TASCO's Field of Screams is Full of Fright

I love haunted houses. I look forward to going to them every year. 

To me, there's nothing more exhilirating than going through a series of tight rooms decorated in a spooky decor and being frightened as a man in a mask jumps out at me.

In all honesty, I'd probably make my home into a permanent haunted attraction, complete with fog machines, if my wife would let me.

Growing up in Michigan, small homegrown haunted houses were the norm. From haunted hayrides and barns, to dark forest walks, every haunted attraction up north had a unique and individualized feel.

When I moved to Florida, I was disheartened to find that the amount of haunted houses outside of Busch Gardens were few and far between.

That's why when I heard about TASCO's Field of Screams, I was as giddy as kid with a pillow sack full of candy. I called up my buddy and got out to the event.

When I arrived, I was thoroughly impressed by the atmosphere. Bright flashing lights, screams of terror and smoke creeping along on the ground made me feel right at home.

I won't go into details spoiling the event, but I'll give a few details. There are four distinct parts to the attraction and an additional blacked out maze. Every piece of the attraction felt like it's own seperate entity, but meshed cohesively to make a convincing plot (good haunted houses do have plots) to move you forward to scares.

While the exhilirating experience felt short to me, I made sure to time it before I went in. The entire experience took 25 minutes. An extremely good amount of time compared to the shorter houses at Busch Gardens.

The makeup and scenery was well-thought out and I never once thought of the attraction as an amateur event. TASCO has put together a top-notch haunted house.

I'm not too much of a man to admit that certain parts got me genuinely scared. My friend and I are haunted house veterans and found certain parts genuinely sppoky.

After I exited the attraction, I felt like I was thirteen again. The only thing missing was my mom picking me up and taking me home. 

TASCO's Haunted House is open tonight, from 7 p.m. - midnight, for more scares and is a $15 ticket for adults and $10 for teens. The haunted house and maze are at Boyd Hill Environmental Studies Area, 2900 31st Street South.

Check out our last week's Patch Minute for a sneak peek at the attraction and to see Gulfport editor Cherlene Willis get a taste of the terror.