Activities

Your guide to the haunted mazes at Knott's Scary Farm 2023

Knott’s Scary Farm, Orange County’s largest Halloween event, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with more creatures and ghouls lurking in the eerie fog that has descended on the park.

With so many unique mazes, scare zones, and sinister shows to make thrill seekers and horror enthusiasts scream, we’ve compiled a guide to the most innovative, scariest, and creepiest attractions to help you get the most from your tour of the haunted farm.

GIF of La Llorona

Knott’s Scary Farm tickets

AAA members can save up to 50% when they buy tickets online or at a branch.

Knott's Spooky Farm tickets

If you have small children (or don't want to be scared witless), you can still get into the spirit of the season at Knott's Spooky Farm, an event full of family-friendly Halloween activities. Knott's Spooky Farm takes place Thursday-Sunday from September 28 to October 29, 2023, plus Halloween, and is included with regular park admission. AAA members get up to 45% off regular daytime admission online or at a branch.

CHAPERONE POLICY: A chaperone policy is in effect on all Knott’s Scary Farm event nights. Guests who are 15 or younger must be accompanied by a chaperone who is at least 21 years old to be admitted. Learn more about the chaperone policy.

CLEAR BAG POLICY: Only clear plastic bags smaller than 12” x 12” x 6” or non-clear wristlets/clutches no larger than 5”x 8”x 2” are allowed at Knott's Scary Farm.

The most innovative mazes

The Chilling Chambers

Honoring Scary Farm’s 50-year history of terrorizing visitors, The Chilling Chambers pays homage to the first ever maze, “10 Chilling Chambers,” which debuted in 1977. Frequent visitors to the Farm will be delighted by classic maze themes and familiar diabolical demons walking through the different eras of Scary Farm’s history.

The scares are anything but standard in this maze as you try to avoid patients in an asylum, step into a dizzying rave at Club Chupacabra, dodge neon clowns in a sinister circus, and escape vampiric brides in their gothic lair. Even seasoned visitors will be impressed by scares that come from every direction, from the sudden rumbling of the floor to scareactors looming above on stilts.

Bloodline 1842

Knott's Scary Farm's Bloodline 1842 maze creates a vampire-infested world where it’s key to keep your wits about you. “Bound by blood, bound by honor” will be your creed as you join the vampire hunters known as Daybreakers and are thrust into the bloody streets of Valdonia.

As you slowly descend into the desolate and eerie streets, you'll have to avoid being torn apart by vampires that can swoop in from any direction. Along the way, you’ll move through “safe rooms" and meet other hunters who will guide you toward the final battle against the bloodthirsty vampire king Valhymphri.

An eye at the center of red square hypnotic swirl

Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind

Before entering the tattered red and white circus tent of Mesmer, a disembodied voice hypnotizes, but also warns you not to lose yourself in your own mind. The hypnotist gives you the phrase “red room” as your last tether to reality, but will saying it save you?  

As you’re plunged deeper into hypnosis, each room unleashes a hidden fear locked away in your mind and the guiding narration becomes increasingly frantic. Incredible set pieces include a hall of mirrors, a tightrope walk over a pit into oblivion, and a swaying bridge—or is the room moving? All the elements come together to make you question your mind and senses.

The creepiest mazes

Room 13

This new maze takes scare-seekers back to the Roaring '20s at the height of the Prohibition era, where bootleggers are brewing an addictive new cocktail called The Devil’s Elixir, but how exactly the glowing green alcohol was made remains a mystery. When you first enter through a speakeasy, you’ll get plenty of warnings not to drink the liquor, but should you heed their advice, or just take a small sip?

As you walk through the Art Deco hotel, you’ll quickly realize the effects of the drink go beyond your normal hangover. Those who have had a few too many have turned into violent killers and are murdering guests unfortunate enough to be staying at the hotel. Journey far enough into the bowels of the hotel, and you’ll discover the sinister origin of the aptly named Devil’s Elixir.

Cinema Slasher

If you’ve ever watched a slasher movie and come up with a plan for how you would make it through the night alive, the Cinema Slasher maze is your chance to put your strategy to the test. New for 2023, scary movie lovers will appreciate the nods to classic slasher favorites as you literally step through silver screens to become the unsuspecting main character in your own horror movie.

Like any good slasher film, the jump scares are plenty, with knife-wielding killers lunging at you from every angle imaginable as you move from scene to scene. The maze reaches its climax at an old homestead where you’ll have to do more than duck to avoid the killer’s massive chainsaw. Even if you make it out alive, you’ll never hear the concession song at the movies the same way ever again.

The scariest mazes

Demonic siren in an underwater cave

The Depths

What’s more terrifying than being trapped underwater with creatures that may be swimming (or slithering) beneath the surface? The Depths tells the story of a mining crew that has mysteriously disappeared in the caves underneath an abandoned port village.

From walking through the carcass of a giant sea monster to an impressive smoke-and-laser effect that gives you the eerie feeling of wading through water, you’ll have to dodge all the horrors of the deep to survive. Your only hope for escape depends on resisting the pull of the siren’s song.

The Grimoire

Huddle around the fire as a fellow camper reads from the Grimoire, an ancient cursed book used to summon spirits. Be warned: The Grimoire has not only released demons—it's also pulling you back through time, and the scariest part is finding out where and when you'll end up next.

Will you be running through the woods in the 1980s as Simple Minds' Don’t You (Forget About Me) echoes through the trees, or will you be crawling out of the trenches of World War II? And how far back can you go before there's no way home? Turn the page to find out if you make it out alive ... or have your soul eternally trapped in the next chapter.

Wax Works

The scare factor and heat have been cranked up to the max as you enter this maze surrounded by smoke, flames, and the crackle of burning wood. Bloody messages, tortured bodies melted beyond recognition, and cauldrons filled with wax and flesh combine to create some of the most unsettling imagery in this year’s offerings. Add a tour of the furnace room where the once-prominent plastic surgeon Dr. Augustus Scratch creates his “art,” and it all adds up to a deeply disturbing museum visit.

Scare zones & shows

Avoiding the Scary Farm mazes won’t keep you safe from the terror. If you feel your heart racing and your palms sweating as you traverse through 5 unique scare zones, it’s because you never know what kind of creatures, clowns, or ghouls will sneak up on you through the haunting fog.

Exhausted from running and screaming? The 4 Knott’s Scary Farm shows are a perfect way to take a break. Rock out to musical performances in Music, Monsters, and Mayhem, see death-defying feats and carnival acts at Le Magnifique Carnaval du Grotesque, and experience side-splitting laughter at The Hanging: Uncancelled—returning for the first time since 2019.

Ready to feel the fear in person?

AAA members can get discounts on Knott's Scary Farm tickets. Save up to 50% on when you buy tickets online or at a AAA branch.

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