Things to Do in Olney

It was supposed to be a utopia. When Professor Angelica D. Ream painstakingly planned her Dream City, she failed to anticipate the demonic intentions of her own family, who twisted the peaceful community into Scream City, a hellscape terrorized by werewolves, bill collectors, and other evil beasts summoned from the underworld. Snaking throughout Scream City is the Trail of Terror, which reaches deep into a haunted forest where a power-hungry werewolf notoriously slaughtered a Dream City farmer. The path is known to shape-shift from year to year, keeping even regular travelers on their curled toes.

Elsewhere, Hades’s Hayride creeps through cornfields menaced by packs of brutish monsters and, allegedly, the most fear-inducing demon ever spawned. Towering over the grounds is Lusion Manor, where Professor Ream concocted Dream City and her evil family now plots their continued reign. Entrants wander each room of the house—including an attic rumored to imprison many of the villagers—which was just expanded to five times the size of the original structure to stave off noise complaints filed against howling werewolves.

Once wanderers have been sufficiently terrified, they can fight back against roving zombies in Paintball Apocalypse. From aboard a double-decker steel cart, battlers shoot glow-in-the-dark paintballs at unarmed zombies as they stagger past. Warriors can power up at the concessions area, where groups scorch marshmallows over open flames and annihilate plates of deep-fried Twinkies, pizza, and funnel cakes. Though the backstory remains in place at Field of Screams every year, each attraction takes on new twisted twists each fall.

Nightmare Screamplex combines three haunted attractions at one terrifying location. Inside the Nightmare Forest, monsters wait beneath bushes and behind thick trees until guests venture too close. These depraved beings then herd survivors into the Field of Terror, where creatures spawned from the darkest parts of humanity lurk, ready to feast on human flesh. When visitors’ minds have finally given in to the insanity around them, the sadistic doctors in the Lost Asylum welcome them with news that their stay won’t be covered by insurance. In addition to this macabre collection of haunted attractions, Nightmare Screamplex also houses an outdoor theater, bungee run, and bonfire.

Attracting more than 170,000 art enthusiasts to its events in 2011, the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival showcases original work from hundreds of artisans showcasing everything from handcrafted pottery, sculpture, and metalwork to jewelry, fashion, décor, and photography. Audiences can witness art being made live during educational demonstrations as artisans sculpt clay, whittle wood, forge metals, and imbue baskets with the power of speech. Hungry crafters can also sniff out specialty food items to sample or purchase while dancing across the sprawling venue to live music.

When the holiday season rolls around each year, the natural beauty of Symphony Woods shines a little brighter with the electric festivities of Symphony of Lights and the donations it provides to Howard County General Hospital. More than 70 animated and stationary light displays set the scene ablaze with images of candy canes, snowflakes, and toys, and twinkling string lights dress the trees in a blaze of white. Visitors can enjoy the scenery in numerous ways throughout the season, as family and pet walks, drive-through routes, and the 1.4-mile walk/run of Dazzle Dash keep eyes engaged and bodies exercising during the holidays. The lights stay twinkling seven days a week, only closing for New Year’s Eve or when the moon comes looking for who’s stealing her audience.

At Potomac Paddlesports, the first professional kayak school to be endorsed by the American Canoe Association, the team of American Canoe Association– and British Canoe Union–certified instructors patiently lead students through a methodical progression of flat-water paddling skills. The classes cover a variety of watersports, including whitewater rafting, river and sea kayaking, and standup paddling. The small-group classes are designed to keep students engaged, and longer trips down the Potomac challenge their skills with powerful rapids surrounded by lush scenery interspersed with rare glimpses of bears putting on their bear suits. Outside of class, students can bond with fellow paddlers during weekly socials and occasional movie nights. Further demonstrating their dedication to bodies of water, Potomac Paddlesports works to preserve the nation’s rivers, estuaries, and oceans, sharing this passion with its members through advocacy and donations to conservation programs.

Across the 25 handgun and rifle lanes at Gilbert Indoor Range, sharpshooters can fire at traditional paper targets as well as running-man and pop-up targets for quick draws. The firearm emporium also invites marksmen to square off against zombies that bleed and demand more lines in their 3-D simulators. Aside from the action, classes cover practical topics such as shotgun home defense, basic pistol use, and safety recommendations. Guests can also partake in self-defense and karate training or scissor lessons in the event that the paper targets decide to rise against us.