Everything you need to know about Halloween Haunt 2021 – Orange County Register
Knott’s Scary Farm 2021 returns to the fog for another Halloween season after a pandemic hiatus with ghost hunters investigating a demonic sanitarium and crazed carnies terrorizing an abandoned amusement park ride and a sinister hypnotist who preys on hidden fears.
The 48th season of Halloween Haunt returns to Knott’s Berry Farm with eight haunted mazes, five scare zones and six live shows.
Knott’s Scary Farm 2021, the granddaddy of theme park haunted attractions, will run on 27 select nights from Sept. 16 through Oct. 31 at the Buena Park theme park.
This year’s Haunt will feature a new maze, new scare zone and four new shows.
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Knott’s Scary Farm returns to the Buena Park theme park after a pandemic hiatus. (Knott’s)
SEE ALSO: Knott’s Scary Farm ends decades-long run of ‘The Hanging’ show
Knott’s Scary Farm 2020 was canceled due to the extended coronavirus closure of the park. Knott’s offered the Taste of Fall-O-Ween food festival as a Halloween season replacement while theme park attractions remained closed amid state-mandated COVID-19 health and safety restrictions.
The 2019 edition of Knott’s Scary Farm delivered the strongest lineup of haunted mazes the seasonal Halloween event has seen in years thanks to consistently high quality set design, storytelling and scares.
Let’s take a closer look at all the mazes, scare zones, shows and other entertainment planned for Knott’s Scary Farm 2021.
The new Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind haunted maze debuting at Knott’s Scary Farm 2021. (Knott’s)
Haunted Mazes
Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind
The new Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind haunted maze descends into the eerie world of madness and torture beneath a traveling carnival tent.
Sinister sideshow freaks do the bidding of Mesmer the hypnotist who preys on our inner thoughts and hidden fears.
The Green Witch from the Origins: The Curse of Calico haunted maze at Knott’s Scary Farm. (Courtesy of Knott’s)
Origins: The Curse of Calico
The 2019 Origins: The Curse of Calico haunted maze drops visitors into the middle of a witch trial taking place in Knott’s Ghost Town.
As Sarah Marshall stands trial for witchcraft, an evil fog drifts over the Wild West town and unleashes a sinister paranormal force. The Green Witch curses the town and transforms all who accused her into a wicked horde of malicious creatures.
Dark Ride
The 2017 Dark Ride maze takes trespassers inside the abandoned Castle of Chaos amusement park attraction overrun by crazed carnies, clowns and freaks.
Visitors enter the maze through the loading dock entrance of the dark ride where a cast of cast-off characters have taken up residence. With no other place to live, society’s outcasts defend their home from any and all intruders.
The Paranormal Inc. maze at Knott’s Scary Farm. (Courtesy of Knott’s)
Paranormal Inc.
The backstory for 2015 Paranormal Inc. maze finds a team of ghost hunters from a cable TV show investigating the haunted Hayden Hill Sanitarium where patients have been tortured for decades by deranged doctors. The evil medical staff prowls the halls looking for new patients while the demonic spirits of their murdered victims haunt the sanitarium.
The maze offers interactive story lines, branching paths and aerial stunts as visitors team up with the ghostbusters from the fictional “Paranormal Inc.” television show.
The Depths
Step inside the ominous caverns and eerie tunnels beneath an abandoned port village in The Depths maze where rumor has it vicious creatures dwell.
The backstory for the 2018 maze follows the whispered but never confirmed superstitions and myths surrounding the terrifying horrors that lurk beneath the town. A heavy fog drapes the village where the Nightwatch Mining Crew has mysteriously disappeared inside the pitch-black underground caves hidden below the seaside shores.
Did the Nightwatch crew meet their demise at the hands of the vicious creatures living in the caves? It’s up to us to investigate if the superstitions surrounding the ominous caverns are true or not. But beware: All who enter never resurface.
The Pumpkin Eater maze at Knott’s Scary Farm. (Courtesy of Knott’s)
Pumpkin Eater
A quaint village is terrorized by the wrath of a sinister creature that haunts the woods at the edge of town in the 2017 Pumpkin Eater maze.
Pumpkin Eater challenges visitors to navigate a maze of pumpkins and cornstalks and escape a cave of crawling insects and a labyrinth of thorns.
Dark Entities
Climb aboard a space station stranded in the farthest reaches of the galaxy where there’s nowhere to run from a deadly extraterrestrial in the 2018 Dark Entities maze.
Dark Entities teleports visitors to a realm of absolute darkness in the farthest reaches of outer space aboard a doomed orbital outpost. The isolated space station has been taken over by a mutating extraterrestrial that grows stronger as it feeds on the humans on board (that’s us).
The space monster’s goal: Find a suitable host. There’s no escape in outer space when you’re facing a terror beyond your imagination.
Wax Works
The 2019 Wax Works haunted maze takes over an abandoned wax museum where a once-prominent plastic surgeon has set up shop.
Dr. Augustus Scratch dips his victims in a hot cauldron of bubbling wax to create his terrifyingly lifelike masterpieces. The madman’s gruesome works of art entomb bloody flesh inside a molten layer of wax. Will you join his collection or escape his deadly grip?
The new Gore-ing 20’s scare zone joins the Knott’s Scary Farm lineup. (Knott’s)
Scare Zones
Gore-ing 20’s
The new Gore-ing 20’s scare zone travels to the decadent Prohibition period of the 1920s where gangsters supply bootleg booze to ghostly revelers entertained by a spectral Jazz era band. Providing a secret password to the club bouncer will allow you to dive deeper into the dark and terrifying underworld.
The scare zone will take over the area of the park near the new Knott’s Bear-y Tales dark ride that was once themed to the Roaring ’20s.
Ghost Town Streets
The scare zone that started it all swarms with half-human, half-animal monsters that prowl the streets of Calico Ghost Town. Beware of the Sliders who lunge from the fog-filled corners of the Wild West town and slide across the streets on their hands and knees.
Forsaken Lake
Gothic creatures hidden in the lake beneath the Silver Bullet roller coaster emerge from the murky waters in search of victims to drag back to the dark depths.
A deviant clown haunts the CarnEvil scare zone at Knott’s Scary Farm. (Knott’s)
CarnEvil
Deviant clowns and freak show creatures roam the CarnEvil scare zone in the Boardwalk area of the park.
The Hollow
The fog-filled Hollow scare zone drops visitors into the middle of a battle between the Witches of the Hollow and their army of creatures versus the Witch Hunter that is hot on their trail.
The Puppet Up! Uncensored live show at Knott’s Scary Farm features improvisational comedy and puppetry performed by puppeteers from the Jim Henson Company. (Knott’s)
Live Shows
‘Puppet Up! Uncensored’
The outrageous and off–the-cuff “Puppet Up! Uncensored” live show features improvisational comedy and puppetry performed by puppeteers from the Jim Henson Company — best known for its work on “Sesame Street” and “The Muppets.”
The zany shenanigans of the show performed by a bawdy and brazen puppet cast are driven by suggestions from the audience.
‘Carnaval du Grotesque’
The new “Carnaval du Grotesque” show takes over the Calico Mine Stage with live bands accompanied by creepy performers.
‘Invitation to Terror’
The new “Invitation to Terror” digital illusion show in the Mystery Lodge tells the story of millionaire inventor Tom Shackleford as he unveils a secret project that promises to change the world.
‘Wicked Drums’
The new “Wicked Drums” show in the Camp Snoopy Theater combines a high-energy percussion ritual with ancient witchcraft. The show is hosted by the evil Hag of the Hollows who summons a coven of witches with a demonic beat that can awaken the dead.
‘Doce de la Noche’
The new Doce de la Noche dance party at the Fiesta Plaza stage features high-energy music with dancers in vibrant costumes.
‘Conjurers: Magic and Mirth’
The “Conjurers: Magic and Mirth” comedy and magic show returns to the Bird Cage Theatre.
Ride overlay
The Timber Mountain Log Ride gets a Halloween Hootenanny transformation for Knott’s Scary Farm with appearances by the Green Witch and the Calico Coffin Creeper Band along with a glowing jack-o’-lantern labyrinth.
Knott’s Scary Farm 2021 runs on Sept. 16-18, Sept. 24-26, Sept. 30, Oct. 1-3, Oct. 7-10, Oct. 14-17, Oct. 21-24 and Oct. 28-31. The haunted event is open from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Thursdays and Sundays and 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Halloween Haunt tickets are $50 online at Knotts.com and $89 at the gate with discounts available for Knott’s season passholders.
