Transitioning from Field of Screams Maryland to Winter City Lights
The period between Halloween and Christmas brings many changes: clocks fall back, the season formally shifts, and days grow shorter than ever. Yet the spookiest time of year gives way to the most wonderful; haunted trails and attractions transform into enchanting winter wonderlands, decked with Christmas lights and decorations. However, this transition requires hours of labor and months of preparation from a team of experts. Steelhead Productions recently completed this process by transfiguring its Field of Screams Maryland attractions into breathtaking Winter City Lights spectacles!
Voted the Best Haunted Attraction in the 2022 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice poll, Field of Screams Maryland offers spine-tingling delights aplenty to residents of Potomac, MD! Indeed, their Super Screams Haunted Trail is the longest and most terrifying haunted trail in the US. Yet the compound now hosts Winter City Lights, where snow falls every night and over a million twinkling Christmas lights illuminate the displays! To learn more about these attractions, visit the Field of Screams Maryland and Winter City Lights websites or call (888) 720-1112.
Below, we explore Steelhead’s process of converting haunted trails into magical, snowy delights:
Breaking Down and Setting Up Attractions
Steelhead went all in for the 2022 Halloween season, delivering haunted atmospheres and terrifying monsters like never before. The team’s approach to creating visceral thrills and chills relies on committed actors, detailed settings, and an overwhelming sense of dread. However, this method demanded that no Christmas decorations could peek through the Halloween ones.
4 years of research went into Winter City Lights before a single set came together. Construction of its foundations and decorations began in June 2022, and technicians installed everything they could that did not conflict with the haunted attractions. Once Field of Screams Maryland’s season ended, Steelhead brought in a large workforce to finish the remaining sets and pieces before the grand opening on November 19th. Components built off-site were shipped in, set up, and tested for over 3 weeks.
The existing infrastructure from the haunted trail helped with the Christmas transformation. Winter City Lights material could use or hide its pieces as necessary. Steelhead’s team even built custom panels and lighting displays to hide the haunted-looking set pieces.
Design Ideas and Materials
Steelhead’s Halloween and Christmas designs come together over weeks or months of planning. The whole team brainstorms and works on ideas, implementing them where and when each fits best. Their combined decades of experience support the decision-making.
Conventional materials—lumber, nails, etc.—compose the Field of Screams Maryland sets, as these buildings must meet code requirements so visitors can walk through them. Yet Winter City Lights uses eco-friendly twinkling lights and recycled materials for its decorations. Greater leeway is allowed here since the attractions are viewed rather than walked through.
The team aims to change about a third of the attractions within Winter City Lights and Field of Screams Maryland annually. Doing so helps the experience feel fresh to annual visitors, which factors into their haunted attractions’ rave reviews.
The Challenges of Outdoor Event Construction
Of course, diverse challenges come with creating haunted trails and Christmas light displays. The scheduling and logistics necessitate round-the-clock work with multiple crews on different shifts, each setting up and breaking down assigned decorations and sets. Moreover, they must test each attraction to ensure the safety of all.
Weather and terrain conditions create additional hurdles. Stormy days can prevent construction, while puddles and hills present obstacles to work around. These factors make the process difficult and expensive, but the outstanding results and excited reactions justify all costs!
Haunted Trail and Halloween Attractions Available to Potomac, MD, Residents!
The Steelhead Productions team has devoted significant time and effort to outdoing our haunted trail attractions with enchanting Christmas lights and decorations. Come and see how our work has paid off: Field of Screams Maryland has given way to Winter City Lights! Folks in Potomac, MD, and the surrounding region can reserve tickets now for a snowy, magical experience while they wait for next year’s Field of Screams scarefest! For tickets and pricing information, call (888) 720-1112 or visit our website.