Field of Screams Maryland’s 2022 Monsters
Perhaps the only things more terrifying than monsters are the stories of how they arose! Grisly accidents—indescribable grotesqueries—sinister rituals—primordial beginnings: if you can name an origin, some rough beast comes slouching from it. This Halloween, face the products of all such horrors—and more—in the DMV’s premier haunted forest at Field of Screams Maryland!
Produced by the award-winning Steelhead Productions team, Field of Screams Maryland is USA Today readers’ Best Haunted Attraction for 2022! Throughout October, their spine-tingling attractions bring in people from Kensington, MD, and the surrounding regions. Test your nerves on their Trail of Terror, Slaughter Factory, Carnival Town Games, and more. But hurry and reserve your spot today, and while you’re at it, get tickets for Steelhead Productions’ next big event: Winter City Lights Maryland, opening in November!
Below, we detail the malevolent genesis of Field of Screams Maryland’s greatest terrors. Proceed at your own risk!
Stitchy the Clown
One of the fearful forest’s most notorious residents, Stitchy the Clown has terrorized visitors for years. He was once a tailor and entertainer for the children at the Lusion Manor Boarding Home, which sat on the outskirts of the town Steelhead in the early 1900s. A kind-hearted man in those days, Stitchy dressed as a friendly clown to cheer the orphans living at the Manor.
Then, one windy night, the Manor caught fire. The blaze quickly consumed the wooden structure, trapping the children and staff inside. Almost all perished, including Stitchy, whose body was found still in his class costume. The town laid him to rest in it.
Yet Stitchy never stayed quiet. Though it may have once sought revenge for the lost children, his ravenous spirit now roams the woods as a skeletal monster wearing a tattered clown costume. He brings wrath to bear on all those who trespass where the Manor once stood—and takes no prisoners.
Vile
In the days when Steelhead Asylum was operational, a prisoner there resided in near-constant solitary confinement. His only respites from the cell occurred in the Asylum’s medical ward, where doctors performed heinous experiments on him. Usually restrained and without the benefit of anesthesia, the prisoner suffered ghastly disfigurements at his tormentors’ hands.
This man suffered isolation and procedures for years, his name forgotten. Then, during the Asylum’s mass breakout before its closure, rioting inmates opened the solitary cell’s door and discovered something that resembled a human no more. And even now, though the Asylum lies abandoned and many of its former patients rot underground, the creature called Vile stalks the haunted woods of the vast compound!
The Cult
The unfortunate folk who live in Steelhead and the surrounding areas whisper that the town carries a curse. Most people keep their distance due to this rumor, yet a few seek the darkness as if it were calling them. The residents—and those foolish enough to visit—speak of strangers who wander among the rotting houses that dot the woods above the town. These prowlers, it is said, appear during the gloaming and wear animal masks.
One town visitor had a terrifying encounter with these strangers. While exploring the abandoned houses, he was briefly their prisoner. He escaped their clutches, though, then reported they never removed their masks and discussed a hidden path to an entity called “the deacon.”
When any thrillseeker goes missing in Steelhead these days, the region’s residents often point to this “cult” and its mysterious “Deacon” as the culprits. Yet none go in search of the lost souls, lest a wolf comes knocking at their door.
Baghead
In the ‘80s, Steelhead was home to a popular summer camp buzzing with activity. A crew of college-aged counselors staffed it every summer, supported by adult personnel. Among the latter was a nurse who was the mother to a shy boy. And while she worked every year, the boy attended the camp—until one fateful night.
That evening, after a blood-red sunset, a senior camp counselor snapped. Their rampage that followed killed most camp visitors and staff, including the nurse. Her boy suffered tragic injuries to his face, yet he managed to survive the counselor’s bloodlust.
After the camp shut down, the boy returned to the deserted cabin he once shared with his mother, a burlap sack covering his mutilated face. Since then, the boy has grown into a man while haunting the campgrounds, waiting for mother to come home. Steelhead locals have christened him Baghead.
The Deacon
Steelhead’s most mysterious resident, simply called “the Deacon” by the cult members who wander the woods, is also its least understood. According to legend, a hidden passageway beneath the town leads to extensive catacombs wherein this eldritch figure lives. No one knows where the monster came from nor how long he’s resided in the darkness.
The catacombs supposedly teem with human bones. Although the cultists struggle to locate its entrance, they have discovered sketches of the Deacon, whom they worship as a godhead. The drawings portray a humanoid figure draped in dark robes whose head resembles an ax.
A Haunted Forest Experience for Kensington, MD, Residents!
If you’ve yet to see the monsters described above, come to Field of Screams Maryland this Halloween! Their haunted forest and attractions were voted the 2022 Best Haunted Attraction in USA Today’s Top 10 poll. Kensington, MD, residents and those in the surrounding regions can face their nightmares. Reserve your tickets today on their website or call (888) 720-1112. Plus, don’t forget to check out Steelhead Productions’ next event, Winter City Lights Maryland!