Hobb’s Grove succeeded at bringing horror films to life and placing me in the midst of several creepy situations.
The Central Valley haunt offers three main attractions: a haunted house, haunted forest and haunted hayride priced around $30 for all three, depending on which night you attend. Each attraction’s level of fright varies, allowing those who can’t handle being chased by a chainsaw to have less extreme options.
The Haunted House
I started off my excursion with the haunted house. The first portion of the house had 3-D effects, forcing me to wear paper 3-D glasses that at times blocked my peripheral view, making for an even scarier experience.
Each room or section in the house had different scenes and themes. My favorite was when I walked into a room that mimicked a hospital room with a woman covered in blood, lying “dead” in a bed. As I passed her bed, she shot up and reached for me with her arms.
The Haunted Forest
After the house, I visited the forest which I found to be the scariest of the three attractions. Lucky for me, the lines were 50 minutes long so I had some time to collect myself. That being said, if you don’t like waiting in line for rides at Disneyland because you are too impatient — this is no different.
The forest had similar qualities to the house in that it had spooky characters and scenes that you had to pass through. However, the outdoor factor made it all the more scary. It was cold, dark and all the trees were overgrown, forcing me to duck under sharp branches and dodge actual cobwebs.
The trail you follow in the forest also has reasonably larger gaps than the house did, leaving more room to be followed by something, or someone, lurking in the shadows.
I happened to go in a group of four so I was able to have a body behind and in front me so I was the least vulnerable. Next year I might challenge myself to be in the front of the group in order to get the full scare effect. No promises.
The Haunted Hayride
I chose to go on the hayride last so that I could calm myself down before I had to drive 30 minutes back home to Fresno since Hobb’s Grove is located in Sanger.
I was sadly mistaken because even though it is supposed to be the kiddie ride, there were still a few moments that got the best of me, like when the ride passed through a colorful tunnel where clowns awaited us.
Being confined to the ride and not being able to run away actually made it scarier for me. But do not make the same mistake I did. Wear pants to avoid scratching the backs of your legs on hay.
The only thing that I was unsatisfied with was the insanely long lines. My time standing in lines added up to a whopping three hours. But as a once a year occasion, I definitely think the scare is worth the wait. Hobb’s Grove is open Thursday to Sunday nights until Oct. 30.