Since 1973, terrifying monsters have taken over Knotts Berry Farm throughout late hours of October weekends, transforming a once welcoming, innocent theme park into a sight that you only see in your nightmares. This year was their 50th anniversary, and they went all out: from a new scare zone to new mazes that had people quivering with fear.

The seven returning mazes for the season were Bloodline 1842, Dark Entities, Mesmer: Slideshow of the Mind, Origins: The Curse of Calico, The Depths, The Grimoire, and Wax Works. Although these mazes are huge hits, they were nothing compared to the three new mazes they added: Room 13, Cinema Slasher, and The Chilling Chambers. 

Room 13 happened to be my first maze of the night, and takes place in the Goring 20’s. The storyline revolves around a cocktail named The Devil’s Elixir that was the cause of some horrendous murders.  To find where the drink came from, you had to travel through the Argive Hotel, where there were terrifying sights all around.

Cinema Slasher took you on an adventure through some famous slasher movies whilst trying to avoid the infamous killers. The visuals and timing in the maze were absolutely incredible, especially for the jumpscares. Before you traveled into a different horror movie, you walked through a movie theater where you went through a screen playing a horror film that Knotts made specifically for the maze.

Right near the entrance of the park was The Chilling Chambers, which took you through the five decades of Scary Farm history. Inside were props and characters from past mazes that have since been replaced. Of course, it did have some amazing scares, but it was also pretty cool to just see how much Scary Farm has changed throughout the years.

Once you exited The Chilling Chambers, you were led directly into the new scare zone for the season: The Gauntlet, where the King, Queen, and their subjects took over the innocent Camp Snoopy. Although the new scare zone was pretty terrifying, I just wish they had done more to it. It didn’t have the same feel that you got when traveling through some of the other scare zones like CarnEvil or The Goring 20’s.  There was hardly any decor and was literally just Camp Snoopy with the lights turned off, some fog around, and a couple of scare actors. 

The other scare zones were Forsaken Lake, CarnEvil, The Goring 20’s, and last but not least, Ghost Town Streets; one of the scariest scare-zones due to the extreme lack of light. Out of all of them, I would say that CarnEvil and the Goring 20’s were definitely the least scary since there was lighting all around. However, if you’re afraid of clowns, you would definitely be terrified. 

Luckily for those who were in need of a break, Fiesta Village was completely scare-free with no scare actors or mazes whatsoever. It was the perfect place to take a break from all the horrifying sights and even to just go on a few rides. People also would take their break by just enjoying one of the shows Knotts had to offer. 

Another option people used was purchasing the “No Boo Necklace” that they just started selling this year. Its bright blue light alerted the scare actors around the park that they did not want to be scared. However, it wasn’t completely reliable; sometimes it was too dark or foggy for the actors to see, and they still continued to scare people anyways. Once they saw it though, they tried to play it off. Unfortunately for some, the necklace did not work inside of the mazes; they were still a target for scares. 

If you do decide to go to Scary Farm next year, try to not seem so afraid. The more scared they see you are, the more they will target you. 

The Knotts Scary Farm season always ends on Halloween night. Prices for tickets vary on when you are planning to go and when you buy them. Weekend tickets can be well over $100 when purchased at the gate but about $80 when purchased online. I would definitely recommend buying your ticket online early if you are planning on going next year. You can save yourself about $20 dollars plus the time it would take you to purchase your tickets at the park. I would also recommend going in September or early October; there was much less of a crowd and tickets were way less expensive than they were near Halloween. 

Knotts Scary Farm is definitely not for the faint of heart. If you are someone who hates being jump-scared, Scary Farm is not for you. Maybe try Disneyland’s Oogie Boogie Bash instead.