LIFESTYLE
By: Kyle Moylan
A little girl, about 7, leaned forward timidly onto her knees, giving her just enough height to see over the wooden sides of the open wagon where she sat.
With the hayride about to take off into the night of the haunted cornfield and woods around Windsor Farm, 1202 Windsor Road, West Windsor, Saturday night, she looked nervously to her left … right … and behind her. She then stared straight ahead at her father, hoping for some encouraging words.
"You know, monsters only come after little kids," her father said, knocking his daughter back with his words.
The little girl looked to the right and left again quickly. The tractor’s engine was on, making the only noise. The wagon’s back gate was fastened and everyone waited quietly for the tractor to move and the adventure to begin. A long dirt road stretched off farther into the darkness than anyone could see.
The little girl turned to her mother with a wide-eyed stare. Mom, sitting on the wagon floor atop piles of hay, would surely be more reassuring.
"It’s true," the mother said. "That’s because you’re all so small and defenseless. It makes it easier for them. The monsters will try and separate you from the pack."
A night later, no one had to tell another group of girls about the monsters waiting in the Field of Terror at K&S Farms,Windsor-Perrineville Road, East Windsor.
A family came up to the counter to buy tickets when a little girl in the group started shaking her head, "no."
The little girl waited at the counter as her family ventured off into the night, starting with a hayride.
One of the little girl’s relatives nervously climbed aboard the wagon. He turned to the man who would be driving the tractor, which pulled them along.
"Is this safe?" he wondered.
"Sure, it is," the man said. "I’ve driven the tractor out there lots of times and I always make it back."
"What about everyone else?"
The man just smiled.
While largely different experiences, the haunted happenings at Windsor Farm and K&S Farms both benefit greatly from the large amount of property at each site. The tractors will pull you along down long, winding roads. In a very Hitchcockian manner, anticipation will get the best of your nerves. Something will happen. Rest assured, something will happen. But what? Where? When?
At K&S Farms, the tractor pulls the wagon full of people to the adventure. The Field of Terror is a narrow passageway cut out of a tall cornfield that visitors walk through. It’s especially effective by separating visitors into small groups.
You know, monsters will try and separate you from the pack.
Windsor Farm takes a different but equally effective strategy. It keeps about 30 passengers huddled closely together on a wagon. To fully maximize your visit, try and get on a wagon with as many young women (ages 10 to 22) as possible. They are easily the loudest and when they jump and scream, it sends a ripple effect through all the passengers.
And Windsor Farm’s hayride will give you a reason to jump and scream. The Headless Horseman will chase you. Demonic clowns and psychopaths will wave their knives and chain saws by your head that is when it isn’t buried into the chest of a loved one.
Packed in so tightly with the other visitors and knowing you will be gone for around 45 minutes once the tractor pulls away, the ride seizes control. It creates then exploits your vulnerability.
At K&S, vulnerability is created by leaving you alone and isolated. Once you enter the Field of Terror, no one will help you. You walk at your own pace, wondering what you will bring upon yourself with each step. Women, tied up and being tortured, will plead with you for help. Little girls or perhaps the ghosts of little girls will want to play.
You are given enough light to guide you along the way, but never enough to reveal what lurks ahead… a graveyard… a torture chamber… a memorable bus adventure.
The beauty of these two adventures is neither will leave you thinking you’ve seen or done the other. It’s all a matter of whether you want to walk or ride into horror.
Oh, just for the record, all of the little girls made it home safely this past weekend. The monsters have Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at both locations for the remainder of the month to change that, though. The last night at both locations is Halloween. The monsters could be very daring and desperate by then.
NOTES: Prices for the Haunted Hayride at Windsor Farm, located at 1202 Windsor Road, West Windsor, are $12 for adults and $10 for children. More information can be obtained by calling (609) 443-9379.
Admission to Field of Terror at K&S Farms, located at Windsor-Perrineville Road, is $9. A discount coupon can be printed out at the Web site www.fieldofterror.com. Information can also be obtained by calling (609) 758-7817.