There are two very different ways to celebrate Halloween at Knott’s Berry Farm this fall. By day, pumpkins, costumes, candy and the PEANUTS gang welcome families to Knott’s Spooky Farm. But once darkness settles over Buena Park and the fog begins rolling through Ghost Town, Knott’s becomes a very different place. Knott’s Scary Farm is back for its 53rd season, and the granddaddy of Southern California theme park haunts has several new nightmares waiting in the fog for 2026.
For families with younger children, Knott’s Spooky Farm offers the gentler side of Halloween with its “All Fun. No Fear” daytime celebration. Young visitors can trick-or-treat their way through Ghost Town, join Charlie Brown, Snoopy and friends for games, music and spooky stories, and show off their Halloween costumes during Snoopy’s Spooktacular Costume Party. There is also the Creepy Critters Corral, where children can get a closer look at spiders, bugs and other not-so-scary creatures. Pumpkin patch and cookie decorating activities are available for an additional fee. Entertainment includes the Bob Baker Marionette Theater and the always lively Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies. Knott’s Spooky Farm runs Thursdays through Sundays through October 31, plus Columbus Day. But after dark, the atmosphere changes dramatically.
Knott’s Scary Farm runs on select nights through October 31 and transforms the entire park into a sprawling Halloween experience populated by more than 1,000 monsters. The 2026 event features 10 haunted mazes, five scare zones and three major live shows. Scary Farm is a separately ticketed event and Knott’s does not recommend it for children under 13.
Two completely new mazes headline this year’s lineup. “Inked” Brings Cartoons to Terrifying Life. One of the most unusual new attractions is Inked, a maze that takes visitors into the twisted world of Mortimer Morbid, a washed-up 1930s cartoonist and former head of Morbid Studios. Morbid discovers that when blood becomes ink, his drawings can come to life.
Naturally, this turns out to be a terrible idea. His attempt to create one final Halloween special unleashes an army of murderous vintage cartoon characters intent on dragging unsuspecting visitors into their animated world. The attraction mixes old-fashioned black-and-white animation with the much darker sensibilities of Scary Farm, creating a maze that is simultaneously nostalgic, strange and unsettling.
The second new maze, Unearthed, sends visitors into an archaeological nightmare. Guests become members of a search-and-rescue team responding to a distress signal from an excavation site. When they arrive, the base has been ravaged and ancient tablets discovered beneath the site have awakened something that should have remained buried. The storyline draws upon ancient mythology and archaeological adventure, but this is Scary Farm, so don’t expect Indiana Jones to arrive and save the day.
One of the most intriguing additions this year isn’t a maze at all. The historic Bird Cage Theatre becomes home to Occultum, a new production curated by Hollywood’s legendary Magic Castle.
The show combines dark magic, illusion and sleight-of-hand with the more sinister atmosphere of Scary Farm. It is an interesting pairing. Knott’s has a long history with magic and Old West entertainment, while the Magic Castle has been a Southern California institution for generations. Occultum brings those worlds together with a decidedly darker Halloween edge.
Also new is Voodoo: Bayou’s Edge, a musical production inspired by the atmosphere, rhythms and traditions of New Orleans. Marie Laveau, the legendary Voodoo Queen, guides the audience into the court of Baron Samedi, Lord of the dead. The production combines music, dance, aerialists, fire performers and a cemetery awakening around its audience.
CarnEVIL Gets Even More Evil. Clowns have long been part of Scary Farm, but this year’s CarnEVIL scare zone has been reimagined. The story now continues elements from the retired Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind maze. Mesmer himself becomes the shadowy force behind the circus, with the sideshow taking center stage and a new character known as the Clown Maker joining the mayhem. In other words, anyone who doesn’t like clowns may want to walk very quickly through the Boardwalk … Or perhaps run.
Along with the two new mazes, several popular Scary Farm experiences return for 2026.
Guests can again brave Widows, Eight Fingers Nine: The Boogeyman, The Chilling Chambers, Room 13, Cinema Slasher, Mary, The Haunting of Worth Home, The Zoo and Origins: The Curse of Calico.
Five scare zones fill the spaces between the mazes: CarnEVIL, Ghost Town Streets, Forsaken Lake, The Gauntlet and The Gore-ing ’20s. And perhaps nowhere is Scary Farm’s history felt more strongly than Ghost Town Streets, where Knott’s famous sliders and monsters emerge through the thick fog, a tradition that has helped define the event for decades.
Knott’s has also introduced Color Collect for 2026. Guests carrying a special interactive lantern can search for six Color Collect pillars located around the park. The lantern interacts with the pillars as visitors make their way through the event, adding a scavenger-hunt element to the evening. Seasonal food, themed drinks, exclusive merchandise and nighttime rides round out the experience. One Park – two very different themes. That may be the best part of Halloween at Knott’s Berry Farm. Parents with younger children can spend a fall afternoon collecting candy, visiting Snoopy and wandering through a pumpkin-filled Ghost Town. Older teens and adults can return after dark and discover what happens to that same Ghost Town when the sun disappears, the lanterns flicker and something begins moving through the fog. One is Spooky Farm – The other is Scary Farm.
Just make sure you know which one you’re taking the kids to.
