – (50% of score)
How Predictable – (25% of score)
Variety of Scares – (25% of score)
When we ventured through FF, we had a very small group ‘ only three people. For the small size of our group, the actors did a great job of spreading the fear about. Again, the animatronics’ timing was geared to not just hit the front of our group, which was nice. A group with five to six people might still have some issues where the individual in the rear might miss out on seeing a prop deploy; but, in those cases, we’re sure the actors would more than make up for the loss.
There were a lot of jump scares at Fear Farm, possibly too many. Some of the actors do manage to bring the jump scares from different angles, but by the time you reach the very end, the jump scares start to almost seem formulaic. However, we are reminded that FF is also a fairly young haunt. We feel that it’s a great place to visit, and we’re hopeful that its actors will grow with the haunt and hone their skills as time goes on.
Also, we should mention that there is a strong chance of contact with the actors ‘ from props to squeezing through narrow passages, we couldn’t always avoid being touched at least a few times. While this isn’t as intense as something you would experience in a full-contact haunt, some guests might not be expecting the close proximity. It was something that we found fun and entertaining.
424 Ninety Nine Island Road, Blacksburg, South Carolina 29702
