It’s the Halloween season and what better way to get spooked
than to take a stroll through one of our area’s corn mazes?
Trampling through haunted vegetation is becoming a tradition for
folks who love a good scare this time of year, and fright-seekers
from all over the Bay Area are descending upon mazes in Morgan Hill
and Hollister, so you’d better book your own adventure soon.
It’s the Halloween season and what better way to get spooked than to take a stroll through one of our area’s corn mazes? Trampling through haunted vegetation is becoming a tradition for folks who love a good scare this time of year, and fright-seekers from all over the Bay Area are descending upon mazes in Morgan Hill and Hollister, so you’d better book your own adventure soon.
The Great Corn Maze at Swank Farms in Hollister has been rated one of the Bay Area’s best, says Bonnie Swank, who runs the maze with her husband, Dick. Open on weekends through Oct. 31, the 20-acre maze features a 3-acre “Haunted Ranch,” run by actors and technicians from Screamworks, a nonprofit organization dedicated, apparently, to scaring the daylights out of the rest of us.
And make no mistake, this sucker is scary. “We’ve had adults who won’t set foot in the maze at night,” says Bonnie Swank. “Not just the Haunted Ranch, but the maze itself. We’ve had people pee their pants, literally.”
Up the road in Morgan Hill, Uesugi Farms, long renowned for its pumpkin patch, has a brand new corn maze open to the public.
How scary is it?
“It’s awesome,” says Uesugi Farms’ Lorrie Bessie. “When I went through, I just hung on to another fellow for dear life, and told all the kids going through, ‘Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!'”
The maze at Uesugi Farms covers 8 acres and features a “Field of Screams” which is haunted by Live Oak High School drama students dressed up in their ghastliest gear.
Be warned: These mazes are not for the faint of heart. Parents of young children should consider whether kids under 5 can handle the eerie atmosphere, let alone the ghosts and goblins. As Bonnie Swank says of her Haunted Ranch, “It’s a dark haunt,” not a cartoonish one.
Swank Farms, which has been running its maze since 2000, has installed a “Kiddy Corral” this year, featuring a petting zoo and a children’s maze. Uesugi Farms also has plenty to offer youngsters (and anyone else) not quite ready to handle the fright of their lives.
If you are ready to handle it, why not visit both mazes? Swank Farms’ Great Corn Maze is open through Oct. 31, Monday through Thursday from 10am to 6pm (maze only); Friday and Saturday from 10am to midnight (maze and Haunted Ranch); and Sunday from 10am to 10pm (maze and Haunted Ranch). The maze is located off Hwy. 156, about a mile past the turnoff onto San Felipe Rd.
Uesugi Farms’ Pumpkin Patch is open from 10am to 7pm daily through Oct. 31; the Haunted Corn Maze is open on Fridays and Saturdays from dusk to 10pm. The maze is located at 14485 Monterey Hwy. in Morgan Hall.
For more information and bookings, call Swank Farms at (831) 636-1295 or Uesugi Farms at (408) 778-7225.
