Halloween attractions for 2013

I was recently asked what local Halloween events were going on in the Fresno area and I realized that it was time to update my list and figured this was a good time to do it. Some are new since the last time I did this and some are no longer around for whatever reason.

The Grove
Formerly known as Hobbs Grove, this popular haunted spot offers three different trips through the strange and weird. The forest, haunted house, and hayride are great for a good scare. The Grove is open Thursdays through Sundays up till November 2. The Grove is at 14265 E. Goodfellow Ave., Sanger, CA and can be reached at (559) 356-3958 You can find more information at www.hobbsgrove.com

No Surrender Laser Tag is doing a zombie apocalypse. There aren't many details, but you can contact them through their site at nosurrendertag.com

Haunted Fresno, which is located in downtown Fresno at 665 Fulton St, is open from 7 - midnight on Friday and Saturdays and Sundays it's open from 7 - 11. They can be reached at (559) 498-0960 or at hauntedfresno.com

Raisin Hell Ranch, located near Ave. 7 and Hwy 99 is open nightly at 7:00 all the way to Halloween. For ticket prices and directions you can check them out at raisinhellranch.com.

For those with children (and not a fan of getting the shit scared out of you) there's the cornfield maze and pumpkin patch out in Madera off of Hwy. 41. They are open until Halloween and you can either call them at (559) 530-0035 or go to their site at fresnocornmaze.com

Simonian Farms is doing a pumpkin patch and haunted caboose and it's every day from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm up to Halloween. They are also doing hayrides on the weekend from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more information call (559) 237-2294 or visit simonianfarms.com

Fresno Chaffee Zoo is doing their annual Zoo Boo this Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 26-27). For non-members it's $10-$12, members $8-$10, and children younger than 1 are free. The zoo can be reached at (559) 498-5910 or go to www.fresnochaffeezoo.org.

For more of an adult themed party, The Naughty Angels are doing their 5th annual Halloween party on Friday, Oct. 25 and the theme this year is Wizard of Oz. There will be three bands playing as well as a fashion show by the Angels. It's at Audie's Olympic and doors open at 9:00 pm and tickets are $5.

This is only a small sample of what's going on over Halloween weekend. Schools and churches will be doing their thing (I wonder if the churches would appreciate me linking to them? :D). If I missed anyting please comment and I will add it to the list. And for the love of God people, stop saying there is nothing to do in Fresno. Because there is.

Win free passes to the 5th Realm

As I had mentioned on Monday, I was able to snag some free passes to the 5th Realm haunted attraction in Clovis. Each pass is good for 1 of the 5 attractions there and since I was able to grab 20 I'm going to give away 5 sets of 4 passes for the winner to use however they want.

So here's what you need to do to win. The first 5 people to comment below telling me what your favorite Weird Fresno post over the past 3 years is and why AND leaves their e-mail address will win. Simple as that. The e-mail is important as I need a way to contact you to let you know you won. So that's it. Simple huh?

Weird Fresno checks out the 5th Realm haunted attraction

If you've been reading this blog for a while now (and who hasn't?) then you know about this time for the past two years I've been harassed by the residents of a local Halloween haunt in Clovis at the Sierra Vista Mall. Knowing that the time was coming for them to open again I thought I'd get the jump on them and show up unannounced.

The newly christened 5th Realm, boasts five attractions this year. You have Delirium 3D, Slaughterhouse, Nocturnal, Insanitarium, and the ever lovely Epidemic.

Emboldened by the fact that I had the element of surprise on my visit, I walked up to the door. I should have known better as they were expecting me, they proceeded to shoving me right in the door and left me on my own. Remember how the two previous visits I had a guide? Yeah not this year. Apparently they were fed up with my guides lack of getting me killed and figured my own luck (or lack thereof) would do it.

I first started off in the Delirium 3D and of course all the clowns remembered me from last year (still have no idea how they know me by name and from this website, I never mentioned who I was) and harassed me throughout the entire venue. Let me just say this. If you have a fear of clowns or just don't like them, don't mention it to them. They feed off that and good luck getting through there without getting the shit scared out of you.

After that little ray of sunshine, I decided that it may be smarter if I was in a group (safety in numbers right?) and decided to tag along with a few people in front of me for the Slaughterhouse attraction. Now this one is entirely new and didn't know what to expect. The thing that honestly creeped me out the most was as we were walking through it, there was no music playing as with the other attractions. I don't know if this was deliberate or not, but it added to the creepy ambiance and this actually made the Slaughterhouse my favorite attraction.

Finally through that fun little nut house my new meat shields err friends and I decided to head to Nocturnal. I was a bit apprehensive about going here as I knew my guides from the previous years resided here and wouldn't be too happy to see me. If you watch the video I took, I run into a familiar looking face. But like most of the women I know she denies knowing me. Her loss. I taste yummy.

And after that jaunty little trip into hell, Team Weird Fresno (which I dubbed us) headed to the Insanitairum. Every year this is the one that creeps me out the most and even though Slaughterhouse was able to top the Insanitarium, they did a good job of throwing everything they could at me and actually had me jump at a certain point and scream.

So apparently Team Weird Fresno didn't last long (I think I was the David Lee Roth of the group and that led to the break up) and was forced to entire Epidemic by myself. Lovely. Usually I do have a penchant for zombies, but not when they are trying to eat me. Thankfully I was too quick for the shambling horde and was able to make it through the attraction relatively unscathed. That is until I ran into a zombie juggalo with a chainsaw at the end.

Thankfully I was able to get some video of the 5th Realm and compiled a bit of what the attractions are like. The video runs a bit over 6 minutes but gives you a good example of what to expect.

5th Realm is currently open on Friday and Saturdays, except the last full week of October when they will open on Sunday and Thursday as well. The next night they will be open is September 30. For ticket prices and other information can be found at their website www.5threalm.com.

Also I was able to snag a few passes to the attraction. Keep your eyes open for a post later this week on how to win them.

Haunted attraction opens up at Sierra High School

With Halloween fast approaching, I've been asked for scary places to go? Though this place isn't haunted by any actual ghosts, it still does sound fun (and a bit creepy to be honest).

The place is called "The Farm" and is located across the street from Sierra High School up in Tollhouse. There are three seperate attractions to the The Farm and it starts off with a haunted hay ride in the Cattle Truch. From there you take a walk thru Catcher Creek. And if you are lucky enough to survive that you then have to make it through the haunted Rodeo Grounds.

Now The Farm only runs from October 28 - October 31, so get your tickets. This is the fifth year the FFA (Future Farmers of America) have put it on and I heard it's the best yet. The fun starts at 7:00 pm and tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for children.

The address for Sierra High School is 33326 Lodge Road, Tollhouse, CA 93667. To get there you take Highway 168 to the stop sign at bottom of 4 Lane and continue for about another mile or so. The Farm is located at the Bert Weldon Memorial Farm, which is across the street from Sierra High School. For more information you can call Bo Hamilton at 855-8311 or e-mail sierrahauntedfarm@gmail.com.

All proceeds go to Sierra FFA, so it's for a good cause.

Halloween attractions in the Fresno area

Someone had asked me the other night what Halloween activities were there to do in Fresno during October. Besides knowing of a few attractions, I didn't really know. I checked around but didn't find anything listed, so I decided to make one of my own. After spending some time on Google, this is what I found.

Hobbs Grove.

I'm sure everyone is familiar with Hobbs, since it's been around the longest. But for those who aren't, it's located outside of Sanger on 24 acres. There are a haunted house, haunted forest, and a haunted hayride attractions as well as a midway with live music, food and drinks, and several vendors. Hobbs is open from Oct. 9 - Oct. 31 (Closed Oct. 12, 13, 19, 20 & 26.) and the gates open at 5:30 pm. Tickets run from between $10 - $12.50 (depending on the attraction), but there is a discount if you buy combos. For more information on Hobb's and how to get there you can go here.

Fright Night Scream Park

I had recently mentioned this attraction last week. This one is located in Clovis at the Sierra Vista Mall behind Target. There are four attractions here, the Necropolis, the Psychosis 3d, the Desecration, and the Asylum. For more information and directions you can go here.

Raisin Hell Ranch

Raisin Hell Ranch is located north of Fresno in Madera County on Ave. 7, just as you pass the San Joaquin River on Highway 99. There are three attractions there, the Scarecrow's Revenge, the Fresno Monster's Blackout Maze, and the Chupacabra Feast. Raisin Hell Ranch is open from Oct. 17 to Oct. 31. Gates open at 7:00 pm and tickets are $15 for one attraction, $25 for two, and $30 for three. For more information and directions you can go here.

Haunted Fresno

Haunted Fresno is located in downtown Fresno on Fulton. It has five attractions, the Fortress of Fear, the House of Zombies, the Last Ride, the Museum of Oddities, and the Seance. It's open from Oct. 15 - Oct. 18 and Oct. 22 - Oct. 31. Hours are 7-11pm on weekdays and 7pm to 12:00 am on weekends. Museum of Oddities costs $5, the Seance costs $10, Fortress of Fear and House of Zombies is @20 and there is a combo ticket for the Fortress of Fear, House of Zombies, and the seance for $25. For more information and directions you can go here.

Corn Maze at Cobb's Ranch

The corn maze at Cobb's is open from October 10th thru Halloween and their hours are 6-9pm M-F and 11am-9pm Saturday and Sunday. Ticket prices are $10 for adults (12 and up) and $8 for kids (4-11, kids 3 and under are free). Directions and more information on the maze can be found here.

Update.  

I found out about another new Halloween haunt and wanted to pass it on.  Sierra FFA presents "The Farm".  The 320 acre working Ag Farm is the background for a night you will not forget.  You will start with a hayride through the Farms Haunted Forest, on thru the Implement shed, Barn and last but not least the Feed Mill.

They are open four nights only.  Oct. 28-30, dark until 9pm and Oct 31, dark until 11 pm.  Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for 17 and under.  All proceeds will go to the Sierra Future Farmers of America.  To get there, take Hwy. 168 from Fresno to the stop sign (at the bottom of the 4 lane), continue thru on Lodge Road about a mile.  It is located at the Bert Weldon Memorial Farm (across from Sierra High School).  The address is 33326 Lodge Road, Tollhouse, CA.

I was told by the proprietors that this is an extremely scary haunt and is not recommended for younger children, people with heart conditions, or pregnant women.  Parental discretion is strongly advised.

For those who aren't interested in things jumping out at you, but still may want to get scared there are those ghost walks in the Tower District and in Old Town Clovis. Both tours are historical in nature with a focus on the paranormal. Each stop on the tour is at a location that is reported to actually be haunted. The guide discusses the history of the place as well as the paranormal activity that has occurred there. Tours are from 7:30 – 9:30 PM and start the first weekend of October and run through the middle of November. Please note that the tours are for those 18 and over. For reservations you can e-mail them at nightfalltours@yahoo.com.

These are all that I could find that are happening in Fresno area. If anyone knows of anything else, please let me know and I'll add them to the list.