It’s a story you’ve heard a hundred times before. On a dark October night, a group of teenagers and college students wander off into the woods, looking to have some fun away from the confines of civilization. But what they find there is worse than anything they imagined. The horrors that await them send them screaming from the forest with a grisly tale to tell.
But this isn’t just another cheesy made-for-TV horror movie. Instead, it’s a Halloween tradition that happens just outside of Richmond every year: Haunted Evenings at Ashland Berry Farm. The star attraction of the event is the haunted hayride into Booger Woods.
First off, there’s the issue of getting there. It’s more challenging than it sounds. You have two options for the drive, which can take 1.5 hours or more. Just keep your goal of 33 East in mind, and once you’re on it, it’s just a matter of vigilantly watching for the country roads that will get you there.
The route takes you into horror movie country — winding, narrow roads and creepy old buildings abound. You can bet I wouldn’t pick up even the most respectable hitchhiker out there. Plus, you could snicker with your friends about amusingly-named country locales like Bumpass and Negro Foot Road, but they are hard to pick out in the dark at 60 miles per hour.
I would recommend you take the extra planning time to figure out how to stay on Route 64 for as long as possible. It can be fun driving on small country roads, but the novelty wears off when you inadvertently add an hour to your travel time through wrong turns and being stuck behind slowpokes. Staying on 64, by contrast, is more or less a straight shot down, and adds almost no time to your trip.
In any case, eventually the farm appears from the darkness, bustling with activity. After a line for your $18 ticket, a line for some hot cider and concessions and a line to get onto the trailer, you begin the ride to Booger Woods.
You may go into this with the impression that the trip entails a leisurely ride interrupted by the occasional masked man jumping out from the shadows. This is not exactly the case. The hayride itself ends in just a minute or two, when you are deposited next to a blazing fire stoked by a demon. Groups are split up and sent off into the dark.
A narrow trail winds through the woods and horrors stalk you from every side. Actors blend in with the landscape and decorations, only to leap at you, shout at you and sometimes even chase you through the trail. The trail will take you into old houses, through dark mazes and even into a clown’s gaping maw.
The trail does require that you exert yourself. Occasionally you’ll have to climb over obstacles or crawl on hands and knees through a tunnel. One part even forces you to jump through a coffin into a pit. And don’t forget that you’ll be chased by chainsaw-wielding maniacs.
If it’s been raining recently, masses marching over the same stretch of woods can turn the trail muddy fast. Factor in that you might be rolling into the dirt on occasion, and you can see the need to come prepared with some old clothes. Besides, when you’re shrieking and fleeing from a ghoul, looking good will be more or less impossible anyway.
If you can, show up before the rush. Inevitably, someone a few groups ahead of you will be too terrified to continue, backing up the whole trail and forcing several groups to squeeze together into a dark corner of a maze. When this happens, the atmosphere wears off quickly.
And that’s really what the whole event comes down to. As long as you’re ready to have fun, you will, but it takes some playing along. Linger too long in one area and the creature menacing you will lose interest and move back to lie in wait for another victim — or worse, you’ll notice that they’re not actually trying to eat you, and the illusion will be broken.
It’s not hard to maintain that illusion, though. Just do what comes naturally. Scream. Cower. Flee. The actors really work with your reactions, in some cases going so far as to sprint behind you as you run, screaming, out of the woods.
Ashland Berry Farm also offers two other attractions: Dr. Boz’s Labyrinth and Hailey’s Mortuary of Madness. Excitement for the two didn’t seem to be very high, however. Most of the ticket sales were for either the Booger Woods or the Scream Pass, which gets you admission to all three attractions for $23. Those who had visited the other two said they were disappointing. You may be inclined to take their word for it — after just the trip through the woods, your throat will be raw from the shrieking, not to mention any hay-spawned allergies.
The rides run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, as well as Thursday, Oct. 30. Ticket sales start at 6:30 p.m. and run until 10 p.m. or until maximum occupancy is reached, whichever comes first. On Friday and Sunday nights, special rates are available for groups of 15 or more, bringing the price of the Scream Pass down to $20.
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