What is Extreme Blackout at Field of Screams?
Field of Screams in Lancaster, PA has long been a full-contact haunt; which is to say that the actors are allowed and expected to make physical contact with the guests. For many, this type of haunt would already be somewhat extreme as compared to other haunts where no contact is permitted. However, on one night of each and every year - typically the last night of the main season - the staff and actors at Field take the experience to the next level and turn the property into what could truly be described as an ‘extreme’ haunt. Even as dedicated haunters, we were a bit nervous about experiencing Extreme Blackout from a customer’s perspective after hearing several stories of past events. Would we hate it? Would we love it? Would we even survive it? Well, there was only one way to find out!
As the evening got started, guests were ushered into a thematically-appropriate black tent one small group at a time. Inside, security relayed important safety guidelines, including but not limited to the implementation of a safe word. This year’s safe word was ‘Scaredy Cat’, which could be uttered at any time if the experience became too overwhelming and upsetting to any given guest. Upon hearing the safe word, the actors would stop what they were doing and move on to torment the next party - no questions asked. The goal, of course, is to outlast your tormentors and avoid deploying the safe word…everyone in attendance had bought and paid for an extreme event, after all! However, we heard many haunters and civilians alike utter the safe word to get out of situations that were too much for them…so you don’t have to feel too badly if you have to throw in the towel.
Above: A victim awaits judgment inside her cage in the Haunted Hayride at Field of Screams' Extreme Blackout event.
From this point forward, the intensity escalates quickly. Unlike traditional nights at Field of Screams, Extreme Blackout relies on guests facing the four haunted attractions in a linear order. This helps Field to manage capacity and gives the actors an opportunity to separate unlucky targets from their group without disrupting the flow of traffic. The Haunted Hayride began as it normally would, easing into the first of many vignettes for scare actor interaction. Suddenly, the wagons on the were halted by masked raiders who demanded sacrifice. We personally witnessed several different civilians pulled being pulled out of line and bagged, caged and even (very lightly) tased! Much to the credit of the unlucky few that we shadowed, nobody seemed willing to break and whip out the safe word. So it was back onto the wagons and into the next vignette, and the next, and the next. The intensity of each scene was upped considerably as actors found new and creative ways to torment the riders. Even after the hayride had concluded, some riders were selected to be dragged back into the final scenes as trophies for the next wagon!
Nocturnal Wasteland brought about the next layer of grossness and terror. ‘Noc’, as the Fielders call it, is arguably fairly intense on a regular season night, but the actors throughout considerably upped the stakes for Blackout, forcing the two of us and our trail guide Shorty to contend with choices like raw sardines vs. blind branding. Spoiler alert, we were quick to choose the branding! There was more bagging, live burials and - yep, you guessed it - chainsaws just about everywhere. Upon escaping the Wasteland with little more than shreds of our former sanity, we took a break for dinner and were surprised and elated to find that all of the main season’s food trucks were still on property to close out the season with the Fielders. We had a terrific meal from Hot Box BBQ, which we can highly recommend, but there were a variety of other options to choose from if you’re feeling something different.
Above: Tim takes a little trip to the dentist’s office in Frightmare Asylum…only to discover some nasty cavities!
Den of Darkness caught us by surprise, as our longtime scare actor friends were absolutely unwilling to let us pass without a bit of ceremony. Tim was commanded to kneel in front of the waiting crowd, bound by zip ties and had his head bagged before being physically led (practically carried) into the ‘kill room’ to await judgement from the Denizen of the Den. From that point on, it was on through several chambers where we were forced to eat ‘human flesh’, drink shots of white vinegar, crawl on our hands and knees through tight spaces and face off with an unrelenting assault from ‘chloroform’ rags. And if you thought you were going to be going home with your dignity, the dolls in the attic had other plans for you! By the time we escaped the Den, we were all but wholly committed to enduring the neighboring asylum attraction with our heads held high.
Above: The dolls gave Tim a little makeover inside the Den of Darkness!
Frightmare Asylum is always a fun way to wrap up the night, but as with every other attraction - the intensity was cranked to 11! 2023 brought a new ‘rec room’ to the asylum, and Blackout made that rec room into a living nightmare for germaphobes. Guests were being vomited upon, pulled into the dental chair for ‘cavity removal’, forced to eat ‘pills’ and drink ‘pee’ and shoved face-first into dirty diapers by needy patients who desperately wanted those diapers “checked”. This was by far the section where we overheard the most cries of ‘scaredy cat’ throughout our entire evening on property. As we ascended to the higher levels of the Asylum, we were turned into clowns, forced to take injections orally and run out of the asylum with chainsaws hot on our heels….all whilst Katie continued bemoaning the awful taste of the ‘pills’ from the first room.
So, with all four attractions behind us, what was our final take on the Extreme Blackout event at Field? While we can’t say that this particular event is accessible to everyone, as you do have to steel yourself for some inevitable torment - we can honestly say that we had a blast and would absolutely do the whole thing over again! Extreme haunts can be intimidating, and some of the most extreme haunts in the industry can actually be a bit dangerous…but Field knows their audience well, and plays into the whimsy and the fun of the intensity. At no time did we ever feel like we were in real danger, or that the staff was not watching out for our safety and our physical wellbeing. If we had, you can bet that we’d have been the first to utter ‘Scaredy Cat’ and bail out! As it was, we had an incredible experience that left us yearning for the next extreme night and wondering how the Field team would top 2023’s event. They’ll find a way, though - they always do. In the meantime, you can check out our full experience in the vlog below to get a sense of whether or not this event is for you!
