Look no farther for a bewitching time than right here in Whitewater, ladies and ghouls. The H&H Pumpkin Patch opened their gates a few weeks ago and just recently held its first haunted attraction weekend. The two events start just after the sun sets: the first attraction is the eerie haunted hayride with the second being the haunted corn maze.

Part-owner Patty Hanson said about the Haunts, “We have three of us that are partners, Rick, Alex and I. My partner Alex was the brains for all the decorations. He has worked for weeks to get all the displays up and he has done a really nice job. He loves Halloween and this is his invention. We had the farm and it was all decorated and he thought, how could we add to it? Last year there were not a whole lot of haunts around and we have the facility so that’s when we decided we would add the haunts to our night shifts. Last night was our first night of the Haunted attractions. We are open every Friday and Saturday night, 7 pm until 10 pm.” 

Although these haunted attractions are recommended for kids twelve and over there were some children as young as six braving the haunted hayride with their older siblings and parents. One little girl in particular, excitedly exclaimed throughout the ride how she hoped they would see Annabelle. Her older sister agreed but added that she wanted to see Chucky specifically while on the ride. While these two sinister characters did not make an appearance, the girls were ecstatic when a clown with a chainsaw came by and they revealed to their laughing parents that it must be “It” the clown.

There were cackling witches, a chainsaw wielding Michael Myers and a variety of other chilling characters to discover while walking the maze or riding the hayride. All these horrifying actors were volunteers who simply love to scare.

“A lot of our volunteers are friends. My son is 15 so many of them are his friends from school. Alex has some friends and family out there as well. We kind of just merge them all and whoever shows up, we find them a spot.” Said Hanson.

After the Haunted hayride was over the group was dropped off at the entrance of the corn maze, where a woman in a skull decorated top hat was seated to take tickets and lead the victims, group by group, into the dark and mysterious maze.

“I have been volunteering since it opened, I believe we are now going on our third weekend. My cousin is part owner with Patty. We have a lot of fun here on the weekends. My daughter also volunteers which is really a blast. I will definitely be here next year too.” Said gatekeeper, Samantha Sundlie.

While inside the corn maze you come face to face with many axe-wielding, corn throwing individuals. There is general chaos as you try to make it out of the corn maze alive and intact from your horrifying experience. The scare actors do their best to make the event as spine-tingling as possible.

Volunteer high school senior, Emily Richardson said, “I don’t do this often honestly. I have never been to a haunted house myself. So, I like scaring people but I don’t like being scared. The looks on people’s faces are generally so funny to me, I love it.”

If your children are a bit too young or afraid of the dark, that doesn’t mean that they can’t also have a spooktacular time at the pumpkin patch as well. From 10 am to 5 pm there are many activities that you and your child can partake in, without making them white as a ghost with fear. Some of these attractions include two bouncy houses, slides, carnival games, a petting zoo and best of all, a barrel train ride! There is also a hay bale maze so that toddlers and kids can still have an adventure without needing to get lost in the giant corn maze. There is also a “normal” hayride that has no jump scares but plenty of fun facts to learn as you ride around the farm. At the end you will have a chance to pick up some smashing good pumpkins to bring home.

 Mother Ashley Badtke said, “This is really fun. It’s a unique spot. They have different things that other places don’t have and it’s really nice to support the local people who are starting out. We did the bouncy house, saw the animals, and we checked out the cool vendors that they had here today. We try to visit as many of these as we can. It is always fun to get out and enjoy all that our area has to offer. There are so many beautiful places in our area and it’s nice to get out and visit as many as you can.”

There is plenty fun to be had at the pumpkin patch this season. With many events cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic many are ready to trick or treat themselves to a fa-boo-lous time.

The H&H Pumpkin Patch is located at 11152 East Six Corners Road, Whitewater, WI 53190

To find out the entry fee and cost of the Haunted hayride and corn maze visit: https://huff1992.wixsite.com/hhpumpkinpatchllc/about

Gallery • 11 Photos

Felicity Knabenbauer

The hay bale maze.