2006
SANDYLAND ACRES HAUNTED HAYRIDE-We Brake For Monsters!
The tractor pulling the hay wagon at Sandyland Acres Haunted Hayride always seems to stall out and come to a stop at the worst moments-in this case, deep inside the bowels of a dark barn. Next to the wagon, Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre (who is by far the best Leatherface I've ever seen at a local haunt-from his size down to every aspect of his mask and costuming, even to the mannerisms of the character) removes parts from a victim stretched out on a processing table. He stores these in a refrigerator and then proceeds to leave the room, closing a sliding metal door with a huge crash. Unfortunately for the folks on board the wagon, he returns a few seconds later with his infamous chainsaw. With a quick pull of the starter, the saw coughs into life and the chase is on! As we glance towards the tractor which has finally sputtered into life, we're thinking that a bumper sticker reading "SANDYLAND ACRES HAUNTED HAYRIDE:WE BRAKE FOR MONSTERS" would be more than appropriate! Thanks to the husband and wife owner team of Gene and Brenda (along with their friendly staff such as Rob and the ladies staffing the ticket booth) we were able to live to tell the tale.
Gene and Brenda began to make plans for the event early in February. After convincing their family that the farm would make for a perfect Halloween attraction (Sandyland Acres is a working farm that specializes in tobacco and corn, and the attraction covers 12-15 acres), they dove into all aspects of the haunt business. The two displayed an excellent grasp of low-cost marketing from day one (which Gene gives Brenda all the credit for). After creating their website, sandylandacres.com, they began to list it on every haunt related site on the web they could find. They went up to the Midwest Haunters Convention in Columbus, where they met many local haunters including 1031 Productions. This led Sandyland to become a charter member of Cincy Haunts. They also took part in the first Greater Cincinnati Haunt Gathering. Plans were made to enter a float in local parades (they took first place for 'most creative' in the Florence Labor Day parade, featuring the hearse, a hay wagon, and a collection of their featured creatures). Sandyland is depending on tried and true grass roots haunt marketing efforts such as flyers, posters, banners, media nights, and word of mouth to create a buzz. This evening, only their second full night sees a healthy sized crowd queued up and those leaving the event seem happy and pleased with the experience-both good signs for a first year event.
They also worked on putting together a back-story for the event, creating their signature character, Pumpkin Seed. Here is the legend of Sandyland Acres as related by Gene:
"There is a farm in the sandy bottoms of Petersburg, KY. Legend says that anything planted there will be taken by spirits that inhabit the ground. Years ago Chief Cornstalk and his tribe of Indians resided there and they claimed the ground for their sacred ritual. From years and years of these practices the ground became consumed with spirits of all the dead that passed over it.
The evil spirits have been waiting for just the right time to manifest themselves to come to life and reclaim the ground. There has always been a story around the town of a family that lived on these grounds. The family would only raise small amounts of crops to just get by. One year in the early Fall the father died. That left the mother and son to take care of themselves. The only thing they could do is find different crops to raise.
The year after the father passed, the children began to see strange objects in the fields. The animals started disappearing one by one. One day they were working in their pumpkin patch and the little boy noticed something coming from the ground. The mother checked and it was blood. The vines started intertwining.
The ground started to shake and the sky turned black. The vines then rose up in the shape of a body and a pumpkin's eyes opened with blood running through its' teeth. It looked at the little boy and told him anyone who shall walk this land will meet their doom.
Witness the birth of PUMPKIN SEED!!!!!
As years went by, there are still stories and still unexplained events. That lead to the haunting of PUMPKIN SEED!!!!
It is said that Pumpkin Seed still walks the fields of Sandy Land Acres looking for his victims."
Putting the event together involved a lot of work simply in creating the path (tours weigh in at a solid half hour). A trail had to literally be cut through the dense woods that are one of the highlights of the Hayride. Choosing where to place the scenes and what they would be comprised of was also a major consideration. Unlike many other outdoor events, Sandyland eschewed the use of 'indoor' scenes. Everything in the attraction takes full advantage of the terrain it is placed in. For example, the three large corn cribs used by the farm (huge cage-like structures that look like old-fashioned animal cages in a zoo) were naturals to house the bevy of werewolves. The cornfield was a perfect home for the titular creature from Jeepers Creepers. While in the deep woods, you might see creatures moving from tree to tree. Even deeper in the woods, Jason's ramshackle cabin blends in naturally. A large tree in a clearing is the perfect cover for a skull-faced executioner. Even the circus tent of the Killer Klowns makes sense, as carnivals used to set up on the outskirts of many towns near woods. The barn houses the two 'indoor' scenes of the attraction. Along the way, many of the well-lit still displays are designed to focus the attention of the customer-a job they do all too well. Pay too much attention to the displays, though, and you might find that the cute girl sitting beside you has been replaced by a slobbering creep while you were looking elsewhere (such as happened to us)!
Sandyland also has one advantage over other haunted hayrides. "The soil here is basically sand-that's where we got our name", said Gene. "Even after we get a huge storm like we did last Friday and Saturday, by Monday the ground is completely dry. The sand just sucks up the water." It also helps to keep the parking lot from turning to a sea of mud and trapping the cars of unwary customers, as has happened at some hayrides. This doesn't guarantee safety from the undead residents, though! After leaving the event, we were clearing dew off our windshield before leaving. We turned around to put the towel back in the trunk and right in our face was a grisly zombie that had followed us out to the lot!
A haunted hayride has to take a much different approach than a traditional haunted house. The open spaces take away the feeling of claustrophobia and the fear of being trapped or cornered by monsters. Because of this, Sandyland concentrates on making the event entertaining and fun as well as delivering scares. One of the things it does best is chases. One of the high points of the tour occurs shortly after leaving the woods. You enter an open field and shortly thereafter, see red headlights piercing the darkness from behind. As they rapidly approach, you can make out a mocked up Death Truck with a wild haired driver at the wheel. The truck comes precariously close to ramming the hay wagon, and veers off to the side in an effort to pass or ram amidships. It swerves from one side to the other, sometimes falling back in an attempt to hit the wagon from behind, all the time laying on a loud air horn and bathing the wagon in an evil red glow from its headlights. On some nights, the Sandyland hearse will perform the same function further down the trail (although it was undergoing repairs that night). The coolest chase occurs, though, right before the barn is reached. In an open field brightly lit by moonlight with the stars shining, one could just barely make out a black blur of motion closing on the wagon. As it approaches, one can see it is a black stallion mounted by a rider all in black with a cape whipping in the wind. When the stallion gets even closer, one can see that the rider has no head! The Headless Horseman doggedly pursues the hay wagon, weaving from one side to the other and coming close enough to seemingly pluck his intended target from their seat. This is a marvelous and truly ghostly sight to behold, and captures perfectly the spirit of the season. The rider of the horse deserves a lot of kudos for being able to successfully maneuver his steed in the dark while wearing a costume that restricts his vision.
While the Horseman might present the most striking visage at Sandyland, there're plenty of other actors that stand out as well. The Jason here is unique among Cincinnati haunts in that he's the 'Deliverance' or 'Sack Head' Jason from Friday The 13th part 2-complete with a menacing pitchfork. He's also a very big guy, as are Leatherface and Michael Myers. The Killer Klowns have the same bouncy gait as the ones in the movie. The impressive looking Pumpkin Seed stalks the queue line area, and is joined by a character I call Chatterer. This ghoul looks like a cross between the TV Ghost from the Ring (the crummy American remake of the classic Japanese Ringu) and the possessed vacationers from the original Evil Dead. She communicates with clicks and tsks, and there's always at least one guy in every group that catches her eye. The unlucky object of her amorous attentions is in for quite a time!
While Sandyland does use some younger actors, their lack of size is minimized by the fact that they're either outside the wagon where size is hard to judge…or inside, where they still loom over the seated patrons. The event allows the actors to use different scare techniques. Some scenes are straight forward confrontations. Others use misdirection, while some rely on startle scares. One of the most effective scares comes inside the barn at the Myers family porch. As the driver stops the tractor, an audio clip from Halloween featuring Dr. Loomis begins to play. As Loomis finishes up with "I'm sure he'll be back", the familiar Halloween music continues to play. A sense of uneasiness pervaded the crowd-heads on the hay wagon darted this way and that, looking for the masked form of Michael Myers. The music continued-and the suspense grew to the breaking point. A young girl began crying, and the darkness still held back its secrets. Did the 'Myers boy' indeed return? How? Where? You'll just have to find out for yourself!
Sandyland Acres does the concept of the haunted hayride right. It's fun and provides enough scares for the discerning hauntgoer. Few events will fill you with the seasonal spirit of Halloween more than this one. It's well worth the drive (easy to find from Cincinnati, and much like the road down to Loveland Castle, the winding road to the event is a thrill all in itself). Hitch your wagon to Sandyland and don't forget to brake for the monsters!
Inbred And Undead
Pity the poor guy that Chatterer takes a liking to...
As An Extra Added Bonus...
The Circus has set up shop on the outskirts of the Sandyland Acres woods. Aren't the Klowns friendly?
Sandyland Acres Haunted Hayride is located at 4172 Belleview Road in Petersburg, KY. Take Exit 11 off of I-275 West in northern Kentucky (past the Greater Cincinnati Airport) to KY-8 South. Then just follow the orange Sandyland Acres signs! It's open Fridays and Saturdays from September 22 through October 28 from 7 until 11. It will also be open Sunday through Tuesday, October 29-31. Admission is $10 with $2 discount coupons available on Cincyhaunts.com. You can learn more at http://www.sandylandacres.com or by calling (859) 689-4283 or (859) 250-9790.