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Haunted Housewives with Tish and Lily, Pittsburgh, PA (2025)

12/24/2025

To everyone who has supported our commitment to friendship and fear, whether you dazzled us with your darkness, chased us with chainsaws, or engaged in beastly banter; whether you followed along on our adventures, read our words, or wondered about our sanity: thank you for inspiring our nightmares. You raise our spirits.

May your days be scary and fright, and we'll see you in 2026!

12/22/2025

Haunted Hills Estate Scream Park
Happy HorrorDays
Uniontown, PA
December 12, 2025

Lily and I are breathless, cringing at every sound. Our vision is distorted by 3D lenses. The images on the wall seem to move; we can no longer tell the difference between painted figures and living creatures. We’ve been pursued by clowns, elves, and eldritch horrors. We enter a narrow hallway just as a long-haired, wild-eyed apparition lurches into view. He breaks into a low, gurgling laugh and he points a knife at us. “What now?” Lily moans. He pinballs off the walls, staggering heavily toward us. He brandishes the knife and warns us that we have one more task to perform if we want to breathe free air again. What will it be – a seance? A blood sacrifice? Lily and I are so disoriented that it takes us a moment to understand what he wants from us…he wants us to turn in our 3D glasses. Only Haunted Hills Estate can turn such a simple act into sheer terror.

Haunted Hills Estate Scream Park in Uniontown is a darkly funny, interactive slice of backwoods horror. Over the past several years, Haunted Hills Estate has hosted a holiday haunt, spreading cheer and fear on the coldest, darkest nights of the year. The classic haunted House is the site of a creepy Christmas party while Twisted Nightmares 3D hosts a demented winter carnival..

The House is decked out for Christmas, and this year, our host is Skitzo the Clown. Skitzo turns out to be the perfect host for an event like this – he’s a cartoon in human form. His energy and sheer, manic joy are infectious (kind of like a disease.). Ah, but the rest of the House is dark and dire, even if the creatures in the walls are Grinches and Whos rather than ghosts and ghouls. The House is dark in every possible way; the rooms and halls are thick with shadow while the images – possessed dolls, haunches of human meat bedecked with holly – are gloomier still. The creatures that haunt these halls are a mix of seasonal favorites (like the Grinch) and Haunted Hills’ horrific standbys (a massive, dreadlocked butcher in the basement has been waiting for Lily since Halloween). Even at Christmas, the mood is one of creeping dread. Okay, maybe “creeping dread” isn’t the right description. Here, dread doesn’t just creep. It also screams, laughs, leaps, and chases after you with a chainsaw. In the House, we encounter a bloodthirsty chef who’s eager to have us for dinner, one way or another, Lily’s butcher buddy (who chases her from the yard right back into the house), a towering lunatic who sneaks up on us repeatedly despite his size, a shambling zombie, and a menacing maniac who may be Krampus’s understudy – he dogs our footsteps through the House’s gorgeously decayed basement and pops up in the most unexpected places. The brand-new outdoor features a haunted outhouse, a cabana bar with a hilariously drunken reindeer, and plenty of surprises. The House makes some concessions to the season: aside from the seasonal characters, there are decorations throughout. However, Haunted Hills does not dial back on the scares. This is an aggressive, interactive attraction that is far more interested in murder than merriment.

Twisted Nightmares 3D is one of the most beautiful, detailed 3D mazes you’ll see. Noted horror artist Dutch Bihary has crafted a whole gallery of vivid, pulsating images, just for the Screampark. This setting is both daring and daunting: how do you create a haunted attraction that uses these powerful images without being overwhelmed by them? Well, have no fear. Or rather, have LOTS of fear. The Screampark’s approach to Twisted Nightmares has been to match the performances to the setting: the fiends in these halls are as big, bold, and over-the-top as the blacklight murals, and the holidays bring out the best in these maniacs. Of course, there’s a back story. A circus has gone off the rails during its winter tour and the clowns, already on edge from touring too much, are driven to madness and cannibalism in the polar landscape. The frostbitten ringmaster wants our help in reining in the lunacy – or maybe he just wants to throw his clowns a tasty snack. (By the way, the makeup at this event is excellent – the ringmaster’s cold-air wounds are realistically gruesome and all the creatures sport fabulous paint.) The hallways of Twisted Nightmare are crawling (and we mean that literally) with crazed clowns who are just a couple rings shy of a full circus. There’s a grinning goofball who comes waaaayyyyy too close to us, giggling, “I missed you! Did you miss me too?” There’s a sad little creature who just wants to play. There’s Jingles the evil elf, who clambers through the rafters of the building, flipping and twisting his way ahead of us like an animation come to life. There’s a sinister, growling madman who manages to make even the simplest instructions sound like a curse. And of course, there’s our old pal Gore, who brings his Joker jolliness to the holiday. Trying to make our way through this 3D nightmare leaves us breathless and beaming. It’s fun, intense, and utterly insane.

Even on the coldest of nights, Haunted Hills Estate is happy to host a party. The Birdman has a shiny new corset for the holidays and is delighted to join in some musical mayhem. There’s food and a fire pit…and of course, chainsaws. The atmosphere in the yard keeps spirits bright.

Haunted Hills Estate Scream Park’s HorrorDays event is as energetic and unhinged as its regular season offerings. The hauntrunners bring their trademark humor and grit to this merriest of holidays. If you want to add a little chill to your cheer, check out Happy HorrorDays.

Cost: $25.

Safety Protocols, Group Size, Etc.: You go through with only your own group.

Concessions: There’s a small snack bar with hot dogs, chips, sodas, and other treats.

Other stuff to do: Multiple photo ops with movie-style props; fire pits; excellent gift shop with t-shirts, jewelry, tumblers, and Halloween décor; music; wandering characters.

Other stuff to know: It’s cold and dark, but the creatures are helpful. And if you’re trying to stay warm, you can probably get a chainsaw maniac to chase you.

12/19/2025

Castle Blood
The Christmas Witches
Monessen, PA
December 12, 2025

Every year at about this time, Lily and I end up in a conversation that goes something like this:

Innocent Bystander: Bet you two are sad now that Halloween’s over. What do you do for the holidays?

Tish and Lily: Oh, we go to Christmas haunts.

Innocent Bystander: What? Christmas haunts? How do you do a haunted house at Christmastime? WHY would you do a haunted house at Christmastime??

Lily (sighing, rolling her eyes, bracing herself for what comes next): ...

Tish (clearing her throat, adjusting her glasses): Well, ACTUALLY, this is the perfect time of year for haunted houses. Let me explain…

This season is in fact the ideal time to commune with ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties. The nights are dark and long; the veil is thin. Plus, ghosts and monsters are a huge part of the seasonal spice – one of the most beloved tales of this holiday involves a bitter, lonely man who is haunted by spirits and hounded by visions of his own death. Dickens’ classic tale is both chilling and cheery, menacing and merry…and that’s a blend that Castle Blood in Monessen, Pennsylvania understands very well.

The story behind Castle Blood is that a motley crew of monsters from the Old World have washed up on the shores of the Mon and made their home in an old funeral parlor. A few times a year, the Castle’s denizens open the doors of their home to welcome mortal guests and to their various holiday traditions. Because these exchanges are never free, the human visitors have to solve a series of puzzles and collect several talismans to secure safe passage through the Castle. You can also count on the Castle for a good story – the journey is part of a narrative, made up of folklore, popular culture, and the Castle’s own wacky mythology.

The Christmas – excuse me, CRYPTMAS – version of the tour is always a bit more family-friendly. In fact, when Lily and I went through, there were plenty of wide-eyed kiddos waiting to enter the cobweb-hung halls. In deference to all the young guests, the puzzles are a bit easier and the denizens are a bit more forgiving. Heck, you even get a helpful, printed list of the talismans that you’re searching for! Also, the atmosphere is a bit more playful, although guests can expect to have their wits and their nerves tested by the creatures who dwell within. This year’s wintry tour offered a spin on the witchy tale the Castle has been weaving for the past year, but instead of seeking out Maiden, Mother, and Crone (or Sabrina, Deirdre, and Brigid), guests interact with the witches’ Yuletide incarnations: Pepper, Sugar, and Ginger. The talismans that we must collect also give a nod to beloved holiday traditions and figures. This event balances creepy and cozy (much like Dickens’ beloved story) – and, like Dickens, it teaches a lesson too.

In shadow or snow, the Castle looks great. The denizens may not understand this whole Christmas thing, but they certainly don’t skimp on decoration. There are trees, lights, and garland everywhere. Gingerdead Lane (usually the Castle cemetery) is a Victorian fantasia of red and white. It’s a beautifully Gothic take on the holiday. If you get a chance, linger in the hallways and savor the details.

The puzzles are a wee bit less punishing than usual, but they’re varied and clever. We have to participate in a game of ring toss (relying heavily on Lily’s high school softball skills), exercise some logic, and witness some up-close and personal magic. Any tour through the Castle is also highly referential: one puzzle shows us what the Island of Misfit Toys has in common with the “Conjuring” universe. (It’s smart and unexpectedly sinister.) We are called upon to think, observe, and work together with all the members of our group to ensure our survival. (Oh, I forgot to mention – in the spirit of the season, there’s a powerful emphasis on good will to all.)

As always, the format of the tour offers plenty of opportunities for the denizens to exercise their acting skills. Each group spends two to three minutes in each room of the Castle, solving puzzles and bantering with the various creatures. The show starts on the Castle’s wraparound porch with Astrid – excuse me, Vixen – belting twisted versions of Christmas carols. Professor Ezra, doddering and sweet, offers us warnings and rules. Kind Lady Die greets us in the parlor and tells us the story while the elegant young vampire in the caretaker’s office sets us on our way. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work for vampires? Well, poor, stoic Loomis has discovered that employment may last beyond the grave, and he’ll NEVER get that promotion he so richly deserves. Vibrant Varvara meets us in the study (where the taxidermy is bedecked with tinsel and twinkling lights) to pose another challenge and to laugh at our failures. We are delighted to see the fabulous fortuneteller Ivan Seeyou whose creaky voice and glamorous style are surpassed only by his soothsaying skills. Annatoli, deadpan and patient, presides over the Castle’s gorgeous steampunk laboratory. We meet the first of the Christmas Witches deep in the bowels of the Castle when playful, prickly Pepper poses a problem. Gruff Thorgrim offers us safe passage through the catacombs. Sassy Sugar tries to share some of her grace with us; alas, everyone in our group has two left feet. Professor Scrye is a man of science, but apparently, he shares some DNA (and some cursed objects) with Ed and Lorraine Warren. Gen X-ers might recognize Chris the Christmas Warlock from a certain Rankin-Bass special, but he helps us put one foot in front of another as we navigate the cemetery. The adorable Ginger might sound like Hexibart but she is cute as a button and sweet as, well, as gingerbread. Motherly Phoebe pronounces her gentle judgment on all of us before sending us out into the night. These performers are charming and assured, comfortable in their roles and in their interactions with guests.

This version of Castle Blood is, like Dickens’ timeless tale, funny, scary, sweet, and meaningful. Maybe you don’t have time to fly through the night skies with three different ghosts; well, you’ll have as much fun – and learn as much – with the denizens of Castle Blood.

Cost: $25

Other stuff to do: There are photo ops outside the Castle and in Gingerdead Lane. The Castle also runs a gift shop with Castle-branded apparel, ornaments, and original art.

Other stuff to know: Because the tours focus on collaborative puzzle-solving, you go through in a group of about 5.

12/10/2025

Demon House Haunted Attraction LLC.
The Naughty List
Monongahela, PA
December 7, 2025

The holidays are a time for tradition, for revisiting those objects and activities that put you in a merrier mood. Perhaps you love baking cookies or singing carols or viewing holiday lights or shopping until you drop. Well, for Lily and me, it isn’t Christmas until we enter the icy halls of Demon House. Demon House’s holiday event began years ago as a charity venture, a way to raise funds for a haunt actor in distress. (Charles Dickens would approve.) Since then, Demon House’s Christmas haunt has grown, becoming a beloved fixture on the seasonal calendar. It’s easy to see why – Demon House manages to balance creepy and cozy, sentiment and scares, in a way that’s perfect for the holiday.

Part of this is down to set design. The halls are fully decked from the moment you enter the resident fortuneteller’s tent until you face a final encounter with holiday spirits. There isn’t an inch of Demon House that hasn’t been transformed by lights, holly, and tinsel – often in some hilarious and disgusting ways. (If you’ve ever wanted to see a headless body used as a Christmas ornament, or a hallway full of corpses dressed like the cast of The Nutcracker, now’s your chance.) Even the detonator down in the mines has been swathed in wrapping paper. It’s all very twinkly and often tongue-in-cheek.

Demon House has always served up its horror with a hefty dose of humor, and some of the recent changes and additions to Demon House’s scenes make the transition to Christmas a natural one. This fall, Demon House converted its pallet maze into Scary Book Forest, and the fairy tale whimsy has spread to the manor itself, where we’re greeted by a friendly baker whose spread of Christmas goodies (and disdain for naughty children) reminds us of the story of Hansel and Gretel. Some delightfully creepy props help to sell the story. We’re also treated to Demon House’s gruesome version of Light Up Night (which may be one of the best repurposings of a prop that we’ve seen). The asylum and the clown maze remain as dark and surprising as ever, even with a holiday makeover, while the industrial facility has become Santa’s Workshop, under the dubious supervision of a pair of eccentric elves. A harrowing elevator ride dumps us onto the Island of Misfit Toys, before we venture out into Scary Book Forest and on to an unexpected exorcism. (What would a Demon House Christmas be without an exorcism?) The hauntrunners have really thought about how to transform their haunt for the holidays…and how to turn holiday figures into icons of horror. The consistent theme helps. When we enter the manor, the baker asks if we’ve been naughty or nice (Lily throws me under the bus…or the sleigh…immediately). From that point, nearly every creature we meet poses the same question or warns us about the dangers of being naughty. This consistent storyline weaves through the entire haunt. For instance, we get some graphic and gory examples of what happens if you’ve been bad. (The props are created in-house by the creative team, so you won’t see these gooey, bloody bodies on anyone else’s naughty list.) Of course, we finally get to see the infamous Naughty List and of course, our names are on it. From there, it’s just a matter of time until we have to face our punishment…or, because it’s Christmas, redemption.

The place looks great. The theme is clever. But what really makes this event something of a Christmas miracle is the performances. Demon House excels in creating indelible characters and then finding fiercely talented actors to play them. This starts with a scene that could be a throwaway: Lily and I are read the rules of the haunt by a fortuneteller who’s communing with the Ghost of Christmas Past. Okay, the writing is witty and the use of props and effects to underscore the rules is funny and smart (the stove starts smoking just before the fortuneteller cautions “No smoking”). But her loopy, sinister performance makes this scene memorable. The witchy baker is hilariously practical (if Lily and I misbehave, she’s just going to have to bake us into a pie) and the Light Up Night technician’s enthusiasm is infectious. The asylum offers an abrupt change of pace, courtesy of a grinning “nurse” in elf garb and a genuinely unsettling patient who twitched and stumbled as he echoed our words. (He has tried to be festive – he’s braided twinkle lights into his unkempt beard – but he’s too strange and menacing to be really merry.) The clowns are primed for holiday highjinks. Jingle scampers through the halls like a child high on sugar on Christmas morning while her giggling pal delights in a game of hide-and-seek. They deliver us into the anxious hands of type-A elf, Holly, who’s been charged with checking the list twice. Clearly, Holly has spent years in Santa’s HR department. She tries to be reassuring as she delivers the bad news to us. Her pal Jolly on the other hand is absolutely ecstatic to hand us over for punishment. She’s a fountain of jokes and jabs, threatening to bite us one minute and laughing with (or at) us the next. We run smack into a misfit doll (frankly, we don’t get it – she’s gorgeous) and a giant teddy bear who is both adorable and threatening. And all this happens before we’re released into Scary Book Forest, where the walls are decked with rhymes about Gingerbread Riding Hood, Miss Muffet, and the Three Little Pigs (turns out they were on the naughty list) as well as a set that combines Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater with The Toxic Avenger. The horrific poems are packed with jokes and unexpected twists, speaking to the creativity of the hauntrunners, and this little maze is as full of fun and frights as the house. The creatures that are stirring here are also a hoot, including a vengeful Gingerbread Riding Hood whose movements are perfectly coordinated to the maze’s sound effects. Of course, because we have behaved very badly this year, we find ourselves on the wrong side of jolly ol’ St. Nick. When I plead with him, “Can’t we negotiate this whole ‘naughty list’ thing?”, he pulls out a chainsaw and growls, “Yeah. Let’s negotiate.” Lily and I also run smack into an apparition whose tall, ragged frame is topped with a deer skull. We’d think he was the Wendigo if not for his brightly glowing red nose. We also find our path blocked by a hostile snowman who’s looking for some spare parts. The final scene sends us into Whoville where a funny, manic Who shaman tries to perform an exorcism. She’s charismatic and commanding, offering a weird and wonderful end to our journey.

Demon House is a playful, original attraction whose props and makeup are designed and done in-house. You won’t see their scenes and effects anywhere else. You’ll also find very few places that combine charnel house and charm as effectively. If you’re looking to add a new tradition to your holiday calendar, Demon House will make sure that your days are scary and bright..

COST: $25 but you get $10 off admission if you bring a donation for Toys for Tots – or you can seek out their Groupon.

CONCESSIONS: Yes, you can get hot drinks and other treats at their concessions stand.

OTHER STUFF TO DO: The Demon House shop sells branded merchandise made while you wait. You can also buy amazing hats, ornaments and jewelry. Also onsite: Spooky Treasures wish jewelry and dowsing rods, and Kryptic Kre8tions, with their inventive, creepy dolls. The shops take cash but there is an ATM onsite. There’s also an outdoor theater showing seasonal movies and a cozy fire pit.

12/06/2025

Crawford School of Terror
A Very Crawford Christmas
Connellsville, PA
December 5, 2025

The old school building is bedecked with lights, shining pink, orange, and green on this cold December night. A crowd wrapped in thick coats and scarves mills around in the schoolyard, their mittened hands clutching cups of coffee and cocoa. A figure in red velvet and fur with a bulging sack on his back weaves through the crowd, peering intently into the faces of the merrymakers. He seems to pose a question: “Have you been good this year? Or…bad?” This scene looks festive and sweet, if not for a couple of factors: 1) This is Crawford School of Terror, and 2) that guy ain’t Santa Claus.

Crawford School of Terror has made a name for itself as a dark, detailed haunted attraction that uses design, set dressing, performance, and sheer creativity to scare the crap out of the good people of western Pennsylvania. For ten seasons, the School of Terror has told a gripping tale of madness, revenge, and haunting, sending its ghosts and maniacs through three floors of an old school building in pursuit of hapless humans. This year, for the first time, Crawford has decided to open its doors for a Christmas-themed haunt. Crawford School of Terror approaches this assignment with all the dark humor, attention to detail, and talent for horror that its fans have come to expect.

When you arrive, you’re greeted by a full cast of characters. There’s a tall, menacing goat demon striding through the yard. There’s a beautiful ice princess who, if you’re lucky, will bestow a chilly blessing on you. There’s a manic elf who will run at you bellowing Christmas carols. And there is, of course, the man in the red suit with his sack full of something – it’s Krampusnacht and Krampus himself is here to ensure that naughty children are punished for their bad deeds. It’s fun just to meander through this crowd, listening to twisted holiday songs, and maybe sipping on something delicious from Crawford’s coffee cart. But there are three floors of terror to tackle.

The top floor is still a gorgeously detailed haunted school, but now all the ghosts and monsters are getting ready for the holidays. Classic Christmas commercials play on the big TV in one classroom and the chemistry teacher is trying to perfect her cookie recipe. (Funny – I don’t remember my mom’s cookies having so many body parts in them.) The lunch lady is serving up holiday specials to ungrateful students and lights twinkle on the saw blade in the shop classroom. The festive mood has infected everyone, from the school nurse to the librarian, possibly because there is an elf skipping through the halls, singing skewed versions of familiar holiday tunes. (The poor janitor is still stuck with mopping up ice and snow and tending his shrine to murderous schoolgirl Margaret.) The prom queen has undergone a wintry transformation – the poor girl is still drop-dead gorgeous (heh) but she looks a bit more Olaf than Elsa as she begs guests to help her find her stolen crown. In fact, the entire school is as holly-jolly as it’s possible for a hellmouth to get. There are lights everywhere and swathes of wrapping paper on the walls. (Crawford never does anything by half measures.) But what really makes spirits bright is, well, the spirits who dwell here. The creatures decking (and haunting) the halls are scary and funny, interactive and energetic, and their performances are elevated by excellent makeup and costuming.

Following your visit to the haunted school, you will descend a staircase to the haunted daycare. Even the staircase has been decorated, but its transformation makes it look disturbingly like a throat. The long, twisted strands of red tinsel dangling from the ceiling do nothing to dispel this effect. The daycare is very well suited to a holiday haunt, because it’s filled to the brim with toys. We are guided through a maze of dolls, books, and stuffed animals by a sweetly bizarre young girl with an elaborate dress and the face of a broken doll. She is both playful and creepy as she herds us toward a lightless maze where her friends wait to play hide and seek with us. The creatures who lurk in the walls insult us, mock us, and shock us as we try to feel our way through the dark. It’s a creepy, quirky seasonal celebration.

Oh, but the basement…the basement is where Crawford’s dark heart beats, loud and bloody. The basement has been turned from a backwoods cabin and barn into a winter wonderland. Maybe “wonderland” is the wrong word – the basement is a nightmare vision of the North Pole where everything has gone wrong. As Lily and I wander through a Christmas tree forest, we’re attacked by a crazed elf who follows us into a slaughterhouse. We’re confronted by a very angry reindeer who isn’t about to pull anyone’s sleigh. There are other dark elves lurking around every corner, and in the rafters of Santa’s workshop. (When we say that scares come from every direction, we mean EVERY direction.) We play a particularly diabolical game of “Animatronic or Actor” that has me shrieking and running into walls. Santa is sinister, and Mrs. Claus is a murderous Appalachian meemaw. And you really don’t want to see what’s lurking in the animal pens. While the upper floors of A Very Crawford Christmas are playfully creepy and darkly funny, the basement is flat-out scary.

Over the past decade, Crawford School of Terror has turned itself into a community hub and expanded its offerings through the seasons. A Very Crawford Christmas is a standout new event and one more reason to put Connellsville on your holiday map. Just be sure before you enter these shadowy halls that you’ve been good this year – Krampus is waiting.

Cost: $25 for general admission.

Safety Protocols, Group Size, Etc.: You go through with only your group.

Concessions: Coffee at Crawford, the onsite coffee shop, offered themed coffees and other beverages.

Other Stuff To Do: There are actors all over the yard.

Other Stuff To Know: It’s cold – but what do you expect? It’s a Christmas haunt. Bundle up and enjoy the craziness.

12/06/2025

First Christmas haunt of the season!!!

11/19/2025

FEAR FIELD
St. Clairsville, OH
November 14, 2025

T: “We need gas.”

L: “Really? NOW?!”

T: “It’s okay. I’ll pump the gas. But you have to go in and pay for it. I’ll give you the money.”

L: “What?! Why do I have to go in??”

T: “Look at me!”

L: “Look at ME!!”

T: “Yeah, you’re a mess, but if I go in looking like this, they’ll call the cops.”

Reader, this was an actual exchange between us somewhere on the outskirts of Wheeling, West Virginia, after surviving Fear Field’s end-of-season Blood Bath event. Lily and I had done exactly what the hauntrunner had suggested: we brought a change of clothes. We brought towels. We brought wipes. And we still looked like we had crawled out of the last frames of “The Evil Dead.”

We should have come to expect this out-of-pocket messiness from Fear Field. Fear Field is a haunted trail just over the Ohio border, tucked in a fold of the mountains on the edge of dark woods. Throughout the Halloween season, Fear Field invites brave souls into a fortress built years ago by a group of settlers who stumbled onto this dark hollow and began worshipping the things that live in the shadows. Fear Field is completely, realistically committed to a single theme. Plenty of haunted attractions feature cannibal hillbillies, but Fear Field dedicates itself to creating a whole village of cannibal hillbillies. You won’t run into any pop culture villains; you won’t see any vampires or ghosts. You might see some backwoods witches and mutilated monsters, but everything is on theme. It seems that ages ago, a group of settlers got lost in the mountains and struck an unholy bargain with the dark gods of this unquiet corner of earth. Along the way, the inhabitants of Fear Field developed some, er, unconventional appetites. The haunted trail teases out this story as the poor, hapless visitors who stumble into this village make their way past diabolical chapels, over covered bridges, through lightless mazes, and into a gory slaughterhouse.

The set design is gorgeously, horrifically authentic, as you’ll see from the moment you enter the compound. An abandoned bus has been spray-painted with the words “Fear Field”. Just beyond it is a yard filled with objects collected from visitors who never made it out of the field – there are Christmas decorations, toys…and bones. Throughout the haunt, you’ll see old tools and animal skulls. Everything is scavenged or handmade. Nothing is “pretty,” but it all has a terrible beauty. Lily and I crept through the haunt, crouching, whispering, and flinching at every noise, but at one point, we were brought to a complete standstill by the sight of a masked figure playing an instrument – the hauntrunner called it a “body mill” – in the middle of a firelit clearing. The sight and sound were so eerie that they stopped Lily and me in our tracks.
Other sections of the trail – like that covered bridge and a dark maze – are so tension-inducing that they had Lily muttering, “Oh, I don’t like this at all.” Fear Field is so convincing, so authentic, that it’s possible to forget that you didn’t just happen on this cannibal camp by chance.

If the look and the theme aren’t enough to convince you to visit Fear Field, how about the promise of being doused with gallons of (fake) blood? A couple of times a year, the hauntrunners invite guests to don white clothing and try to make it past all the murderous rednecks unscathed. Spoiler alert: you won’t. The inhabitants of Fear Field are experts in bloodletting and will spray you with blood, or dump it on you, or sq**rt it at you from a distance. And I don’t know what recipe these monsters use for their gore, but it feels realistic, sticky and icky. Plus, they’re very generous with the hemoglobin. Everyone from the witch queen at the gate who slyly painted us with blood when we weren’t looking to the hulking killer in the slaughterhouse who pelted us with the red stuff was determined to make as big a mess as possible. (Hence my reluctance to walk into a brightly lit gas station at the end of the night.) It’s gleeful, gross fun.

“Fun” is really the emphasis at Blood Bath. Although there are some atmospheric moments of increasing dread and some terrific jump scares (one of them courtesy of a maniac in a pig mask), this event is about having a messy good time. The performers at Blood Bath, the wandering family members and cultists, are relentless. They will stalk you, chase you, taunt you. We were shocked to learn at the end of the night that the haunt had only about half their usual staff. Those actors managed to be everywhere.

Fear Field’s Blood Bath was a terrific way to end Haunt Season 2025. Between the beautifully realized setting, the enthusiastic performances, and the sheer gooey fun of running around a trail at night while being doused in blood, Lily and I felt like we were part of a slasher film come to life. It’s a bloody blast – just be sure to stop for gas before you hit the haunt.

Cost:: $15 online; $20 at the haunt.

Safety Protocols, Group Size, Etc.: The haunt is pretty much entirely outdoors and you go through with only your original group.

Concessions: The sweet maniacs at Fear Field were handing out delicious hot chocolate to guests who braved the trail.

Other Stuff to Know: Fear Field offers glow necklaces for kids (or other visitors) who want to avoid some of the scares.

Haunted Housewives with Tish and Lily

12/24/2025

12/22/2025

12/19/2025

12/10/2025

12/06/2025

12/06/2025

11/19/2025

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