A Corn Maze and a Zombie Town

On Friday after work, I joined a Facebook friend and her crew to visit a corn maze at night. I've never been in one of these before so I was pretty excited, and the fact it was at night time just added icing to the cake. I got there early to stroll around the farm and snap a few shots.It was at a farm in Winchester and I managed to get there just before dusk.

Looking down on to the corn maze where later we'd be trying to find our way out. Tammy turned up and withing 20 minutes the whole crew had arrived. I was extremely glad that I'd brought a jacket. As the light left the sky the temperature plummeted and we all huddled inside our coats, hands thrust deep into pockets.

We walked over to the entrance of the maze and met a gentleman who explained the rules. Each team was given a card on which there were 6 markers. All had to be found within the maze and stamped using the relevant hole punches that were attached to each place, and then we could exit. He wished us luck on completing our task, and mentioned that those who couldn't find their way out would be allowed one ear of corn to last them until the morning light. Then someone would arrive about 9am if help was needed in exiting the maze. We would be walking in the region of about 3 miles and armed with our flashlights we set off. The corn was high and very dense. There were times when we could hear other voices but it really was impossible to see any other folks unless they were in the same walkway.

I think we were inside the maze for about an hour and a half. We definitely walked our 3 miles and maybe more as we somehow missed points 2 and 3, so had to go back and find them. We all managed to exit the field safely with no casualties, and nicely warmed up from all the walking. I have to admit that I wouldn't want to negotiate the maze on my own, it was a little creepy with all the walkways looking the same. The corn looked like something from a horror movie when lit up by our flashlights, and we were always on our guard just in case something jumped out.
It was a great way to end the week, we'd had a lot of fun, and it was satisfying to have something else crossed off my 'Things I Want To Do' list. The other Halloween 'must do' is a decent haunted house, but I'm not sure I can fit that in this year.
Saturday morning was actually warmer outside than inside the house when I got up, so I opened doors and windows and let the breeze flow through the rooms, leaving a wonderful earthy and nutty fragrance behind that no candle can replicate.
I was going to Front Royal to watch a zombie parade so I grabbed my camera and set off. A few zombies were already shuffling around when I pulled into the parking lot and above us was a drone hovering and sounding just like a bluebottle fly. I so wanted to swat it, it became pretty annoying after a while. The locals had made a lot of effort with their make up and outfits, and I studied them closely as I think I'd like to take part in the next one.

It did seem a little odd though to see them all smiling. There were only a random few who were taking their roles seriously, trying to take a bite out of me if I got too close, reaching out groping arms or shambling with a leg dragging. I watched these ones with avid interest. A couple that I spoke to said their make up had taken over 2 hours to complete.A dude wearing coveralls and holding a huge soaker gun turned up. Good luck with that, mate, I've never seen a zombie brought down with a water gun. But he seemed pretty pumped up and I had to smile.
But my photo taking came to an abrupt stop. One battery ran out and when I replaced it with another, that too ran out within a couple of minutes. I was pissed. I later found out it was a fault with the charger and now have the issue resolved. So I only had my cell phone and I really didn't want to thrust that in peoples' faces just so I could get close ups. So I stood back and watched as the group of about 150 skin shedding, blood dripping zombies walked jauntily past and headed towards town. I hoped they would move a little more realistically once among the general public, but I'm afraid I didn't stop to find out. I had a camera power problem to rectify and that was on my mind. The event was for a superb cause, to raise money and food for the Humane Society of Warren County, and they did pretty well. This was only the second year of doing this so apparently it's become very popular. A lot more photos are on the Zombie Walk Facebook page, Guess I'll have another go next year!