Field of Screams Puts the Fate of Humanity in Your Hands

For 20 years, Field of Screams has been scaring the pants off of Rhode Islanders. Every fall, the seasonal army of the damned rise up from the haunted bogs, forests and graveyards of West Greenwich to put the ghoul in ghould old fashioned Halloween fun.

The primary attractions are the Dungeon of Doom, the Dead River Haunted Hayride and the 4D Cirque de Souls and between the three of them, “Hauntrepreneur” Tim Leyden claims “everything can happen.” But last year saw the arrival of a new ghastly attraction, Zombie Paintball.

While images of being stranded in a cornfield at night, out of ammo with slack-jawed zombies moving in for the kill might immediately come to mind – they did for us at least – what actually goes down is far more family-friendly and not quite as terrifying. Basically, you and your posse of post-apocalyptic wasteland wanderers roll in on a 20-foot long military transport, each manning a locked down paintball turret. Your objective is to survive and cleanse your South County shanty town of its undead pest problem.

“It definitely takes a different breed to be a zombie,” Tim says of the performers who, in full zombified body armor, will rush guests’ truck in waves. Picture an episode of The Walking Dead on a Mad Max war rig and you get the idea.

If you’re concerned about unleashing a firestorm of neon-painted fury on the people under the masks, Tim assures that “They’re extremely well protected, but you do need to be tough to be a zombie.”

Conventional wisdom when dealing with zombies is “Go for the head.” We’re not telling you not to get caught up in the moment, but maybe aim for whatever looks to be the most heavily padded. When in doubt, WWBCD (What Would Bruce Campbell Do)? Happy hunting, Rhodies.

Zombie Paintball
179 Plain Meeting House Road, West Greenwich