Farmageddon is a local corn maze meant for those looking for a scare, open 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The maze costs $25 to participate in two sections. One of these sections is a zombie safari, which a group of people board a trailer mounted with paintball guns (which to my disappointment could not be removed or moved to shoot the other people on board) filled with 100 paintballs used to shoot the zombies.

The zombies were actors clothed in protective clothing; however, I am sure they still left work with bruises. After being told to conserve the paintballs, I was disappointed when I left with more than half of the gun still full. There were only about four of the zombies on my side so most of my paintballs were aimed at the target practice during the ride. Some of the actors came up behind the trailer, out of reach of the weapons, and pretended to board the trailer. One mounted the trailer and began attempting to start a chainsaw, his mask pulled up. He was never able to start the chainsaw and exited the trailer. Oh, so scary. I was also under the impression that when we were told at the end we would have to exit the trailer and survive the zombies on our own, it did not mean we would be taken to the exit and escorted out.

“

Oh, so scary.

— Avery Cummings

The second section is the corn maze which was actually not a real maze. This both relieved and disappointed me. While waiting in line, guests were entertained by a man sitting above us, somewhat hidden, holding a button in his hand which controlled several mechanisms that blew air onto the guests. He also moved a fake body hanging on a cross. Two actors came out at different intervals, successfully scaring several of the guests. The line was long, but the wait was not bad, minus the smell of dirt.

Two more actors, not necessarily scary, greeted us at the entrance to the maze and informed us of the rules. “My people may touch you, but if you are being dragged though the corn, those are not my people. Do not hurt or touch my people. The ground is uneven, so be careful. If you need help or need to get out of the maze, ask one of my people.” That was reassuring. (That was sarcasm.)

It was difficult to see many details of the maze, as it was dark outside and getting darker. The ground was uneven. One of the most terrifying things was stepping onto some type of mesh in the ground and sinking quickly, nearly falling flat on my face. I was worried I would actually injure myself.

Throughout the “maze,” there were biohazard bins glowing green. Every now and then, a creature popped out in an attempt to scare those passing by. There were several obstacles, one of which required bending over and going through a tube.  I did not experience many of the actors touching me, as the people attending with me worked to scare me more than the actual maze. At the end of the maze, after quickly walking away from two chainsaw-wielding men, I began to freak out when they continued to follow me. Like, c’mon guys. I have had enough. Go scare the people behind me. Pretty please.

I did not pay much mind to how long the maze took to get through, but I estimate that it was about 15 minutes of a mix between slow walking and a fast pace. Farmageddon was a somewhat fun change from the usual “haunted” houses open near Halloween. However, if you have hay fever, allergies to dirt and/or any allergies to do with the outdoors, you probably would not enjoy the maze. If you have hip injuries, foot injuries or any injury that involves walking, I would not advise going to the maze. Was it worth the $25 dollars and short time wandering the maze? Not really. If the maze cost less, lasted longer and had more zombies, I would suggest it. I hope to see improvement next year.