Fresno’s newest haunted house is the size of a Walmart. Step inside the Scare Factory

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Fresno’s newest haunted house is the size of a Walmart — and there’s a good reason for that. It used to be one.

Scare Factory, 3680 West Shaw Ave. in Fresno, features 66,000 square feet of scares, from creepy clowns and serial killers to ghouls and ghosts.

There’s a spooky maze inspired by classic horror movie “Friday the 13th,” and an exorcism-themed escape room. Visitors can stroll through Killer Clown Town, break out of a psych ward or attempt to free chained-up prisoners.

Scare Factory is similar in design to the haunted house co-owner Jason Englebright used to build in his home, he said, but much, much larger.

“This is to a bigger scale,” he said. “We needed a Walmart to pull off what we were trying to imagine.”

Scare Factory is slated to open to the public on Friday, Sept. 27.

Here’s what to expect:

How did new Fresno haunted house get started?

Bringing a new haunted attraction to Fresno has been a dream come true for Englebright and his partners, Tony Gonzalez and Dalen Ortiz.

“We are all horror type of people,” Englebright said.

In the past, he said, Fresno residents have had to travel to Sanger or other neighboring cities to get their scare on.

“We wanted to have something local here in Fresno,” Englebright said.

As the site of their new haunted attraction, Scare Factory’s owners picked a former Walmart store on Shaw Avenue near Brawley Avenue that closed its doors in 2018. The massive space has been empty ever since.

To create Scare Factory, Englebright and his partners used props built by Englebright’s cousin, animatronics purchased from stores such as Lowe’s or things salvaged from neighborhood cleanups.

One person even donated a coffin — unused, of course.

Scare Factory will employ about 50 to 70 people, according to Englebright.

What is in store at Scare Factory?

Scare Factor features six themed environments for thrill seekers: three mazes and three escape rooms each terrifying and confusing on their own.

Killer Clown Town, a colorful maze with neon glow-in-the-dark decor starts happy, then turns spooky and scary as clowns pop out to scare you, Englebright said. There’s even a giant Jack in the box.

In the Manson Manor maze, inspired by cult leader and murderer Charles Manson, event goers are checked into an insane asylum before being chased by crazy patients.

The 13th Floor Maze lets guests explore haunted rooms inspired by the “Friday the 13th” film franchise.

In the three escape rooms, visitors have eight minutes to solve clues in order to get out. Otherwise they lose the game, Englebright said. There’s a game master stationed at the entrance to the rooms.

“He’s telling you what to do, helping you with hints and clues,” Englebright said.

In one escape room, eventgoers must participate in a terrifying exorcism.

The Execution Room challenges guests to free three people chained to the door, bed and floor, respectively, as well as figure out a riddle in order to escape.

In the third room, a pitch-black space called Escape the Darkness, event goers have to ”touch and feel and find clues that light the room up,” Englebright said.

According to organizers, Scare Factor attractions tend to be dark, with dimmed lighting or flashing lights.

Actors aren’t allowed to touch you but there’s no shortage of “jump scares and other frightening scares,” the attraction said on its website.

How scary is Scare Factory?

Really scary, according to Englebright.

“We had 56 people go through here last night, and, I kid you not, at least 40 of them screamed for their lives,” he said.

“The fog and the things that we have in here make it very scary,” Englebright said, as well as disorienting.

“You’re already on edge. You got a bang like that. You got another scary thing here. You’re gonna jump. You’re gonna be scared,” Englebright said, adding that the organizers have lots of ways to “really make it terrifying.”

When does Scare Factory open? What are hours?

Scare Factory opens more than a month ahead of Halloween it is scheduled to open on Friday, Sept. 27, and run through Sunday, Nov. 3.

Operating hours start at 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and entries are timed.

On Friday and Saturday, Scare Factory closes at midnight, with the last time slot available at 11 p.m.

On Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, Scare Factory closes at 10 p.m., with final entry no later than 9 p.m.

Guests should plan to spend one hour or one hour and a half in the haunted house if they want to complete all of the attractions, according to Scare Factory.

Is there an age limit?

Scare Factory is not recommended for children under 12 inside the mazes and children under 16 in the scare rooms, according to its website.

“Anyone not inside the attractions is welcome to hang out in our lounge area or shop our vendor and food area,” organizers said.

When do tickets go on sale? What are prices?

Each attraction at Scare Factory is priced separately, with costs ranging from $12 for escape rooms to $27 to $37 for mazes on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Prices go up to $15 for escape rooms and $30 to $40 for mazes on Friday and Saturday.

There’s a 10% discount for students on Wednesday and Thursday.

How to stay safe at Central Valley haunted attraction

According to Scare Factory, you should not visit the haunted house if you:

Guests should follow these safety tips, organizers said:

• Do not run
• Watch where you walk
  
  
• Do not touch the actors

Guests enter the attraction at their own risk, organizers say, stressing they’re not responsible for any injuries that may occur.

“No gang paraphernalia, no masks, no knives or any other weapons” are allowed, Scare Factory said, neither is smoking.

All visitors must walk through metal detectors, and security will be doing random searches of attendees, organizers said.

For more information, call 559-825-6986 or visit Scare Factory