Knott’s Scary Farm is ready for you to once again enter the fog and at Midsummer Scream 2025 creators of the event were on hand to tease some of the fresh horrors in store for haunt-goers this season..

Here’s a shriek peek at everything we learned about 2025 Knott’s Scary Farm during Midsummer Scream.

What We Learned

We’ll have more soon but in the meantime, here’s some of the gory details of what we learned for this year’s event. The presentation led by Pasta Berky (Associate Producer and featured panelists included Bill Meyer (Wardrobe Manager), John Aspirin (Manager of Art Decor / Creative Designer), Daniel Miller (Creative Designer), and Jeff Shadic (Park Decor; oversees park transformation).

What to Expect

  • The Boulet Brothers announced they will co-host Nightmares Revealed on August 19th; the event is sold out, but a QR code was shown in the auditorium to claim a limited number of additional tickets.
  • Details were sparse (wait for the Nightmares Revealed event) but we got some great behind-the-scenes on Grimoire and Mesmer which are both having their final runs this year.

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The Grimoire

  • John Aspirin spoke to the legacy of this offering which he said was influenced by retro classics like The Goonies, Stand by Me, Stranger Things, Evil Dead, and black-and-white stage “spook” plays. Characters were built to feel relatable friendship dynamics
  • Originally planned for a different venue but moved to the Mystery Lodge following COVID-era backstage spacing needs; the redesign accounted for performer distancing.
  • Easter eggs referencing Special Ops: Infected, Calico, Sarah Marshall, comic books, and a personal nod to John’s son
  • The team framed this season as closing this chapter, with the possibility of the book reappearing later… dun dun dun!
  • Ties into ongoing Scary Farm lore via recurring relics such as skeleton keys, a witch’s cauldron, and lanterns, building a connected narrative across offerings.

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Mesmer

  • Daniel Miller said this one draws on inspiration from Get Out and 1930s Dust Bowl hypnotist shows where hypnosis becomes the device that traps victims in nightmare “hell” sequences.
  • Early ideas for this experience included
    • The concept was originally conceived for Ghost Town with the idea of snake oil salesman and guests would have been given his serum (grapejuice) to signtl the start of the hallucinogenic voyage.
    • Another was to give guests headphones to create the effect of hypnotist voice being “inside” your head. But this was dropped due COVID concerns; the audio team instead separated voice and environmental sound in-maze.
  • Development of this as the only new maze during the pandemic enabled deeper character backstories; notable scenes include pendulum-motion rooms, swinging hallways, plexiglass floors, mirrors, and animatronics.
  • One particularly unsightly character developed for the maze is lovingly referred to as “Li’l Miller” a self-named reference to the creator which he mused was a self-portrait

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Costumes

  • Bill Meyer shared that approximately 1,000 performers are costumed nightly, supported by a core shop of approximately 12 and approximately 35 makeup artists each event night.
  • Distinct visual languages define different areas:
    • Ghost Town uses sun-faded jewel tones plus tons of scarecloth, while Boardwalk clowns are limited to black, white, gray, and red.
    • The Grimoire required duplicate wardrobe in both full color and grayscale (including wigs); the Hellhounds were built from western dusters with four in-house mask variants.
    • Mesmer costumes lift directly from sideshow-poster aesthetics—clashing patterns, stripes, and distressed fabrics assembled during COVID-era constraints.

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Park Transformation & Decor

  • Jeff Shadic shared that the park conversion to Scary Farm starts after Labor Day each year and takes approximately two and a half weeks until the event starts.
  • Scarecloth (introduced in 1975) was once multicolored but is now standardized gray and the event use roughly 300 pounds—or about 16,000 pieces— which are processed and flameproofed each season.
  • The main gate centerpiece is inspired by Highgate Cemetery in London, featuring reaper figures, crypt-like architecture, and hidden lantern-triggered effects; installation takes approximately two and a half nights.
  • Lantern activations include a demon violinist, a reaper whose trigger changes lighting and audio, and a small figure nicknamed “Peeper” that peeks from behind a tombstone.
  • A 50th-anniversary medallion led to a continuing Scary Farm monogram emblem used in current displays.

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See it for Yourself

Midsummer Scream takes place in Long Beach from August 15-17, 2025.

MORE INFO: See all MouseInfo coverage for Midsummer Scream

But Wait, There’s More!

Don’t miss out on any of our coverage across the MouseInfo TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads accounts for the latest from the event!

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