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Boo! Here’s where to go for Halloween haunts

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Sarah Soghomonian
TV Producer and fan of all things fabulous.Bulldog Born, Bulldog Bred!
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Two popular, local “haunted” spots are open and ready to spook you this Halloween season!

Hobb’s Grove in Sanger and Raisin Hell Ranch in Madera have a reputation for being the go-to spots for frightful fun.

Hobb’s Grove

Address: 14265 E. Goodfellow Ave. in Sanger 

Hobb’s Grove is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Located in the outskirts of Sanger, Hobb’s offers four haunted attractions. The Portal, an immersive and interactive shooting experience, debuted last year. Visitors will also find previous Hobb’s Grove favorites, including The Forest, House, and Hayride.

Combo and individual tickets are available. For adults, the combo ticket ranges from $42 to $48 depending on the night. Fridays and Saturdays are more expensive. Children 11 and under are a bit cheaper.

Hobb’s Grove is open through Halloween. Gates open at 6 p.m. and haunting begins when it is dark.

Halloween haunts

A special Monster Masquerade Costume Party will take place Saturday, Oct. 27. There’s a Hallows Eve Party planned for Oct. 31.

In addition to the haunted attractions, Hobb’s Grove features a midway full of peddlers, entertainment, pumpkins, and food booths. There’s also a zombie paintball activity.

To learn more about Hobb’s Grove, check out the website.

Raisin Hell Ranch

Address: 7451 Rd 32, Madera

At Raisin Hell Ranch, it’s all about cornfields! Two are haunted and one is just dark.

New this year is the Haunted Holidays cornfield. It features scary leprechauns, scarecrows, and a not-so-jolly Santa Claus. Meanwhile, Sideshow of Oddities returns for 2018. This haunted cornfield features the odd, unique, and strange. You can expect lots of actors jumping out at you! And while the Blackout Maze doesn’t have any haunted characters, you may get lost inside.

Raisin Hell Ranch is open through Halloween with frights beginning at 7 p.m.

Halloween haunts

Do we look scary? I had fun with friends at Raisin Hell Ranch a few years back.

You can purchase a combo pass for all three attractions. It’s $35 on Friday and Saturday nights, and $30 other nights of the week. There’s a single ticket option, too. The haunted attractions are $15 and the blackout corn maze is $10. Tickets are discounted if you purchase them online.

Halloween haunts

To see more details on what to expect at Raisin Hell Ranch, check out their website.

Happy Halloween! 

Billy Bob Just One of Many Characters that Calls Hobb’s Grove Home

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Kendra Gilbert
Writer at FresYes.com
Kendra Gilbert is a writer born and raised in Clovis. She has written for publications from Boston to Los Angeles and loves writing about fashion and people most of all. The abbreviated list of things she enjoys outside of writing includes: thrifting, photography, harmonica, beer, movies, hiking and skee ball.
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Happy Halloween, everyone! Tonight ghouls and goblins will roam the streets of Fresno. Tricks and treats will be handed out. And everyone will be in search of a scary good time, no doubt.

In the spirit of All Hallows Eve, please meet Billy Bob. If you’ve visited Hobb’s Grove recently, or in years past, you’re probably already familiar with the off-beat, but harmless purveyor of pumpkins out at the Grove. But how much do you really know about Billy Bob other than he loves overalls and red flannel long johns and that, maybe, dental care isn’t top of mind for this friendly hillbilly?

Do you know why he’s content to call such a spooky place home? Or how he gets the evil spirits that haunt the area to leave him alone? Do you know who his best friend is? Or what really scares him? I invite you to find out.

So, while you’re putting the finishing touches on your pizza rat costume or waxing your storm trooper body armor for the long night ahead, take a minute to get to know Billy Bob.

 

FresYes Families: Places to go (with your older kids!) Hobb’s Grove

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FresYes Writing Team
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For the second installment of my October “Places to Go” series, I can think of no better place to write about than the amazing, the horrifying and the elaborately perfect haunted attraction that is Hobb’s Grove.  Hobb’s Grove is a terrifying, multi-attraction experience located just East of Fresno in a forested area of Sanger, CA. Rightfully named one of the 19 Terrifying Haunted Houses You Should Experience Before You Die by Buzzfeed, Hobb’s Grove offers visitors three haunted attractions: The Forest, The House and The Hayride.

Orinoko photo by Kishma Morales (800x593)

Dr. Caleb at Hobb's Grove

Now, before you pile the kids in the car and head towards Sanger, there are a few things you should know. First off – Hobb’s Grove is not an amateur level haunted house. Hobb’s Grove is high-end Hollywood special effects scary and I personally would not recommend this as an experience suited for young children – as it’s pretty terrifying even for adults (ask me about the year my husband let go of my hand and took off running for the final stretch of the forest — actually, wait, don’t… I’m still bitter). For your (brave) tweens and teens however, the Hobb’s experience is one not to miss this time of year.

In my personal opinion, on a scare-scale of 1-10 with 1 being as scary as a marshmallow and 10 being “I think I peed my pants and I also want my mommy” The Forest rates an 11, The House a solid 8 and The Hayride a 6.5. When going through The Forest and House you’ll be traveling in small groups. If you’re one of the more easily spooked in your group, I recommend not being the group’s leader or tail – stay in the middle of your group. On The Hayride, super scared visitors can feel slightly more secure by scooting towards the center of the hayride’s trailer vs. sitting near the outer edges or along the back.

Hobb's Grove, Peewee Photo by DeAuna Marks

Each of the attractions have entrances that branch off of the midway, which offers concessions (I can smell the fresh kettle corn now just thinking about the place!) costumes, fire pits and on weekends, live music. You may think you’re safe from scares in the midway, but I wouldn’t allow yourself to be completely at ease – every now and then a wandering ghoul may sneak up behind you quietly, and wait for just the perfect moment to scare the living daylights out of you. (Yes, I know this from experience, can you tell?)

Graveyard Dancers from Coursgold photo by Jason Benham

If you love a good scare and want to see one of the most well-done seasonal attractions the Central Valley has to offer – do not miss the opportunity to visit Hobb’s Grove this year. Lines are longer on weekends, so plan accordingly and arrive early in the evening, especially if you’re planning to do all three attractions as there is a cut-off time for the lines to ensure everyone gets through before Hobb’s closes for the night.

Prices for Hobb’s Grove vary depending on the night you go (special event nights offer more for visitors, but increase the price a bit) and how many attractions you want to experience. For more information, visit their website or take a look at the chart below. Hobb’s Grove is located at 14265 E Goodfellow Ave Sanger, CA 93657 and is fairly easy to find – just look for the signs along your way.

NEW_2014_GroveCalendarSpecial thanks to Hobb’s Grove for sharing their amazing images with us!