Minutes prior to Knott’s Berry Farm’s big Halloween unveiling, a mysterious chamber was surrounded by ghoulish creatures wanting to claw their way into the casket. The monsters gathered from all edges of the theater, as gregorian chants began to play. Slowly, the box opened.
Supervisor of park shows Jeff Tucker was greeted with a welcoming roar of applause. He was the host for the night as well as the face of Knott’s Scary Farm. Tucker started his career in 1994 as the voice of the Sad-Eyed Joe character in the Knott’s Berry Farm Jail and has continued to write for the theme park’s major shows.
On Aug. 25, Knott’s invited season passholders to take a first look at what is in store for the 2016 Halloween Haunt, which will be open Sept. 22 to Oct. 31. The theme park stayed open an extra hour to unveil the upcoming shows and attractions to be featured in the coming weeks.
“Is there any better way to celebrate a Thursday night than talking about Halloween?” Tucker asked the crowd.
As guests entered the theater where the event was being held, they received a face full of fog and a monstrous snarling in their ear. Scary Farm ghouls crawled up and down the theater staircase and lurked around, hiding behind unsuspecting passholders and making them scream.
The event’s audience included fans who’ve been coming to the Haunt for years. One attendee, Desiree Grigoleit, has been a Knott’s monster for 14 consecutive years.
“I still love to dress up, bring a character to life each season,” said Grigoleit. “I do it for the new memories each year. Plus it’s just fun scaring the crap out of people.”
Once everyone was seated, a short montage of past Halloween Haunt seasons was shown, then a large casket decorated with thick chains and smoke surrounding it became the center of attention. The show had officially begun.
The crowd boomed with cheers as Tucker announced the shows. He directed the audience’s attention to the screens that displayed Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, as she announced her return in her new show, “Elvira’s Danse Macabre.” The show will include song parodies and dance ensembles while encompassing the “deadly” spirit of Halloween.
Elvira is a horror film hostess known for her risque attire and sassy attitude. This will be her fourth consecutive year performing at Knott’s Scary Farm, despite rumors claiming that she would not return.
The second announcement of the night was Knott’s original stuntman show, “The Hanging.” This year, the attraction’s theme is “Finding Gory: Just Keep Killing, Just Keep Killing.” The satirical show is filled with irreverent pop culture references.
The returning scare zones include “Ghost Town,” “Fiesta de los Muertos” and “Carnevil.”
“Tooth Fairy” is a returning maze that combine odontophobia with a creepy spin on the folk tale of the tooth fairy. “Gunslinger’s Grave: A Blood Moon Rises” is also returning, featuring werewolves entering a western town.
Haunt goers can also purchase skeleton keys, which provide front of the line access as well as added maze rooms. Each new room tells a separate story for key holders to uncover.
Designer John Cook entered the stage with a laser gun asking guests to call “headshots!” as the first maze was unveiled. “Black Ops Infected,” an interactive laser gun maze, will be featuring a new face-to-face experience killing zombies and will have a new location for the season.
Last season, it took place in Camp Snoopy, but Cook described the struggles of having to take everything apart each evening to make the area “kid appropriate.” This season, the designers have created an entire city backstage from the park.
Tucker announced that due to the “Black Ops Infected” location change, the entire front of the park is open to a new scare zone, “The Hollow.” Based on the legend of Sleepy Hollow, guests will find themselves trapped in the woods with nothing but fog ahead and the fear of what can be sneaking around the corners.
After the first maze announcement, a samurai appeared on stage, and actors played giant taiko drums as the maze “Shadowlands: Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword” was announced. The theme was inspired by Cook’s recent trip to Japan, and follows the story of a dishonored samurai.
The audience was then shown a clip of a couple trapped inside a barn as a sadistic family hunts them down and kills them, announcing the new maze “The Red Barn.” Designers Daniel Miller and Gus Krueger warned guests that the maze would be grisly, gross and filled with demonic pigs.
This will be the 44th annual Knott’s Scary Farm, and the monsters are waiting for eager guests to see what is lurking through the park. Tickets are available through the Knott’s Berry Farm website as well as in the University Student Union for a discounted student price.