One of Colorado's Top Haunts Gets Its Own Video Game and Comic Book

Out in Erie, there's a quaint place called Anderson Farms. With a seasonal pumpkin patch and corn maze, it's where families can come out and see the turning leaves, pick a pumpkin for carving, maybe enjoy a little cider.

And also get the candy corn scared out of them.

Terror in the Corn at Anderson Farms has been listed as a National Top Haunt by the Haunted Attraction Association since 2018, and has been Colorado's top haunt for the past three consecutive years, according to the Scare Factor. It's not just a jump-scare fest — it has its own backstory designed to terrify guests with its mile-long journey through a nightmarish cornfield, set in the 1800s fictional town of Raven’s Gulch. There the evil Wells twins battle with a vengeful witch who unleashes cursed creatures upon the town...and its visitors.

And the annual attraction is being developed even further with a Terror in the Corn video game and comic book.

Both expansions come courtesy of Colorado pop-culture powerhouse Josh Viola, who's had his gleefully nerdy hands all over the genre. He's been an instrumental part of the Colorado Festival of Horror (COFOH) since its inception, including the True Believers comic that comes out each year in connection with the scary celebration.

"We were actually hired to do the comic book first," Viola says of Terror in the Corn. "But around that same time, I was finishing up a Rocky Horror Picture Show game with FreakZone Games." That game was an 8-bit side-scroller, and Viola says he had the idea to do the same for Terror in the Corn, to accompany the comic. He says it will be a "first-person super-creepy game. It's seriously spooky."

The game puts players in the shoes of a miner in Raven's Gulch who gets lost in — you guessed it — a haunted cornfield. "It's a very slow burn," Viola says. "As you move through the game, things get weirder and weirder. You've got this lantern, and you're able to find these things along the way that provide clues as to what's going on. There's a lot to discover before you can — hopefully — make it out alive."

The game is currently available to download via Steam for PC, and Viola promises there will be a Christmas-season update, featuring an opportunity for players to fight Krampus (release TBD). At that time, he says, the full game will become available for other platforms, including Switch, PlayStation consoles and more. 
Viola's Bit Bot Media and Metal X Entertainment are also responsible for the premiere issue of the comic book. It tells the sinister story of Charles and Mildred Wells — siblings and proprietors of the soon-to-open Wells Hotel and Wells Funeral Home, both of which will harbor their dark secrets. The comic is co-written by Viola and Shirley Jackson Award nominee Sean Eads, with art by Juan Samu and Matthew Thierren. There are three covers available: the regular cover, a black-white-and-red cover variant and an autographed platinum edition, which is available only as part of the Platinum Pass admission ticket to Terror in the Corn.  A second issue is already in the works for next year, focusing on the witch and her terrifying tale.

“When the opportunity presented itself to be one of the first haunted attractions to expand its world into a comic book and video game, we immediately jumped on it,” says Michael Edwards, operations director for Terror in the Corn. “We were already familiar with Josh Viola’s body of work, and knew a relationship with them meant that there would be a commitment to quality. And we were 100 percent spot on. The first issue of the comic book is amazing, and the video game far surpassed our expectations. Our entire team is excited to be sharing the terrifying story of Terror in the Corn with a whole new audience.”

"I'm just thrilled to be able to be a part of the Terror in the Corn tradition," Viola says. "I've been going multiple times a year for as long as I can remember. I'm lucky to have met the guys in charge of it all through COFOH. I say this because I believed it long before I was able to partner with them on the game and the comic book: For my money, Terror in the Corn is the best haunt in Colorado, hands down."

Terror in the Corn at Anderson Farms is at 6728 County Road 3 1/4 in Erie. Tickets are going fast for this year's run, which ends Saturday, November 2. For admission and more information, see the website.