KATE NEWTON
By day it looks like just another harmless crop of maize. But on Friday nights until April 28, it becomes the CornEvil maze, home of Evil CornEvil.
Cal Huddleston, who runs the Amazing Maze 'n Maize from his backyard, is looking forward to the third summer of scaring people senseless.
This
summer's first CornEvil experience was last night - Friday the 13th - and was reportedly more horrifying than ever.
A storyline and all new characters have been created for this season and the brave will watch a four-minute movie to explain why the maze is haunted before they venture out.
An experiment gone wrong has created Evil CornEvil, so the story goes, and he is now loose in the Longlands Road maize crop.
"We have had confirmed reports of people wetting their pants regularly in other years but of course most don't tell us," Cal said.
People too scared to continue often have to be rescued from the maze and a woman was once trembling so much she had to be carried out.
One actor received five punches to the nose when a man reacted violently to a fright.
"The actors try hard to scare the guys. Often the women are more easily scared, so it's a sense of achievement when they get the men," Cal said.
"I hope we haven't permanantly scarred anyone but we may well have."
This year's 35 actors, aged 16 to 60, were chosen after a rigorous audition process. Fresh out of Boo Camp, they are ready to terrify and petrify.
A walk through the 3ha maze adds up to 855m.
CornEvil will appear every Friday night from dusk.
