By Ankur Kayastha ’15 and Betselot Wondimu ’15

Following the wild success achieved by the Field of Screams during the Halloween season, Terry Benson and Toby Lewith, two Sherwood seniors, decided to create their own institution called the Field of Dreams. The students noted the disgusting and disturbing aura of the Field of Screams, which evoked fear and panic in innocent children, as reason enough to begin their corporation.

“So basically,” began Benson, “I went to the Field of Screams for the first time in October and I was instantly appalled by all of the devilish decorations and creepy characters jumping out to scare people. Yo, after our first visit, I looked at Toby directly in the left pupil and we immediately pinky swore that we would create a more comforting and welcoming environment for pre-pubescent kids to enjoy.”

The Field of Dreams, which is open year-round, follows the same structure as its Field of Screams counterpart, but with a completely divergent theme. Whereas the Field of Screams leads its visitors on a long and dark trail of terror, Lewith made it a point to emphasize that the Field of Dreams takes its customers “through a sweet ‘n’ salty trail, where workers dressed in unicorn costumes pass out sweet chocolate candies to children.” Likewise, while the Field of Screams workers carry chainsaws and weapons to intimidate their visitors, the Field of Dreams workers “only hold open arms, inviting love and camaraderie to visitors at all times.” When later accused of being ‘soft,’ Benson and Lewith shook off the allegations while embracing each other in tears.

The Field of Dreams has also seen a dramatic increase in job applications. “I have a couple of friends who work there, and they told me all you have to do is smile and pass out candy,” said junior Chad Hershey. “So I thought, ‘why not exploit these clowns of their money while barely working at all?’ It seemed too easy.”

The two students’ organization has been received well by the Sandy Spring community, as seen by the enormous profits they’ve made. Although they have only made $1.50 in total revenue from actual community members, a wealthy parent-donor who wished to remain anonymous invested $2 million in the organization, stating he initially saw potential in both Benson and Lewith as businessmen. “I immediately regretted my decision to help those boys out,” the donor later stated. “I’ve actually gotten negative returns on my investments … I’m struggling to feed my family now.”