Clown photo
CarnEvil clown taking a break from scaring guests to smile for the camera at Knott’s Scary Farm 2022 on Sept. 22.
Gabriel Villegas

Opening Day at Knott’s Scary Farm

Knott’s Scary Farm 2022 opened its doors on Sept. 22 at 7 a.m. with new and returning mazes, with monsters old and familiar to run from.

Knott’s Scary Farm is now requiring minors to be accompanied by adults and chaperones, who monitor groups of five children, to be permitted into the park for free due to teenage fighting taking place in July.

The treacherous journey began at “The Depths,” a returning maze centered on a group of night watch miners, that disappeared deep into the caves underneath containing sea monsters and undead miners.

“The Depths” was followed by sci-fi horror, “Dark Entities,” which was focused on a flight crew whose ship had been taken over by an infectious alien that mutates its host.

Knott’s Scary Farm 2022 offered different activities to see and guests were able to enjoy live shows such as, “Puppet Up!,” “Carnaval du Grotesque” and “Conjurers – Dark Magic,” all while monsters still roam the park grounds.

Other fun activities include exploring Ghost Town and pushing through a thick cloud of fog in which monsters and humans can’t be distinguished apart.

Ghost town stage
Knott’s Scary Farm 2022 Ghost Town stage decorated with frightening jack o lanterns on Sept. 22. (Gabriel Villegas)

Just at the edge of Ghost Town, “The Grimoire” was introduced as 2022’s newest maze where several horrifying characters were released from a book during a campfire scary story-telling session.

Around the bend, the “Gore-ing 20s” featured several prohibition-era ghouls to poke fun at guests, push the ways of sobriety and spark up fear.

For first-time Knott’s Scary Farm guests, it’s recommended that one enters at the front to avoid slandering sadists.

Just past the “Gore-ing 20s”, the “CarnEvil Zone” contains “Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind” in which Mesmer, the hypnotist, reaches into guests’ deepest, darkest fears with circus-themed frights because clowns never fail to scare.

Spending its final year at Knott’s Scary Farm is “Dark Ride: Castle of Chaos,” an amusement park-themed maze with appropriately chosen obstacles such as bumper cars and broken ride pieces for monsters to hide behind.

Other exciting mazes included the return of “Origins: The Curse of Calico,” a Ghost Town-themed maze with much brilliant exposition, alongside “Pumpkin Eater,” which is also spending its last year at Knott’s Scary Farm.

Less memorable mazes included “Wax Works,” for its lack of monsters and “Bloodline 1842,” a vampire-themed shooter which is best progressed with a small party, yet groups were too large to appreciate all its details.

Tickets, merch and a private guide are up on their website if you want to experience Knott’s Scary Farm yourself.

Knott’s Scary Farm will be open until Oct. 31 and opens from 7 p.m. to at the latest, 2 a.m.

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About the Contributor
Gabriel Villegas, Staff Writer
Gabe Villegas is a staff writer for Talon Marks covering the Community, Opinion, Arts and Entertainment. Gabe enjoys screenwriting, drawing/animation, and reading novels and scripts in his free time. His goal is to become a professional screenwriter/filmmaker in Hollywood and earn a SAG card.
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