Originally a three-night affair, beginning on October 26, 1973, the annual, month-long event celebrated its 45th year in 2017. It has become the largest event of any theme park. The concept was introduced to the park’s operations committee in a meeting in September 1973 by George Condos and Martha Boyd of the marketing department, and Bill Hollingshead and Gary Salisbury of the entertainment office. Bud Hurlbut, who built and operated (as a concessionaire) the Mine Ride, Log Ride and other rides, decided that having static props wasn’t enough, so he put on a gorilla suit and scared guests as they rode on the Mine Ride. Halloween Haunt was an instant hit, and by the next year, the event sold out nightly. The continued balance of horror and humor has been a key to the continuing success of Knott’s Halloween Haunt.

Knott’s Scary Farm is now one of the largest and most haunting Halloween activity in Southern California! The fully transformed theme park features uniquely haunted houses, mazes and attractions, sinister shows, a dozen thrill rides in the dark and more than 1,000 horrifying creatures lurking in the fog and hiding in every corner of the park. Knott’s Scary Farm is far more than a collection of haunted houses and mazes. Every night, monsters spill out onto the streets and turn theme park midways into terrifying scare zones. From the world famous Ghost Town Streets to the Boardwalk area filled with evil clowns, there’s nowhere to hide in Knott’s Scary Farm, where nightmares never end.

During the 1990s, Knott’s changed their approach to Halloween by incorporating parodies, fun, and dark humor. This humor was added to many facets in the theme park and Knott’s turned from the explicit horror to black comedy. This continuing balance of horror and humor has been a key to the continuing success of Knott’s Halloween Haunt.

Haunting is a resource for immersive theater and horror fans in Los Angeles and across the world, promoting art and community. Want to help us reach even more people, and get some cool perks and experiences? For as little as $1 a month, you can join our Patreon and help us keep bringing content to life.

If you like this company and want to find more like it, make sure to join our community. If Facebook is your favorite, follow us there and join our community groups for Immersive Horror fans or Immersive creators. We’re active on Instagram, posting imagery and stories to promote our reviews and recollections; follow us there. We even have a twitter; click here to follow. For those who want to explore deeper, we have a vibrant Slack community with new event alerts and immediate ticket sale announcements; click here to join. Finally, we have a newsletter that comes out once a week; click here to sign up.

So however you like your news being delivered, we have something haunting for you.