What to Know
- Sept. 22 through Oct. 31, select nights
- Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park
- $59 and up; $30 parking; other ticketing tiers available
Properly flabbergasting someone, in a fun and frightful way, can take decades of know-how, petrifying professionalism, and a skilled flair for creating scares.
If you're creating such an experience, you probably want to go with a combination of fresh thrills (adding the element of surprise) and proven favorites, those chilling charms that people have come to enjoy over the years.
Or, yes, even the decades.
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For one of our region's longest-running fright-taculars, Knott's Scary Farm, will celebrate its 50th anniversary in just a couple of years.
This means other Halloween-themed happenings around Southern California, and far beyond, have looked to Knott's Berry Farm's seasonal startle fest for inspiration. And one of the tried-and-truest themes?
Bring back some of the well-loved elements, the stuff that fans have liked best, while continuing to add fresh and creative frights.
That's just what the 2022 to-do will do, artfully combining a monstrous mix of popular properties and all-new adventures, too.
Knott's Scary Farm revealed what those would be about five weeks ahead of its 2022 opening night, which will rise from the ether on Thursday, Sept. 22.
"The Depths," "Wax Works," and "Pumpkin Eater" will all be back to elicit shrieks and/or laughs, the sort of laughter that comes at the end of an eerie experience, a singular feeling of sweet release.
Some vintage-flavored Scare Zones will also make re-appearances at the upcoming event, including The Gore-ing 20s, a flapper-fied trip back in time, and the Ghost Town Streets, where the spirit of "yippee ki yay" takes on a different flavor as ten-gallon'd ghouls glower and lurk.
And on the new-but-still-wicked roster?
Bloodline 1842, a steampunky vampiric fantasy of a maze, is a novel offering, as is The Grimoire, a maze that involves a spell book you really don't want to open and a relic you really don't want to possess.
There are more debuting delights of the most dastardly assortment, and returning favorites, too, like the sassy "Puppet Up!" stage show and a Halloween overlay on the Timber Mountain Log Ride.
Tickets may be purchased now, and there are some tiers to choose from, including a Fright & Fast Lane option. Knott's Berry Farm's new Chaperone Policy will remain in place for all nights of Knott's Scary Farm, too; details are available here.
Haunt this site and now for more information about one of Southern California's most established eek-outs, a jump-and-startle celebration that's been delivering seasonal scares since the early 1970s.
