Knott's Scary Farm Unveils New Mazes and Shows for 53rd Season

A roller coaster rising above a theme park

Knott’s Berry Farm has announced details for its 53rd annual Knott’s Scary Farm, running select nights from Sept. 17 through Oct. 31. The upcoming Halloween event highlights two new haunted mazes, two stage shows, and a revamped scare zone.

Knott’s Berry Farm unveiled the full lineup for its 53rd annual Knott’s Scary Farm season during a "Nightmares Revealed" preview event on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. The iconic Buena Park event—running on select nights from Sept. 17 through Oct. 31 as a separate-admission night—will feature 10 haunted mazes, five scare zones, three stage productions, and over 1,000 monsters throughout the park. During the preview event, attendees sat in on design panels, viewed makeup demonstrations and wardrobe displays, and took lights-on walkthroughs of the returning "Room 13" and "Widows" mazes.

Headlining this season's additions are two original haunted mazes. "Inked," located beneath the Xcelerator roller coaster and designed by "The Zoo" creator Daniel Miller, brings guests into the 1930s setting of Morbid Studios, where a broadcast turns blood into ink and brings murderous cartoons into the real world. In the former footprint of the Mystery Lodge, designer Jon Asperin’s "Unearthed" places visitors alongside a search and rescue team responding to a distress call at an archaeological dig, where released ancient tablets have freed a malevolent force. Eight mazes will return for 2026, though park management confirmed that two fan favorites—"Origins: The Curse of Calico" and "Chilling Chambers"—will be permanently retired after this season ends.

Entertainment offerings feature two brand-new stage productions alongside a returning classic. "Voodoo Bayou’s Edge" debuts on the Calico Mine Stage, utilizing fire effects, smoke, dancers, and drums as Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau guides audiences into a spirit underworld. In the newly refurbished Bird Cage Theatre, "Occultum" will feature performers from Hollywood’s private Magic Castle club, the headquarters of the Academy of Magical Arts. Meanwhile, the pop-culture satire and stunt show "The Hanging" returns to its home at the Wagon Camp Theater.

On the park floor, the Boardwalk scare zone "CarnEvil" has been overhauled with a new narrative focus. Shifting away from crazed clowns, the zone now highlights carnival sideshow acts led by Mesmer the Hypnotist, a character previously featured in his own maze from 2021 to 2025. CarnEvil joins four returning scare zones—Ghost Town Streets, Forsaken Lake, Gore-ing 20’s, and The Gauntlet—to complete the park-wide experience.

Reported for The Park · The Orange County Register · August 18, 2026 · Read the full story on The Park