Last year marked a major milestone for Knott’s Scary Farm as it celebrated 50 years. Understandably, there was a lot of excitement and they made sure it was a big celebration. We covered the event and loved it. However, the big question is, where do they go from there? It’s quite challenging to follow up on such a significant celebration, especially in a year filled with entertainment cutbacks across the industry – but we’re pleased to say that Knott’s Scary Farm’s 51st year is a great one to step into the fog.
While the Green Witch has always been the eternal torch bearer of Knott’s Scary Farm, in recent years, the Train Conductor has become an equally important character in linking the event back to the theme of the old west that permeates all throughout the park. Both can now be seen wandering the park and even have scheduled photo ops nightly at the front of the park. 
One controversial addition last year was the introduction of the “No Boo” necklace, a way to indicate you’d rather the scareactors try not to frighten you too much. They’ve returned this year, in a new design, effectively implying the old ones no longer possess the ability to hold back the spirits. On the plus side, the necklace is quite possibly the most adorable cat you’ve ever seen. I’m half tempted to purchase one myself, even if I want the full experience.
But that’s enough exposition, let’s get to the meat of the events: The mazes!
For 2024, we have two new mazes: Widows, a spider-themed maze in a convalescent home, and Eight Fingers Nine: The Boogeyman, a walk through a colonial-era storybook rhyme of a flesh-eating monster.
Widows is a tough one, because a lot of people, despite how resilient and tough they are in almost every other situation, can’t handle spiders. This is not the maze for those folks. The first third of the maze matches up with the initial description, of an old folks home being taken over by spiders, while the remaining tenants embrace the pests. It’s incredibly campy and delightful in a humourous way. But beyond that, you enter the domain of the spiders and it quickly reveals itself to be a cult worshipping a queen spider. It’s one of those mazes that amazes you at how long you spend inside. It encompasses such a long story, you keep wondering how much more twisted it’ll become. Thankfully Knott’s has a way of using larger-than-life puppets in recent years at the end of mazes to land a strong finale, so you never feel like you just turned a corner and it’s over. Oh, you know when you’ve met the queen…
And not too far away is Eight Fingers Nine, residing where Dark Entities once stood. Given the theme of the maze, it does initially bring back memories of Pumpkin Eater, but once you enter past a few rooms, you realize you’re entering a much more fleshed out (pun intended) world. The premise is that the kids speak of a rhyme of “Eight Fingers Nine” which is a monster terrorizing the town, but not enough people are taking it seriously, to their own detriment. This maze has a lot to see and it may take a few trips through to really appreciate all the artifacts and details in the maze, like nods to Pinocchio Unstrung in a window as you pass by. If you love the Babadook, this maze is up your alley. 
Of course, most of the mazes have stuck around from 2023.
Chilling Chambers has returned, thankfully. It’s a loving tribute to the whole history of Scary Farm, just crammed full with a mix of everything you can imagine, including additions to last year’s fallen mazes of The Depths and Dark Entities. Oddly enough, the main man of the maze, The Keeper, a spooky version of the original host of the event, has all but been scrubbed from the maze. Without him, everything still functions, but it does mean it goes from being taken on a tour of the history to just a disjointed collection of random rooms. I can only guess at what happened, but I hope a long term solution is in the works because the maze has quite a few years left in it.
Cinema Slasher was another of the new mazes from last year and it’s still awesome. While it may seem like going through three individual movies wouldn’t give each enough room to feel complete, because the focus is on the same horror slasher genre, it works. And there’s been a few new tweaks and additions throughout. One gory scene in a bedroom now has a lot of fluids, which may not be new, but I never saw that working last year. And there’s a cute but creepy popcorn bucket character, similar to the “Let’s Go To The Lobby” cartoon of the old days. 
Room 13 returns to the Gore-ing 20s. I’ve always been a sucker for this maze because it gives me big big Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor vibes, which I love. It’s just a perfect fit for that area of the park, especially how you enter through a backdoor, making use of the environment. Lots of mirrors, elevators, and catwalks make it a really different kind of maze than others Knott’s has attempted. It’s not just dark, mushy walls of dead bodies and blood. It’s lit in a green hue and is just a different take on what a scary maze can be. Whenever it comes time to retire the maze, I hope they find a way to expand the scare zone into a lounge of some sort.
The Grimoire is an important maze, as its a tentpole of the lore of all of the mythology of the event, making the book responsible for all the insane horror happening in the world. This maze has always been hard to comprehend, as you transition between different eras of people finding the book and quickly discovering the horrors it creates. But it does its job so well, it can be a bit traumatic in the war zone area. This year they’ve yet again tweaked the opening scene, completely removing the initial book reading at the camp site. I kind of wish they would’ve stuck solely with a cursed camp site instead of also trying to visit a 1940s family and a trench in a war, but it’s also possible there’s not enough content to really make a full maze out of a concept like that, which is why you often end up with mazes connecting multiple themes.
Mesmer is still commanding a good wait, despite how hidden it is, behind Xcelerator. The big appeal of the maze is how each room is designed around a twisted take on a side show character, and you don’t always have scareactors in every part of the maze. But when every room is properly staffed, thise maze is fantastic, from the human violin to the regurgitator. I do feel like this maze ends a little too abruptly, where the revenge the creatures take on the hypnotist isn’t given the visual spectacle it deserves, since it all takes place in his mind. But ignoring that, it’s still a great experience.
Origins: The Curse of Calico wraps up the mazes we’ll be seeing for a while. This maze debuted to extremely long wait times due to the perfect theming and ties to the history of the park, but it deserves some love. Inside the bank vault, guests have pried away all the gold coins on the shelves, and it’s not as pristine as it once was. Outside of that, the maze still features great creatures like the giant glowing-eyed Catawampus, and had the Grimoire itself added in recent years towards the end. It also features one of the best facades, with citizens of Calico outside explaining the terror that is Sarah Marshall in a way that suits the area. More mazes could make use of engaging actors out front. 
As we say hello to some new mazes, this invariably means some others have entered their final season.
Wax Works is a guilty pleasure of mine. I love the interactive buttons on the displays and just the absolutely gruesome melted bodies all around. It’s really the grossest maze I can think of in recent memory, and that’s a compliment. I’m really going to miss it. Where else do you get a zombified Ben Franklin and a 12ft tall animated human cornucopia?
That brings us to Bloodline 1842, an unfortunate victim of timing. Originally designed as an interactive shooting maze, in the spirit of Infected, it became too complicated for most guests, and didn’t have the footprint needed to make it feel immersive, as opposed to taking up half of Camp Snoopy. That led to the guns being removed and the maze being slightly re-themed to remove all references to the guests being involved, which takes away a lot of the punch. The idea of being in a Transylvania-like land of vampire hunters is still compelling, and it’s improved over the years from losing the distracting guns, but it now feels like it overlaps a bit with Eight Fingers Nine, and any more effort that would go into improving the maze would be better spent on a whole new experience.
Once you complete the mazes, you will naturally need to navigate between them, and that’s where the scare zones come into play. Suffice to say, all the scare zones of previous years have returned, and honestly, outside of the Fiesta Village area becoming a DJ dance party, there’s not much else that can be done. Every other area of the park is now a scare zone and I don’t feel any radical changes are needed.
But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been changes. There’s been a whole new slew of characters around the scare zones, most of which are populated in Carnevil. You’ll find a crash test pilot, Judy of Punch & Judy, a hobo clown and a lot more variety in addition to the standard fare populating the land. Everyone still thematically fits, but they’ve widened the net of characters just a bit to keep it fresh. 
The Legacy Story, a fantastically decorated store, dedicated to Scary Farm merch, returned this year, surprising some, as it went away after last season, leaving some to wonder its future. We’re glad to say it has returned and is just as amazing as ever inside. There’s lots of lantern activations, animated displays and every room is just beautiful. The only downside is that it’s just a smidgen more lit up than a traditional maze, so inspecting the merchandise feels more difficult than it should be. Even the cashiers were struggling to look up a few items 
Despite bringing back Dr. Cleaver for the 50th, this year the Bird Cage is once again host to Conjuring once more, featuring a new resident magician each week. These are all quality top-of-the-line acts, but Chipper Lowell (October 16-20) and Carissa Hendrix (September 26-29) would be two that I would strongly suggest attempting to see. Additionally, for the first time, the individual performers are listed online and in the Knott’s Berry Farm app, so you can check yourself before you visit. 
The Into The Fog gallery has also returned, featuring a litany of art from talented artists. It’s great to peruse or even purchase a few pieces. Be warned, every season much of the original art sells out extremely quickly, but there is usually a good supply of prints and other pieces available for sale. And yes, your season pass does apply for discounts on original pieces. 
The Hanging comes back, in a way that feels refreshed. Getting comfortable in the Wagon Camp, the show this year feels a bit slower paced, but in a good way. Instead of rapid fire pop culture murders, that often make you wonder what is being referenced, they spend a great deal of time actually having the main characters hash out their issues in a way that only a stunt show can. The main plot line this year is that due to the Six Flags mergers, AI is now driving all the choices at the park, focused on making profit at every turn. Don’t worry, there’s still the last minute twist on the character that deserves the noose, lots of Disney references, and up-to-the-minute jokes. The show does fill up shockingly fast, so get there at least 30 minutes before show time if you want to be guaranteed a seat. 
Yes, the merger was a big plot point. 
And out on the Calico Mine Stage, Carnaval du Grotesque is back, and surprisingly has a continuing narrative. An adorable and talented new clown, clad in a pink frilly dress, warms up the crowd before the show. Only after the show kicks off do we learn her name is Oopsie Daisy, and she has a bit of a murderous streak and a love of knives. Each of the acts are similar to years past, with fire dancers, a large wheel walker, and an aerial silk dancer, and still compelling on their own, but as their acts conclude, Oopsie Daisy makes sure that was their final performance. Why? Well, stick around and your questions will be answered. Between the acts, the dancing troupe shows their skills. All in all, the Carnaval is becoming a well oiled machine that captivates audiences every night.
Shuffling on over to the Walter Knott Theater, however, is where the budget cut is more apparent. After being unable in recent years to figure out how best to use the theater, there is no live performance this year inside. Instead, the theater is replete with Elvira souvenirs from all across the decades, as a pop-up museum, allowing guests to get a close look at all of her history, beyond just her performances at Knott’s. On the giant screen, clips from all her previous shows are playing, with a special show beginning at midnight each night. But beyond that, it’s a chance to walk up on the stage yourself and get a good look at the Macabre Mobile, her pinball machines, comic books, VHS tapes, and a mind numbing assortment of other products that bears her visage. 
After last year’s amazing stage production, it’s frustrating to see the area far less alive, but it is making the best of the situation, filling the area up as a nice respite from the rest of the chaos around the farm. There’s a wonderful host inside to help greet you as you enter. And there’s plenty of seating, which is very much appreciated after standing in lines all night. Additionally, there are a few nights this year where Elvira will be making an appearance herself and signing merchandise, but for the majority of nights, it’ll be a relaxing tribute to the queen of darkness. Just don’t touch the car. 
Ultimately, while we do greatly miss the performance inside the theater, everything else is so well done, it’s hard to get worked up about it.
Knott’s always excels at setting a high bar every season for Halloween and this year is no different.
Tickets are available at https://www.knotts.com/events/scary-farm and it runs select days through Nov 2nd.
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