There’s finally a chill in the nighttime air, and you can detect the tiniest hint of fireplace smoke as the sun goes down. Halloween is so close you can literally smell it, and there’s a farm a half-hour drive from the big city that’s calling pumpkinheads of all ages like a witchy incantation. McCall’s Pumpkin Patch opens on Sep. 20, and you haven’t taken the short trip to Moriarty to check it out yet – and especially if you already live on that side of the Sandias – you’re missing out on an annual tradition that playfully combines everything that makes fall so much fun in New Mexico. Owner Kevin McCall says, since they’ve gotten a whole lot of rain – which is always great news for anyone who lives in the state, especially east of the mountains – the pumpkin crop is pretty good this year. Some of them have already matured to 30- to-40 pound beauties.
“Take a hay ride, get dropped off in the field, and you’ll get to pluck your own pumpkin off of the vine that it was grown on,” McCall says.
Some of these 40-pounders are gonna be turned into desserts soon, and maybe those same gourds will display massive jagged-toothed grins in a few weeks. Whether you dig the idea of basking outdoors after the plants have shifted their color schemes from greens to earth tones, warming up during colder days with a hot beverage and a slice of left over Thanksgiving pie, or dressing in morbid fashion and screaming bloody murder, McCall’s has the goods waiting for you in Moriarty. And they’ve added a few new improvements this season to one of Torrance County’s favorite autumn attractions.
“We’ve put in the digging zone, which is 14 little mini-excavators that the customers will be able to drop a token in and turn on the machine for around five minutes and try their hand at digging in some gravel or picking up some logs or hooking some traffic cones.”
September 26 is opening night for the more horrifying attractions, and you can get your fright fix after dark at either the Haunted Corn Maze or the classic-style Haunted Barn through November 1. McCall says they’ve given a bit of a makeover to the favorite New Mexico tradition. He didn’t go into great detail, because he doesn’t want to ruin the surprise, but teases improved rooms and some new trailers out in the Corn Maze. No tickets are purchased at the farm for the haunts. (So, only online.)
“Ever since COVID, you purchase your ticket based on a time frame. So there’s a little bit of waiting, but there’s not hours like there used to be, because you can show up right when your reservation is happening.”
Like any good horror-themed entertainment event, enter the fear-farm at your own risk, but as long as your pacemaker is working correctly, you won’t be in any actual danger. McCall says as parents or guardians, you can choose what’s fit for your own children, but their age suggestion is 13 and older. There won’t be any extreme adult content or anything like that, but the jump scares alone could be enough to elicit tears from young children.
“There’s not so much blood and guts and gore, but it’s lots of actors, and it’s intense,” McCall says. “Of course, they can’t touch you, but they’ll be approaching your personal space.”
McCall says the actors at the Haunted Corn Maze will be looking for the scaredy-cats. So, don’t roll into the labyrinth looking like a sucker. These guys are pros at spotting a screamer. Maybe take a date and hold them close. But if they are easily frightened, make sure they didn’t just get their nails done, or you might be the one getting carved up this year.
For tickets, and a calendar with dates and hours, visit mccallpumpkinpatch.com. The haunted farm will run you around $20 for one night and you can get season passes for about $60. Tickets to the haunted attractions are $40, and nighttime admission for chickens – those who want to hang out but don’t want to brave the haunts – are just $7. So make that trip this weekend!
McCall’s Pumpkin Patch
Saturdays and Sundays Sep. 20 – Oct. 26
10 a.m. – 6pm
Fridays Oct. 10 – 24
12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
McCall’s Haunted Farm
Fridays and Saturdays Sep. 26 – Nov. 1
7 p.m. – Midnight