By Bailey Cummings
Published October 29, 2019
They say humans bond through fear - last Friday, the ASP Staff verified that.
Nothing says “spooky season” like strangers covered in fake blood and paying someone to scare you to death. The Field of Horrors in Troy has both.
We pass through the archway and take in the open field scattered with open fire pits and massive haunted houses.
“Why are they playing Queen’s ‘Somebody to Love,’” Editor In Chief, Jackie Orchard, muses.
We strap a GoPro to the chest of our Sports Editor Brian Minutolo (who objects profusely to wearing the bra-like harness) and we’re off into the night!
“It’s the Brian Witch project,” Opinions Editor Matt Miro says.
The first house is called Condemned Manor.
Purple black lights, the occasional strobe, drifting smoke, and the intermittent screams of people inside make us all look at each other and muse aloud, “Whose idea was this?”
The first few seconds inside the house, there is an eerie silence. With the silence comes the knowledge that something is about to pop out of the darkness and stop us in our tracks.
“Can I please not be alone up here,” Orchard says as we shove her deeper into the house.
“I’ve got you, Jackie!” Minutolo says with reassurance.
He does not.
The next hour is filled with house after house of decaying monsters inches from our faces and high-pitched screams of terror that none of us are currently willing to own up to.
“In the mummy themed house,” Orchard says, “I was so scared I questioned all my life decisions and nearly elbowed our sports editor in the face.”
We ride the Trail of Terror Hayride, pulled through the night by a tractor trailer and a large flatbed. Far-too-enthusiastic actors lay seige to our benches and attempt to threaten and murder us. They wield sledgehammers and chainsaws and some crawl like they’re in “The Exorcist.”
A cackling clown attempts to squeeze in next to Orchard and she suddenly pretends to be very interested in her own shoes.
“They put a lot of work into a show,” Miro says. “Very elaborate. I wish I had the kind of commitment the actors do.”
“They got me jumping quite a bit,” Minutolo says. “The actors were dedicated to their job and it made the experience much better and made everything feel so real.”
The overall experience, according to Orchard, was chaos.
“You know when you’re in a quiet library, the lighting is warm, the temperature is perfect, your chair is comfortable, and you’re totally at peace? This was the complete opposite of that,” Orchard says.
“I think it brought our group closer together and made us more comfortable with one another,” Minutolo says.
The Field of Horrors experience is one we will cherish (and have nightmares about) forever.
You can check out Field of Horrors at 100 Farrell Road in Troy. Tickets are $28 at the door.