EXCLUSIVE: For over two decades, the popular Field of Screams Maryland at the Olney Boys and Girls Club has been hailed as a Hollywood-caliber haunted attraction. But Friday’s scheduled opening night has been canceled, amid a yearslong permit dispute with Montgomery County, WTOP has learned.
Brad Scott, executive director of the Olney Boys and Girls Club, told WTOP that Field of Screams, which in 2022 was ranked as the nation’s top haunted attraction by USA Today, is delaying the start of this year’s event as work continues to satisfy the county’s Department of Permitting Services.
“The community has been coming for 20 years now,” Scott said. “So, it’s a community event that I think people look forward to.”
The yearly event at the 40-acre Olney Boys and Girls Club, located on Olney-Laytonsville Road, is the major fundraiser for the club, which describes its mission as providing “children with safe after-school sports programs that emphasize physical and emotional development, build self-esteem and cultivate a lifelong interest in sports, health, and teamwork.”
As the festival’s popularity grew, the club handed over the day-to-day running of Field of Screams to Steelhead Events: “Steelhead operates the event under an annual lease that they have with the Olney Boys and Girls Club, and then the Olney Boys and Girls Club gets a substantial fundraising pledge as a result,” said Peter Ciferri, an attorney representing the club.
WTOP recently heard from two neighbors, who raised safety concerns about the event, and said it was funneling 2,000 cars nightly into a quiet neighborhood.
The neighbors expressed disappointment that the county had not taken stronger steps to enforce a 2021 abatement order from a District Court Judge that ruled Olney Boys and Girls Community Sports Association had failed to secure appropriate permits and certificates for structures along a haunted trail.
In explaining the layout at Field of Screams, Scott said, “There’s a haunted house at the entrance area, there’s bonfires, there’s concessions, there’s games.” The 4,000-square-foot haunted house, and a “slaughter house,” do have the required permits to operate, according to the county’s permitting department.
In addition, there are walk-through structures along a trail, that winds through the woods. “So, if it’s a butcher shop, you’re walking through a butcher shop-themed area, and that’s where people are jumping out and scaring you,” said Scott.
Steelhead Events communications director John Dixon said there are 60 trained scream actors, who follow strict guidance and training on safely interacting with visitors who are walking the trail, looking forward to being scared.
At approximately the same time that Scott assumed his role with OBGB, the club was required to replace trees that had been improperly cut down.
“The county was very understanding that it would have been unmanageable to take care of both things at one time, from a financial standpoint,” Scott said.
Since the 2021 ruling, regular status hearings have been held, to hear what steps were being taken to bring the structures into compliance. Earlier this month, on Sept. 17, a judge fined OBGB $2,000, and warned of a $5,000 fine at the next scheduled status hearing in December, if this year’s Field of Screams allows customers to use structures that are not in compliance.
Dixon said the process has been lengthy, saying the company needs to get approval from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission: “We needed to know what MNCPPC was going to allow us to build before we could submit plans and permits to build them.”
The two neighbors who contacted WTOP wondered why the county allowed the event to be held in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Scott said he understands the concerns of the neighbors.
“We heard they wanted to talk, and we have asked them to have some conversations so we could try to resolve the issues that they have,” he said.
Is Field of Screams safe?
While Olney Boys and Girls Club and Steelhead Events work to bring the still-unpermitted structures along the trail into compliance with county code, on Thursday the Maryland Department of Labor Safety Inspection Unit issued a certificate of inspection, declaring the event to be safe from hazards. The state agency has jurisdictions over all amusements in Maryland, issuing safety inspections to to events such as fairs and Christmas light shows.
Dixon shared the just-received inspection certificates with WTOP: “They thoroughly inspected us in detail and approved our entire haunt today, including every structure on the trial. We are safe and inspected every year, hence our safety track record.”
“Given the rain this week and poor weather we are expecting Friday and soaking wet conditions, and our ongoing interest in collaborating with the County, we are excited to kick off our 2024 Field of Screams season the weekend of Oct. 3 and 4, and are holding off this weekend,” Dixon added.
The permitted haunted house, and slaughter house are ready to open, as are portions of the trail that do not run beneath structures, said Dixon, who said work is continuing to be able to “fully open” Field of Screams.
According to OBGC’s attorney Ciferri: “Our instructions to Steelhead were that they do not have authority to operate the event without proper permits and licenses. They are working on it, and if they are able to reach an agreement with the County, whereby the County and State authorities both agreed that limited aspects of the event had proper permits and licenses, and could be operated on a limited basis, then OBGC supports an event that runs in compliance with those approvals.”
Chris Allen, of the Department of Permitting Services tells WTOP: “Olney Boys and Girls Club is responsible to obtain all required permits, licenses, licenses, and inspection approvals that are required to operate their event. DPS remains attentive to this matter and has been in communication with OBGC and other interested persons to ensure compliance with county laws and adopted building and fire codes.”
Scott said Field of Screams “is tremendously important for a lot of different reasons,” including funding the OBGC scholarship program, providing seasonal employment and spurring the local economy. “People come into town from Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, and all over Maryland, and they buy gas, and come to restaurants to eat and go to the breweries.”
“We’re hopeful that we can kind of get things straightened out and resolved so that we can make it all work this year, but be in compliance and be safe,” said Scott.
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