A History of the Corn Maze and a Giveaway!

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Mazes and labyrinths, with their complicated designs and paths, have been around for a really long time. Like thousands of years long. There’s evidence of mazes in Greek and Roman art, flooring patterns on streets, and yes, even in the earth itself. Most scholars believe mazes were used for religious rituals and walk-through processions back then. But they were also used for decorations and entertainment, and many a maze could be found during the Middle Ages, in French cathedrals, Scandinavian labyrinths, and European gardens. There’s a huge, elaborate maze at Versailles that was presumably inspired by Aesop’s fables.

But what about the corn mazes we’re familiar with? Well, it might surprise you to know that the idea didn’t come along until 1993 when Don Frantz and Adrian Fisher created one on 3 acres with 1.92 miles of pathway – it earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the world’s largest corn maze. This record was beaten by Cool Patch Pumpkins’ of Dixon California in 2014. Their corn maze spanned 60 acres. I’ve been to Dixon, but never to their corn maze. In fact, I didn’t know about it until I was researching mazes. Dixon also used to have a fantastic tea house that served high tea. The one time I was there it was full of bikers, all enjoying their high tea. But that’s a story for another time.

Back to corn mazes…

So, what’s the difference between corn mazes and conventional hedge mazes? The stalks are cut to form a pattern discernible from an aerial view, whereas a hedge maze usually follows a geometric layout. Yeah, I didn’t know that either.

Another nice thing about corn mazes, they provide farms a way to earn money by providing a fun time for young and old alike. I’ve only ever been to one corn maze. It was with an older group of singles from church. There was a chaplain in our little group, an architect, a civil engineer, myself the writer, a couple teachers and a few others. Surely with our combined efforts we could manage a corn maze with ease.

We were wrong.

We got lost, so lost.

In fact, we went over the time limit and wound up in the “evening” maze, which included zombies and other “creatures” hidden in the stalks.

We passed through a tunnel, and a zombie jumped out behind us. Well, the chaplain, who had to be in her mid sixties, jumped onto the back of the architect, screaming like a banshee. She scared the zombie (not to mention Don the architect) who took off running. So did Don. The zombie went one way, Don the other. I was left standing in the middle wondering what just happened.

So, certain mazes might be designed with a theme or story in mind; some take inspiration from books, films, or eras in history.

There can be trails leading off the main route that encircle the entire design of the maze. This may have been what happened to our little group and why it took us so long to find our way out.

Like many haunted corn mazes, ours came with actors whose goal is to scare visitors. Being the brave souls we were, (and remembering our blood pressure) we went to the earlier run through that guaranteed no zombies, or anything else. Getting lost wasn’t in our plan!

Some haunted mazes might have special effects, and scary soundtracks added for extra fear factor. Ours didn’t, just the actors jumping out at you and sending your blood pressure to the moon.

And of course, these spooky mazes open after dark when guests can really get into the eerie atmosphere. For us, half of us couldn’t see… sigh.

Moving on…

How is a corn maze made, you ask? Well come spring, corn is planted in a grid-shaped pattern through a field. Corn stalks need to be strong and tall so farmers use a certain strain of corn. They have to watch for stalk rot, which is caused by moisture stress, improper fertilization, or the sudden development of disease.

When the corn is at least six feet high, the maze pattern is cut out. After that’s complete, weed killer is applied to avoid any regrowth in those areas. This allows the rest of the corn to grow tall enough around the maze pattern. And then voila! You have a corn maze!

Have you ever been through a corn maze? Was it fun? Did it have zombies and whatnot? I’m giving away a free e-copy of my book, Love at Harvest Moon to one lucky commenter. Here’s a little more about the book:

Eva Brock’s mother was the most over-bearing, controlling, and opinionated woman she had ever known, and if she didn’t escape out from under her roof, she’d have Eva married off to a man not twice, but THREE times her age! Her only hope was to become a mail-order bride and marry herself off before her mother did.

Finn Mullany wasn’t looking for a wife, and didn’t want one. Or rather, he didn’t deserve one! He’d made some mistakes of late that cost his best friend his sight, and Finn was having a pretty hard time dealing with the aftermath. But what he didn’t know, was that sometimes forgiveness comes in many forms, and many ways, and Lorcan Brody, Finn’s best friend found a way to show him he’d forgiven Finn completely. But would the love of a mail-order bride be enough to help Finn forgive himself?

46 thoughts on “A History of the Corn Maze and a Giveaway!”

  1. We took our grandkids to a kiddie corn maze, but nothing scary! They did give the kids treats, and we all had fun on a train as well as playing in a giant bin of dried corn! It was a blast! I didn’t know how the mazes were created, so thank you for doing that research and sharing it!
    The book sounds amazing!

  3. HeyKit! Our high school, where I worked, have them every year. We are the Buccaneers and the ship above reminds me of one of the mazes they made the first year they had one. Our high school students put on the fall maze for our neighboring elementary students each year. Pumpkins, scarecrows and a few spooky creatures! The small students ride through on the back a trailer usually. And lots of fun activities for the kiddies!

    I read an article not long ago about a man who cut a heart out of his woods in tribute to his wife when she died. Had a bench looking out to the open field. But, from the air, and during the fall, it was beautiful!

  4. I’ve read a lot about corn mazes, but I’ve never navigated one. Perhaps that’s something I should add to my bucket list.

  5. I’ve never been through a corn maze, but if I did, it would definitely have to be a non-zombie maze! I’m not a fan of the dark or of creepy-factor “fun.” But I do think a corn maze in the daytime would be fun.

  8. with today’s technology they can plant it in the maze form!! We have several here in Indiana that do them day and night to scare people – I am not a fan of the scary part!!

  9. We used to have 1 Fun Farm here in a local community. We took the girls one time, it was fun and we found our way out but i think we had to climb the platform to get an aerial view so we could figure out which way to go. I don’t like haunted stuff so we were there during the day. They also offered hay rides and pumpkin stuff and other fall activities.

  10. I’ve never been to a corn maze but I wouldn’t like the scary one either. Thanks for the information about them. It was very interesting. The book sounds great and thank you for the chance to win it.

    • The mazes are fun. Getting chased by zombies not so fun. Seeing a gal jump onto the back of a guy after being scared by a zombie… well, let’s face it. That’s priceless!

  13. Yes, we have beeto a corn maze when we lived in Port Huron, MI. Our church group went together. It took us awhile because we did get lost. Lol

  14. Kit, this is really interesting! I did wonder how they were able to make these mazes–those, to me, are fascinating. I’ve never been to one, but I think I might like to try it sometime, as long as I knew there was a way out! LOL Your book sounds really good!

  18. We’ve been to a corn maze much like the one you wrote about. The spooky side came out after a certain time. It was in Merona, MO, but not sure of the town name. The grandkids loved it, but everyone else I’m not sure.

  19. A maze is always a delightful way for strangers to meet in a story. Authors can use it for clandestine meetings, kidnappings, trysts, playful hide-and -seek -so many ideas come to mind. Thanks for the information. My mind is already working on a meeting

  20. I don’t do mazes at all. When I was fairly young, probably around 8 years old or so, my dad took me to the state fair, and I wanted to go through the funhouse. There was a mirror maze in there and I got EXTREMELY lost in it. I couldn’t find my way out and I was crying and terrified. Finally, the carnie came in to get me and took me back out, but I haven’t been in a maze since. Just the thought terrifies me!

  22. I do not remember every being in a corn maze. Since I am in a wheelchair and my husband is using a walker, that is not something we would be able to do. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.

  23. I have been through part of a maze. I’m not sure why we quit. We have a very good corn maze just a few miles from our house. He started out with just a small maze the first year and it has really grown. The maze is now larger, there is a petting zoo, games, a climbing area, food, hay rides, and a small tractor pulled train. There is a regular maze experience during the day, a haunted maze at night, and several years they have left the maze up and done a Christmas maze.
    Thanks for all the interesting information on mazes. I didn’t realize they were such a recent development.

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