The lights dim, the suspenseful music swells, and creepy monsters begin skulking down the aisles of the Terrace Theater, stalking their unsuspecting prey. Don’t panic–it’s just Knott’s Scary Farm kicking off the season with a peek into their 2017 goodie bag.

The first thing they showed was the newest commercial for Knott’s Scary Farm, which consisted of a nice montage of various monsters crawling out of their graves in Boot Hill, along with shots of them scaring guests. A welcome take on the event, it showcased many familiar monsters that have been there year after year, and have honed their string skills to an art form.

Jeff Tucker, spokesman for Knott’s and general haunt enthusiast, came out to grand applause, and quickly announced some major items: This year, KSF will feature a total of 13 haunted attractions. Also, there will be a thousand monsters roaming the park (and, frankly, they always say that every year, so not much of an exclusive, hehehe). And then Jeff announced that this year if you buy the Fright Lane front-of-the-line pass for mazes, it also includes the Fast Lane front-of-the-line pass for all the rides.

Then Jeff introduced Jon Cooke, the Maze Designer responsible for fan favorites Paranormal, Inc. and Shadowlands.  Jon gave us some tasty tidbits about Trick or Treat, at 6 years the “oldest” maze they have right now. Jon said it was time for a reboot, and Knott’s decided to keep the concept the same (witch’s house, evil kids, Halloween) but make it an all new experience: more eerie, more suspenseful, and more gory.

For this renovated maze there will be a new facade and new characters. Your tour through the property won’t be confined to the house: you’ll be stepping outside the witch’s house, into the backyard, where you can see some poor trapped souls calling out from the basement windows, along with a swing set and other features.

One final thing: all of this comes with a new name for the maze, “Trick or Treat LIGHTS OUT.” You’ll be taking your tour inside this house in complete darkness, with only one unstable flickering flashlight to guide you. It sounds totally amazing!

  

The last person to make an appearance was the Mistress of the Dark herself, Elvira (in her secret disguise as Cassandra Peterson) to announce that, once again, she’ll be hosting a singing and dancing and jiggling performance in the big theater. Sadly, she also made it official that this was her last year performing at Knott’s Scary Farm. She was extremely grateful for the many many years of enjoyment she has received from her fans and they gave her a standing ovation.She seemed genuinely touched.

Finally, a few little tidbits: for pass holders there will be a Scary Farm Preview Event at Knott’s on Thursday, August 31, where the rest of the details for Scary Farm will be revealed. Also, Knott’s is still hiring for monsters at knotts.com/jobs. Tickets for the event are on sale now.

HorrorBuzz Live Stream Midsummer Scream 2017 Knott's Scary Farm panel

As we said before, this weekend is the annual Midsummer Scream event at the Long Beach Convention Center and this year, HorrorBuzz is a bigger part of the action. We have a booth, like last year, but we have curated the programming for a new short film festival held at Midsummer Scream. We are calling the Screaming Room and you should come buy and check it out. We will also be selling a new thing called the Passport to Fear that every Halloween junky is going to need to get.

The Passport to Fear events are one-night, special ticketed events at the best haunts in southern California. We take you behind the scenes, introduce you to the creators of the haunted attractions you love and march you to the front of the line. It’s a guided tour of terror sold only by HorrorBuzz. This year there are four destinations including Knott’s Berry Farm, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, Six Flags Fright Fest, and a special night at the Winchester Mystery House on Friday, October 13th! 

Tickets to the four events are on sale NOW at our booth at Midsummer Scream
and online here on the site.