Pheasant Fields Farm celebrates Halloween in its own style

It’s a busy time for Pheasant Fields Farm Co-owner Nikki Johanson.

But after she sends off two busloads of kids and parents from Belfair Elementary School with four large pumpkins, she finds time to show off the skeleton setup of what will become two Halloween events at the Silverdale farm this year — No Ghoul, No Gore, No Scare and Wild Woods.

Today is the last day of No Ghoul which is designed for all ages to enjoy.

Johanson said she came up with the less scary event after a child couldn’t handle the Wild Woods event.

The tour involves saying goodnight to all of the farm animals, then exploring the corn maze with flashlights on their way to the stage in the woods. There, local storyteller Jo Wallace performs.

There also is a campfire with free hot chocolate.

It’s become so popular, Johanson now has to take reservations and limit space to maintain crowd control.

Also back for another year is the Wild Woods, complete with scary noises and surprises aplenty.

Small groups are escorted through the maze — flashlights are not allowed — to the woods, where several stations are set up to frighten all who come through the forest.

The tour takes about 25 minutes to go through.

Johanson estimates 40 to 50 people will work each night to scare and entertain.

“We try to interject laugh-scare, laugh-scare because you never know what’s coming next,” she said. “It’s a good effect.”

Johanson created the event in a response to “The Blair Witch Project” when she felt the film didn’t scare as she felt it should have.

“We felt it was stupid,” she said. “Nothing happened. So we felt we could do something better in the woods.”

So she and eight other volunteers got together to carve out some space in the woods to create a better experience for those fans of Halloween.

The weather was a factor as was the forest itself — a lot of it had to be cleared — but the first crowd still stayed with it.

“That’s the risk of doing something outside,” she said.

Since then, the volunteers have mostly taken over.

“They’re hooked on it,” Johanson said. “But they work really hard.” Johanson said she feels the atmosphere is unlike any other Halloween event.

“It’s a lot different at night,” she said. “There’s sound effects — it’s really fun.

“It’s not a big moneymaker — the proceeds go right back into the thing, but it’s a good time.”

Wild Woods is Oct. 24-25, 31 and Nov. 1. It is open from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The cost is $7.50 for adults and $5 for kids younger than 15.

Children 12 years old and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

Pheasant Fields Farm is located at 13274 Clear Creek Road NW in Silverdale, two miles north of Kitsap Mall.

For more information, visit www.pheasantfields.com or call (360) 697-6224.

Contact Central Kitsap Reporter Staff writer John Becerra Jr. at jbecerra@centralkitsapreporter.com or (360) 308-9161.

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