The Trick To Getting Out Of A Corn Maze

Corn maze is a funny phrase, because it's a maze made out of maize. But if your sense of direction is less than that of carrier pigeon, the experience might end up being less than amazing.

Though corn mazes are meant to be family-friendly fun, a few wrong turns can quickly turn hellish, making you feel as if you've been thrust into the cast of Children of the Corn. In fact, there's been at least one family which has gotten so lost that they called 911 from inside a corn maze, according to NBC. Funnily enough, when police arrived, it took about one minute to find the family, who were about 25 feet from the exit, yet totally convinced they were going to be taken by creatures that stalk the night. So the same thing doesn't happen to you, here are a few kernels of wisdom to help find your way out of a corn maze.

First off, here are some basics courtesy of Boston.com. Obviously, if you can study the maze beforehand, do it — taking care to note the exit. Most corn mazes offer maps that you can take on your journey, and you can also use aerial photos or landmarks to minimize confusion and aimless wandering. These days, more technologically advanced mazes even have their own apps, allowing you to follow your progress in real time.

Teamwork is also important, both in terms of tracking movement and discussing a path, and simply for morale. It's unlikely that your corn maze experience will be anything but lighthearted fun, but the golden rule for being lost in any circumstance is to not panic and make decisions with a clear head. Clues could involve noise or light coming from outside of the course.

Here's an even more foolproof trick to getting out of a corn maze: keep one hand on the wall at all times. Kotaku says this method guarantees you will find your way out, and usually pretty efficiently. For this to work, you need to keep track of a wall from the moment you enter — get distracted, scared, or disoriented and the tactic becomes useless. Same for if you start on the inside of a maze, or get stuck circling a corn "island". But if you know the wall you're touching starts and ends on the outside of the maze, you're golden, and your time inside the corn will be poppin'.