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The last haunt of our 2020 haunt tour was Scream Acres in Bishopville, SC. They have been delivering scares for over 30 years!

When arriving at Scream Acres, you’re welcomed by a spookily decorated entrance and an elaborately built ticket booth that looks like a large shack. Seeing this deceptively small entrance, you have no idea how large Scream Acres actually is, but please believe, there are plenty of acres at Scream Acres! They feature two haunted attractions - a haunted house and a hayride, but the hayride is definitely the star of this show!

Their COVID-19 protocols were similar to other haunts in that masks were recommended but not required, and there was plenty of hand sanitizer available.

First up is the haunted house. This super-detailed but short walk-through features some really cool pneumatic props and animatronics. There are also a few actors offering up jump scares along the way. Costuming ranged from fully done to nothing at all. Seriously… there was a young girl sitting on top of a refrigerator in just her regular clothes. That was really disappointing because the scene she was in plus the rest of the house were really well done, but the acting and costuming here just…...weren’t.

After exiting the house there is a short, decorated display that leads to a large pavilion. Body bags hang from the rafters dangling above the picnic tables. There are port-o-potties complete with a handwashing station, a really nice photo op area, and a food truck serving up some yummy goodies along with a lemonade stand. This is a great space to hang out and chill in between attractions and also houses the waiting line for the hayride.

We were super excited when our trailer arrived, and we headed into the woods. We have to say, these were legit the scariest woods we’ve ever been in! We’re not sure if this was due to the eerie consistency in the shape, spacing, and height of the trees or if it was the overwhelming darkness caused by the density… maybe a little bit of both. The sets along the ride were extremely detailed and HUGE!!! Each set was dark and mysterious until the trailer was in the perfect place then... lights, camera, action! The whole scene lit up, strobe lights and pyrotechnics were triggered, and music flooded the woods! They had some very interesting yet completely fitting music selections, definitely not the usual or expected. There were multiple actors per scene, and they had some really noteworthy props, including a live snake in the freak show. There was one lady on our ride who was completely freaking out!!! Each set offered up more of the same detail while actors jumped on and off the trailer, and there were so many chainsaws… SO MANY!!!

The hayride at Scream Acres featured something we’ve never experienced before – an attraction within an attraction! The hayride dropped us off in, what felt like, the middle of nowhere. We went down a short, haunted trail that led us into a mineshaft out through a school bus (WTF?!) then into yet another haunted attraction. This one was a summer camp cabin in the woods. We were told of the tragedy that befell these campers, but that didn’t stop us from venturing further.

This was the first year they had added the cabin and while the sets were really detailed, in fact more detailed than some areas of the house, the atmosphere just didn’t quite live up to the story that was told. We’re sure they’ll continue to build on this; it’s such an awesome concept!

After our stop at the cabin, we got back on the hayride and continued along our path through the woods. This was by far the longest hayride we’ve ever been on, even without the haunt pit stop. All night we had been trying to outrun the rains that hurricane Delta brought into South Carolina, but they finally caught up with us! Luckily, not until towards the end of our ride!

Their COVID-19 protocols were similar to other haunts in that masks were recommended but not required, and there was plenty of hand sanitizer available in addition to the hand washing station in the pavilion.

Overall, we had an awesome time at Scream Acres! We’re so stoked to see that even after 30 years in business they didn’t just become complacent and are still adding to and improving their attraction! Like we said before, there are A LOT of acres at Scream Acres, so they definitely have the room to grow and add even more screams! You absolutely have to check out this South Carolina OG haunt!


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