This year will be the 25th year that we have put on a haunted attraction in the Janesville area. It began many years ago as Hipp's Haunted Hayride out at the old Hipp's Strawberry Farm on Sleepy Hollow Road. After many nights in the cold rain / snow / freezing weather the club decided that things needed to change. At that time we decided to bring the haunts and our collection of ghouls and ghosts inside and out of the cold. With the help of a bunch of very dedicated and motivated team members The Haunted Barn at Hipp's Farm was born. The Barn ran for four years until the property was bought by the local airport and the barn was sadly laid to rest.
The loss of the Haunted Barn site was just a small setback that was actually a blessing in disguise. The barn in those first years had been a great stepping stone. A place where we were able to learn the new craft of an indoor haunt and begin to accumulate the supplies needed for our next adventure. We then changed the name of our haunt to our current name. Fright Factory was born from the remains of the Haunted Barn at the Riverside location that we are now haunting.(though this is not where we stayed) We began in the center of a primarily vacant location. We had way more room than we had walls to fill which led us to some rapid building and on the fly creative ideas on how to fill the space. It came off with out too many hitches and the Fright Factory was finally the success that we knew it could be. We learned a lot from the next two years here, moving each year from one end of the building to the other. But with all good things, stuff happens and most of the floor space in this building was rented. We needed to find a new location.
Our next site was on Hyatt Street on the hill above Traxler Park. A great old building that was as scary to look at outside as we made it inside. Tight corners, creepy wooden stairways, tight hallways and........a chainsaw was all that it took and we were in business. The home grown props and scene painting improved dramatically here. Fright Factory was in full swing and the screams were heard all around the block. This location was not the easiest since the haunt was located on the second floor and moving things up and down in the building created a challenge every time we turned around. Over the years we had really been making strides in new technologies and new creative scares. We always seemed to be teaching ourselves new technologies and how they could be used to create great scares. As much as we liked this building because of the location and atmosphere, the building was put up for sale and we again had to move.
Once again we were back to 1405 Riverside Street. (Our current location) We have been here for quite a few years and have enjoyed every one. The Ghosts and Ghouls at the Fright Factory are so happy here and for one more season are just waiting for the next victims to squirm their way through the corridors. Please come out and visit with our famous Zombies, Monsters, Butchers, Clowns and maybe even a nasty schoolmarm waiting to teach you a lesson or two. Don't be afraid, all of the ghouls are eager to eat you........I mean MEET YOU!
