Ryan ChartrandGet ready for more chainsaws, corn and hot chocolate as the Haunted Corn Maze returns this year to scare young and old alike, promising everyone two nights of Halloween-themed fun. The maze is hosted by the Cal Poly Crops Club and will be open to the public Oct. 24 and Oct. 25 from 5 to 9 p.m.
“We’ve been doing it for as long as I’ve been going to school here,” said fruit science junior and Crops Club member John Molatore. “The Crops Club has always been affiliated with the corn maze and the City of San Luis Obispo has come to love it. Every single year we just try to do a better job than we did last year and keep (people) coming back.”
Crop science senior Brent Rhodes is this year’s club president and helped organize the maze with other officers from the club.
“There were tons of people last year,” Rhodes said. “The buses were full all night. We get a whole wide range of people (from families to students).”
The corn field is grown by the crops unit at Cal Poly specifically for the maze and the corn reaches about 10 to 12 feet tall before club members go in and cut out the different paths for the maze. Molatore said they put plenty of offshoots into the corn to confuse people and make the maze more fun.
“We’ll hide farm machinery equipment (in the maze),” he said. “We’re going to have tractors and light them up. It can be scary at night when you have this big shiny tractor in there.”
Members of the Crops Club also dress up, cover themselves in fake blood and hide in the maze, jumping out at unsuspecting victims who wander into their path. “Young punk kids who think they can’t be scared are the main challenge for club members, along with the college students,” said Molatore. “The scarier they can make the maze, the better.”
“Last year I was scaring people,” Rhodes said. “I was chained up to a tractor and I would jump out at people. They seemed to be pretty scared, especially the younger girls. They seemed to scream a lot.”
For the faint of heart, there is a “kid-friendly” time from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. each night. Club members will be on hand to help young kids find their way though the maze and there will be no one to jump out and scare them. During this time, the maze is also shorter.
People who attend the event can park their cars in the designated parking area and then be bused to the corn maze and back again. Pumpkins, gourds and hot chocolate will be sold at the event while people wait.
“This is a way we get to meet with (the San Luis Obispo) community, and the (Cal Poly) community,” Molatore said. “This is our way of letting them know who we are, what we do every year.”
The maze is one of the biggest fundraisers for the Crops Club and helps them do other events with the community throughout the year.
“It’s definitely fun,” Rhodes said. “Come out. It’s pretty cheap (and you) get a little experience of the farm.”
Everyone is encouraged to dress up for the maze. Tickets are $5 for those 13 and older, $3 for kids ages 5 to 12 and admission is free for kids age 5 and under.
To get to the Haunted Corn Maze, enter campus at the Highland Drive entrance, turn left on Mt. Bishop Road and follow the signs to the free parking area.
“It’s a great date place if you want to bring your girlfriend,” Molatore said. “Instead of a movie, take her out to the Cal Poly Haunted Corn Maze.”