Local Halloween attraction will not open for 2010 season

Graphic illustration by Michael Uribes

Once home to the terrified screams of hundreds of satisfied customers, Hobb’s Grove Halloween Haunt will not be open for the 2010 Halloween season.

Open since 1999, the haunted attraction is closing its doors due to the divorce of its owners, Mike and Lore Callahans.

Located in Sanger, the facility usually sees about 15,000 visitors during the month of October, according to Lore Callahan, director of Hobb’s Grove.

Haunted Attraction Magazine ranked Hobbs Grove as one of the top 25 must-see haunts in the country in 2009.

“We are very unique,” Callahan said of the three haunted attractions that are offered at the site.

Hobbs Grove featured a haunted house, forest and hayride along with concession stands, a Halloween store and fire pits.

Theater arts major Kelly Hurst, a huge fan of Hobb’s Grove, was extremely disappointed to hear that it would not be open this year.

“My husband and I saved up all year to go and now we can’t,” Hurst said of the haunted attraction that she stated was the best place to go for Halloween.

Loyal fans of the grove continue to call, according to Caleb Robinson an actor who currently still works for Hobb’s Grove.

“They (fans) want to know why we’re closing and then they want us to recommend where they should go now that Hobb’s Grove isn’t an option,” Robinson said.

Students shouldn’t worry too much about where they will get their Halloween thrills this year because the Central Valley has several other haunted attractions still open for business, such as Haunted Fresno and Fright Night Scream Park.

Haunted Fresno, the top haunt Robinson recommends, opened its doors in 2008 featuring “The Séance,” “The Fortress of Fear” and “House of Zombies”. Tickets to Haunted Fresno are being sold at discounted prices this year in an attempt encourage thrill seekers to come out to their facility.

Dexter Morgan, who got his start in the haunted attraction business hosting “The Séance” at Hobb’s Grove five years ago, said that he felt disappointed that Hobb’s Grove would not be open for business this year.

Callahan said she has every intention of reopening Hobb’s Grove for the 2011 Halloween season but that as of now nothing is definite.

“I just want to thank our customers for being a part of what we’ve done all these years (because) everything we’ve done was for the customers,” Callahan said.