TURLOCK, Calif. — Chocolate, hearts, flowers — some things are synonymous with Valentine's Day.
Scary clowns are not one of those things.
Nevertheless, Turlock-based Ranch of Horror is taking the holiday of hearts in another direction by offering Valentine's Day grams delivered by a creepy clown.
"We started doing Valentine grams last year...we kind of started it as a joke," Heather May, coordinator with Ranch of Horror, said.
The Central Valley haunted attraction wanted to provide an opportunity for their cast members to work during its off season, and figured that something fun and off-beat like the Valentine's grams would be a good jumping off point.
"We were just like, 'let's see how many people we can' get thinking it would be just a little extra something for the characters, and it just exploded and took off," May said.
As ABC10 spoke to May over Zoom, no less than four clowns appeared. May's one-year-old daughter was also dressed in clown couture, yet somehow seemed completely at ease with the spooky characters.
"We actually have on this Zoom meeting, clowns in three locations," May said. "We've got Louisiana, Tennessee and California."
The clown grams are available in select locations in Tennessee and Louisiana, but May said that for California's Central Valley folks, Ranch of Horror can send a clown from Merced to Modesto. She also said that on certain days, you can request your character, but that this won't be the case for dates between Friday Feb. 12 through Sunday, Feb. 14, since this time of year is so busy for them.
Ranch of Horror is not going for all scary and no sweet, rather mixing some Halloween with some Valentine's Day. As if this last year has not been enough of a horror, that special someone could not only get the surprise of a lifetime from a creepy clown courier, but also a number of more traditional gift options. Those options include a balloon bouquet, a plush animal, chocolates, flowers, or a Bath & Body set.
These Valentine's Day grams via clown are extremely popular, May said, so it's important to get in early. Don't have a Valentine? May said that is no problem.
"Let me tell you, we've had funny, funny stories," May said. "We've of course had people that wanted to send them to their exes."
May adds that Ranch of Horror does contact someone who will be there before sending a delivery, in order to maintain the safety of their cast members. So, it's not always a complete surprise, but is still sure to garner some shock and definitely some great reactions.
The five packages offered by Ranch of Horror at different price points are:
- Package 1: $30 (Includes a balloon bouquet and Valentine's card with a special message)
- Package 2: $40 (Includes Package 1 contents and a choice of gift)
- Package 3: $50 (Includes Package 1 contents and a choice of two gifts)
- Package 4: $60 (Includes Package 1 contents and a choice of three gifts)
- Package 5: $70 (Includes Package 1 contents and all four gift options)
