Every Halloween season, the Central Valley offers various locations for screams, once night falls. This Halloween, three locations offer just that with lightless corn mazes, haunted asylums, zombies and even chupacabras.
It’s the second year for the Raisin Hell Ranch, with three different attractions including a scarecrow revenge and chupacabra feast trail.
The most popular attraction is the Fresno State blackout corn field maze; a pitch black corn maze designed in the honor of the 100 year anniversary of Fresno State University that leaves you helpless with no bridges, no lights, and no signs.
“There have been reports of strange sightings from people,” says Sheila Noel, general manager of the Raisin Hell Ranch, about the location of the blackout maze.
College and high school students with school identification enter the blackout attraction for free; also firefighters, law enforcement and school staff members have a free entrance to the blackout maze with identification of the profession.
All other attractions range from $15 for one person and $25 for two people. The ranch is open seven days a week and the fright events begin at 7 p.m. The Raisin Hell Ranch is in Madera County, on road 32 off of avenue 7 from the 99 freeway.
Fright Night is the most popular haunted theme park in the Fresno/Clovis area with four frightening attractions.
This year, people will encounter two of its’ most popular features: Desecration: Quarantine, a place where the zombie virus is spreading among the patients of mad scientists, and the Asylum, a psych ward filled with twisted doctors and nurses that perform the most horrifying experiments on the patients.
These are four attractions within a 22,000 square feet indoor maze. “Nine times out of ten you can’t tell that you’re inside,” says previous Scream Team member Jeffrey Stanley.
Fright night has three packages that you can choose from including the VIP combo that allows you entrance to all four attractions and skip the lines for $35.
Fright night is located behind the Target at Sierra Vista mall, and is opened from Thursday through Saturday. The hours are from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, and open till midnight on weekends.
Haunted Fresno is another popular place this Halloween season that has five attractions to choose from. They include the house of zombies, fortress of fear, a séance, a motion ride through a sinister funeral home, and the museum of oddities.
Haunted Fresno has linked the two haunted houses for fewer lines and has lowered prices. “We wanted to make the prices more reasonable during these economic struggles and added more scares so that people get their money’s worth,” says Martinez.
The combo ticket includes the entrance to four attractions for the price of $18 on Thursday and Sunday, and $20 on Friday and Saturday. The ultimate combo includes the entrance to five attractions for $20 on Thursday and Sunday, and $23 on Friday and Saturday. Haunted Fresno is located one block south of Grizzly Stadium in downtown Fresno.
“We hear screams all night” says Martinez on how the crowds react to the attractions this year.
So shamble, slither, or glide on down to your nearest scream park and make sure to have yourself a good time, and a good scream this Halloween.
