Into the Fog: Knott’s Scary Farm 2026

Taylor Moore

News & Life Editor

On Oct. 26, 1973, Knott’s Berry Farm opened a three-night-long event called Knott’s Halloween Haunt. After the event was an instant success, the theme park brought it back the next year, eventually changing the name to Knott’s Scary Farm in 1975.

Over 50 years later, Knott’s Scary Farm still invites guests for endless jump scares with their slogan, “Into the Fog.”

This year marked my second time in the fog, but I don’t exactly count the first time since I only went through one maze, on account of my friends being too scared. I felt like it was time for a do-over, this time with my boyfriend who I’ve trained to become just as obsessed with Halloween as I am.

Featuring eight returning mazes and two new mazes, this year’s Knott’s Scary Farm racks up endless scares. The mazes average four minutes, with elaborate special effects and compelling storylines. “Inked,” a new maze to this year’s lineup, pokes fun at Disney’s Steamboat Willie by leaving the titular character killed at the maze’s entrance and letting its animated characters go on a killing rampage.

For those that know me, you already know this is my favorite time of year. For those who are curious about my scare credentials, I’ve been attending horror events consecutively for six years and have been a horror movie buff since I was three years old. It’s safe to say I’m an expert now.

Now that we’ve established my expertise, let’s dive into this year’s lineup at Knott’s Scary Farm.

Starting with one of the new mazes, Unearthed takes you through an archeological dig site gone wrong, I had no idea that this maze would incorporate so many ancient Egyptian artifacts, so the history buff in me was geeking out.

The special effects were off the charts in Unearthed. The hieroglyphics glow, warning of the impending doom. A large severed torso drapes across the wall with its bloodied guts hanging out. Possessed archeologists and resurrected mummies jump at you from every angle, even above you at certain times. The walls glow neon colors, distorting your vision and leaving you vulnerable to jumpscares.

Unearthed set the bar very high for me. Every aspect of this maze fulfilled my scare-craving desires.

Room 13 is set during the Prohibition era in a speakeasy that is interrupted by a violent murder spree.

Dead bodies litter the floor throughout the maze. You’re taken through destroyed kitchens, bathrooms, hallways and various guest rooms overflowing with carnage. These spirits are vengeful, ready to take out their anger on you.

I love when an original concept maze has an intricate story that is still easy to follow along with. The maze feels like a who-done-it incorporated with horror elements. I also loved that the actors in this maze were so interactive with their dialogue and physical performances; it truly immersed me into the experience.

I still have “Let’s All Go To the Lobby” by Something Weird stuck in my head, and I’m not mad at it. The song plays as you enter the theater’s concession stand and are greeted by theater employees who have clearly suffered an attack of some sort, a nod to the maze’s name.

Cinema Slasher takes you through various scenes inspired by iconic slasher movies: a house party turned violent, which we’ve seen countless times in various movies like “Scream” (1996 and “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022), a bathroom attack referencing “Psycho” (1960) and a dark-lit forest, an infamous setting for knife or axe wielding maniacs in “Sleepaway Camp” (1983) and “Friday the 13th” (1980).

I love the direct callbacks to the subgenre of horror. There were even cardboard cutouts of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees propped against a wall as you turn a corner in the maze. As a horror movie buff, this maze was more fun than scary, but still high on my list.

The Zoo plays on the idea of blending human with animal genetics to create superior specimens, only the experiment goes horribly wrong. Set in an abandoned zoo, the lab’s test subjects run wild, while the deranged doctors hunt for their next victims.

I cannot reiterate how fun this maze was, featuring detailed graffiti, vivid sound effects, flickering emergency lights and graphic surgical elements. The setting felt so real and the character designs were horrific and unique, with mutants mixed with feline, bird, bunny and marine DNA. I received possibly the biggest jumpscare I’ve ever had in this maze, earned a proud, “That was a good one, huh? I got you,” from the scare actor. You did indeed get me.

I love any story that has to do with a variation of the Boogeyman. While I couldn’t pinpoint the storyline of this maze, the scares and setting make up for it. You’re greeted with twinkling lights lining the ceiling, luring you into a false sense of security before you’re greeted with a creepy girl lurking in the shadows, and she is very eager to get up in your face.

Large animatronic heads of the Boogeyman’s face line the walls. In another scene, a hellhound feasting on a corpse growls at you from the darkness. While the Boogeyman is the star of the maze, he receives help from a forest witch, who is just as scary in her own right.

You exit the maze by entering the witch’s mouth, literally. Rather than standard room separations seen in mazes, the groves of her tongue caress you as you enter the next scene in her stomach. You venture into the grotesque scene only to be faced with one final jumpscare from the Boogeyman himself.

When I saw this maze in the lineup, a sense of dread immediately filled me. At 16, I developed a severe case of arachnophobia when a large wolf spider terrorized me at 3 a.m. one night. However, for the sake of this review, I decided to try to conquer my fear (spoiler alert: I failed).

The maze combines two ideas of windows: the black widow, a highly venomous spider, and an actual human widow. Both of these ideas join together the fear of spiders and the fears of aging and being alone. Set inside a nursing home, demonic spiders emerge to possess the bodies of elderly women, driving them to find mates for their Goddess Arachne. It’s truly a miracle I understood the concept considering my body was overwhelmed with anxiety before I entered the maze.

The maze doesn’t sugarcoat what it is. Relying almost entirely on practical effects, large spiders crawl down the walls and webs dangle into your face. While there weren’t a lot of jumpscare, the fear factor lies in the idea that these spiders are coming to crawl into your body. Great, like that isn’t a nightly fear of mine already.

The finale hosts a giant spider body attached to what I believed to be Arachne. To be honest, I almost couldn’t go through. I turned around begging my boyfriend to go first, only to be met by his laughter, and I guess the actor took pity on me since she eased up on her horrific portrayal and gestured for me to walk through. While her costume, acting and props were out of this world, and I can respect that, it was pure nightmare fuel for me.

I’ll be honest; when I first went through this maze, I didn’t get it. In fact, I left it feeling unsatisfied. However, now that I know how much history is embedded into it, and that the maze is retiring next year, I’ve developed a fondness for it.

The maze features rapid-fire mini-rooms and distinct areas referencing retired icons and historical themes from decades past, such as the Doll Factory, Asylum and a foggy cemetery finale. The different scenes feel like organized chaos. While it can be overwhelming, it somehow works.

Bradley thoroughly enjoyed this maze, especially the medieval, green-glowing entry way and relics in the front of the maze. He liked that the maze wasn’t what you would expect as a first-timer. It constantly leaves you guessing, both the plot and the next jumpscare lurking around the corner.

The maze plays on the urban legend of Bloody Mary, following a young girl named Mary Worth after she was murdered and buried alive. After rising from the grave, she seeks revenge, where her once warm childhood home becomes a gruesome murder site.

With mirrors throughout the maze, a ghostly girl begs you to say her name, but the actors urge you not to. Flashing strobe lights disorient you throughout, leading up to a giant animatronic Mary head. Personally, I think all of the special effects were very well done, but the scares were lacking for me. That being said, I thought it was a fun play on the myth surrounding She-Who-Must-Not-be-Named.

Every year, I attend Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights (LINK TO 2026 STORY), but this year’s crowd made it hard for me to enjoy the way I usually do. However, despite Knott’s Scary Farm also being crowded, the wait times were half as long as Horror Nights’. Knott’s Scary Farm also spaces out groups entering the mazes, preventing bottlenecking and ensuring each guest gets treated to a scare or two. Even Bradley, who rarely gets scared at Horror Nights, jumped quite a few times at Knott’s Scary Farm.

This year, at least for me, Knott’s Scary Farm beat out Halloween Horror Nights. That being said, I recommend trying each horror event for yourself to form your own opinion.

Knott’s Scary Farm runs select nights from Sept. 17 through Oct. 31, with general admission prices ranging from $65 to $89. Tickets can be purchased at the Knott’s Berry Farm, now owned by Six Flags, under the Knott’s Scary Farm dropbar. I bid you luck and wish you a scary good time as you venture Into the Fog.

Taylor Moore can be reached at bytaylormoore@gmail.com.