Last Updated on October 15, 2026 by Jeff Tomas
The Washington Times has been writing about Field of Screams for a decade, and its readers in Northern Virginia have taken note. Each fall, visitors from Virginia and West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle make the trip north to Mountville, Pennsylvania, where the attraction is now in its 34th season.
The drive from Northern Virginia runs a little over two hours, typically through Maryland on I-270 or I-95 and then up into Lancaster County. From Martinsburg and the Eastern Panhandle, visitors take I-81 north and cut east through Gettysburg and York, also in about two hours.
A farm-grown haunt
Field of Screams began in 1993, when brothers Gene and Jim Schopf ran a tractor and wagon through a cornfield on their family farm to scare whoever showed up. About 2,000 people did, and the idea stuck. Thirty-four seasons later, the property at 191 College Avenue holds four attractions: the Haunted Hayride, the Den of Darkness, the Frightmare Asylum and the Nocturnal Wasteland.
The Schopfs still build almost everything themselves. Sets, props, animatronics and costumes are made on site, and many of the crew have worked the property for a decade or more. New this season is the Midnight Masquerade, a scene inside the Den of Darkness.
“We’ve had families from Virginia coming up for years,” said Jim Schopf, co-founder of Field of Screams. “Some of them found us through the Washington Times, and now it’s their tradition.”
Worth the trip
The attraction draws more than 75,000 visitors a year and carries a 4.4-star rating across roughly 5,000 Google reviews. It has been featured by USA Today, BuzzFeed and the Travel Channel.
The Haunted Hayride and Nocturnal Wasteland run outdoors and close only in severe weather; the Den of Darkness and Frightmare Asylum run rain or shine. For visitors coming from a distance, that makes it a dependable plan for a fall weekend in Lancaster County.
Dates and tickets for Field of Screams
The regular season runs on select nights through Saturday, November 7. The Extreme Blackout event is Friday, November 13, and the Zombie Fun Run closes the fall calendar on Saturday, November 14. Tickets are sold online at fieldofscreams.com.
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