Knott’s Scary Farm is back this year celebrating 50 years of thrills, chills, and haunts and the event has never seemed more unalive in all the best ways!
With three new mazes this year, plus a new scare zone and new shows (including the return of fan-favorite THE HANGING), there’s a fresh crop of fun that honestly seems unmatched of any So Cal event. Pound for pound, you really are gonna get the most bang for your buck at Knott’s Scary Farm this year and there’s so much going on that it’s virtually impossible to see and do it all in one night.
With hosted tickets, we were given access to the park to uncover all the horror for ourselves. Join us now for a full look all around Knott’s Scary Farm 2023!
Maze Rankings
In most cases, it’s just not possible to do every single maze in a single night so we’ve done a loose ranking of all the mazes this year to help you prioritize your plan of attack.
- Cinema Slasher
- Origins: The Curse of Calico
- The Chilling Chambers
- The Grimoire
- Room 13
- Wax Works
- Bloodline 1842
- Mesmer
- The Depths
- Dark Entities
New Mazes
Cinema Slasher
RATING: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
Perhaps our favorite of the new mazes this year, you’ll head into the Midnight Theater and then literally step into the screens of a triple feature of horror featuring the murderous Slasher. Each of the three screens represents a different delicious horror genre including a frat horror slasher, camp killer, and torture dungeon. The whole thing is tied together with the delightful projector demon that we find out is the one responsible for all the carnage come to life. An absolute murderous delight.
The Chilling Chambers
RATING: 🎃🎃🎃🎃⚫
As a love letter to 50 years of Knott’s Scary Farm, this is a fun one. The Keeper welcomes all into his conservatory of horror with several sections dedicated to past Knott’s haunts resurrecting fan-favorite scares and characters. Fittingly, everything comes to an end in a graveyard where tombstones for previous mazes include the birth and death dates of legendary haunts. This is a lot of fun for fans although perhaps just slightly confusing for those who don’t understand the context.
Room 13
RATING: 🎃🎃🎃🎃⚫
Step literally into the backstage areas of Knott’s and then head to an unassuming doorway that leads into a speak easy during Prohibition era. Once inside, beware of the noxious brew of Devil’s Elixir which is wreaking havoc on Memory Lane and at the Argive Hotel. This maze unwittingly feels like stepping into an episode of the Twilight Zone and we loved that aspect; the vintage charm shines through and there’s a creepy — although perhaps not distinctly memorable — batch of characters running amok.
Returning Mazes
Bloodline 1842
RATING: 🎃🎃🎃⚫⚫
Even without the guns this year, this maze feels like you’re stepping right into the expansive world of a video game. Three’s some really great visuals throughout once you enter the city of Valdonia where war rages between the Daybreakers and the twisted Valhymphri.
The Grimoire
RATING: 🎃🎃🎃🎃⚫
It’s a bit of Stranger Things meets Evil Dead. A fantastic story that’s easy to follow along with and takes you into some unsettling scenes including the trenches of World War I, a Stepford nightmare, and more.
Mesmer
RATING: 🎃🎃🎃⚫⚫
This is a really fun one because it’s so cerebral and intentionally confusing. Professor Mesemer has you under his hipnotic trance and the frights he is able to unlock are both confusing and terrifying.
Origins: The Curse of Calico
RATING: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
Another love letter to Knott’s — this one in the form of the original Ghost Town that started the theme park on its journey in the earliest days. This one is full of fun old western sights tracing the origins of villager Sarah Marshall into her descent (or ascent) into the Green Witch.
Wax Works
RATING: 🎃🎃🎃🎃⚫
This is super creepy and super fun and visuals run the gamut from creepy burned down wax museum to a horrific wax dungeon workshop.
The Depths
RATING: 🎃🎃🎃⚫⚫
This was a strong contender for us when it first debuted but year seemingly has lost a bit of its edge. Still, it has a great mix of frights including fun above-water, below-water effects, scary mermaids, creepy shark monsters and of course, THE KRAKEN!
Retiring Mazes
Dark Entities
RATING: 🎃🎃⚫⚫⚫
The quarantine didn’t work (nervous chuckle) and a space station has descended into chaos following a viral outbreak with nowhere to run. This maze offers a promising concept but in its final year it just doesn’t have us mourning its journey into the haunt graveyard.
Scare Zones
Scare Zones return again with frightful surprises including newbie The Gauntlet which brings Game of Thrones vibes with a horror twist in Camp Snoopy; Gore-ing 20’s with the decadence and debauchery of a bygone area near Charleston Circle, Forsaken Lake with swampy unearthly undead near Silver Bullet, CarnEVIL with clowns and carnie creeps on the Boardwalk, and, of course, the Ghost Town Streets with treacherous old western scares screaming back to life.
Entertainment
The Hanging: Uncancelled, Le Magnifique Carnaval du Grotesque, Music, Monsters & Mayhem, and Dr. Cleaver Returns offer approximately 2-hours of extra diversions during the event. Check out our full video and reviews of the new offerings in our guide below.
More to Explore
Halloween Hootenanny
At the Timber Mountain Log Ride, the classic Knott’s hallmark attraction gets a zany Halloween takeover with an insane assortment of monsters, aliens, and other creatures — scary and silly.
Calico Candy Mine Ride
The Pink Fairy transforms the Calico Mines into fantastical big rock candy mountain giving the classic attraction a seasonal delight to satisfy every sweet tooth. Just be careful with those popping rocks!
Into the Fog
At The Factory Store, 50 years of mayhem and monster magic come to life with original art and merch.
Food
A bunch of tantalizing options are available for you to sink your teeth into from Swamp Gator Sausage (yes, with alligator), Rabbit Tenderloin Pasta (yes, with rabbit), Mutant Turtle Philly Cheese Steak Pizza (yes, with turtle meat), Eerie Elk Chili Chambers Burger (yes, with elk), A La Diabla Fries, Cereal Killer Funnel Cake, and a host of other fang-tastic eats, treats, sweets, and drinks.
Merch
A bunch of merch is availble this year from tees and apparel to mugs, keychains and other keepsakes. Special merch this year includes 2023 Interactive Lanterns for extra fun in the park and No-Boo Necklaces for less scares. (Pero why?)
Interactive Lanterns for $39.99 detect and activate special moments around the park including 54 in mazes, 10 in scare zones, 5 in the Legacy Store, and 4 at park displays.
You can pick these up all over the place including Cordy’s Corner, Factory Store, Legacy Store, Virginia’s Gift Shop, and at booths around the park. We were super tempted to pick one up but the price tag on these bad boys is a tad too rich, we felt.
If you’re in the need for LESS scares when walking around the park, you can pick up a No Boo Necklace for $14.99 which will signal to the creatures of the night in the scare zones that you are
Photo-Ops and Decor
Event Map
See it for Yourself
Knott’s Scary Farm returns for 29 frightful nights from September 21 – October 31, 2023.
Knott’s Scary Farm is open 7:00 pm – 1:00 am, excluding Fridays and Saturdays, where the event will run 7:00 pm – 2:00 am. Exact event dates follow below:
- September: 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30
- October: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 31
Know Before You Go
Single Night Tickets
- Buy tickets at knottsscaryfarm.com and save up to $50 off the regular main gate price of $109.99.
- Knott’s Season Passholders receive a discount on single-night tickets.
Fright & Fast Lane
- Fright & Fast Lane starts at $145 and varies by night. Separate Scary Farm event admission is required and not included.
- Unlimited priority access to all mazes plus priority boarding on all Fast Lane rides.
Knott’s Scary Farm Boo-Fet
- Dinner starts at $45 online. Admission to Knott’s Scary Farm is required and not included.
- Early access to select Scary Farm areas and photo opportunities with monsters.
- A 2023 souvenir bottle for unlimited refills on your first visit and $5 refills for subsequent visits in 2023
Knott’s Scary Farm Gruesome Getaway Resort Package
Includes a one-night stay at The Knott’s Hotel plus:
- Daytime admission to Knott’s Berry Farm
- Evening admission to Knott’s Scary Farm on the night of arrival with Fright & Fast Lane
- Pre-Scare Dinner Experience with early entry
- Exclusive Knott’s Scary Farm t-shirt
- Breakfast buffet for each morning of your stay
Event Parking
- Knott’s Scary Farm General parking is $35 per vehicle and can be purchased online or at the parking booth upon arrival.
- Preferred Parking is $50 per vehicle at our Grand Preferred Lot and subject to availability.
- All season-long parking is valid for Knott’s Scary Farm nights.
Knott’s Scary Farm Bag Policy
- Only clear plastic bags smaller than 12” x 12” x 6” are allowed
- Only non-clear wristlets or clutches no larger than 5”x 8”x 2” are allowed
- All bags are subject to search prior to entry
MORE INFO: Visit the official site for tickets and details, KnottsScaryFarm.com
