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Sledgehammers, chainsaws and knives are among the lifelike props cast members wield to scare visitors. (Photo courtesy Pirates of Emerson) -
Visitors stand in line eagerly awaiting their turn to enter one of the haunted houses at Pirates of Emerson. (Photo by Cierra Bailey) -
Pirates of Emerson began 33 years ago as a family tradition and has grown into a celebrated Halloween theme park attracting thousands of visitors each fall. (Photo courtesy Pirates of Emerson) -
The Alameda County Fairgrounds has been home to Pirates of Emerson’s haunting experiences for the past 13 years. (Photo courtesy Pirates of Emerson)
I love Halloween but I am not a horror buff. I’ll watch a scary movie or two during spooky season to get into the festive spirit, but I definitely don’t do gore.
With my aversion to horror, I was reluctant when one of my closest friends presented the idea of a group visit to Pirates of Emerson — the haunted Halloween theme park that takes over a portion of the parking lot at the Alameda County Fairgrounds each fall.
It took some convincing but ultimately I agreed because I realized it was one of the few longtime Tri-Valley traditions that I had never experienced, and I know many people who have gone over the years and survived. I figured it was about time to see for myself what the hype was about.
This year marks the 33rd anniversary of “Northern California’s premier haunted attraction” and the 13th year at the Pleasanton fairgrounds.
It all started three decades ago when the Fields family set up a haunted attraction in their yard on Emerson Street in Fremont. Visitors were asked to bring canned goods for admission which were donated to the Tri-City Homeless Shelter. The trio that makes the magic happen includes couple Karl and Patty, now in their 70s, along with their son Brian.
While the family still runs the show, they now have the help of their staff of about 80 cast members as well as support from fairgrounds employees, Brian Fields told the Weekly in an interview.
“It’s a lot of dedication from a lot of good people,” Fields said. “We have a lot of people who have been with us for years — one guy 17 years.”
Learning the altruistic and family-centered origins of the event made me feel a little better about going. I felt more like I was participating in a harmless family tradition rather than a night of terror.
“We have people that come and say, ‘I used to come when it was in your yard and this is my kid and this is their kid and we’re still coming,'” Fields said. “We call ourselves the Bay Area’s Halloween tradition and that’s our thing.”
Pirates of Emerson has received recognition beyond the Bay Area as well. The theme park has been featured by the Discovery Channel and was previously listed by the Travel Channel as one of the top 10 favorite haunted attractions in the country based on Facebook votes. Fields said they’ve also created other haunted experiences in San Francisco and Santa Cruz and participated in video game development, among other accomplishments over the years.
My friend who came up with the idea for us to attend Pirates of Emerson this year had to leave to Southern California unexpectedly and our plans for a group trip fell through, but I was still committed to going and documenting the experience in the name of journalism.
I needed to find a new companion and when my husband refused, I called my cousin. I knew she had attended Pirates of Emerson in the past so I thought she could help prepare me a little for what to expect and minimize my fear.
It was the exact opposite.
Somehow, I managed to be the calm one while she was terrified from the very moment we stepped foot out of the car.
We arrived early as the sun was just beginning to set, partly to take photos and speak to organizers before it got too dark and hectic but also because I thought if I got the lay of the land before nightfall, it would be less scary.
Again, I was mistaken.
The park opens promptly at 7 p.m. and right around that time, all of the actors in full character and costume run out into the crowd, shouting, shrieking and brandishing their fake but very lifelike chainsaws, knives and other weapons.
People — including my cousin and me — screamed, ran, covered our eyes and grabbed on tight to those we came with.
Things calmed down once all of the cast members took their places inside their respective houses but that unanticipated scare set the tone for the rest of the evening.
The price of admission includes entry into four different experiences — “Clowndemic”, “Pandemonium”, “Physco Path” (pronounced “psychopath”) and of course, “Pirates of Emerson”.
Everyone is given a punch card upon entry to keep track of the houses you go into as you’re only allowed one walk through each. We were advised to keep our punch cards secure because if we lost them, we would be charged again for a replacement.
Fields said that the themes of the houses change year to year and in 2020, they even had to change the entire format to a drive-thru experience due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, they were still able to have a successful turnout.
“We didn’t have much of a choice, we either had to do something else or not open the haunt, so we just went out there and came up with something and came up with this idea of driving the cars through — and only like two other places in the whole country did it, so it came out really good for us,” Fields said, adding that once restrictions lifted it was easy to transition back to a walk-through experience because it was what they had done for decades before.
People like my cousin may have preferred the drive-thru version because although we watched several groups and couples walk in and out of all four experiences, we only made it through half of one.
We were told by a group of teens that “Physco Path” was a good starting point to prepare us for the others. The theme — from what I saw when my eyes weren’t closed — was designed as a haunted psychiatric ward. Fields confirmed that my assessment was correct.
The scariest part for me in any type of haunted house is not knowing when a figure in my path is just a statue, puppet or an actual human being. My cousin, on the other hand, didn’t care to find out. She was absolutely horrified by every inch of the experience and just wanted out.
After we exited the first half of “Physco Path”, my cousin was in such distress that the guide — who was also in character but directing people and maintaining the flow of foot traffic — stopped us in our tracks and would not let us continue until she calmed down, but that never happened. Her rapid breathing escalated to hyperventilation and the guide directed us to the emergency exit and gave my cousin a bottle of water. I knew we were done after that.
We sat down at a bench as she drank her water and caught her breath, and I enjoyed a stick of delicious, sugary goodness better known as cotton candy.
The presence of food vendors was a pleasant surprise of the night. I figured there would be at least one concession stand offering water, soft drinks and maybe a few snacks but there was a decent variety of treats that I did not expect. Fields said all of the food vendors are provided by the fairgrounds.
After making one last loop around the park to snap some more photos and watch from afar as one of the actors with a chainsaw scared the living daylights out of unsuspecting groups, we made our exit.
Aside from the brief period of concern for my cousin during her moment of emotional distress, I had a fun time. In addition to the haunted houses there is a maze, music, decorated areas for taking spooky pictures, a themed merchandise stand and even a virtual reality experience.
There is no doubt that the Halloween spirit is in full swing at Pirates of Emerson. I would return in the future but preferably in a group of at least four. As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers.
Pirates of Emerson is open now through Halloween, with tickets available to buy online only. For more information, visit www.piratesofemerson.com.
