A night of Halloween fun turned to an evening of horror for a new Massachusetts mother and her family. It’s an experience one woman won’t easily forget as twilight hours resembled the midnight hour for a terrified new mom. The witchcraft trials and creepy, dank space of a corn maze probably didn’t help the vibe—the mother of a newborn baby resorting to 911 to help her escape from a corn-filled nightmare.
The “Haunted Corn Field” maze at Connors Farm recommends against bringing small children into its acres of towering corn stalks – but it apparently forgot to mention anything about stressed-out mothers of newborns visiting the Halloween attraction. It didn’t quite turn out to be Haunted Field "fun down on the farm” advertised by Connor Farms.
A distressed mom notified Danvers cops after finding herself stuck in a scenario of personal horror right after 6:30 p.m. The Connors Farm, located just outside of Salem as home of the famous witch trials, became the reason for her fright night.
Here’s what 911 had to say in conversation with the panic-stricken mom during the most unusual event. Note it wasn’t the husband who resorted to calling 911 for assistance after becoming lost, a 3-week-old baby in tow. The tendency to avoid asking for directions seems to extend well beyond a refusal to stop at roadside gas stations.
911 Emergency Transcript (Danvers, MA):
Woman: "Hi, I just called. I'm still stuck at Connors Farms. I don't see anybody. I am really scared. It's really dark and we've got a 3-week-old baby with us."
Dispatcher: "Just relax. Calm down. Your husband is with you right?"
Woman: "Yes, but my baby?"
Dispatcher: "OK. I understand and the police officer is on the way."
Woman: "We thought this would be fun. Instead it's a nightmare. I don't know what made us do this. It was daytime when we came in. And I never take my daughter out. This is the first time. Never again."
The owner of the corn maze says his destination was specifically created so people would become lost. At least temporarily. He probably just didn’t count on a spooked new mother of a 3-week-old baby, the mother so scared on the 7-acre area that she was forced to call emergency crews for rescue.
Probably making matters worse during the darkening hours, the looming corn stalks and shadows created by the maze at “Haunted Corn Field” are specifically designed in the shape of a headless horseman. The tourist attraction is supposed to take up to an hour for visitors to wend their way through the towering rows. Perhaps some technology, aside from the ability to place emergency calls made via cell phone, might be helpful. Despite any effort to dissuade from its farm-like appearance, a video camera or two might be useful.
Not long after leaving a farm manager in charge of the now-famous corn maze, the Connors Farm owner got a call -- informing him of cop cars stacking up outside of the Massachusetts “Haunted Corn Field” property at 30 Valley Road in Danvers. The corn maze’s owner says visitors like to take their time in the attraction. The farm’s habit is not to rush people. At eighteen bucks a pop, with no discount for kids, there’s probably reason for that decision. Unfortunately the farm’s habits for its Haunted Corn Field don’t seem to include ensuring that those who go into the corn-filled rows actually make their way out -- before night falls.
In an effort to “give people their money’s worth,” the Connors Farm seems to have aided in nearly giving someone a heart attack’s worth – and what could have become murder for one husband.
Just how big and foreboding is the Connors Farm? Apparently pretty darned big, as Danvers police discovered when emergency crews had to literally send in the hounds – or at least one smart one. A trained tracking dog was released into the depths of the acres-large corn maze, in order to find the lost family.
As to the husband, he’s probably not living this one – or the ‘I told you so’ factor very quickly after finding no exit while accompanied by a terrified wife, as new mother, and two children. The kicker: of a seven-acre farm, the family was ironically right near the exit when cops found them. Something says it was probably the wife who got the foursome within 25 feet of the maze’s exit to street-side.
The lost family probably isn’t coming back anytime soon, but the Connors Farm owner thinks others will be. The scenario’s surely upped the Halloween scare factor. The owners says he’s sure it won’t be the last family who gets lost in the famous “Haunted Corn Fields” and maze – and he seems to be pretty sure it’s going to be one busy holiday season. A good scare, and a little ‘scary’ media coverage will do that.
For those who want to celebrate a spooky Halloween without getting lost in a maze, here's tips for the best pumpkin carving and preservation techniques to make those gourds last and the irresistable artistry and work by the world's best pumpkin carving artist Ray Villafane?