Knott’s Scary Farm delivers a night of frights

With impressive set designs and dedicated scare actors, Knott’s Berry Farm provides an experience perfect for getting in the Halloween spirit. NICK DE LUCCA, Assistant Features Editor.

To this day, I can’t tell you why my dad thought it was a good idea to take a sensitive 10-year-old into Universal Studios House of Horrors. The memories are so distinct: pushing aside hanging body bags of Norman Bates victims, the hair of a werewolf-costumed actor wisping past my legs and even jumping a foot in the air when the friendly Frankenstein monster tried to console me with a gentle high-five. It wasn’t my proudest moment. 

After tentatively avoiding haunted houses for the next decade, my dad and brother convinced me it was time for some redemption. It didn’t take much negotiating once I was promised a funnel cake. Nevertheless, we made our way over to the 48th season of Knott’s Scary Farm as 57 acres of roller coasters, haunted mazes and the promise of greasy, fried dough ran through my mind. 

Our goals for the night? Complete all eight mazes, eat a funnel cake and be out by midnight, because we all had work the next morning (I know, we’re lame).

As we waited in front of the park in a pool of awaiting thrill-seekers, it was hard not to feed off their energy. Whether it be awkward high schoolers traveling in packs or much older horror lovers like my dad, we all cheered when the sinister voice over the loudspeaker warned us of the ghosts and monsters that lie beyond the gate. And once the clock hit 7 p.m., the scene turned into a Spanish running of the bulls as we raced to the nearest mazes.

Off to a rapid-fire start, we conquered half of the mazes in the first hour, all in the Ghost Town section of the park. The Wax Works maze set the tone for the night with scenes of molten flesh on bloody corpses and the sounds of piercing screams from victims swimming in boiling cauldrons. The artwork of the distorted wax figures was truly gruesome, and if the maze wasn’t so warm from the body heat, I would have had goosebumps running up my arm.

After we finished Wax Works, we moved onto Dark Entities, a robot-themed maze on the tamer side of the scare spectrum with much less jump-scares. 

Next, we moved onto The Depths, an aquatic-themed maze with impressive costumes and a mind-boggling light projection of fog that rolled about at maze-goers waists. The designated scarers would lurk below, invisible to attendants, popping above the fog at the most spontaneous moments. This was my favorite feature of all the mazes. It felt the most unique and original, even leaving me stopped in the maze to wonder how they accomplished this amazing visual spectacle. 

We capped off our four mazes run with Paranormal Inc. This maze was the best in terms of story and exposition. Taken inside as a group, as opposed to a constant stream of walking, you’re treated as a live audience accompanying paranormal investigators searching through the Hayden Hill Sanitarium. When the cameras die and the lights go out, all hell breaks loose and the group is thrown into the set of tortured hospital patients and monstrous creatures waiting behind the curtains. 

Halfway through goal number one, I decided to complete goal number two and took a much-needed strawberry funnel cake break. As I savored the flavors of strawberry syrup and whip cream over crunchy fried dough, I took the opportunity to omnisciently observe the people and frights roaming around — and that’s when I noticed the most impressive part about Knott’s Scary Farm. 

The actors who are paid to scare you aren’t just confined to the walls of the mazes, they lurk throughout the entire park. This creates a steady, eerie atmosphere where you’re constantly paranoid of the scarers coming up behind you to elicit some sort of embarrassing reaction. You’re always looking over your shoulder, and the only time you don’t need to be on high alert is when you’re using the restroom or hopping on one of the park’s roller coasters. 

Both the scare actors in and outside of the mazes are truly dedicated. I spotted a friend from high school working as a scarer; when I called his name, he came over but refused to break character, even spitting out a (hopefully) fake rotten tooth. This was the case with all actors I encountered, some of which would converse with you from the point of view of their character. I still am not over the actress I saw with foggy white contacts and candy-colored makeup who would slash her lollipop prop on the ground, creating a horrific scratching noise.

While the mazes were impressive, the experience wouldn’t be completed without the scare zones. Walking through these foggy, dark areas of the park, you’ll find actors with metal platforms on their palms and shoes who slide on all fours with sparks flying behind them. We all took a moment to stand back and watch them slide in front of unsuspecting park-goers, who would all freeze up and scream. 

The crowd had picked up by 9 p.m., and we decided it was time to resume goal number one — conquering our next maze, Dark Ride: Castle of Chaos. The theme of this maze was a bit confusing. It seemed to be a hodgepodge of horror elements from skeletons to clowns to ghosts, all masked by intense strobe lights. We followed this up with Pumpkin Eater, a fun maze with a set that puts you inside of a pumpkin, following the tale of Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, and immerses viewers with the surrounding scent of pumpkin seeds.

Despite recovering from an ACL injury and wearing a knee brace, my dad was determined to keep going. While waiting in lines, we discussed our favorite horror movies and talked about when to put the Halloween decorations up at home. My brother, a Knott’s Scary Farm expert, was having a blast watching us jump in the mazes unsuspectingly. However, he received his fair share of scares too, and I couldn’t have asked for better company finding redemption in a scarring childhood memory. 

The final two mazes consisted of Origins: The Curse of Calico and Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind. The Origins maze was a fun expansion of the Calico world that Knott’s Berry Farm has always had on display. I thought I was handling the maze well, on constant alert of all things in front and behind me, when a scarer attached to a bungee cord leaped down from above me. At that moment, I suffered my most embarrassing scare of the night, nearly throwing a punch out of reflex.

With one maze remaining, I was ready to declare Paranormal Inc. as my favorite maze of the night until Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind quickly changed that. Perhaps I was tired and off my game, but I jumped a foot in the air at least four times. The creepy theme of horrific sideshow acts threw me off, and each section was freakier than the last. I felt prone to all the scarers leaping from corners and coming up behind me. Not to mention, a seductive hypnotist's voice was always whispering eerie messages, which made this maze feel like it lasted forever. 

Walking out of the last maze, the clock struck midnight and I felt like Cinderella the way I darted out of the park. Once I realized there were no more scarers out to get me, I concluded Knott’s Scary Farm was a fantastic experience, and in the end, I had fun being scared.

If you don’t want to jump out of your socks, save your money, but if you’re looking for the perfect way to get into the Halloween spirit, Knott’s Scary Farm is the place to be, whether it be with a group of friends, a partner to cling onto or your horror-loving dad. 

I like to think, nearly a decade later, my 10-year-old self would be proud of me for surviving the night. 

Rating: 5/5 Paws