Frightened screams accompanied by the sound of roaring chain saws could be heard all the way from nearby roads at a Junction City corn maze last weekend.
The corn maze is put on annually by Lone Pine Farms, and each year the farmland is transformed from open spaces filled with hay and corn stalks into a Halloween haven, ornamented with skeletons and cobwebs.
The haunted corn maze opened its doors at 7:30 p.m. on October 2, and by 8 p.m. there was a line that wrapped around the maze and stretched well into the parking lot. Families, couples and groups of friends eagerly awaited their chance to enter the infamous haunted maze, a wait that provided them an element of mystery, thrills and guaranteed horror.
The corn stalks that shaped the narrow passageways stood nearly seven feet high and allowed very little light into the maze. But it was the men wearing masks with chain saws, spiders falling from above and zombies jumping out of port-a-potties that got people’s hearts pounding and adrenaline rushing.
Those who made it to the end of the corn maze displayed quite an array of emotion — children latched on to adults, holding on for dear life while others came running out with a
long-winded scream.
Mackenzie Damron, a student at Willamette High School, had just finished the haunted maze with a group of her friends and said it was terrifying when she got separated from the group.
“I found myself surrounded by men in masks with blood dripping down their necks,” she said. “I got separated from my friends and I screamed the entire time, even when there was nothing there. On a scale from one to ten, this corn maze was a 9.5, maybe even a 10. I was a wreck.”
Kayla Flood of Florence was also exiting the corn maze with friends and said she enjoyed the haunted experience.
“My friends and I were all walking until we found ourselves in the pitch black dark being grabbed by a red devil,” Flood said. “It was so dark and the next thing we knew, strobe lights came on and we couldn’t see where we were going; we ran into corn stalks and even other people, I was so disoriented. But that is why we came here, to get scared and for the excitement. I would do it all again just for the adrenaline rush.”
For some, the maze was not as scary as anticipated. Serafin Ponce of Eugene didn’t seem fazed by the maze.
“I didn’t think it was that scary,” Ponce said. “I don’t know what everyone is screaming about, but when I came to the exit I wanted to go back to look for something to scare me.”
One group of teenagers came running out of the maze with small flashlights attached to their fingers. Heidi Breidenbach of Myrtle Creek explained how she prepared for the dark pathways.
“You gotta watch your step in there, that’s why I brought these mini finger lights,”
Breidenbach said. “I would do it again as long as I had my finger lights and friends to hold onto, otherwise I would be clinging to strangers.”
Saturday night at the haunted corn maze seemed to attract not only groups of friends, but families, too. For Kim and August Frank, the maze has been a thrilling mother-and-son tradition for three years.
“We were running the whole time and something sprayed water all over me; I wasn’t ready for that one,” Kim Frank said. “This is tradition for us because my son is too old for trick or treating, so we do this now instead and we love it.”
June Clancy of Springfield and her family said they had simply come to the corn maze to grab a quick meal and be in a Halloween-themed atmosphere.
“We actually aren’t going through the corn maze tonight. We live nearby here, and this is just a fun-spirited place to be on the Saturday before Halloween,” Clancy said.
With Halloween on the horizon, Meghan McMahon of Eugene and five of her friends came to see the Haunted Hotel and corn maze in celebration of McMahon’s 25th birthday. They thought it would be a fun way to both celebrate a birthday and get ready for Halloween.
“My friends think it’s funny because I don’t like scary things, so they dragged me out here,” McMahon said.
McMahon’s friend, Kate Miles, joked that they all enjoy watching McMahon
get scared.
“We love watching Meghan, especially in the haunted house,” she said.
The children’s playground and pumpkin patch that were located adjacent to the corn maze also appeared to be a main attraction.
As the night came to a close, the lines dwindled and the screams from within the maze grew faint. The parking lot soon emptied out, and the open farmland, once inundated with people, was soon bare except for a few scattered crowds. Whether the night involved a philly cheesesteak sandwich from the concession stand or a terrifying run through the corn maze, it was clear that all came to celebrate the season.
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