Fear Farm Phoenix Delivers a Krampus-Hosted Hayride

During the normal Halloween season, Arizona boasts a scene teeming with top-notch haunted attractions, including Mesa’s Sanctum of Horror and Glendale’s Field of Screams. For 2017’s holiday season, however, 13th Floor’s Fear Farm Phoenix is one of eight haunts across the country to get in on the yuletide spirit with Krampus: A Haunted Christmas.

(Photo: Tyler Davidson)

The location and aesthetic of Fear Farm Phoenix sets a tone instantly, a pure roadside attraction that calls to mind decades past. If not for the stringed carnival-style lights overhead, it would be easy to miss the turn-in for its dirt parking lot, but after passing through a massive cow skull and entering the premises, the mood is fraught with merry mayhem. Synthetic snow falls from overhead while the front of the haunt is bathed in an eerie blue light, accented with fully decorated Christmas trees, all while twisted takes on holiday classics provide the soundtrack.

(Photo: Tyler Davidson)

Fear Farm Phoenix’s Krampus experience is roughly divided into three separate sections. First, guests take a trip through an elaborately decorated house, featuring a smattering of snow-speckled characters. It’s a shorter trip meant to act as a prelude for what’s to come, but contained therein is one of the more impressive tableaus of the year: An entirely upside-down Christmas-themed living room, complete with decorated tree and gifts fixed to the ceiling, while a ceiling fan attached to the floor spins and spins. It’s a simple, disorienting effect, yet supremely efficient in eliciting the wonder one might feel at Christmas time.

After a quick photo-op with a massive Krampus, guests encounter a few of Santa’s elves, easily one of the highlights of the night. While the elves are in a functional role here, entertaining guests as they queue up for a holiday hayride, the commitment and enthusiasm on display from these mischief-makers makes for some genuine cheer. One of the benefits of off-season events is that, with only a handful of dates, the potential for haunt exhaustion is diminished considerably, allowing scare actors to act at 100% each night of the event.

(Photo courtesy of Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group)

The hayride that follows perfectly encapsulates the best thing about Fear Farm Phoenix. Fear Farm Phoenix, at least its Krampus variant, isn’t about the sheer terror that other haunts chase after endlessly, but rather, in the spirit of the holidays, it really does feel like it’s meant to bring a smile to your face. With an elf cracking jokes on the tractor and Mrs. Claus handing out sugar cookies, guests may get startled, but the scares are always followed with a laugh and a smile.

Finally, after disembarking, guests are handed wrapped gifts and led through one final walk-through, a twisting labyrinth of bare wooden walls as various holiday creatures reach for them and their new presents. Drop windows abound in this last portion of Fear Farm Phoenix, with everything from gingerbread men to drunken elves on the other side. A surly St. Nick awaits at the end, collecting the gifts and wishing all a good night.

(Photo courtesy of Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group)

It may sound backhanded, but Fear Farm Phoenix is not the scariest haunt you’ll find. For unbridled, heart-pounding scares, there are other, more suitable haunts, but much like the cross-section between Halloween and Christmas, Fear Farm Phoenix perfectly juxtaposes the scary and the festive with their version of Krampus. You may scream, you may jump, but ultimately, you’ll leave with a smile on your face (assuming you’re not on Krampus’ naughty list, of course).

For more information on Fear Farm Phoenix specifically, visit www.fearfarm.com

For more information on the various locations of Krampus: A Haunted Christmas, visit www.krampushauntedchristmas.com