The Fog Report - Knott's Scary Farm 2024

Well intrepid readers, here we are again. Another All Hallows’ Eve upon us and the real fear still yet to come. I’ll keep this particular report on the briefer side since my general rundown has not changed much from year to year, but suffice to say I would be a poor guide I did not take us back into the familiar fogs of Knott’s Scary Farm.

That’s not to say the event was not worth going to this year - far from it. Knott’s continues to be at the peak of immersive theme park haunts even in the face of rivals with bigger budgets and recognizable horror IP. That it still stands the test of time is an incredible feat and one put on with spooky flourish every year by the committed team of writers, designers, build crews, set dressers, techs, costumers, and of course performers and monsters. These people work their butts off and crush it without fail. This year is no exception.

The Event

In brief, the lineup remains similar to last year: 10 mazes, 5 scare zones, seasonal overlays for the Log Ride and Calico Mine Ride, 3 shows and some show beats in the zones themselves. The Legacy Store from last year makes a welcome comeback, as does the Into the Fog art gallery. There’s never a lack of stuff to do at Haunt, and the consistent immersion into a busy, frightening yet festive otherworld is what makes it continue to excel.

The interactive lanterns continue to be a fun staple, and the No-Boo Necklace has been quietly replaced by the similar (but cute) Fraidy Cat Necklace. The latter is a think a thematic good choice, as it did not seem to be met with the ridicule I saw at last year’s preview event. In fact, the little purple cat was a pretty pervasive sight on the nights I visited, worn particularly by younger guests or those who have never been before. Even with the upcharge I think it’s a great way for people on the fence to get their feet wet and give it a try.

While not a show per-se, one new venue this year is the Elvira Xxperience, appropriately located in the Walter Knott Theater which was the Mistress of the Dark’s old stomping grounds. It serves as a tribute to the long career of Cassandra Peterson’s most well-known role, both a museum of Elvira props and memorabilia and a place to kick up your feet and have a break while watching a rotating roster of Elvira’s past shows played on the big screen. I appreciate it for being a more low-key offering that one can come and go from as they please, and any Elvira fan will appreciate it.

Scare Zones

Ghost Town Streets, being the progenitor of the scare zone concept, doesn’t disappoint. Steeped in fog and complimented by the weathered old buildings, it’s a perfect backdrop for the hordes of twisted townsfolk and risen dead that make the place literally live up to its name. No real changes here because why change what has worked for the past half-century?

Forsaken Lake is as haunting as ever, dark and fetid and dripping with as much atmosphere as the moss that clings to the old waterlogged tombs. Their recurring funeral procession several times a night should be experienced at least once, helping inject a cool storytelling moment in the midst of the foggy demesne.

One of the bigger changes in the zones this year goes to CarnEvil. Every year it’s gotten closer to nailing a solid identity, and this year the clowns have all been given a major upgrade. Every clown that traipses along the midway now has a solid caricature and identity, many emulating jobs or careers in the way classic clowns were intended to as parodies of adult life. The sheer variety of clowns is fantastic, and makes for an amusing area where, as always, these carnies bring legitimate clowning to the scares. Bravo!

Gore-ing 20s is still one of the best zones for interaction in the park. The undead revelers and teetotalers kill it (pun intended) on the streets of Memory Lane as the jazz band and the Hotsy-Totsy Dancers steps up a few times a night to bring the energy. That they encourage the people on the streets to dance too makes it one of the show beats you don’t want to miss.

Last but not least, The Gauntlet gets a nice little splash of medieval decor as the revived zone from Scary Farm’s past moves into its second year. Helshire feels more present than ever and seems to really hit its stride this year. Better yet, the one dedicated slider show at the event is here, now given a nice thematic story tying the feats and stunts of the sliders into the twisted lore of the Gauntlet. I’m really happy to see this zone grow!

The Mazes

I admit, the main reason I write a lot of these reports is I love talking about the mazes, and while I’m not sure how many care for my preferential list, this is always the fun part.

Two new mazes this year replace The Depths and Dark Entities respectively, keeping our total at 10, a robust number compared to a lot of theme park peers to Scary Farm. Quantity here never seems to effect quality, and all of them are standout examples of scary delights, even if my biases say otherwise; there is no such thing as a bad maze here.

10 - The Chilling Chambers

I think my opinion of the Chilling Chambers has improved since last year, but not by much. It remains at the bottom chiefly because I still think the C3 section is obnoxious and the farting elephants are the fecal icing on that particular cake, but I still think the maze is a fine tribute to Scary Farm’s past and the good sections of the maze help it stand up on its own.

9 - Wax Works

Dr. Scratch is about to pack up his art and burn the museum down for the insurance money (or to cover his tracks) because this is the final year for Wax Works. This does feel like the right time for it to go, and I will remember it fondly for its grisly and demented themes of art, wax and plastic surgery.

8 - Bloodline 1842

More surprising to me is the news that this is also the swan song of Bloodline. My best guess is that the maze lost something of its appeal without the shooting gallery aspect, though in all honesty I prefer this current incarnation. Everyone has an opinion and they are valid, but I can say I liked both iterations of this maze and am glad to walk the streets of Valdonia one more time and genuinely admire its set pieces and steampunk aesthetic. It just feels like it’s being taken before its time.

7 - The Grimoire

Excellent as the Grimoire is, it still suffers from the ambitious storytelling, and even in its third year I still see a lot of people not understanding the conceit of the maze or grasp what exactly is going on. The lore is very cool and the way the themes are executed remain top-notch, but a lot of that requires looking into it. I’m not sure how this can be fixed other than hoping one wanders through and manages to witness every beat and cue; otherwise it’s just a black-and-white pastiche of locations connected by a campground and a book. I think it’s clearer than some give it credit for, but I think conveyance is important and the Grimoire isn’t quite there yet.

6 - Cinema Slasher

Now this downshift might be a surprise to some. “But David, wasn’t this in your Top 5 last year?” I hear you ask. “Didn’t you call it an immediate fan favorite?” Yes I did, hypothetical reader. And that’s still true. Cinema Slasher is a gem, nailing its premise and presentation while not being connected to any real movie franchise. It’s got great sets, good talent and overall a smash hit. So why did it drop a couple spots?

Simple: every single time I visited this season, the third movie screen was empty. That movie, by the way, is the one where yours truly (as Rip Tupman) gets brutally split in twain by a spinning saw blade. After all that screaming and fake blood thrown in my face, we enter the third theater and there’s nothing? My ultimatum is I will restore Cinema Slasher to the Top 5 once they bring back Slaughterhouse and fix this glaring error. Until then, it stay firmly at Number 6.

5 - Widows

Sunset Rise Nursing Home for Widows seems to be having an arachnid problem. Probably doesn’t help that cantankerous old Granny Gertrude is fed up with being ditched by her family here and happens to know a thing or two about dark magic. She’s opened a portal to the realm of Arachne, Queen of Spiders, and now the place is crawling with eight-legged horrors that inhabit the bodies of the old women, dragging the unwary off to the caverns of Arachne’s dimension for food or, worse, to create more progeny…

Arachnophobia is a pretty primal fear, and it surprises me it took this long for there to be this sort of spider-themed maze at Haunt, but it certainly delivers. Widows is an incredibly surreal maze, especially once you pass through the portal from the old folks’ home into the spider world of web-filled caverns. Corridors undulate, walls have glowing spidery eyes, and webs dangle everywhere. I genuinely got turned around in the maze and felt like I was going deeper and deeper into a Hellish netherworld. Creepy, clever and cool, Widows is absolutely a winner.

4 - Eight Fingers Nine: The Boogeyman

Here’s a fairy tale for you: once upon a time, a young orphan boy who was bullied by his peers fled into the woods outside his village. He would have perished if not for the seeming kindness of a wood sprite, who melded the boy with a tree and transformed him into something not altogether human. Unfortunately for the village, the boy did not forget the injustice brought on him, and with his newfound power began to pray on the people of the town by night. Those children who were cruel or mean would soon find themselves paralyzed in their beds, watching as a dark figure slowly gnawed their fingers away, one at a time, until only one finger remained. But soon, it wasn’t just the children who Eight Fingers Nine preyed upon…

Widows and Eight Fingers Nine are just about equal in my estimation, so its position boils down purely to personal preference. Eight Fingers Nine tells a definitive story, and unlike The Grimoire has zero trouble making it abundantly clear what is happening. Though the colors are subdued, there is a vibrancy to the maze that makes it feel like traveling into a storybook, and that’s where the cautionary boogeyman story takes over, following the process like you’re moving between the segments of the story and addressed by a rhyming narration as you go. This gives really good colonial folk horror vibes, and the scares within are varied and startling.

(And, unlike Cinema Slasher, you can see me in this maze through one of the Boogeyman’s many portals. If you happen to spot an asshole teenager harassing goats in a barn, then please don’t tell Eight Fingers where I am. I was just trying to, uh, get their goats. Get it?)

3 - Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind

What can I say about Mesmer that hasn’t already been said in past Fog Reports? It’s twisted, dreamlike, chilling and unsettling and perfectly captures that macabre circus and freak show aesthetic. I may know it well, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying being immersed in Mesmer’s hypnotic patterns year after year.

2 - Room 13

Room 13 enters its second year with grace and sinister style, not noticeably different from its debut but as strong as it started. It ties everything in the Gore-ing 20s together and presents an overall picture of the fallen decadence of the area and the depravity the Devil’s Elixir has wrought.

1 - Origins: The Curse of Calico

I think this might be my bias for the Green Witch now, since this maze has been for Calico what Room 13 is for Gore-ing 20s and it still only just manages to edge out the previous maze as my favorite. That’s got to be the reason. That, or maybe I just love Origins for being an overall tribute to Ghost Town and the history of Knott’s. It is the ultimate example of how the story initially told organically by the monsters has become the lore of the event, and Origins keeps getting that legend across in the best way possible: by putting you in it.

The Shows

I’ve stated in the past that the shows were never my main draw compared to the mazes and zones, but I like to make sure I take the time during the season to enjoy them, as they bring on a lot of quite talented people that do amazing work.

The Calico Mine Stage still features the Carnaval du Grotesque, with its circus feats and high-stakes acts on full display to anyone walking by. The outdoor venue lends itself to letting the spectacle naturally draw people in, and is a great watch if you’re just pausing for a moment to pass by or committing from the begging to take it in.

The Hanging is still a mixed bag for me, as it feels like you need to be in the right mood to enjoy its irreverent pop-culture evisceration (figuratively and literally) and deeply groan-inducing jokes that are dated the moment they let them fly. It’s still one of the only places you’ll see a dedicated stunt show at Knott’s anymore - a fact lamented by many old-timers who remember when the Wagon Camp had them regularly - and I am happy it’s there if mainly for the sake of the people who are big fans. It’s just not my thing.

The third show at the Birdcage Theater is Conjurers, a rotating series of magicians and illusionists who bring their sleight-of-hand to Scary Farm. The night I attended had Johnny Ace Palmer doing some surprising close-up magic that is seriously impressive, thought I think Snowball the rabbit (pictured above) that he pulled out of a hat early on stole the show; she just kept chilling in the hat off to the side for the whole performance afterward! Joking aside, I felt like Conjurers was a pleasant and mystifying experience and that kind of magic is always worth a detour from your night’s terrors to enjoy.

Final Thoughts

Full disclosure, but I’ve now been working at Knott’s Berry Farm for the last three years and see it go through its many seasons and phases on a regular basis. As much as I enjoy my job, some of the charm and whimsy can get buried under the daily grind of being there, I don’t make a habit of visiting very often when I’m already there a lot of the time anyway.

But Scary Farm is the exception, because it is a legitimate testament to everyone I mentioned above that the place I work can feel so staggeringly different when atmospheric lighting, fog and roaming creatures are applied. It’s magical in a way that’s hard to describe, a transformation so simple yet so complete it makes my workplace a surreal, supernatural nightmare world when the sun goes down.

I keep coming back to Scary Farm because, more than any other theme park haunt I’ve visited, it feels steadfast in its ability to make the whole property an immersive Halloween landscape. That I can still feel that escapism is something I cherish in the face of so much existential dread in the world, and it’s weird to say when a place that is meant to scare you is somehow a familiar comfort.

That said, thank you for joining me on this sojourn, intrepid readers. Get out and enjoy the last night of October, and I’ll see you in the fog.

The Fog Report - Knott's Scary Farm 2023

Happy Halloween! Or, er, happy Guy Fawkes’ Day? Now this is odd… I must’ve gotten lost in the fog. That, or I just had a lot to do this year, to the point where October was over before I’d had a chance to finish this write-up. Such is life sometimes.

Even so, I saw plenty of other lanterns in the gloom this year - seems like a lot of people attempted to emulate the Conductor’s beacon, or maybe they were looking for dark secrets in the mist? After all, it’s been 50 years since Knott’s Scary Farm (or Halloween Haunt, as it started) first appeared, and there were secrets aplenty to uncover.

I’ve covered Scary Farm on the Fog Report multiple times now, even to the degree that last year it was my only blog post about the season. While I still feel like my ability to cover various October events is still limited to what it once was in 2019, I’ll chalk my lack of coverage to my time spent preparing for Midnight Marinara’s 10-year anniversary finale. It would not feel right if I didn’t at least discuss one of my all-time favorites, and the event that I used to first step into the fog ten years ago.

The Event

Knott’s Scary Farm celebrated it’s 50th year, and naturally they reveled in their nostalgia and brought many classic elements out of the murky past while still pushing forward with sinister new attractions. No one rested on their laurels as far as I can tell, as this golden anniversary brought with it an excellent roster of 10 mazes, 5 scare zones, the usual ride overlays of the Log Ride and the Calico Mine Ride, and 4 shows. The Into the Fog art gallery was joined by an impressive Legacy Store offering anniversary merchandise and archived props and memorabilia, and interactive elements were hidden all throughout the event

One of the major selling points this year (and a hot one at that, as they sold out completely at least once) was the Conductor’s Lantern. These neat little artifacts were all set up to unlock triggered events all across Scary Farm, from the mazes to the scare zones to even a few of the shows. Those carrying a lantern might have seen its light change colors in certain areas, flicker and dim and brighten on their own volition, and cause show elements to activate while exploring; one example being a garden mausoleum in Forsaken Lake that took on a spirited mourning when a lantern was brought near. While the execution may vary, it presents something fun to deepen the experience, and on the plus side a lot of repeat guests would carry their lanterns on multiple visits. So even if you missed getting one, your odds of seeing one of the lanterns manifest something was still high as long as you were close by.

Another souvenir being tested this year was the introduction of a No-Boo Necklace. For an additional fee one can wear this to keep roaming monsters away, though it does not offer this protection in the mazes. I really like this in theory, as it gives anyone with trepidation about visiting the event a chance to, possibly, ease into it; the problem is, when the necklace was revealed at the Haunt preview event earlier this year, it was met with a chorus of boos and jeers from the crowd of Haunt enthusiasts. This product is naturally not for them, yet the attitude on display might give people who would otherwise be happy to give this a try pause for fear of being ridiculed. I sincerely hope those who get the necklace for its intended purpose found it worked out for them, and that no one gives them grief about it. I probably would have used it myself years earlier, and it likely would have gotten me into haunts sooner.

Ride Overlays

Like last year, the Log Ride and the Calico Mine Ride become the Halloween Hootenanny and the Calico Candy Mine respectively. Little if anything has actually changed with these attractions this season, which were used both day and night. I tend to skip these on visits and keep to the stuff you only get during Scary Farm, but they’re worth visiting during the day, in my opinion. Both have a fun Halloween feel to them, more whimsical than scary.

Scare Zones

The granddaddy of all theme park haunts naturally has some of the best scare zones. In my mind, these zones are more ubiquitous of Haunt than even the mazes - roaming freely around outside at night, through a dimly lit and themed environment choked with fog, as creatures and monsters prowl through the shadows. Now with the occasional lantern hot spot to make things more of a spooky scavenger hunt, there’s even more immersion in these already immersive zones.

Ghost Town Streets remains the fetid heart and soul of Scary Farm, still going strong 50 years after that first Halloween Haunt. The cursed citizens that haunt the byways among the ramshackle buildings are an incredible menagerie of old West archetypes as animal hybrids and undead creatures, many of whom are personas created by the performers themselves. Plenty have become iconic, and frequent visitors often go looking for their favorite monster in the fog to watch them terrorize (or be terrorized by them).

Nearby Forsaken Lake did not let up on the incredible atmosphere. With a slightly larger footprint and a couple surprise elements in its nightly funeral procession, the unquiet dead of the marshy graveyard continued settling into their dank little home. My hope is that we don’t see the lake reclaim the ruins anytime soon, and that they’ll continue to manifest here for years to come.

The midway of CarnEvil kept on its usual-but-appreciated shenanigans as a caulraphobic’s worst nightmare. Finding that right balance between funny, crass and scary is what these clowns do best, and no two are the same in their look or their antics. It’s still a wonder to me they can get so much mileage out of such a bright section of the park, and yet they kill it every year I’ve been. One nice addition was the roster of banners showcasing circus acts, looking akin to the posters outside of Mesmer. It’s a small thing, but the continuity is much appreciated.

The Gore-ing 20s was a big hit for me, now in its third years and really hitting its stride. Much like CarnEvil, this is a brighter scare zone than any of its neighbors, but the lost souls of Memory Lane handled this with more interaction and dialogue, making this the place to go if you want your scares peppered with storytelling. The jazz band returned on the regular, getting the whole street up and jiving; some of the ghosts rallied guests into joining in, and being part of a big creep-dance down the street as the band played “The Nightmare” by Artie Shaw reminds me why I love this event.

Meanwhile, over in Camp Snoopy, what’s old is new again. Where The Hollow once appeared was The Gauntlet, a reimagining of Scary Farm’s first scare zone beyond Ghost Town. The Gauntlet brought a fantasy/medieval theme to the area as visitors encountered the horrid residents of Helshire, a land where immortality has been achieved but at the price of no one being able to die. There were anguished peasants, warriors, knights, sorcerers and royalty looking to feed on your fear to keep the realm alive. Though the zone was light on props, it made a good first impression with its lighting (blues and purples instead of the reds and oranges of The Hollow), fog, eerie soundscape and its fantastic talent portraying horror at every strata of feudal society. I look forward to seeing how this zone evolves in the coming years.

Before I forget, it’s worth mentioning that the Conductor was not alone in his wanderings this year. The Green Witch could be found moving between the zones and commanding awe, respect and fear from the monsters. It’s good to see Sarah Marshall out enjoying herself.

The Mazes

With three new mazes joining the roster this year, the total maze count was the highest it’s been since 2013, if you don’t count the period where Special Ops: Infected occupied most of Camp Snoopy and was a unique combination of scare zone and shooting gallery. Some may disagree, but I maintain that Knott’s practice of keeping their mazes around for 3-5 years is a good thing overall. Places like Universal Studios can afford to tear down and make new mazes every season, but Scary Farm puts more overall “oomph” into their mazes knowing that they will be around for longer. There are little tweaks here and there, but for me its like coming back to relive old favorites while still being excited for the one or two that come in when the shelf life of others is done.

As always, I’ve got my personal hierarchy on hand. My opinions of a few have shifted, but it’s still just my opinion, and none of these are bad by any stretch. After doing this for nine years, I think I’ve definitely pinned down what my style is.

10 - The Chilling Chambers

Taking over Pumpkin Eater’s old stomping grounds, this is the quintessential legacy maze celebrating Scary Farm’s past. Named after the very first maze custom designed for Haunt - 1977’s “10 Chilling Chambers” - you’ll step into a cathedral that houses the remnants of the event’s history and meet their revolting Keeper, a not-so-subtle tribute to horror host Sinister Seymour who headlined the first Halloween Haunt in 1973. Passing through portals brings you to the “best bits” of years gone by, including The Asylum, The Underground, a pastiche of various clown mazes, a nod to the elegant vampire mazes, and Doll Factory.

The fact that this new maze is so low on this list might surprise you. Don’t get me wrong: getting to walk through segments of mazes I never got to experience is kind of awesome, with my standouts being The Underground, the vampire section and Doll Factory; not to mention the various fun nods and Easter eggs in between with the crypts, coffins and mask displays naming other Scary Farm mazes. What drags it down for me might be incredibly nostalgic for a lot of people, but The Asylum and Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns (or C3 as it’s often known) just come off as crude with gross-out humor, not scary. The Asylum is reliant on madhouse tropes that I think were outdated even when it came out, and the clown portion leans on scatological gags that make me roll my eyes. Do people remember the farting elephant butts wistfully?

It also feels a little strange that all maze featured (with the vampires being the sole exception) date back no later than the year 2000. I’m not sure if that was a conscious decision on the part of the designers, but I would have been interested in seeing some older mazes reinterpreted, since they have 50 years of history to work with. I still think The Chilling Chambers shows how far Scary Farm has come, and as always I think the talent working within is doing an excellent job (my heart especially goes out to the poor poo-keepers that have to hang out in the elephant room all night) but it left me feeling, er, chilled, I guess.

9 - Wax Works

This is also going to seem like a weird shift for anyone who follows this blog. I blame part of it on how often I had to walk through this maze as tour guide in last year’s Beyond the Fog, because it was frequently one of the only ones open to us during the day. I got way too familiar with its layout, and going through it this year found it feeling almost too familiar. I still think this is a fantastic maze with story, character and intense attention to detail, but I think the concept of the grisly wax museum has started to wear on me a bit. A small new scene has been added to the maze this year for some extra freshness, but in so doing undoes a wax museum gag I enjoyed in previous years.

8 - Dark Entities

The self-destruct sequence was activated for The Shroud and her infected crew, and she has been consigned to the cold void of space. I did kind of see this coming and think the timing is right for it to retire. Still, a part of me will miss it, and I’m glad I got to explore its corridors and mess with the touch pads that will no doubt cause unmitigated disaster one more time. It will be fondly remembered by this ACSEC governor (see the end photo from last year’s report).

7 - Bloodline 1842

This year brought a really surprising change: the guns are gone! Now you’ll find yourself fleeing the doomed city of Valdonia while the Daybreakers try to cover your escape from the bloodthirsty vampires. Certain parts of the maze have been reworked to better use the space once set up to arm you, and it reinforces the idea that you are escaping a township overrun. I feel bad for anyone who really enjoyed the interactive shooting aspects of this maze, but damn am I happy to be able to just breath the whole thing in and enjoy the immersion without worrying about my score. And there’s a lot to see and appreciate, from the detailed sets to the creative scares. It also solves the queue line gridlock and ensures more people are getting in faster, so in my mind it’s a win-win. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how Bloodline continues to adjust to the change.

6 - The Depths

This maze was also consigned to a watery grave at the season’s ends. One thing I can say is it hadn.t lost any of its appeal, and still delivered on the feeling of descending into eldritch, nautical horrors. Like Wax Works, this also got a new scene, with the sometimes-used mine elevator becoming a neat little annex tunnel with optical illusions used to make the mine seem bigger and deeper than ever. Thought buried at sea, The Depths will not be forgotten.

5- The Grimoire

It’s all about timing with the Grimoire. I stated last time that one’s experience with this maze varies by what you experience, because this one feels very reliant on its show beats, even on repeat visits. The Grimoire is trying to do a lot with its story, and get it across in a way that feels organic. I genuinely applaud what it’s trying to do, but I still think it suffers from some blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments as you’re moving through it, since some of its cues must be actor-delivered to make sense of the whole thing; if one of the characters isn’t there, it leaves a noticeable gap in the logical flow of the maze narrative. I still enjoy it, and I think most people do too, seeing how popular it is. I’m just not sure how many average guests truly get the story being told in this maze.

4 - Cinema Slasher

Who’s up for a little midnight movie marathon? There’s a Slasher of The Dark triple-feature going on at the old theater in the Boardwalk, with back-to-back screenings of Trick or Treat, Camp Gonnagetcha and Slaughterhouse! But wait… Didn’t this place burn down a few years ago? How is it still standing? And why does it seem like the movies are more, uh, 3D than normal? Oh well. At least we can go to lobby between films and grab snacks… provided we survive.

Cinema Slasher takes over where Dark Ride left off and it does not disappoint, quickly becoming a fan favorite. It manages to convey all the slasher movie tropes without having to resort to an established IP, imagining a franchise horror series that you literally walk through the screen and visit. Each section has its own vibe of slasher era as the franchise “evolves” over imagined decades, with a sorority massacre in the first film, a summer camp gone awry in the second, and a grisly warehouse of death traps ala early-2000s-horror in the third. Genuinely impressive sets make this one stand out, with legitimate “whoa” moments, and even in the theater itself the attention to detail is awesome, as between each film you step back into the space only to find it more and more decrepit.

I actually think this is an even better tribute maze to Scary Farm’s past than even The Chilling Chambers. Each film is an obvious homage to a past maze or rides, the movie posters depict other films in the franchise that are also references, and even the Slasher himself is a callback to The Dark, an overlay used in the old Kingdom of the Dinosaurs attraction in the 90s where a slasher was murdering people in the ride. You all know I’m a sucker for deep-cut continuity like that.

On a side note, I have a slight bias for the third movie. If one took a close look at the Slaughterhouse screening before you entered the film and you might have seen my breakout performance as Rip Tupman, brutally bifurcated by an industrial saw!

3 - Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind

Mesmer remains in my Top 5 for its superb surrealism and dark carnival atmosphere. I’ve seen other haunts do circuses as clown-filled blacklight gimmicks too many times (see: the C3 section of The Chilling Chambers mentioned above), so any maze that leans more Something Wicked This Way Comes is going to feel like a breath of fresh air. Mesmer manages to be beautiful in its horror, thematic in its presentation, and still unnerving as all get out. I adore this maze, and am glad to see its influence seeming to spread into its zone just a little more this year.

2 - Room 13

From its inception, the source of the darkness haunting the Goring 20s zone has been the mysterious Devil’s Elixir, and now we finally get to trace to hooch to its source. Stepping into the Blind Tiger speakeasy (though not the one you normally see on the street - you’ll have to suspend disbelief a bit here), you end up seeing the aftermath of the Elixir’s effects on those that imbibe it as they run rampant through the Argive Hotel, slaughtering all in their path. Once you finally make it to Room 13 all will be revealed, but the answer might just make things worse.

This came very, very close to being in my Number 1 spot, and with good reason: Room 13 is a freaking vibe! I had no idea it would scratch an itch left over from the gone (but not forgotten) Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary, but it did. The whole art-deco style of the hotel is wonderfully done, with hues of gold, bronze and forest green to contrast with the glowing neon green of the elixir that shows up throughout. The place looks like you’re just walking through it in the immediate aftermath of a violent riot, and yet the tone has a more lurking menace. Extra points to the music choice, literally just a brush snare and a stand-up bass repeating ominously throughout the journey. From beginning to end, Room 13 kills it, and it may just become my absolute favorite in the future. But…

1 - Origins: The Curse of Calico

Even with how good Room 13 is, I still don’t quite have the heart to set it above Origins. Both have a near-perfect tie-ins to their respective zones, of course, and both are drenched in the kind of gloomy, thematic atmosphere I adore. Call it a bias for witches and the Old West, but Origins still holds its own with the way it showcases the tragic tale of Calico’s downfall and the mythical origins of Knott’s Scary Farm, setting only a smidge above Room 13. Even during last year’s tours it was my favorite maze to take people through, and that it holds up so well with the lights on is a testament to its design.

The Shows

Knott’s Halloween Haunt started with, primarily, a show as its headline event with Sinister Seymour. It seems only fitting that this year’s event had four different shows to keep the tradition going. I think all of the shows were worth seeing at least once this year, and each brought something fun and different to showcase.

Returning from last year, the Carnaval du Grotesque continued to impress on the Calico Mine Stage, allowing the spectacle to draw in crowds who might have simply passed it otherwise. It maintained many of the acts that made it fantastic last year, and still capped off with the death-defying Wheel of Horror act.

The surprise return of The Hanging: (Un)Cancelled caught a lot of people by unaware, including me! The decision to move the show and its universal lambasting and crude jokes to the Wagon Camp stage was a smart one, allowing only the most curmudgeonly to complain about the show’s humor since it was essentially behind a palisade wall - granted, people still complained, but Knott’s did their best. The show did a good job finding its footing, and while it still isn’t exactly my kind of show, I still respect the Hell out of its cast with their great stunt work and dedication to popping blood packs several times a night.

Dr, Cleaver Returns was a small, comedy magic show over at the Birdcage Theater, with the titular Dr. Cleaver, well, returning for some corny one-liners and bits of illusion. I appreciated the almost Vaudeville nature of the performance, and thought the cast kept the screwball energy going with aplomb. It never takes itself remotely seriously and with a breezy runtime, offers a silly reprieve from the horrors of Ghost Town.

Lastly, Monster, Music and Mayhem headlined the Walter Knott Theater and was an impressive musical ensemble and another tribute to the event’s history. The actual performance numbers were absolutely fantastic, each segment inspired by Scary Farm’s various macabre themes of the past, from Ghost Town to Jack the Ripper, the Doll Factory, Voodoo and a Hell section with some low-key risque dancing and a water curtain. All of the singers, dancers and set pieces were in top form and definitely sold the show, though in my opinion the comedy bits in between each section fell flat, again relying on crude and juvenile humor as the host “inhabited” the role of Scary Farm’s previous icons. They got laughs, but I just find the kind of comedy they’re pushing groan-inducing at best.

Final Thoughts

It’s fascinating to think that Knott’s was the progenitor of something so seemingly ubiquitous of the Halloween season as the theme park haunt, yet here it is, still kicking its way back from the grave and maintaining its status 50 years later. I’m pleased to see that the event keeps moving forward, trying new things while still at its core upholding the atmosphere I fell in love with ten years prior. That combination of innovation and tradition - the new improving the old - is what balances Scary Farm and has me coming back every year to step into the fog and into another world, dark and mysterious but so hauntingly familiar.

My hat is always off to the designers, build crew, prop sculptors, show writers, technical and lighting team and, of course, the army of monsters and performers that make Knott’s the kind of event that can last 50 years, and hopefully another 50 more. I’m already anticipating what next October will bring!

Hopefully next year, I’ll get more of a chance to look into other haunts and eerie events. Until then, don’t let the post-Halloween blues get to you too much, and I’ll see you in the fog.

The Fog Report - A Look Back at Knott's Scary Farm 2013

Happy October, intrepid readers! Yes, it’s that time once more, where I think about spooky stuff more than usual because everyone else is too. As is frequently the case, I get pretty nostalgic around this time of year, and almost more this time around: ten years ago this month, I launched a little personal project I called Midnight Marinara to try and build myself up as a writer and sound editor, and to explore something on my own terms. Now here I am about to sunset what became a huge undertaking that brought with it more opportunities, friendships, mistakes and lessons than I ever could have imagined.

With that in mind, another first for me was also going to Knott’s Scary Farm that year. It was me taking also taking a chance on something I had been loathe to try before, and I’m glad I did. And around the same time I had a rinky-dink little blog where I was just trying to figure my post-graduate self out. I wrote something up just for fun about that first trip and stumbled upon the text of it again just recently. So before I head into the fog again this year, I thought it might be fun to share what I wrote at the time: a trip report of Halloween Haunt 2013, without any changes or edits. Warts and all.

Look for more from me soon, but for now I’ll let Past David share his thoughts from October 31st, 2013. See you in the fog!

—-

As I’ve mentioned before in a previous post, Halloween is one of my favorite times of year, and pretty much all of October has become a way for me to experience it. I’m surprised I hadn’t written a post earlier in the month, after I had gotten a chance to watch the classic silent film “Nosferatu” in a historic cemetery, accompanied by a live band. Or how I co-wrote and helped shoot a short comedy-horror film about a haunted garage.

Nope, apparently I had to wait ’til All Hallows’ Eve itself to write this, because that’s how much I care. And really, I might have had a tough time getting to a post last night as I had planned, because I ended up facing and overcoming one of my fears.

I’ve always been fairly apprehensive, nervous about handling things I don’t know. And I startle easily, often not handling surprises very well if they’re sudden. So never in a hundred years did I think I’d find myself at the Knott’s Berry Farms Halloween Haunt, wandering through the fog-thick streets of an authentic old ghost town or stumbling through mazes while ghouls and monsters leaped at me from the shadows; despite my curiosity over these events, I always thought thought I’d look on from a distance, content to hear my friends talk about the scares.

But I went last night. And I had a blast!

I probably shouldn’t have been surprised by this, but I was. Still am, actually. I spent so long dreading the effect jump scares and loud noises would have on me in this environment that I felt relieved when it wasn’t as bad as I’d made it out to be; so relieved, in fact, that it seemed to liberate me and made the whole night more enjoyable for it. Let that be a lesson to you, kids: the anticipation is almost always worse than the thing itself.

So now you know I had a good time, so I bet you’re wondering: what did I do, exactly? And what did I think of it overall?

Well rather than break down my night event-by-event, I’m going to present my opinion as the ever-popular “Top X” list, from least to most. In this case, I want to list my thoughts on the offered mazes in this format, since that was what I came to see. But I also attended a show or two, and I’ll relate my experience with those at the end.

THE MAZES

First, I should mention two mazes will not be on this list: Delirium and Uncle Willy’s Slaughter House. I opted not go go into either of these, though I’m sure they’re both good in their own way. With Delirium, I don’t much care for the grisly and grotesque themes put in there, since the maze relies on unnerving and often disgusting things to frighten, and I’m not a gore hound; similarly, the Slaughterhouse is representative of the cannibal hillbilly theme, which I find tired and uninteresting, and not very evocative of Halloween. If you’ve been to Haunt and like these two mazes, then more power to you. I just happened to skip out on them.

I did manage to get into every other maze at least once (and sometimes twice) throughout the night, and my opinion of them is as follows:

8) Endgames

A post-apocalyptic trek through blood-spattered corridors, complete with chain-link fences, weird mutants, and death metal pounding in the background. The idea is that you’re making your way to an arena while dodging the attacks of your fellow combatants, in this case a cast of ghoulish gladiators. I didn’t get a chance to really take this maze in, partly because it’s appropriately stark for the setting, and partly because the cast was really good at keeping my attention on them: one woman kept stalking me through the arena, and I was so focused on her that I barely noticed the huge monster that was supposed to dominate the center of the ring. Again, great cast, good atmosphere, but not my favorite theme. I would have liked to revisit this one if just to see more of it.

7) Pinocchio Unstrung

I knew I was in for something twisted when Pinocchio’s narration played over the queue called the Blue Fairy “that blue bitch.” Apparently, the little puppet’s been denied his wish to be a real boy, and has decided to get the flesh he wants through other means. This is a macabre jaunt through classic scenes in the story of Pinocchio, from Gepetto’s shop to the marionette theater, Pleasure Island and the belly of the sea monster (which was a really cool looking angler fish-like thing on the outside), revisited by a bunch of evil puppets and the occasional donkey-headed man. Scares were good here, and I liked the theme, though it always bothers me when there’s an air blast in a maze (the giant Mr. Punch heads that flank the entrance to Pleasure Island shoot air at you as you pass), which feels cheap and annoying. Not sure why we never saw the Blue Fairy either, who I heard was in the maze last year.

6) Dominion of the Damned

I can’t fault this one for itself, and I would have liked to visit it again when I felt like I wasn’t being rushed through it. This is a very elegant maze, Gothic in tone, filled with classic vampires. It was too dark in places to really admire the detail, but some places I was impressed by the work done to make it feel like one was traveling through some sort of art gallery or museum run by the undead. I might have placed this higher had I had chance to revisit it and take in more, but it got really packed later on that night, so as it stands this is based on my first impressions.

5) The Gunslinger’s Grave

The Red Hand Gang made a big mistake when they tried to kill a legendary Gunslinger. They didn’t do a thorough enough job, and so he’s come back to wreak is vengeance on the town that harbored them. There’s no real ghouls or ghosts in this maze, only gunmen and townsfolk either pleading for help or looking to fight. While the initial story is set up well, I get confused about who’s who and what’s what in this maze – I don’t think its very clearly conveyed which of these characters is the Gunslinger, not even at the end. To this maze’s credit, the actors try to interact with guests, being ornery and threatening, but its hard to hear them over the blaring music. I think this is one where they could tone the noise down and it could be improved.

4) Forevermore

Of all the mazes, this is the one that genuinely spooked me the most. You follow the trail of the Forevermore Killer, who tortures and kills his victims in methods based on stories of Poe. There are a lot of eerie, elaborate sets that evoke Poe’s work, the most impressive of which is a giant swinging pendulum and a pit filled with water. The atmosphere is genuinely unsettling, and because I was so taken looking at the setups and being reminded of the work of Poe, I got caught off-guard all too often by plague doctor-looking maniacs – minions of the killer, I guess. One room is frustrating in that it plays a really obnoxious screeching sound over the whole thing, nails-on-a-chalkboard level of cringe-worthy, but it dawned on me that its a reference the light-and-sound sensitivity suffered Roderick Usher from “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Nice touch.

3) Mirror, Mirror

This was actually the first maze I went into, a way to wet my feet with the Haunt experience, and I think it was the perfect way to start my evening. For one, its literally a maze: a seemingly endless array of mirrors and arched doorways that look like mirrors. One gets disoriented and lost very quickly, and soon enough silent specters with gold harlequin masks loom out of nowhere, eerie but ever outright threatening. I later learned that the walls in the maze get moved around, and that you actually cannot leave until the time is right, at which point the specters point the way through the maze and guide you out, perhaps before you too are trapped like the,. The maze is the smallest in terms of space, but it feels massive in scope. I love it.

2) Black Magic

I’m a sucker for a cool setup, and this one is fantastic: Harry Houdini’s ghost has finally been contacted in a seance, held in an Art Deco theater on Halloween night. But he’s none too happy about his rest being disturbed, and he brings a posse of dead magicians and performers with him to torment the living. From the outset, this maze is well done in all faucets. The tropes of stage magic and illusion run rampant through the maze, from a knife-throwing act gone wrong to a set of spiked walls closing in; and the cast for it is top-notch and always in character – many of whom show obvious signs of how their failed stunts killed them. One woman in a Venetian long-nosed mask seemed to take great delight in playing with me, and actually followed me outside to continue threatening/poking fun at me with a knife, which I repaid in kind by interacting with her. Fantastically done, and I hope it returns next year.

1) Trick or Treat

This is the epitome of what I want in a Halloween maze, and it delivers. The premise is simple: Halloween night, you ring the doorbell of a witch’s house and step inside. And once inside, I was blown away by the staggering amount of scenic detail. The front room of the house alone is a feast for the eyes, with its multitudes of glowing jack-o’-lanterns sitting on the staircase and the hall running past an open closet, stuffed with shirts and coats, where you just know something is going to jump out at you. This one is a bit lite on scares (though I mean no disrespect to the Tricksters, the witch’s minions that add to the fun with their undead faces hid behind dime store Halloween masks, who never failed to make me jump) but that doesn’t bother me, because the immersion is so superb. It really feels like you’ve stepped into a haunted house on Halloween, and that in itself is key; to me, it evokes the spirit of All Hallows that is so often missing from other events. It captures the fear and the delight, the magic and terror, of the night when the veil between worlds is thin. Easily my favorite maze, hands down.

In addition to the mazes above, I also got to see a show or two. Elvira’s Sinema Seance had all the camp you’d expect from the Mistress of the Dark, and it’s good to finally see the woman herself live on stage, a great performer who puts on a grand show.

Speaking of performances, Blood Drums got me pumped. Excellent percussion on seemingly simple objects, and a good use of sanders and sparks to add character.

Finally, I ended my night with Carny Trash at the historic Birdcage Theater. This was a small show, put on by one talented old barker with a curled mustache that would put Dustin Hoffman’s fuzz in Hook to shame. I ended up being a volunteer from the audience, and for the whole show he performed all sorts of fun sideshow-style tricks with me as one of his sucke– I mean, helpers.

In the end, I already look forward to next year’s Haunt, and am glad I faced my fears head-on and discovered how fun and exciting such an event can be. But alas, I must go. Halloween night is coming, and I’ve got a party to run.

Happy Samhain, everyone!

The Fog Report - Knott's Scary Farm and Beyond the Fog 2022

What’s that you see, intrepid readers? A bobbing light in the dense fog? Don’t worry, it’s just me. Good thing you checked, though… It could easily have been that sinister Conductor I’ve seen roaming the misty byways. Seems we both have a thing for old oil lamps.

Either way, now that I’ve found you again, I’m happy to welcome you back to the Fog Report! Needless to say the last two years have kept me from truly delving into the Halloween scene as I’d like, and I’m sure many of you would agree we had more, er, widespread issues to deal with. Now with the fog’s return to the SoCal area in force, I’m heading back into the murk and reviving this blog to give my two cents on various eerie presentations October has to offer. And where better to start than with the originator of the theme park haunted event, Knott’s Scary Farm.

The Event

As stated in my last Scary Farm report from 3(!) years hence - which is still a good primer for the uninitiated - Knott’s has been presenting a seasonal Halloween Haunt since 1973, growing from a 3-night experience in that experimental first year to a juggernaut cavalcade from late September to Halloween night, still holding its own in the industry it helped create nearly 50 years later. Even when the pandemic shut things down in 2020, Knott’s found a way to keep the atmosphere going with their Taste of Fall-o-ween, which allowed visitors to wander a decorated park and sample different food fair without the scares, all while safety measures such as mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing were enforced. 2021 saw Scary Farm proper manifest again, its mazes and monsters and fog back for all to see.

This year brings us back to 9 mazes, 5 scare zones, 2 ride overlays, 3 live shows and an art gallery. Not to mention many of the park’s rides and roller coasters are also running. There’s a lot of options! Rarely is it daunting, in my opinion, and as before my advice is to know what you want to do before you go. I’ve found going on a Thursday or Sunday tends to help alleviate the crowds and, if you play your cards right, you should be able to experience most of what the night has to offer with relative ease; if you go on a Friday or Saturday, God help you.

Things have changed a bit since my last report, which is the nature of the beast. I’ll try to keep things brief where I’ve already commented on a maze or scare zone, but there’s some new bits and pieces thrown into the mix that I’ll expound on with greater detail.

Ride Overlays

In years past this was a staple of Haunt, even back in its first year with the “Haunted Mine Ride” and “Satan’s Sawmill” taking over their respective attractions. Gone are the days when these rides would have live actors hiding in the shadows and jumping out at your transport, but they are still given a spooky makeover that work during both the day and night.

The Timber Mountain Log Ride continues to become the Halloween Hootenanny, with its more lighthearted theming of creepy creatures getting together for an All Hallows’ jamboree with the Calico Coffin Creeper band. And starting in 2021, the Calico Mine Ride receives a candy coating as the Calico Candy Mine Ride. This one has an interesting twist in its “daytime” and “nighttime” variations: mostly handled with sound and projections, the more whimsical and cute journey into the candy mine during the day transforms into a much darker and nastier story about a child-eating Pink Fairy luring youngsters to their doom at night.

In my opinion, both attractions are best reserved for later in the evening, if you’ve gone through everything else or want to get a break. I personally prioritize mazes over rides, but these two are worth a trip following everything else.

Scare Zones

It’s hard to beat the roaming monsters and chilling atmosphere of Knott’s scare zones, now increased to five since 2019. In fact, like many things at Knott’s, we have them today because of a happy accident: in 1977, Bob Vernon found himself locked out of one of Ghost Town’s “peek-ins” where the monsters originally lurked. Hiding among the normal static figures in old West tableau scenes like the assay office, barber shop and sheriff’s office, these scareactors were meant to wait for someone to look inside the meshed-in windows and then startle them. For Bob, unable to get into his spot and with team leads unable to get him a key, this meant an unorthodox change of tactics. Bob was instructed to just “wander around and scare people” until someone could open the door; this worked out so well and generated such a surprisingly positive reaction that, by the next night, all of the talent were released from the peek-ins and allowed to stalk, creep and scare any guests that passed through.

Obviously this has since spread to other haunts to great effect, but Ghost Town Streets was where it all began. For many, going down the absolutely fog-choked Main Street for the first time - appropriately named “Fog Alley” by legions of visitors and monsters alike - is something of a rite-of-passage, showcasing the (un)living history of the event as Calico’s cursed ghouls and half-human/half-animal wretches slide and slither at you from every dark corner.

Over in Camp Snoopy, The Hollow brings one last year of Colonial American terror as it prepares to fade into the shadows. This is your final chance to meet the witches, scarecrows and shades that lurk in this gloomy woodland, and is a zone I will miss dearly. Whatever replaces this next year will have a tough act to follow.

Forsaken Lake isn’t going anywhere anytime soon thankfully, and remains a standout zone in its footprint along the banks of Reflection Lake. The regularly-occurring funeral procession is a show beat that I take time out of my night’s schedule to watch every year, and I recommend you do the same if you’re a sucker for immersion like I am.

The second-longest running scare zone in Haunt history, CarnEvil populates the Boardwalk with its cavalcade of cantakerous clowns. These might be some of the hardest-working clowns in showbiz, considering their conditions of no fog and bright lights, and I still stand by my conviction that their antics are way funnier than you would expect.

2021 saw the premiere of the last scare zone. Located in the Roaring 20s area, the Gore-ing 20s is a welcome addition to the lineup. Prohibition-era undead call this place home, including mobsters, flappers, newsies, teatotalers and Temperance movement missionaries. Spend enough time here and you’ll find that many of these lost souls are chattier than usual (though they still aim to frighten and intimidate), revealing that both sides of the alcohol ban are obsessed with an eponymous “Devil’s Elixir.” in some way. Best of all? Throughout the night, a live jazz band appears on the balcony of the Walter Knott Theatre and serenades the street below, accompanied by ghostly dancers. I wouldn’t say it is as traditionally scary some of the other zones, but the tone and vibe are excellent in their own right. Well worth a sojourn.

The Into the Fog art gallery is here as well, in the Factory Store. Great original pieces inspired by Haunt and created by people involved in the event, be they designers or talent themselves. Check it out if you like!

Oh. And one final note: keep an eye out for the mysterious Conductor. He wanders freely through every scare scare zone during the night, his lantern in hand, chuckling quietly to himself as he observes what’s going on. There’s been a recent push to make him a central character, and leading into the 50th anniversary of Scary Farm, he’s going to have a much bigger role in tying the whole thing together. This nice little touch of atmosphere is hint at things to come.

The Mazes

Not to much has changed since 2019’s report on the maze front, apart from a slight shuffling of my maze preference hierarchy. Quality remains a high point for the mazes, with their presentation and their craft constantly improving to match (and, in some cases, outdo) the rest of the industry. Knott’s has a reputation to maintain at this point, being the progenitor of Halloween haunts, and while fondly-loved old mazes like Shadowlands and Paranormal Inc. have since retired, new mazes appear to fill their shoes and continue to experiment.

Keep in mind the list below represents my own personal opinion. Everyone is going to have different favorites, and if yours differ that’s absolutely fine. There is not a bad one to be found, and I like all the mazes for different reasons.

9 - Pumpkin Eater

This year is Pumpkin Eater’s swan song, as Peter and his ghoulish minions pack up with the Hollow at the end of the season. Now feels like the right time, as while I do thoroughly enjoy the creepy factor of this maze, it is getting a little long in the tooth. Still, its Halloween vibes and grotesque pumpkin imagery win me over, and it remains one of the most genuinely unsettling mazes for its great use of darkness and disturbing sounds, all enhancing the talent that hide in the shadows waiting for you.

8 - Dark Entities

This one has grown on me during its run. I’m still not big on sci-fi during haunts, but the way the story of the maze is showcased makes it an exception. The creativity here lies in its conceit of being less about aliens and more about body horror - and this is easily one of the grossest examples of that. Every year it gets a little messier, with more guts , goop and viscera coating the surfaces of this doomed spaceship. Sadly, every year it also seems like it gets less attention, partly due to its location tucked way backstage from the rest. I have a feeling Dark Entities is next on the list to retire, but I’m happy to get a couple more years out of it.

7 - Bloodline 1842

One of the two new mazes this year, Bloodline 1842 drops you into the Steampunk-inspired city of Valdonia while it is under siege. Long thought eradicated, the vampires of the Valhymphri clan have emerged from the shadows and prey on the city’s mortals. Your family, the Bellatorians, have been called on by their fellow Daybreakers to bring this menace to heel and seek out the vampire king at the dark heart of this menace.

Bloodline is a marked improvement over its predecessor Special Ops: Infected in significant ways: better story, better sets, talent that absolutely kills it as both enemy vampires and allied Daybreakers and, most importantly, big pacing fixes. Gone are the constant military shouts to keep moving, and in are portions where you and those nearby are creeping through foggy streets or archaic steam tunnels at your own volition. The natural impetus to keep moving comes from the need to avoid getting “bitten” and allowing the hidden bloodsuckers to get too close, less it effect your score. That helps a lot… and yet it’s still a shooting gallery, which is not my thing. Redressed as it is, I still feel like I can’t take the time to really absorb the maze and its atmosphere because I’m too busy trying to play this real-life FPS. It doesn’t allow me to feel properly immersed. I would much rather walk through this without a gun and get scared the old-fashioned way, because frankly the design of this maze is really really good.

I’m definitely the odd man out here, as this will inevitably be one of the most popular mazes this year. Like I stated before, your mileage may very. I also allow it room to grow once it passes into future years.

6 - Wax Works

Dr. Scratch’s demented gallery of sculpted art is easily one of the most gross and disturbing mazes of the bunch - a hallmark of designer Daniel Miller’s work. Normally, overt and gratuitous displays of gore turn me off to a maze. Yet Wax Works impressed me with not only making the carnage make sense in context, but making it actually seem like someone’s twisted art in a disturbingly believable way. I suppose my aversion to gore is cheap gore, slapped up on most haunts because “blood and guts are scary.;” its all about intention, and Wax Works delivers.

5 - The Depths

Everything about this ocean-based nightmare is as strong as ever. Like Dark Entities, this feels like its getting near the end of its Haunt shelf life, though unlike Entities it seems to be holding up a little better to the wear and tear of repeat seasons. The larger-than-life vibe of many of these scenes makes it a winner, with segments like the “laser lake” of the Temple Courtyard and the rocking pirate ship near the end sufficiently keeping this a fan-favorite.

4 - Dark Ride

It’s time for one last ride, as sadly this delightful concept is about to retire. I’m seriously gonna miss it, its simple premise of walking around and through what seems like a once-functional carnival spookhouse executed stunningly. Getting the thing to feel both cheesy and well put together is a feat, and it’s obvious more effort was put into this dark ride than the ones you might see pop up at other county fairs, even with the intention to make it feel dated. Do not miss this one. Seriously. Final chance.

3 - The Grimoire

The second of the two new mazes. What starts as a peaceful summer camp out in the 1980s turns into pandemonium when three teenagers find an ancient book in an old tree house and make the mistake of reading it aloud. Now you’re stumbling back through time as echoes of the book’s corruption throughout history manifest as chapters, revealed in black and white. When (or if) you make it back to the present, can you escape the campground before your own soul becomes ensnared in the Grimoire’s pages?

The Grimoire might be one of Knott’s most ambitious mazes in terms of storytelling. Unlike other mazes where what its themes and stories are can be neatly summed up or conveyed through understood tropes, Grimoire is trying to spin a much more complicated yarn. The more nitty-gritty bits are told through queue-line videos and a show beat near the beginning not unlike Paranormal Inc. in seasons past, while the rest is done through color, visual and audio cues. While I personally think the conveyance works, and works very well, I understand that many guests have gone through this maze and come out the other side saying “I don’t get it.”

The tricky thing to figure out is twofold: pacing, as conveying the story requires a little bit of a stopgap, which leads to long wait times for this maze; and presentation, as sometimes missing or passing a specific beat in the maze will mean not grasping a certain through-line. Without spoiling anything major, it took a few trips for even me to realize how one thing near the end was connected to some beats earlier, which again was very exciting but took those repeated walkthroughs.

Time will tell how well this maze is received. So far, it seems to be right up there with Bloodline as one of the most popular, but that might simply be on account of its newness. I myself applaud the designers and build team for making something with this level of care, and hope this experiment continues. I want them to keep pushing the envelope in terms of immersion and seeing how to best execute high concepts like this.

2 - Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind

A Dust Bowl-era carnival sideshow has laid stakes near the Boardwalk, and its mysterious ringmaster, Phineas Mesmer, invites you to explore a hypnotic realm between life and death. See, Mesmer has learned a disturbing secret with his technique: putting his subjects in a trance just before their lives end, keeping their souls trapped between their bodies and the afterlife. You’ll pass through the purgatories of the other carnies that have fallen prey to Mesmer’s control, all while trying to keep your own mind from shattering.

Mesmer kicked off last year and came out swinging. Beautifully surreal, the whole thing is a circus-themed trip through abstract environments and dreamlike realms inspired by freak show acts. I’ve never seen a maze quite like this, so committed to the notion that you are in a hypnotic trance, the constant whisper of Mesmer’s voice nearby as surprise after surprise looms: the simplest way I can describe this maze is like walking through a nightmare, albeit a gorgeous one. It never feels as intense as some of the other mazes, which makes sense in that it occupies the same footprint Shadowlands once had. And that’s not a bad thing.

1 - Origins: The Curse of Calico

Still unshaken from its perch as my favorite maze, Origins is my perfect maze. It tells a story with heavy, heavy atmosphere, it’s full of winks and nods to the rich history of Ghost Town and Scary Farm, and it ties everything together into one immersive package. I didn’t even have to do much soul-searching to keep this one on the top of my list either. It just rules! I hope we get to keep Origins for as long as possible - after all, Sarah Marshall needs a home.

The Shows

As mentioned before, shows have never been at the top of my list of things to do at Haunt, but I am glad they are available. The much-loved (or loathed, depending on who you are) annual presentation of The Hanging came to an end in 2019, and it seems doubtful the screwball skewering of popular figures and trends will ever return. Shows like Puppet Up: Uncensored keep the raunchy and ludicrous puppet improv going at the Walter Knott, and Conjurers - Dark Magic continues to showcase acts of prestidigitation in the Birdcage Theater with some spooky and funny atmosphere. But the newest show is what has taken up residence on the Calico Mine Stage where The Hanging used to take place.

Carnaval du Grotesque is a genuinely entertaining collection of dancing and circus acts, similar to the spirit of Elvira’s many shows done at Scary Farm in the past. While the pair of MCs for the circus throw some humorous banter and charming wit in between acts, this show is all about genuine spectacle, watching things like a hair-ialist, a fire eater, an expert balancer on stacked chairs and even an acrobat inside a spinning “Wheel of Horror.” The show’s outdoor venue means it can be viewed for a moment in passing and from a distance, or joined and stuck with for as long as there’s room in the throng of onlookers. It’s a sight to see, for sure. I’m glad I stopped to take it all in, and am glad to see these talented individuals getting the spotlight out in the open.

Final Thoughts & Beyond the Fog

If there’s any sign that the Haunt industry is recovering, look to the progenitor. Knott’s Scary Farm appears to be bouncing back well from losing a year in 2020, and shows no signs of slowing as it picks up where it left off. They continue to create and maintain one of the best haunted attractions I’ve ever been to, and as of yet nothing else holds candle to it. I’ll come back every year I can, and am excited to see what is in store to commemorate Scary Farm’s 50th in 2023.

But… Speaking of innovations, Knott’s does have one more eerie event this year. For the first time, a behind-the-screams daytime tour is being offered with Beyond the Fog, a 3-hour tour into the history of Scary Farm and a detailed walk through of 3 mazes with the lights on, letting you see every little detail and get all the cool hidden gems and stories without being interrupted by monster jumpscares. I’m happy to announce that I am one of the many tour guides for Beyond the Fog this year, and it is easily one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. While I can’t necessarily guarantee you’ll end up on my tour if you book, I am part of a really excellent team who I am proud to work with.

Shameless plug aside - and I only offer that last bit because I know people who read this blog might skew toward liking it - I’ve got a few more stops to make around the area this season, if all goes well. Thanks for joining me again. And hey, if you do end up getting into one of my tours, maybe I really will see you in the fog for a change!

Knott’s Scary Farm runs Thursday through Sunday nights throughout October and Halloween night. More details and tickets can be found here, and Beyond the Fog tickets can be found here. Additional photos taken by Katie Fleming and Angela Griswold.

The Fog Report - Knott's Scary Farm 2019

Hail and well met, intrepid readers! I can barely make you out through all this fog, but for a moment I thought you were some grisly monstrosity sliding up on all fours to spook me. This edition finds me returning to the granddaddy of all haunts, a place so choked with exhaled fog juice that I’m sure I’ve gone home with my clothes smelling faintly of the stuff for some time after.

It’s hard to picture anything that’s had the longevity of Knott’s Scary Farm, and that’s likely because it is the progenitor of these kind of events. Having started in 1973 and only upping the ante ever since, Knott’s Scary Farm transforms America’s oldest theme park into a dark haunting ground every Halloween season. It’s a first in so many ways, especially for me: I finally faced my inherent aversion to jumpscares in 2013 and crossed the threshold into haunted attractions here; from that night onward I’ve never looked back. It certainly gave me a benchmark for what a quality haunt should look like, and having survived that, made me feel brave enough to visit other events around it, immersing me in even more Halloween goodness.

I will do my best not to be biased, but I’ll be honest right away: Knott’s has consistently been my favorite of all the haunted attractions I’ve visited, and this year (so far) is no exception. I’ve already been multiple nights, and will probably go a few more. It’s hard to top what Scary Farm offers, and the offerings are good this year.

The Event

Come nightfall on select nights, Knott’s Berry Farm transforms into a murky landscape that contains nine mazes, four scare zones and several live shows. Consider that many of their rides and roller coasters are open and running during the event and there’s a lot to do here. Thankfully I’ve never found it overwhelming, but knowing what you want to prioritize before you go is definitely helpful, especially if you’re only going one night.

Meanwhile, the Timber Mountain Log Ride gets a Halloween makeover, the Halloween Hootenanny. The Scary Farm version used to have live actors hidden among the animatronics and props, but that hasn’t been the case for the past couple years, most likely due to safety concerns. Still, the ride is fun and the overlay is well-done, intended to be creepy and silly rather than scary since it also runs during the day. You will get wet, so ride at your own risk!

The Scare Zones

Moreso than any other haunt I’ve been to so far, nothing beats Knott’s in terms of its unique scare zones. One thing you will find just about everywhere is atmosphere. As I noted before when I wrote about Dark Harbor, I’m a sucker for anything that keeps a consistent theme and Scary Farm delivers. With the exception of the Dia de Los Muertos-themed dance party in Fiesta Village - which I imagine is a welcome reprieve for some who need a break from the scares - every part of the park is dripping with mood and tension, keeping the tone throughout even as the overall theme changes with each scare zone. Lighting, background ambiance and music, fog (of course there’s fog), spooky decor and, naturally, the prowling street monsters all contribute to the immersion. It does help that Knott’s utilizes the existing themes of its lands and gives them a Halloween overlay, but my hat’s off to them for eschewing the party vibe that Dark Harbor has with its exterior, because this is what I prefer.

The classic Ghost Town Streets is a mainstay of the event and the harbinger of so many haunt firsts that have since spread to other parks across the country, from the area itself to the innovation of “sliders” - monsters that glide across the ground on metal knee and elbow pads and suddenly spring up out of the fog at you. An aspect I really appreciate about this year’s Scary Farm is the commitment to an overarching story, which is something I crave at these events. Tying the Streets, the new Origins maze and Scary Farm’s icon, the Green Witch, all together is the legend of a witch hanging gone awry, leading to the town of Calico being cursed and its citizens transforming into hideous monsters or rising from the grave as wretched ghouls. You’ll find Wild West archetypes roaming the byways of the misty town, each with their own macabre transformation.

Another unique take on a scare zone comes with The Hollow over in Camp Snoopy. Haunted by scarecrows, goblins and shades dressed in Revolutionary War attire, there’s a definite Sleepy Hollow vibe to this area despite the lack of a Headless Horseman (who did occasionally appear in previous years along the Stage Coach trail). What sets this zone apart is the interactive portions, where during the night an ongoing battle between the resident coven and a group of witch hunters hits various story beats and ends with a final confrontation and the burning of a wicker man. Guests can be pulled into this conflict and can play agents for the hunters or the witches, in some cases earning small trinkets for their efforts. While the outcomes of the overall story is the same, it’s genuinely fun to have some face-to-face encounters and to play with these characters.

The newest scare zone, Forsaken Lake, enters its second year with macabre gusto and an expanded footprint. You’ll find a half-flooded cemetery full of Victorian undead and elegant Angels of Death, who every so often congregate into a funeral procession to the tune of “The Hearse Song.” This is a beautifully Gothic area and one with a lot of great talent, standing on its own among its older established peers. Even with no maze in its jurisdiction, its absolutely worth passing through or staying to watch the funeral when it happens. I know I often stop there to pay my respects.

Last but not least, CarnEvil takes over the Boardwalk. It’s all clowns here, and I know a lot of people think scary clowns are a tired attempt at scares, but these clowns are way funnier and more entertaining to watch than any other clowns I’ve seen. Well-lit as the Boardwalk is, they have to work extra hard to get the frights across, and every time I see them they go at it with a mixture of creative aplomb and genuinely funny antics. My hat’s off to them.

The Mazes

There used to be a running joke among older folks I know, people who have attended Scary Farm throughout the years, about the dubious quality of Knott’s mazes. Those days seem to be long gone, no doubt due to Knott’s hoping to keep up with its other theme park competitors, and the quality of the mazes just seems to elevate with each batch of new mazes. And it’s hard to beat the number - 9 in total, with two brand new mazes.

I certainly appreciate the way Knott’s handles its mazes each year, which stick around for 2 to 4 years at most before retiring to make room for something new. This gives them a healthy longevity without them overstaying their welcome, building anticipation for the handful newcomers each season. Interestingly, this is the first year I’ve been to Scary Farm where hasn’t been a maze I went in on my first night in 2013. My personal favorite, Trick or Treat, finally vanished last year after a staggering 7 years running!

As before, I’m running the list of mazes from least to most favorite in my humble opinion.

9. Special Ops: Infected

Now in its confirmed final year, Infected presents a different experience compared to the other mazes. You are given a electronic gun and, in something like a one-sided laser tag, are sent running through a zombie-infested city, shooting at the undead and earning points as you go. You’ll need to stay far enough away from the zombies that you don’t get take damage, and must find the source of the infection after hustling through several ruined buildings, a metro rail and a toxic sewer.

To be honest, this one has never been very high on my list from its inception. I understand the concept of being able to fight back against the monsters is exciting, and the gaming aspect definitely appeals, Infected falls flat for me for a number of reasons. Zombie apocalypse themes are an incredibly dull trope for me at this point, and it doesn’t help that I’m constantly being yelled at to move by Special Ops personnel, never giving me the time to properly take in the frankly impressive set design of the ruined city and the places you battle your way through. If you plan on doing this while at Knott’s, do it early in the night and get it done, because it also backs up very badly as the night goes on.

All of these factors come together to make it a maze I’ve never been a fan of. I’m glad this is retiring so we can see what new innovations take its place.

8. Dark Entities

You are part of a reconnaissance team teleported aboard a derelict starship to find out what happened to the crew. Naturally some alien virus has breached quarantine and is rapidly mutating the surviving life forms on the ship into grotesque abominations. Now your goal is to get back off the ship before you go down with it and its tainted cargo.

While perhaps a little on-the-nose with its homages, being a sci-fi maze with elements evoking Alien and John Carpenter’s The Thing, Dark Entities is well-designed and has memorable moments and scares. The gore factor has been turned up in the maze’s second year, with a lot more grisly details around the ship and especially in the medical bay scene, positively dripping with entrails and tendril-infested cadavers. There’s also some very impressive lighting design in Dark Entities that is utilized to give the scenes the feel of a spaceship, particularly in one corridor where a series of traveling, strobing wall lights make it feel like the lift hill in Space Mountain at Disneyland. The only reason this is as low on the list as it is comes less from its presentation and more from my general feelings about this kind of sci-fi horror.

7. Shadowlands

Japanese myths and ghost stories inspire this maze, which is also in its finale year at Scary Farm. In previous years a preshow made the case that you were on the trail of a doomed samurai whose path you followed through a shadowy afterlife, though now its a little less clear, as you simply enter a nighttime forest of hanging corpses and, from there, journey through bleak villages, shrines and temples occupied by various bakemono and evil spirits.

Shadowlands is a beautiful maze, much quieter and more subtly haunting than its neighbors, which makes the sudden scares all the more startling. I’ve really enjoyed this maze through all of its seasons, though I feel its starting to show its age. I hope this kind of low-key eerie atmosphere can be replicated in whatever comes next, because it’s fairly unique and something I feel the event needs to break up the more intense mazes. Still, Shadowlands had a good run, and it will be missed.

6. Pumpkin Eater

Tying in with the story of The Hollow, you enter a Colonial village where the murderous Peter has been wreaking havoc, having killed his wife and buried her remains in his pumpkin patch. Now transformed into a creature for his deeds thanks to the resident coven, Peter continues to haunt the ruins of the village, harvesting pumpkins (and people) to make his pies.

I think this might actually be the creepiest of the mazes. The darkness, surreal atmosphere and amount of hanging stuff you have to push through lend a nightmarish, lurking tension to the experience, and I love it. The Colonial Gothic and Halloween vibes in this maze are strong, the latter being important to me since at least one of the mazes should feel like Halloween. I mean, what other maze has you walk through the cavernous innards of a giant rotting pumpkin, pushing stringy bits and dangling seeds out of the way as jack-o’-lantern-faced horrors lie in wait? Very, very good.

5. Wax Works

One of the two new mazes making its debut this year, Wax Works sends you through a burned-out wax museum where its curator, Dr. Augustus Scratch, has been very busy trying to perfect his wax creations with a little help from the hapless people who enter. Looks like the doctor’s pieces are truer to life than anticipated, since they’re keen on helping him make his masterpiece.

The one of the new mazes for 2019, I was presently surprised with how detailed Wax Works was considering. I’m not sure what I expected, but the execution made it clear to me that this was not just an homage to Vincent Price’s House of Wax. It’s visually impressive, from the facade to the interactive museum displays (there’s buttons you can press in the maze that bring up pre-recorded messages about what you’re seeing - a nice touch, if you’re not too worried about a waxen thing getting all up in your grille), the room with the bees and the inner wax works themselves with the giant cauldrons. It’s grown on me very quickly and I look forward to seeing what little tweaks happen here and there as it settles into its new mold.

4. Paranormal Inc.

Drawing inspiration from those hokey Ghost Hunters-esque reality shows, this maze puts you in the abandoned Hayden Hill Sanitarium for a live taping of Paranormal Inc. An elaborate and impressive preshow sees all Hell literally break loose as the team disturb the spirits of the asylum, forcing you to flee through the dilapidated halls as angry ghosts and demons make their presence known.

As a complete self-contained narrative, Paranormal Inc. is a real feat of haunt storytelling, using its setting, preshow and cues throughout the attraction to help tell the story cleanly and concisely all while managing to pack in branching paths, taking you through different parts of the asylum before meeting up again. It also has a fantastic intense energy to it, making it feel like the finale of a supernatural thriller ala the remake of House on Haunted Hill where the evil is there, present and furious. Furthermore, it has some of the most creative scares of the mazes and an absolutely phenomenal ending that I won’t spoil here (at least, not this year).

3. The Depths

The Night’s Watch mining operation might have dug too deep in the sea caves, because they’ve opened a path to an ancient, aquatic world no surface-dwelling being was meant to know. Eldritch abominations from the darkest oceans lurk here in the meandering tunnels, an ancient temple where you wade through waist-deep “water” (an impressive effect of lasers and fog) and a long-forgotten pirate ship wrapped in the arms of a gigantic octopus.

This maze has been in my Top Three since its debut and has not been shaken yet. Fans of Cthulhu mythos and nautical horror are going to get a kick out of this maze, and seeing as I very much enjoy both, this is a double-win. It’s worth it alone just for the absolutely gorgeous set design, with enough varied rooms and chambers to keep one guessing what sea-based horror they’ll meet next while keeping the path consistent. The aforementioned octopus and swaying shipwreck are major highlights in themselves. I’ll dive back in anytime I can.

2. Dark Ride

The centerpiece of the Boardwalk (and CarnEvil) is the Castle of Chaos dark ride, long abandoned and non-functional. That hasn’t stopped a group of enterprising carnies from setting up shop inside to enact their depraved antics, and they’ve opened the place up so you can walk along its track and through its backstage areas to see what nightmares they’ve cooked up.

Holy Hell do I love this concept. I’m the guy that always hopes that the Haunted Mansion will break down so I have a chance to walk through the ride, and Dark Ride plays that sort of morbid curiosity up, with a healthy bit of evil clowns and circus horror thrown in to keep you on your toes. What impresses me most is how easy it is to suspend disbelief that this isn’t just a temporary seasonal thing, but that you are walking through a real (albeit cheesy) dark ride that’s on the fritz. On top of that, the finale room looks like a total joy to play in if you’re one of the scareactors, as they seem to be able to leap, slide and clamber all over the place thanks to some well-placed ramps and scaffolds. I hope Dark Ride hangs in there as long as possible.

1. Origins: The Curse of Calico

Years ago, Sarah Marshall was dragged to the gallows by the citizens of Calico on suspicion of being a witch. In retaliation, before she cheated death she laid a curse on the town, transforming the townsfolk into beasts and cadavers. This is the story that’s been told for Ghost Town as a scare zone in the past, but this year Origins aims to reveal the whole story and put its visitors in the role of a posses looking for the Green Witch as she sows her wicked magic throughout the damned town.

The other new maze of 2019, and easily the one I was the most excited about, Origins delivers on so many levels it’s not even funny. From the queue line you’re immersed, meeting various non-transformed citizens who help lay out the story and encourage you to help them find the witch, and then on into the maze that I cannot believe they worked into its space in the Wilderness Dance Hall - one scene that has you walking along a dusty covered porch while rain hammers a tin roof above you and drips visibly off into the street, across which stands a saloon where a one-sided gunfight is taking place. It boggles the mind! Not to mention the huge love letter this maze is not only to Ghost Town, but to Scary Farm history as a whole; I mean, you walk through a loose replica of the long-gone Haunted Shack at one point, and there’s a very surprising place for the Catawampus in here.

But really, the care and focus given to the overall unified theme of this maze and Ghost Town is what endears it to me. Knott’s has never shied away from embracing its heritage, and I really enjoy that there seems to be more and more of this mythos-building every year. I hope this trend continues, because Origins is an absolute flavor win and a delight on all fronts, from design to scares. Easily my new favorite.

The Shows

I tend to prioritize the mazes and zones, but Knott’s as a whole does seasonal live entertainment very well, and Scary Farm is no exception. Their shows tend to have a wackier bent with crude comedy at the heart, so if that’s your thing than you have a couple of places to sit back and cool your heels, maybe get a couple laughs in.

I’m generally not a huge fan of The Hanging, which annually lampoons the events and pop culture of the last year before sentencing the worst offender to the noose, but I can appreciate the effort that goes into it from a performance standpoint, as there’s a lot of stunts and a ton of burst blood packets that go into it. I think I enjoyed it more this year than I have in the past, but that’s not saying much as I don’t get much out of a show that dates itself very quickly. I usually skip this. More power to you if you enjoy it, just not my cup of tea.

New this year is Puppet Up: Uncensored at the Charles M. Schultz theater. I think the improv aspect keeps the show fresh with repeat viewings, and seeing improv done with puppets is something else entirely, showcasing the skill of the puppeteers. Again, the show can get pretty raunchy (it’s called “Uncensored” for a reason), but overall I laughed more than I groaned, so that’s a start. I’d say this is worth a visit if you want to sit down for a bit and see something fun and unique.

Conjuring over at the Birdcage Theater is dependent on who’s performing on a given night. Since it’s a magic show, you’ll want to check the schedule and see which magician has an act at what time. The variety is cool, but I stress once more that your mileage may vary.

Final Thoughts

My first and still favorite haunt, it’s hard to top Knott’s. They continue to innovate and explore each year, bringing in some new things while improving what’s already been established. It’s really no wonder, since they have a reputation as the birthplace of modern haunts and are quickly approaching their 50-year anniversary. The scare talent is the longstanding strength of Knott’s, both in the mazes and in the zones, and they deserve all the respect in the world for the grueling work they do night-in, night-out. But I also want to stress that the design of the mazes is getting to the point where I feel they can rival and even surpass Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights in some places with the quality. So far Knott’s has been the only event I’ve attended more than two nights in a season, with the season pass offer being well worth picking up if you can get it.

I’ve still got a couple more places to visit and the bar has been set fairly high, but more haunts are a good thing, no matter what their budget. Thank you for reading my fairly robust take on Scary Farm (I promise not to ramble this much about it next time), I hope you enjoyed it, and I’ll see you in the fog.

Knott’s Scary Farm runs Thursday to Sunday nights throughout October and the first two days of November. More details and tickets can be found here.