Knott’s Scary Farm- A Southern California Halloween Tradition

My favorite amusement park is Knott’s Berry Farm in California, and one of October’s best things to do is spend an evening at their annual Knott’s Scary Farm. According to Knott’s, it all began in September of 1973. The park was getting rid of Gypsy Camp, and between the marketing and entertainment departments, they introduced a new concept–a Halloween-themed event for the evenings of October 26 to 28. Halloween Haunt was born. It is now known as Knott’s Scary Farm!

This notorious event returns for 24 horrifying nights from September 16th – October 31st.  and features 8 mazes, 5 Scare Zones, many haunted houses, a dozen thrilling rides, 6 live action-packed shows, and a thousand monsters lurking in the fog.

Knott’s Scary Farm Mazes

They have some of the best and scariest mazes ever. It’s hard to decide which is the scariest, but here is a list of some of the mazes this year:  Dark Entities, Dark Ride: Castle of Chaos, Mesmers,  The Curse of Calico, Wax Works, Paranomal Inc, Pumpkin Eater,  and The Depths. Whichever  you choose, it will definitely get your heart pumping. Knott’s Scary Farm really knows how to put on a show. Many of these are new, so if you go and check them out, please email me and let me know how you enjoyed them. I will add your comments to this post!

Knott’s Scary Farm Scare Zones

There are also three scare zones to help enhance the scary experience. They are CarnEVIL Forsaken Lake, Ghost Town Streets, Gore-ing “20’s and The Hollow. The scariest and original zone is Ghost Town Streets where bands of half-human, half-animal monsters prowl the streets and startling Sliders lung from every fog-filled corner of the land.

Knott’s Scary Farm Shows

If you tire of the mazes, make sure to check out one of the shows they have for your entertainment. They are called:  Carincal du Grotesque,  Conjurers – Magic and Mirth at the Birdcage Theatre,  Doce de la Noche,  Invitation to Terror, Wicked Drums and Puppet Up! Uncensored.

This last show features a combination of improvisational comedy and the magic of puppetry performed by a cast of world-class comedian puppeteers from The Jim Henson Company. It was created by the legendary puppeteer and award-winning director Brian Henson and directed by Patrick Bristow (Ellen, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Whose Line Is It Anyway?), Puppet Up! – It is not your ordinary puppet show. In true uncensored form, the content is driven by audience suggestions and participation, topped with the zany antics and bawdy shenanigans of the colorful and brazen puppet cast. Puppet Up! – A word of warning, this show is intended for mature audiences and is not recommended for children.

Knott’s Scary Farm Experiences

If you are not into shows, there are many other experiences for you and your group to partake in and enjoy. Knott’s Scary Farm calls them Experiences or Attractions. Whatever you want to call them, their official names are Boo-fet, Into the Fog: A Scary Farm Tribute Art Show, Scary Farm Food and Beverage, and of course Timber Mountain Log Ride: Halloween Hootenanny

I have always loved the log ride and this sounds fun. According to Knott’s website, every year the citizens of Timber Mountain invite the mysterious creatures that live out in the woods and caverns of the area to join them as they celebrate the season at the Halloween Hootenanny. The ride’s interior features surprises as guests venture past the Calico Coffin Creeper Band, the town’s Green Witch, and splash down Skull Mountain through a labyrinth of jack-o-lanterns. All set around an original song performed by Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies. As I said, sounds fun and entertaining.

Knott’s Scary Farm fun facts:

• Tickets were only $4 in advance and $4.75 the day of the event back in 1973
• The very first monster-filled maze was named Monster Maze
• The Calico Log Ride and Mine Ride were decorated with fake corpses and skeletons. Later, Mine Ride creator, Bud Hurlbut, put on a gorilla suit and really scared the guests!
• Bill Hollingshead booked Seymour, a Southern California late-night horror movie host to stage a show in the John Wayne “Haunted” Theatre
• In the late 70s and early 80s, some of the mazes used live rats and snakes
• Monster auditions started in the late 70s
• The 1980 maze “Trail of Terror” featured a real mummified corpse named Count Demonicus
• Halloween Haunt was an instant hit and by the next year sold out nightly with over 22,000 guests each night
• In addition to Seymour, Wolfman Jack, Weird Al Yankovic, the Crypt Keeper, and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark have hosted dance parties or elaborate musical reviews

Halloween Tradition

Knott’s Scary Farm is one of these yearly events that Southern Californians look forward to every year. I have been a few times and have to say it is appropriately named, it is very scary.  The mazes are always scary, but I think the ghouls and monsters lurking in the fog are probably the scariest. If you have never been, this is definitely something you should plan to do sometime this month.  Sadly we haven’t been since we moved here to Colorado in 2007, so I am sure it has changed a lot since then. If you go or have been recently, please email me and let me know how you enjoyed it. I would love to add it on my post. Thanks in advance.

Happy Scary Halloween. On a side note, if you are in the area at Christmas,  you definitely have to check out Knott’s Berry Christmas. It is even more amazing. Here is a link to  Knott’s main website. Hope you get to enjoy my favorite park soon.

Knott’s Berry Farm Visitor Information

Address:

8039 Beach Boulevard
Buena Park CA 90620

Phone:

714.220.5200

Hours:

Accessibility Amenities:

Guest Parking