Three new mazes and the return of The Hanging will lead the 50th edition of Knott’s Berry Farm’s industry-creating Halloween event, Knott’s Scary Farm.
The new mazes this year will include the movie-themed "Cinema Slasher."
"Venturing through the mystical Midnight Theater, guests travel through the silver screen and into a trilogy of slasher movies. As they are swallowed into the world of gothic horror, they become the movie characters who try to escape the wrath of the dangerous Slasher," Knott's described the maze in its press release.
Next up is an extension of the Gore-ing 20s story with "Room 13."
"A dangerously delicious new cocktail named The Devil's Elixir seems to be at the root of the mayhem, but where did the mysterious green aperitif come from? The answers may lie at the heart of the extravagant Argive Hotel, where many have checked in to Room 13... but none have checked out."
The third new maze this year is a 50th anniversary tribute maze that name-checks Knott's first maze, 1977's "10 Chilling Chambers," here called "The Chilling Chambers."
"Guided by The Keeper, the sinister caretaker of the conservatory of horrors, guests are thrust beyond the threshold of an ominous towering cathedral that leads to terrifying classic maze themes from Knott's Scary Farm's infamous history."
Returning mazes this year include:
Knott’s confirmed that this will be the final year for Dark Entities.
Four scare zones return this year: Carnevil, the Gore-ing 20s, Forsaken Lake, and the traditional Ghost Town Streets. The “new” scare zone will be the return of a reimagined classic from Scary Farm’s past - The Gauntlet.
Finally, The Hanging Uncancelled will bring Knott’s irreverent current-events satire show back to the park after a four-year absence, this time to the Wagon Camp. (Let’s hope that Knott’s punches up this time, rather than punching down for mean laughs. And there are more than enough "punching up" targets this year to fill 100 Hangings.)
Another new show this year will be Music, Monsters and Mayhem in the Walter Knott Theater. The show will call back to 50 years of Scary Farm with music and comedy. Another classic production, Dr. Cleaver Returns, will play the Bird Cage, while Carnaval du Grotesque will be back on the Calico Mine Stage.
The theme park industry's original after-hours Halloween event started in 1973 and is celebrating its 50th season this year. Knott's Scary Farm will run for 29 nights, starting September 21 and continuing through October 31.
For discounted tickets to the 50th Knott's Scary Farm, please visit our partner's Knott's Berry Farm tickets page.
I was in attendance and yeah, not a fan of The Hanging coming back. I wasn’t a fan of the show(It gets extremely dated on the first showing and it’s just not fun). Though my favorite moment was everyone booing at that no boo charm or whatever that “don’t scare me” charm.
Yeah, they announced that they would sell a $15 necklace that is supposed to keep monsters from targeting you in the scare zones (but not the mazes). Other parks have done these, but at that price it’s a cash grab. And even if they’re free, they encourage attendance by people who aren’t interested in the vibe. Why do that?
Looks like a very strong year for Scary Farm. Cinema Slasher and Chilling Chambers both look like great additions to the maze lineup (Room 13 sounded a bit more questionable), and unlike some I'm glad to see The Hanging return as it's such an iconic part of the event. The one miss IMO is the decision to sell No Boo necklaces, which I think are fine for an included event like Six Flags Fright Fest, but really have no place at a separate ticket haunt event that's strongly recommended for 13 and up (my best guess is they're intended for chaperones, but I suspect they'll result in more age-inappropriate children at the event). Knott's has admittedly been very hit or miss for the past couple years, but hopefully this year's event winds up being the hit it needs after the disastrous performance it experienced last year.
Funny you bring up Fright Fest because they have done something similar to the No Boo charm in the past and it didn’t work. Parents bought them for their kids and while the scare-actors didn’t scare the kids, the kids were still scared because of the close proximity of being with scare actors, the mood, the atmosphere and getting scared when hearing people screams nearby.
The No Boo necklaces are great for people who want to hang out with their friends who don't like scares and want to go on rides with low waits.
@James Trexen
Then why go to Scary Farm? Just go during normal operating hours(It’s dead during weekdays.
I mean, I would never buy one of them since I go to these events specifically to get scared. But I can see why parks offer them as it is essentially free money to the company by driving a piece of merch and getting someone to visit who might otherwise not bother showing up at all.
Sure, more money for the park but if it’s any indication from the event from last Thursday, everyone in attendance booed at the charm to the point it threw off the presenters at the presentation. And like I stated before, Magic Mountain tried this years ago and it failed because turns out, people will still get scared due to the surroundings, the atmosphere, screams from other people, and just being in the vicinity of scare actors(Most guests demanded a refund because they still got scared).
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calling the show, "uncanceled" doesn't give me great hope they've learned any lessons.