SOUTH HADLEY \u2014 He\u2019s got a \u201clicense to chill.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 1991, Don McCray, founder of McCray Farm, gave a 23-year-old kid from Holyoke the opportunity to see his dream come true.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him that I wanted to create an outdoor haunt for Halloween. And he said, \u2018I admire your enthusiasm. Let\u2019s talk about it,\u2019\u201d said Dan Augusto, who is the mastermind behind South Hadley\u2019s Fear on the Farm.<\/a><\/p>\n Now, 35 years later, what began as a simple attraction called the Monster Mash Haunted Hayride at McCray\u2019s Farm in South Hadley has morphed into a professionally produced \u201cscare fest\u201d attended by haunt hunters from throughout Western Massachusetts and beyond.<\/p>\n Today, Fear on the Farm begins with an unsuspecting haunted hayride with visions of creepy souls who want to derail your ride, as well as two additional walk-through experiences not for the faint of heart: DON (Diagnostic, Operations, Nexus) Genetic Research Facility and Massacre Manor. <\/p>\n \u201cI am blessed to have the greatest crew. We start building and preparing for Fear on the Farm in early July. Every year me and the crew, who I affectionately call the \u2018farm family crew\u2019 after all these years, sacrifice our weekends in the summer to get everything prepared by opening day in September,\u201d Augusto said about a staff that numbers nearly 100.<\/p>\n \u201cThe toughest job is to get the doors open for the public,\u201d he added, explaining that the workers who transform into the farm\u2019s ghouls, ghosts and zombies \u201cdon\u2019t need a lot of time to rehearse. \u201dThey\u2019ve been doing this for years. I\u2019m giving them a voice, and I think it is actually therapeutic for them.”<\/p>\n Augusto noted they have been \u201chard at work\u201d adding some new features for this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are always new surprises on the hayride, but the biggest changes can be found in our haunted houses where, once again, we are bringing even more scares,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n New animatronics await guests, and some areas have been gutted to include more winding corridors and hidden spots for the actors to jump out and scare people.<\/p>\n \u201cThe haunts [previously] had some large open scenes and people would just run through and not experience the full thrills awaiting them. We\u2019ve taken care of that now,\u201d Augusto said.<\/p>\n Masks, costumes, and props used in Fear on the Farm are not from your average store selling Halloween supplies. Even before starting to build-out Fear on the Farm in July, Augusto visits one of a number of National Haunters Conventions.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have a major haunting event like ours, and you don\u2019t attend the convention, then you don\u2019t have the newest and best on the professional market for your attraction. When talking with vendors, you\u2019re getting a taste of the industry for the latest trends and what are the next best things to help bring your attraction to life. The industry is always coming up with better, more realistic costuming and props that look amazingly real,\u201d Augusto said.<\/p>\n Prior to beginning your travels through the path to heart-pounding scares on the hayride and haunted houses, and afterwards as well, the Monster Miday provides a more calming area to relax and enjoy a beer or glass of wine with friends, enjoy a donut or two, or grab a bag of kettle corn. Visitors will also find plenty of opportunities for selfies and other photos alongside some of the talented actors and props for background. McCray\u2019s Country Creamery also will be open serving ice cream, snacks and beverages.<\/p>\n Be sure to read the warnings and disclaimers on fearonthefarm.com<\/a> before leaving home. Among the warnings note that: \u201cPatrons will experience intense lighting and audio effects, strobes, fog, low visibility, and overall, a physically demanding environment. Do not attend if you are pregnant, claustrophobic, asthmatic, prone to seizures and have respiratory or heart issues.\u201d<\/p>\n Yikes.<\/p>\n And most importantly: \u201cDo not touch us and we will not touch you.\u201d Fear on the Farm, after opening day this Saturday \u2014 it is not open on Sunday the first weekend \u2014 runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday beginning Oct. 3. <\/p>\n Tickets are available online or onsite each day beginning at 6:30 p.m. and are $30 general admission. A $55 fast pass to skip to the front of the line is available online only. Opening day is \u201cCustomer Appreciation Night\u201d in honor of the attraction\u2019s 35th anniversary, with general admission tickets priced at $25 and the Fast Pass at $35.<\/p>\n Attractions open nightly at 7 p.m. and run until \u201cthe last rider runs screaming,\u201d according to the haunt\u2019s website.<\/p>\n For more information, visit fearonthefarm.com<\/a> or call 413-537-3510.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.masslive.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SOUTH HADLEY \u2014 He\u2019s got a \u201clicense to chill.\u201d In 1991, Don McCray, founder of McCray Farm, gave a 23-year-old kid from Holyoke the opportunity to see his dream come true. \u201cI told him that I wanted to create an outdoor haunt for Halloween. And he said, \u2018I admire your enthusiasm. Let\u2019s talk about it,\u2019\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2041124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2041124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2041124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2041124\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2041124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2041124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2041124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Fear](\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/2JDQSYAOSBFRHGL2XLCAEPB2ZA.jpg?auth=7e30a154c41293b65c667034e721fda4f695fd982b60f01ec196cfe3d29bc3c9&width=1280&smart=true&quality=90\"\/)
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