Berries + Scarries: A Spooky Good Time

Knottʼs Scary Farm has the world's first and longest-running Halloween-themed event at any theme park since its inception in October 1973. This fall marks fifty-three years of the annual transformation of Knottʼs Berry Farm into a spook-tacular venue for six weeks. Per promotional materials, this thrilling event is based on “a sprawling, interconnected universe where the fictional town of Calico is plagued by dark magic, ancient curses, and recurring central villains.” This year, the park welcomed two new mazes, Inked and Unearthed, along with eight returning mazes. Throughout the park, there are five themed scare zones, with actors waiting to terrify and thrill you at every corner. Prepare yourself to explore all the mazes and scare zones in chronological order, but read at your own risk!

Mary

Are you brave enough to survive malevolent spirits? With the returning maze, Mary, you can now live out every terrifying movie about specters from the other side. Mary is based around the urban legend of Bloody Mary, who is summoned by chanting her name three times in the mirror. In the maze, youʼre taken through the house of a family that summoned her, as Mary unleashes chaos throughout the home. Just don't stare into the mirrors too long, or something else might stare back.

Widows

This maze is not for those with arachnophobia, but if are not afraid to see large spiders, then make yourself at home. Widows follows the story of a spider plague that infests a nursing home, making prey of all who enter. As the maze progresses, you try to avoid spiders at every corner, with some hiding in the dark nooks, ready to catch you off guard.

Zoo

An experiment gone wrong leaves many animals mutated into twisted nightmares, roaming the abandoned zoo. With the alarms going off, tools everywhere, and grisly anomalies, your only objective is to escape from this chaotic environment before it's the animalsʼ mealtime and they decide you look like chow.

Eight Fingers Nine: The Boogeyman

Based on the 16th-century English legend, Eight Fingers Nine takes place in a colonial town where the Boogeyman is terrorizing the local children. The attraction is mostly dark, creating an eerie atmosphere that makes you feel like you're being watched from the shadows. Bad news: you are.

Unearthed

Indiana Jones just got a hundred times darker. Unearthed is an excavation site that accidentally awakens powerful forces of ancient evil. It quickly turns into a rescue mission for the archaeologists, but it might be too late.

Origins: The Curse of Calico

Into a good scare and paranormal activity? Origins has all that and more! The town is swarming with the supernatural as Sarah Marshall is put on trial for suspicion of witchcraft. Guests must flee the courtroom and town to avoid Sarah Marshallʼs curse.

Cinema Slasher

Horror movies are already terrifying, but imagine being in one, only no one is actually acting. In Knottʼs popular maze, guests jump from movie to movie, trying to escape the grip of the cruel Slasher, before you're his next victim.

Inked

Cartoons are meant to be fun and cheerful, right? In Knott's brand new hit maze, Inked, park-goers enter Morbid Studios, where an animatorʼs characters come to life (and not with good intentions). Hell-bent on keeping everyone who enters from leaving, guests try to escape the grasp of Morbid Studiosʼ twisted world. But if you're caught, it will be fatal.

The Chilling Chambers

The Chilling Chambers was the very first maze that was designed specifically for Knottʼs Scary Farm. The Chilling Chambers is a mix of everything. It goes from a circus to a haunted doll house. It's still scary, but really enjoyable. Hey, the classics are classics for a reason.

Scare Zones

Throughout the park, there are five themed scare zones, where actors roam with their only objective being to terrify you. Fog fills the air, making it harder to see where they are coming from, so you have to be on high alert at all times. In Ghost Town, humanoid monsters and the infamous sliders lunge at you from the dark along the streets. On the Boardwalk, there is the CarnEVIL, filled with clowns, “rat people,” and “dog people.” In Charleston Circle, thereʼs The Gore-ing '20s (a clever quip on the Roaring Twenties), where a big jazz party and ghouls have the best time foxtrotting, while also scaring you to death. Near Silver Bullet is Forsaken Lake, where gothic water creatures wander about; they follow you in the shadows as you make your way to Fiesta Village. Finally at Camp Snoopy, we have The Gauntlet, a really dark fairy tale domain with frightening jesters, kings and queens, wizards, and peasants.

What People Are Saying

“My experience at Knott's Scary Farm is that it was fun, but scary and thrilling,” Freshman Swordsman Jolene Carrillo said. “ My favorite maze was the Cinema Slasher because it felt like I was in a movie scene and the scare actors were the best compared to other mazes.” St. Paul students are a common sight at Knott's, and with the Halloween festivities running through October 31st, you still have plenty of time for some scarries and berries! Perhaps consider sharing your location with some family and friends on the off chance that you donʼt make it back in one piece...those sliders did look a bit hungry.