Culture

An undead figure wearing a vest and dress pants appears to dance before a horde of pumpkins.

Heartstoppers Haunted House has been a regional haunt for 15 years. | Photo courtesy of @heartstoppershh

Looking for a howling good time this Halloween season? To up the ante and make it even more spook-tacular, we’re creep-ing it real with a round up of four haunted houses around Sacramento.

Get Your Scare On 💀

👻 Historic Cary House Hotel, 300 Main St., Placerville
Availability varies

A central hub during the Gold Rush’s last gasp, this mid-1800s brickwork hotel is considered one of the “most haunted sites” on Placerville’s Main Street. Guests have enumerated a host of spectral sights, from an unearthly cat to objects moving around seemingly at will. Paranormal investigators even claim to have experienced a husky, whispering voice and a ghostly woman in a white nightgown. Eerie. Book a room — if you dare.

🦴 Sacramento Scream Park, 4909 Auburn Blvd.
Dates vary until Sat., Nov. 4
Times vary

The River City’s most gargantuan haunted house event features three terrifying experiences: the Louisiana Catacombs, the Blind Asylum + the SkullRipper Haunted Mansion. Each locale boasts a ~30-minute narrative fleshed out by a host of actors and frightful set pieces. Find tickets.

🫀 Heartstoppers Haunted House, 2300 Mine Shaft Ln., Rancho Cordova
Fridays + Saturdays Sept. 30-Oct. 22, Oct. 27-3
Times vary

Escape a horde of revenge-seeking zombies in a gore-filled Wild West setting, or immerse yourself in the atmospheric terror of the brand-new “Blightwoods” — an experience full of occult magic, ritual sacrifices + more in a dark forest — at Sacramento’s longest-running haunt of 15 years. Scare up a few tickets.

🎃 Corbett’s House of Horror, 46500 County Rd. 32b, Davis
Fridays-Saturdays until Oct. 29
7-11 p.m.

“In the dark, your fantasies get so out of hand,” said Mary Henry, a character in the 1962 horror film “Carnival of Souls.” The same applies to this so-called “fear farm” with horror-themed attractions, like the Scarecrow Corntrail maze where you’ll need to watch every step, or the zombie paintball attack that will have you defending yourself from atop a pickup truck. Pro tip: Tickets are only sold on site.

Use the links below to share this skeleton key to the region's haunted houses with all your favorite boos.

EVENTS

Today

Explore and Learn | Tues., Sept. 27 | 10:30-11:30 a.m. | Fair Oaks Library, 11601 Fair Oaks Blvd. | Free | Bring the kids out for early learning activities designed for children ages 0-5. 🐛
Gentle Yoga | Tuesdays + Wednesdays | 11 a.m.-12 p.m. | Sierra 2 Senior Center | Prices vary | Blankets, blocks, chairs, and straps are used in this slow-paced course to comfortably ease the body into positions for stress relief.
Boot Camp: Landscapes | Tuesdays + Thursdays until Oct. 13 | 12-4 p.m. | Crocker Art Museum | $320+ | Receive a primer on the fundamental techniques and theories of landscape painting as you conduct en plein air studies on stretched canvas. 🖼️
Think and Sip | Tues., Sept. 27 | 5:30 p.m. | WHIRED Wine, 1121 L St. | Free | Enjoy a few pours from the downtown wine bar as you ponder trivia questions with a team of four or less. 🍷

Wednesday

Acorn Creek Geology Hike | Wed., Sept. 28 | 9 a.m. | Pilot Hill | $5+ | Join Geologist Barbara Houghton on a three-mile walk to learn about the natural history of the Sierra Nevada + more. 🥾
Farmers’ Market | Wed., Sept. 28 | 10 a.m.-1 p.m. | Capitol Mall | Free | Peruse fresh produce just moments away from the Capitol Building for the last time this year. 🍅
Fall Pop-Up | Wed., Sept. 28 | 5-8 p.m. | Acheson Wine Company | Free | Sacramento’s eco-focused wine tap room hosts Midtown Bits and Bobs, a local jewelry + craft business.

Thursday

Women’s Empowerment Gala | Thurs., Sept. 29 | 6 p.m. | California State Railroad Museum | $150+ | The nonprofit’s first meeting since 2019 aims to raise funds for local women + children experiencing homelessness.

We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

For tickets to local and regional events, check out our 6AM Tickets resale marketplace.*

100+ MORE EVENTS

NEWS NOTES

Weather

89º | Mostly sunny | 10% chance of rain 🌤️
It looks like we can expect a midweek tease in the Valley, according to the National Weather Service: Temperatures will hover around the low 90s until Thursday before jumping up to above normal heat on Friday with a high of 96º.

Civic

The city’s Department of Utilities will begin maintenance work on our flood control system as early as Tuesday, Oct. 6. The team will remove debris liable to cause flooding, and will repair the integrity of various ditches, banks + levees. See the full maintenance schedule. 🛠️ (Sacramento City Express)

Open

UC Davis has raised the bar-bell with its Edwards Family Athletics Center, a project that took nearly four years to build. The center aims to be a comprehensive facility for strength training + conditioning, sports medicine, and more. (Davis Enterprise)

Sports

In a show of sportsmanship, Mayor Darrell Steinberg made good on a bet he made with the mayor of Orlando over the 2022 US Open Cup Final. Per the deal’s terms, the mayor flew Orlando’s flag at city hall + is making a donation to one of the winning team’s charitable foundations. ⚽ (FOX40)

Announced

Geisthaus Brewing Company is planning to convert a 6,700-sqft restaurant space in Rosemont into its inaugural brewery and taproom. Its owners say Geisthaus will only produce types of lagers, noting that “there isn’t a true 100% lager brewery in Sacramento.” 🍺 (Sac Biz Journal)

Talk

Craig McNamara will discuss his life + memoir “Because Our Fathers Lied” with Jack Ohman of the Sacramento Bee tonight at 6 p.m. at Mulvaney’s B&L. Craig’s father — Robert McNamara — served as Secretary of Defense during the 1960s and was instrumental in the Vietnam War. (Sac Bee)

Drink

The Golden Hour at downtown’s The Snug is toning down the gold, but that’s a good thing. The cocktail bar has lowered the prices for its special service — essentially a “Happy Hour” running Mon.-Fri. from 4-6 p.m. — meaning that you can now pick up a house beer for $2. 🥂 (Sac Mag)

Number

100,000+. That’s how many people event organizers estimate attended this year’s Farm-to-Fork Festival at the Capitol Mall from Friday, Sept. 23-Sat., Sept. 24. For comparison, 155,000 made it out to the 2019 event. (Sac Biz Journal)

Shop

Football season is in full swing. If you’re headed to a game this fall, don’t forget to pack your game day essentials in a stadium approved bag. This clear crossbody with 8,000+ positive reviews is a must + we also love this trendy fanny pack option.*

Job

We’re hiring a Sales Executive to lead our advertising relationships in Sacramento. This exec would oversee the entire SAC territory, pitching the most relevant and modern media offering in town while earning a competitive salary with unlimited PTO. Want more info? Learn more + apply.

Eat

Skip the meal hassle with Sunbasket, a meal kit delivery service that makes healthy eating beyond easy. Sunbasket offers 10 different meal plans that work for those with dietary preferences and specific restrictions (think: paleo, gluten-free, veg, diabetes-friendly + more). Bonus: Sign up for $100 off your first four deliveries. 🥕 *

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Arts

A painting of a mustachioed man in a collared suit stands next to a skull.

Just look at that Bierce-ing glare. | Public Domain painting via Wikimedia Commons

With all the talk of haunted houses, we admit that our minds have already started to think about all of our favorite spooky season activities. Near the top of that list is reading horror stories with a warm beverage and under a thick blanket, especially ones with ties to the Sacramento Region.

Enter: Ambrose Bierce. The noted author, journalist + poet is also one of America’s earliest practitioners of the horror story. Ambrose spent some years in Auburn due to a severe case of asthma in the 1880s, shacking up at a then-recently-built hotel by the name of the Putnam House.

It’s an abode that occupied enough of his mindspace to figure into his strange 1890 short story, “The Realm of the Unreal,” which takes place entirely in Placer County. So go ahead — grab a nice cup of tea or coffee, light some candles, and sit down for a scary Sacramento read.

THE WRAP

	Today’s issue was written by Matt. Editor’s pick: I’m just returning from a nasty bout with COVID, which means I spent most of my time sleeping and watching TV. During that time, I came across a new competition-style show called “Best in Dough” where people compete to make pizza, and was pleasantly surprised to find that one of its contestants is from UC Davis. Let’s go, Ags. Missed yesterday’s newsletter? We ate through an entire week with restaurant specials in Sacramento.
Read More

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Editorial: Jordan Radach, Matt Marcure, Trevor Peters, Britt Thorson, Ashlea Hearn, Emily Shea | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

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