Hobb's Grove haunted attraction opens in Sanger with new guidelines

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- This is the moment Slappy the clown has been waiting for.

"Screams, crying, everything," he said. "I live for this."

It's opening weekend at Sanger's haunted attraction, Hobb's Grove.

This year, extra care goes into the art of the scare.

This includes face masks, sanitation stations and staggered arrivals.

"We are trying to eliminate the amount of people that come all at once, so they have to purchase their time slot and show up at the appropriate time," said actor Billy Bob Hobb.

COVID-19 has also reduced the amount of attractions.

This year people can only explore the haunted forest, which has been doubled in size.

Hobb said one of the biggest challenges comes in how they haunt.

"We cannot scare like we normally do, because we like to get up in people's faces and just like get right at them, so we have to learn how to scare six feet away," he said.

But Slappy assures it will hardly impact the experience.

"We are still frightening people, they're still coming as you can tell and we do what we do best, scare people," he said.

And it's those thrills the Young family in search of.

"They have the lizard guy that slithers on the floor to the people that jump out," said Stacy Young.

This is their second visit.

Things might look different this time around, but they're just as enthusiastic as ever and a tad bit cautious.

"Hopefully I don't get too scared," said Peyton Young.

Hobbs Grove is open Thursday through Sunday for the rest of October. Tickets must be purchased online.