Part of what makes Knott’s Scary Farm so much fun is literally getting lost in it. The nearly circular amusement park is kept dark and spooky with fog machines, wandering scareactors inhabiting themed scare zones from the Gore-ing 20’s to the wild west of Knott’s Ghost Town area, and the always-screamworthy coasters and other thrill rides operating with lights off.
In short, the theme park feels like a place where spooky shadows and grasping ghouls might dwell, and simply to be there is to feel the chills and join in the laughs and scares.
Spread out and spectacularly shadowy, the park lets guests literally and figuratively get lost in the Halloween myths that transform Knotts by night.
The scare zones were particularly effective this year, with scareactors catching guests unaware as they studied park maps or focused on consuming popcorn, giant chocolate chip cookies, Halloween themed cocktails, and the requisite slice of Mrs. Knott’s historic Boysenberry pie.
And of course there are mazes. New this year, Inked has a morbidly awesome mix of mad clown circus and wild and crazy animation history that puts the true “looney” into this macabre but delightful world in which wildly homicidal cartoon characters have come to life. This maze is as much dark ride fun house as jump scare haven. A particular treat are the rear projected inflatables with their crawly spider motif, which guests must push through. Also new this year is a well-done archeological dig themed maze, Unearthed. This maze offers mummies, moody and mysterious lighting, and monstrous animal hybrids roaming the dark.
The more venerable Cinema Slasher makes its eerie movie theater return with headless theater patrons, ominously dancing popcorn, and more, starting right at the ticket window.
There are ten mazes in all to mark Scary Farm’s 53rd year of fun scares, including Origins: The Curse of Calico and The Chilling Chambers, both in their final year. The latter maze is in enclosed in an eerie haunted cathedral setting externally but within, it houses a variety of highlight rooms from a mental hospital set to a zoo replete with farting elephants.
Mary – The Haunting of Worth Home, The Zoo, Widows, and Room 13 were all spooky scraems and laughs; the speakeasy theme of Room 13 was delightfully immersive, with a scareactor bartender offering imaginary libations before guests entered passages that recalled The Shining.
Stage shows include master magicians from The Magic Castle and voodoo queens evoking the haunted cemeteries of New Orleans.
It was rainy the night we attended, but that put no damper of the fun. Giant pumpkins, skeletons, and dark purple lighting alll sparkled with rain drops, while screams echoed off the terrifyingly steep Accelerator.
For a hauntingly good and yet still impressively lighthearted night of chills and thrills, Knott’s Scary Farm, now a part of the Six Flags family, beautifully walks the line between campy classics and truly chilling moments. Yes, you can laugh and scream at the same time. Knotts is located in Buena Park, Calif.
- Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis