In honor of family weekend and Halloween, Eastern partnered with L&A Family Farm, which is located in Paris, Ill., to provide families with the haunted corn maze Friday and Saturday night.

Eastern offered shuttle buses to help transport eager guests to the spooky event. After loading up at 6:30 p.m., the buses departed from the school and made its way to the farm. 

Families and friends alike could share excitement and anxiousness during the drive over.

Once there, everyone was required to buy a ticket for the event. Some families may have pre ordered their tickets online as well. 

The original admission fee was $10, but for staff, students and alumni, there was a discounted price of $8 with a panthercard.

The admission fee also included a glow-in-the-dark lanyard to help individuals navigate their way in the dark.

After a bit of waiting, it was time to head to the corn maze. A tractor with a large carrier transported crowds of people through the woods and to the maze. 

Once off, groups of four were sent into the maze to begin their journey through a haunted corn maze. Upon entry of the maze, individuals were forced to walk through a bumpy path overhung with spider webs, which signaled the beginning of the adventure. 

Random air machines went off, as well as air horns and train horns. Breaking the silence at random points as a way to keep guests engaged and on their toes. 

As guests carefully worked their ways through the darkened labyrinth, they were greeted by some not-so-friendly faces. Scary movie icons such as Pennywise from “IT,” Michael Myers from “Halloween,” and a wolfman were hidden throughout the maze, in search of their next victim. 

Although this may have been a haunted maze, even if there were youngsters in the group, the scary-mask wearers were in tune when someone was too scared.

Even after a young boy was frightened, the scary rabbit man still gave the small child a high-five to boost his confidence. 

A strategy that seemed to be very common amongst all the guests was to try and find another group. The actors can’t scare everyone at once after all.

After competition of the maze, guests were offered to go inside the maze again and try to find more scary characters. For those that had enough scaring for one days, a nearby tent was present for guests to relax and share their experience with others. 

When enough people felt they had their fair share of scares, the large tractor returned to take everyone back to the campsite.

For some individuals, getting scared can really work up an appetite. Luckily for them, L&A Farms had a small concession stand open. Foods like apples slices, soft pretzels and funnel cakes were offered. For those individuals who screamed a lot and needed a drink, lemon shake-ups were offered to soothe the frightened soul. 

Once everyone has calmed down, they reconvineed with their friends and family to relish and share their spooky experience. 

Adriana Hernandez-Santana can be reached at 581-2812 or at aihernandez@eiu.edu.