This year at San Diego Comic-Con, attendees were invited to the sleepy town of Kettle Springs, Missouri, for the 100th Annual Founders Day Parade — better known as the rooftop of the Hilton Gaslamp Hotel — in celebration of Clown in a Cornfield and Shudder. The space had been transformed into a small-town festival, complete with hay bales, caution signs, and plenty of subtle nods to the town’s infamous Baypen Corn Syrup factory. A community bulletin board promoted lawn care and hot dog fundraisers, though with some references to lost pets and some eerie undertones, setting the stage for what was clearly more than just your average parade.
But like all good horror stories, things weren’t what they seemed. A closer look revealed scrawled warnings on the phone booth and just enough unease in the air to signal that something — or someone — was lurking just beneath the surface. Still, as seasoned Comic-Con attendees, my group and I knew better than to back down. Ghosts? Clowns? Offsite ticket drops? We fear nothing (okay, maybe a little, but not enough to skip a Comic-Con offsite).
We ventured forward to face Frendo’s Maze, where we were greeted by a decidedly un-chipper employee who gave us the rundown: “Lots of corn, lots of fun,” he promised — followed swiftly by a disclaimer that they were not liable for any death or dismemberment. You know, the usual.
As the designated horror fan of my group — and an Oklahoman with previous real-life corn maze being-chased-by-a-clown experience from my teenage years — I was dubbed our fearless leader. We stepped into the maze and were instantly swallowed by darkness. Even in the bright afternoon sun, the interior was nearly pitch black, a disorienting contrast that immediately set the tone. Kudos to the teams at Shudder and 3CS — the atmosphere was creepy in all the right ways.
Chainsaws buzzed in the distance. Sinister giggles echoed through the corn-lined hallways. My girlfriend and our con roommate, Sarah, both first-timers to haunted mazes, stayed close behind me, alternating between nervous laughter and actual screaming — the fun kind, mostly.
After a few winding turns, we encountered a frantic guy asking if we’d seen the last group. He beckoned us to help, leading us to a door marked with a riddle scrawled in blood.
Solving it gave us the code to a lockbox — and then he quickly departed, as he had to leave us to “film content for his channel,”, which gave my group possibly the biggest laugh of the weekend.
We continued on our way, moving along a new corridor and exploring this new space, until we were approached by a panicked girl in search of her friends. She guided us into a barn where the door slammed shut behind us and a countdown timer began. We had just moments to find a hidden key and escape. The room was impressively detailed — hay-strewn floors, shadowy corners, and plenty of eerie decor. Just as we started to search, we spotted one of her “friends” through a window… or at least their severed head, dangling from the hands of the killer clown himself, Frendo.
That sped things up. But we made it out. And for surviving the maze, we were rewarded with the final leg of the activation — a Founders Day fun fair.
This section featured a delightfully twisted photo op, where guests could pose with their heads in cutouts to look like Frendo was holding them.
There were also two quick carnival-style games — a ring toss and a test of our strength. Participating earned us a ticket that could be exchanged for snacks: a cup of gummy candy (peach rings or gummy sharks) and a very refreshing slushie in a branded Shudder cup. As a final treat, each guest received a Clown in a Cornfield tote bag, a bag of popcorn, and a poster on the way out.
I’m not as well-versed on haunted mazes as a lot of our SoCal readers, but I’ve done my fair share, whereas the others in my party had never done anything like it, and none of us had seen the film beforehand. But we all walked away impressed.
It was just scary enough to get the adrenaline going, full of fun character moments and interaction, and incredibly well-executed for a rooftop offsite in the middle of the day. Most importantly, it did what every good offsite should: it made me want to watch the movie. Mission accomplished.
As a lifelong horror fan, I’m sincerely hoping this marks the beginning of Shudder making Comic-Con a yearly tradition. There is a huge, untapped crossover between Comic-Con attendees and horror fans, and the genre deserves more visibility at the con. If this was their test run, it was a strong debut — and I can’t wait to see what nightmares they bring to life in the future.
