Fright Farm adjusts to virus regulations with new scares
By Jana Mackin
Newsroom@DominionPost.com
SMITHFIELD, Pa. — Abandon all hope ye who board the Fright Farm Hayride of No Return; A one-way ticket into a 155-acre horror show that ranks among the area’s premier haunts.
Steel yourself against netherworld monsters — lunatic clowns, witches, chainsaw murderers, pumpkin monsters and others — as they issue their assault on your visit to their Smithfield, Pa., home.
Experience absolute horror as you scream your way toward the imaginary town of Rockwell, under siege by evil spawn. Zombies infest the cemetery. Pyromaniacs torch a service station. A giant bug monster disembowels a screaming woman. Witness the unspeakable as you are then thrown into a psychedelic, spinning tunnel — a wormhole to Hades.
Welcome to the Fright Farms No. 31.
“The number 31 is very special for a haunted house,” Jonica Yauger, Fright Farm director of entertainment, said. For one, she said, reaching 31 years is a rarity in the haunt industry.
But this season is remarkable for more reasons than that.
“For Fright Farm, it’s a special number given the obstacles we’ve had to face to be able to open,” Yauger said.
As Fright Farm celebrates its 31st anniversary, owners and staff faced a very real, looming scare: The COVID-19 pandemic.
Fright Farm creators and staff faced enormous challenges presented by COVID-19 health and safety regulations.
They would be forced to hold the show entirely outdoors — to reconfigure, change, expand or eliminate many of the show’s elements to accommodate the necessary pandemic protocols.
It would have been easier not to stage Fright Farm this year at all, they said — but owners worried about the impact on the local community, their 250-member staff and decades of customers who have attended as part of their holiday tradition.
So the show had to go on, they said — with some changes.
To accommodate those guidelines, this year’s show is being held outdoors featuring the main attractions: Hayride of No Return, Terror Maze and Slaughter Grounds.
“This is just something we do for the community across the board,” said Mark Rich, who co-owns Rich Farms with his brother, Thomas. “We have been very fortunate and blessed.”
As people wait for the nighttime hayride, they are entertained by various monsters who love to scare kids or take selfies with them. One may meet Buster, the gregarious ax murderer. Or the charming split personality, Mayor of Rockwell/Mr. 31.
“I live here,” Buster said, fingering his ax. “This is my life.”
One Fright Farm COVID casualty is the haunted mansion walk-through. However, the mansion plays a key role in the Fright Farm story line since it houses a portal inside from where monsters escape the Nether Realm. The air inside the mansion is just too toxic for humans.
“A lot of people are disappointed” at not being able to go inside, Yauger said, “but we have created a narrative that uses the mansion.”
Along with the outdoor set-up, gigantic puppets and animatronics — such as the lab rat, pumpkin monster and the Grim Reaper — are used to enhance outside horror scenes and maintain social distancing.
“We love the puppets,” said Dana Oglesby, a creative director. “The puppets are a way to keep actors and customers safe.”
Oglesby said state-of-the-art technology sensors and special effects heighten the show’s experience, while the physical configuration, layout and access to the hayride, maze and Slaughter Grounds enforce social distancing and avoid close personal contact, she said.
Despite COVID and associated challenges, Fright Farm endures as more than a local haunt and holiday tradition. It is also an ongoing testament to it’s creator, Mark Rich said.
“This is homage to Michael,” he said, referring to his brother who created Fright Farm and died in 2014. “He loved it. It was his baby. His spirit will live on.”
Fright Farm at Rich Farms, 2043 Springhill Furnace Road, Smithfield, Pa., is open from 6-9:45 p.m. Sundays and Thursdays and 6-11:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Halloween. Admission is $25 Sundays and Thursdays and $30 Fridays and Saturdays. Express passes, allowing guests to bypass lines, are available for $50 and $60, respectively.
TWEET @DominionPostWV
