Voodoo, Zombies, The Tooth Fairy, Carnivals, Ghosts and other things that go bump in the night. It’s that special time of fear we wait for all year… Haunt Season. What is Haunt Season? It is from the end of September when the first haunted attraction opens (usually Horror Nights) ’til Dia De Los Muertos (November 2nd). It’s a magical time of year you can smell it in the air, the sweet smell of October. When the bad moon rises and we can travel into the fog and be transported into new worlds of terror. There are so many haunts in Southern California, from home haunts to independent haunts and the theme park haunted attractions. A wide variety and each haunt has it’s own unique style of scare and feel. This is an article looking back at three of the many haunts in So. Cal; Knott’s Scary Farm, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor and Halloween Horror Nights during Haunt Season 2014!

Knott’s Scary Farm is the oldest theme park haunted attraction in Southern California. When someone says Scary Farm or Halloween Haunt we think of Ghost Town and the monsters lurking in the fog. When you step into the gates of scary farm you are transported into a world of nightmares ruled by the Green Witch! At Haunt you are surrounded by monsters, an array of mazes and shows that will chill you to the bone. What makes scary farm so unique is the amount of original mazes they have throughout the park, the shows and they are always trying new platforms to scare the life out of you. The two new mazes that excited and terrified everyone were ToothFairy and Voodoo. Toothfairy was a terrifying mix of your worst fears of visiting the dentist office and a nightmarish hell of the Toothfairy. Everything will make your skin squirm.. from the drill sounds, touching the fuzzy walls in the pitch dark and the grotesque monsters. You go through this twisted world that seems like it’ll never end. I loved this new maze by Daniel A. Miller and I hope that is makes a return to Scary Farm in 2015. Voodoo is a beautiful and scary maze where you choose your own adventure. Travel to the depths of New Orleans and you never know what you may encounter. Traveling through the Mardi Gras party to the swamps of Louisiana. This maze designed by Brooke Walters is a great immersive maze where your venture every time is different. I love the Voodoo theme and I believe that Haunt captured the spirit perfectly. Both new mazes were “amazing”… but they were not the only new attractions to haunt us last year. As always Trapped: Lock and Key was amazing and this year has to be my favorite year. Trapped is reborn every year with new phobias and terrors you have to face while you perform a fear task to get out of each room. It may be an up charge maze, but it being interactive is all worth it…hopefully it will return this year. Another great surprise from last year was Infected! Zombies have taken over camp snoopy and it is up to brave men and women to go on missions and eliminate the “enemy”. You were given laser guns and whenever a zombie arises to attack you, you are to defend yourself by shooting the zombies. It is such a fun experience by Jon Cooke and there were moments when a zombie would get too close for comfort and your heart would race with fear. For shows both the infamous Elvira and The Hanging both returned for bloodshed and mayhem. It’s a nice entertaining way to take a break from the monsters for a short while each night. This past year’s Scary Farm was amazing… but the one thing about Haunt that I love is running for my life in the Scare Zones. Monsters roaming all over the streets and there is no where you can hide. Even the Headless Horseman roamed the park looking for victims. I can’t wait for this year’s Scary Farm to emerge from the fog.

Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor in Long Beach is a haunting attraction. You can feel the paranormal presence of the ship when you step in the grounds of Dark Harbor. I love Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor and the spooky feel that is has that really intensifies the haunt. The haunt is also fun since The Ringmaster has taken residence at Dark Harbor bring her group of troubadours and performers to bring spooky delights of the carnival to The Queen Mary. The icons that highlight the event are marvelous especially The Ringmaster and the new icon… The Voodoo Priestess. It’s the strong characters that make Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor one of the spookiest haunts, especially since some of the mazes tell their stories of terror and show you their worlds. Their make up and costuming is amazing with the details that show you a bit of the personality and terror each character has been through. For example, The Captain has sea life clinging to his deathly pale face… a great captain always goes down with his ship. The mazes in the ship are terrifying and wonderfully intricate with detail. Especially the mazes that tell the back stories of the icons that reign Dark Harbor. Soulmate is hauntingly beautiful highlighting the dark desires of Graceful Gale… to create the perfect dancing partner. B340 is the gruesome and violent tale of Samuel the Savage’s horrid child hood. Also the final new maze, The Voodoo Village enlightens us on the background of the Voodoo Priestess and her crimes. Two of my favorite mazes that returned this past year were Submerged and Circus… the worlds of Scary Mary and The Ringmaster! What makes Dark Harbor unique amongst the many haunts in So. Cal. is the The Queen Mary. Having the the carnival visit the harbor bringing fun and mischief to the event makes it special. With live performances from bands to magicians and ultimately the “character” show where The Ringmaster tells you the tales of each ghost icon. The slider shows and the sideshow acts that display the many talented monsters of Dark Harbor. Growing as a haunt they tried a new interactive experience this year at The Queen called Encounters. It was an up charge maze where you traveled into the bowels of the ship on a ghost hunt. I applaud the designers of Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor for trying new ways to terrify us and I can’t wait to see what new experiences they have in store for us this upcoming haunt season. This event is a terrific time in October and also in the beginning of November when they have their Dia De Los Muertos celebrations. All the monsters and ghosts dawn the Day of the Dead makeup and celebrate the dead in all their spooky ways. It’s an unforgettable experience to attend Dark Harbor on the Day of the Dead.
There are monsters and ghosts lurking around every corner of the Queen Mary looking for souls to grasp in her clutches. The picture above is of The Voodoo Priestess’ pet ready to tear us all to pieces. I cannot express enough how magical Dark Harbor is… it must be the ghosts beckoning us to return this October.

Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights brings to life the horror movies and TV shows we all know and love. Especially this past year when they brought to life the infamous An American Werewolf In London to life! It truly felt like you stepped into the John Landis’ film running for your life from the werewolf. When you encounter your first wolf in the maze, nothing else matters but running for your life! The giant hairy wolf with long fangs lunges at you in the small turn of the corner… sometime you think that there is NO WHERE TO ESCAPE. HHN is amazing every year with their movie quality sets and how wonderfully detailed their mazes are. But when you first entered HHN this past year, you had to come face to face with purgers from The Purge movie. Pure mayhem and chaos as the purgers reign terror to every person brave enough to enter the gates of HHN. It is an iconic Horror Nights tradition to survive that first scare zone, watch the go go dancers dance to metal, be jested at by the wonderful barker and see the fire towers bring hell to life. It was just unfortunate that the hilarious barker of The Purge scare zone was removed halfway through the season. Her jests lightened up the scene and ushered you into a night you will never forget. I do hope the opening scare zone barker returns for HHN this year. Also unlike the other two haunts I have discussed in this article, this haunt does not feature any shows. But you get to experience the Terror Tram and go down into the Back Lot… which are unique to HHN. When you traveled to the Back Lot you encountered The Walking Dead lurking in the fog of Terminus lunging at whoever passed by them. Also you get to experience the three mazes that are featured in the sound stages and movie production sets. Alien VS Predator was terrifying as you get caught in the crossfire of their battle. The best part of that maze was The Queen featured in the barn scene… she was larger than life and that itself it horrifying. Clowns 3D music by Slash and Face Off: In the Flesh are fun mazes that let you escape the terror for a little bit and gives you a chance to be immersed in colorful and fun worlds of monsters. I have been attending Horror Nights since 2010 and I love seeing the event grow and evolve… but just a heads up for those of you who want to experience this awesome event that the lines get crazy as the night goes on. So I recommend getting a Front of the Line pass and plan your night accordingly this year.

Haunt Season 2014 was a great year for haunts, everyone was upping the anti and bringing the fear. These events would not be what they are without the teams of people who build and create them. Also the monsters who scare us endlessly every night of Haunt Season. To the many talented spooky people, thank you for scaring us and can’t wait to see what you have in store for us this year. Haunts are a fun escape from the real world and into the nightmarish wonderland of monsters and madmen. Experiencing these events with friends make the nights so much more fun, especially using your friends as human shields. Or being forced to go in first and alone in a maze and get all the scares. However your preference of going into a maze, you will get scared regardless. Thank you my fiends for joining me on this throwback to last haunt season and I hope to see you soon In the Dark!