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.