The time is upon us Halloween fans! The one and only, Knott’s Scary Farm returns in 2024, marking the 51st year that this iconic haunt invites guests into a theme-park world of horror. This year the world-famous haunt features 4 shows, 5 Scare Zones, and 10 haunted mazes that will entertain even the hardest critic.

Running select nights now through November 2nd, Knott’s Scary Farm is honestly better than it has ever been. No where else can you find such a varied collection of original concept mazes, scare zones, and shows. This is the birthplace of the theme park haunt and it shows.

In this article we will walk you through the offerings and let you know what we think you shouldn’t miss.  We will also point out important information that will make your visit to Scary Farm a smooth one.

SCARE ZONES

There are five separate scare zones this year, all returning from 2023. Each space comes alive thanks to the talents of the actors and the crews that support them. There isn’t a single place in the park that you will be safe from a good scare.

Ghost Town Streets – DO NOT MISS

In 1973, Walter Knott conceived the idea of a separate ticketed Halloween event for the farm. The Halloween fun would be centered in Ghost Town with hasty additions made to the Calico Mine Ride and the Timber Mountain Log Ride. With just a few weeks to prepare, the event only ran three nights at the end of October and became a massive hit. Ghost Town Streets isn’t just the birthplace of the original scare zone, it is the birthplace of Knott’s Scary Farm.

Here the townspeople of Ghost Town suffer under the curse of the Green Witch as they terrorize visitors. Ghost Town’s Main Street transforms into what is called “Fog Alley.” Sliders run, dip, skid and scare unsuspecting victims. This is a glorious scare zone to behold with its rich history and wealth of talented performers.

 

The Gauntlet

Shrouded in darkness is The Gauntlet. A dark ages/fantasy-themed stretch at the front end of the park, The Gauntlet is a brooding melting pot of peasants, wizards, and royalty who roam the night. The talent in this zone is broad, dramatic, and wonderful.

Gore-ing 20’s

GORE-ing 20’s has the potential to be a vibrant and lively scare zone as proven in years past.  A live band occasionally plays above the bustling crowds while below the denizens of a bygone era are confronted by the spell of the Devil’s Elixir. This area is still entertaining but has seemed to lose its kinetic energy. The culprit isn’t the talent, nor the theme, but the lack of a major show in the Walter Knott Theatre.

The night that we visited, the  Yours Cruelly, Elvira Xxperience was hosting Elvira for a Q&A session along with avid fans who paid extra to have the special experience with the horror legend. The result was a distinct lack of foot traffic and a numbing of the zone. The actors still worked the crowds that breezed through the scare zone. Yet there wasn’t enough happening for the GORE-ing 20’s to be as lively as before.

CarnEVIL – DO NOT MISS

The Wonderful Carn-EVIL scare zone is situated in the back of the park. In a surprise move, it looks as if Knott’s has plussed and re-invented the zone with a new look and new characters. Yes, we have our beloved clowns marauding on the Boardwalk. But now we have a full circus of characters out for blood. Go check this one out.

Foresaken Lake

The murky, moody Forsaken Lake is situated under the vaulted structure of Silver Bullet and Jaguar. Here the undead souls from the lake roam in search of victims. This is another wonderful spot to take in spectacular lighting design and atmosphere.

 

SHOWS

There are five separate show offerings at Knott’s Scary Farm this year. Offerings range from the bawdy to magical. While we only reviewed The Hanging, we still want to let you know what there is to see.

Conjurers

Official Description:  You won’t believe your eyes when our skilled Illusionist takes the stage in the heart of Calico. Get there early, as seats have been known to vanish. Featured Magicians include:

Brian Ochab – September 19, 20, 21, 22
Carisa Hendrix – September 26, 27, 28, 29
John George – October 3, 4, 5, 6
Jeff Parmer – October 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Chipper Lowell – October 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
Johnny Ace Palmer – October 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
Dana Daniels – October 30, 31, November 1, 2

*Performers are subject to change without notice.

Dr. Cleaver Returns (not reviewed)

A hilariously silly stage show featuring Dr. Cleaver in the Calico Bird Cage Theatre.

Le Magnifique Carnaval Du Grotesque (not reviewed)

Official Description: Step right up and walk into the mystique and darkness of the malevolent “Le Magnifique Carnaval Du Grotesque.” A collection of death-defying feats and carnival acts that will delight your darkest desires and fill your senses with terror and delight.

The Hanging: The Errors Tour – DO NOT MISS

A lot has changed since last year. Knott’s Berry Farm and Magic Mountain are now owned by the same company, Artificial Intelligence has come onto the scene, Taylor Swift is dating Travis Kelce, and everyone is Hot to Go. Yet with all of the evil in the world, The Hangman returns to face a year of pop culture in this often funny comedy stunt show.

We know the format. The Hangman’s job is to discover the source of all evil for the past year and dispense with it as any Western lawman would. With a new focus on profit, Knott’s has decided to utilize a massive computer to calculate the biggest returns on investment in the parks. Flashy showman and corporate figure, Mr. Six Points takes over Calico and starts calling the shots. Will The Hangman be able to stop Mr. Six Points and his big computer before it’s too late?

The show relentlessly with parodies, references, and jabs at notable moments, icons, and embarrassments including the death of the Marvel Movie, the merger of Six Flags and Cedar Fair, Corporate greed, and of course digs at Disney. The show is funny, very much so at times. But this year’s show is light on the chaos and much heavier on commentary. One of the hallmarks of The Hanging is the scenes of unbridled mayhem with stunt performers brawling, blood spewing, and comical quips aplenty. This year that type of energy is missing with only a handful of moments that really take off.

Regardless, The Hanging: The Errors Tour is still a razor-sharp parody of everything that we have lived through over the previous year. It is heartening to see Knott’s Entertainment keeping this type of show alive and well.

 

 

Yours Cruelly, Elvira Xxperience (not reviewed)

The museum-style experience will be open on Scary Farm event nights for guests to enjoy at their leisure. However, due to the special Cassandra Peterson live autograph and Q&A experience on select dates, the traditional museum-like exhibit “Yours Cruelly, Elvira Xxperience” will not be available to Scary Farm guests on Sept. 19, Oct. 18, or 20.

 

MAZES

It’s what we all come to Scary Farm for, the Mazes. Knott’s Scary Farm has a remarkable roster of 10 original concept walkthroughs to entertain fans of horror. This year there are two brand new mazes with Widows and Eight Fingers Nine. Both additions are the best in years.

Widows NEW! – DO NOT MISS

It’s admittedly, a weird concept. We visit a dilapidated old folks home that is suspiciously layered in spiderwebs. The sweet old ladies on the porch and in the lobby are thanking us for visiting and inviting us in, but something is off, WAY OFF. As we venture deeper into the old folk’s home we realize that the congenial geriatrics are possessed by demonic spiders bent on domination.

Daniel Miller has created the strangest and most well-produced work of his career with his new maze Widows. As we venture further into the facility we witness ghastly scenes of giant spiders wreaking havoc. Arachnoid possession, impregnation, egg sacks, sinew, webs, and an underground kingdom. This is a lengthy maze with a creepy concept, a lengthy layout, and a worthy finale. Head to this right at opening. The line will only get longer.

 

 

Eight Fingers Nine NEW! – DO NOT MISS

In the same backstage area as Widows is Eight Fingers Nine. Gus Krueger returns to lyrical, mischievous form with this storybook tale of the boogeyman set in 1800’s colonial New England. Deep in the forest, the witches spin the yarn of a black figure that preys on the sleeping, sneaking in to devour them finger by finger. We venture into the township that is crippled with the fear of the unknown. As the townspeople sleep, the bloodthirsty beast known as Eight Fingers Nine acts as a sort of sleep paralysis monster to consume his prey.

Wildly different from Widows, Eight Fingers Nine takes a different approach to the aesthetic. As if yanked from a wood etching, we tour the town under siege. Witches, beasts, and frightened townsfolk swarm the path of the walkthrough that features high contrast lighting and occasionally tours of the backlit underworld of the evil forest.

Eight Fingers Nine is a beautiful maze that commands repeat visits to fully take in everything that is going on but honestly, you will want to go again and again.

 

 

The Chilling Chambers – DO NOT MISS

The Chilling Chambers returns to Knott’s Scary Farm in a slightly revised, Seymore-less edition. It makes no difference to the unaware, The Chilling Chambers is a beautiful tribute to the history and terrifying story of Knott’s Scary Farm. We enter the cathedral of horror and venture forth to pay homage to mazes past. Along the way we visit the Mangler Asylum, Club Chupacabra, The Doll Factory, and even Uncle Earnie’s Madhouse (shudder).

This walkthrough is beautifully designed, has an endlessly energetic cast, and is a fitting tribute to the storied history of the birthplace of theme park haunts.

 

 

Cinema Slasher – DO NOT MISS

The Slasher is on the attack and we are his victims in the brilliant Cinema Slasher. Having debuted last year, the walkthrough returns strong as we tour the cursed movie theater to watch another tale of blood and guts featuring The Slasher. The thing is, we don’t just watch the movie, we enter the screen and become a part of the movie. Beware The Slasher.

There isn’t much to say that wasn’t said last year. Cinema Slasher is a remarkable creation in haunt entertainment. The high-concept idea of becoming the victim in a horror movie is taken to 11 and produced expertly. Do NOT miss this maze.

 

Room 13

Room 13 returns to the Gore-ing 20’s section of the park, inviting guests into the seedy speakeasy and hotel hidden behind a singular door, guarded by a gangster. It seems that a mysterious green elixir is at the bottom of a series of mysterious deaths. We enter the speak easy and connected hotel in search of the infamous Room 13 and the cause of the terrifying deaths.

When this walkthrough debuted last year we only experienced it once and thought that, perhaps, we just hit it at a bad time. This year the same issues persist. The experience is inconsistent. Some scenes are crawling with talent, others are barren. Some scenes are strikingly beautiful, (We are looking at you Hotel Lobby and Finale), while others are bland and repetitive. The score for the walkthrough does little to infuse any sort of mood with its foreboding jazz playing on an endless loop. There are no moments of intense fear, it’s all just sort of a moody maze.

On our trip through there were two standouts for us as far as the talent. The chef in the kitchen scene worked their space wonderfully, jabbing and darting about their counter. Then there was the insane man in one of the rooms, ranting and raving his conspiracy theories about what is happening at the hotel. These two have the level of energy that the rest of the walkthrough needed desperately.

 

 

The Grimoire

The Grimoire returns in 2024 with the improvements made to it in 2023 and little else. We are invited to leave the safety of the clubhouse to venture out into the forest for a spooky tale around the campfire, read from the infamous Grimoire. In an opening show scene that has never seemed to work, evil words are read that open a portal to evil.

In this admittedly beautiful walkthrough, we venture through expertly produced sets of black and white Civil War times, the trenches of World War 2, and the seemingly perfect atomic age home. The common theme is that this book of evil persists in each scene to continue a thread of evil. Beautifully produced, but conceptually confusing, casual haunt fans are unlikely ot pick up that they have entered a cursed portal, then exited back to the real world where the evil has run amok.

Thankfully, the cast here is gifted with talent and scenarios that are menacing enough on their own. This is a beautiful maze to enjoy with some wonderful moments.

 

Bloodline: 1842 Final Year

Bloodline 1842 was an ambitious creation when it debuted three years ago. Set in a fictional, steampunk past, we are cast as vampire hunters in the thick of a battle between the Daybreakers and the Vampires. The problem is that this muddled mess has never really taken flight due to a convoluted backstory and a confusing throughline. There is plenty of good here with an earnest cast that tries to make sense of their parts and some genuinely jaw-dropping set design. Still, all of the spectacle can make up for the utter confusion we still face after three years of this maze.

Our advice as this creation moves on, simplify the story. Pit vampires against the townsfolk in this fantasy Victorian, steam punk nightmare and give guests a clear goal be it fighting vampires or simply surviving the mayhem. Godspeed Bloodline: 1842. May a flight of demons guide thee to greater terrors.

 

 

Origins: The Curse of Calico – DO NOT MISS

Few Knott’s Scary Farm mazes reach the level of perfection that Origins: The Curse of Calico does. We enter the walkthrough on a tumultuous night for the town of Calico. The people have accused Sarah Marshall of witchcraft and have sentenced her to death by hanging. The bad news is that the town called it. Sarah is the infamous Green Witch and she is exacting her revenge. On our journey through the cursed berg, we witness ghosts rising from the dead, townspeople changing into beasts, and we hope to escape with our lives, if not our current form.

The Curse of Calico is 100% fan service for Knott’s Berry Farm devotees. Yet it works as a frightening and particularly expansive maze. We get to see everything from the town safe to the haunted shack to the Green Witch’s lair. This is an epic creation that must not be missed.

 

Wax Works – Final year – DO NOT MISS

Wax Works has been a wonderful, creepy, and disturbing creation since it began its goopy reign of terror in 2019. This year the walkthrough looks better than ever. Dr. Augustus Scratch has been hard at work building the ultimate wax museum exhibit and you might just be the centerpiece of his nightmare.

Entering the facade of Wax Works we were immediately struck by the aggressive nature of the talent waiting for us. As the first maze of the night on opening night, the monsters were pumped and hungry for blood. We can’t rave enough about the brilliant cast in this maze for 2024. It’s also a testament to the talent captains and those responsible for training each performer. Everyone was there, in place, and wildly energized.

Farewell Wax Works. Your final bow promises to be a wonderful one.

 

 

Mesmer – DO NOT MISS

Mesmer is appropriately situated at the back corner of the park within the CarnEVIL Scare Zone. The experience is a sepia-tone nightmare through a sideshow where the maniacal Mesmer has harnessed the power of the mind for his evil goals. The goal is to terrify.

On opening night, this maze was remarkable. The cast was engaged and focused on the people touring their attraction. Furthermore, some nice updates to key scenes were made including an updated snake charmer room and the freshened swaying hallway.

You shouldn’t miss this one.

Know Before You Go

While there is the basic information that parkgoers can easily expect to find quickly and easily, two key items are imperative before heading off to enjoy Knott’s Scary Farm.

Chaperone Policy

All guests ages 15 years old or younger must be accompanied by a chaperone who is at least 21 years old in order to be admitted to or remain in the park. The policy will be in effect daily by 4:00 p.m. local time — Knott’s Berry Farm reserves the right to begin enforcing the Chaperone Policy earlier on any given day. Learn More Here.

Bag Policy

Knott’s Scary Farm Bag Policy: Clear plastic bags smaller than 12” x 12” x 6” as well as non-clear wristlets or clutches no larger than 5”x 8”x 2” are allowed at Knott’s Scary Farm. All bags are subject to search prior to entry. Learn More Here.

For its 51st year, Knott’s Scary Farm is an overall consistent, and expertly crafted Halloween event. We return to the old favorites of Origins, Cinema Slasher, and The Chilling Chambers, and we get new terrors like Eight Fingers Nine and Widows. Ghost Town Streets and CarEVIL are stronger than they have ever been, and the fog is gloriously dense. Our advice is to plan ahead, buy all tickets and parking online, know the park rules, and go scream your head off.