Yesterday, we got a very special invitation from Knott’s Berry Farm to take a look at their newest, most ambitious creation for the Halloween season: Paranormal Inc. Case #13: The Haunting of Hayden Hill.

This new maze, built specifically for Knott’s Scary Farm, is an all-new concept in haunt themed entertainment.  Guests will be recruited to assist in a paranormal investigation at a storied, abandoned sanitarium.

 

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In this groundbreaking new maze featuring high flying aerial stunts and scares, guests investigate a haunted hospital where the patients were tortured for decades by deranged doctors and nurses. Demonic spirits of the murdered victims have been detected throughout the mysterious halls, while evil medical staff hunt for new patients to torture.

 

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In the new maze, a team of run-of-the-mill ghost hunters are intent on investigating the Hayden Hill mental hospital. Patients have been tortured there for decades by deranged doctors and the mojo is bad. The experience starts in the lobby of the asylum, where the story is set up.  The ghost hunters have heard tale of a few nasty ghosts in the asylum, and are preparing to make contact.  There is a deranged doctor, a neurotic nurse, and their daughter ethereally wandering the halls of the dank location. As the ghost hunters try to make contact, they get a little too ambitious. Things go terribly wrong and visitors are in for one hell of a time.

Groups are divided and guided into two separate paths. The splitting maze path idea was attempted in last year’s Voodoo, with mixed results.  Maze Designer Jon Cooke has learned the lesson from that maze, and created very distinct parallel paths that can be experienced.

We were treated to the path that followed the evil doctor who maimed and tortured his patients.  The lighting is kept low.

“You see above us?  No lighting,” Cooke points out. “We wanted to use only the lighting that would be naturally occurring in the rooms.  A lamp, T.V. screens, camera monitors, all very real and eerie.”

We were led past a few technical tricks that were explained to us by Cooke. The designer of last year’s hit, Special Ops: Infected, Cooke has a keen interest in bringing the level of quality and technical wizardry to a level not seen at the annual haunt.  In one scene, a rattling wheelchair sits in a corner as a video camera is pointed in its direction.  As visitors pass, they can see another scene depicted in the camera monitor that is picking up the ghost activity in front of it.  The doctor is torturing a patient bound to the chair.  That is, until he notices the guests in the room.

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This new maze promises to be a game changer.  Building on what Cooke learned from Special Ops: Infected last year, and by having a part in the brilliant Voodoo from 2014, he appears to have upped the game.  We can honestly say that we have not seen this level of detail and scope at Knott’s, ever. Touring with the lights on, with the soundtrack faintly playing in the background, this new walkthrough will turn heads in the haunt industry this year.  We simply cannot wait for a proper tour of this asylum.
We would also like to remind you that tickets are on sale now for the most sought after Halloween event of the season, the HorrorBuzz/MiceChat Knott’s Scary Farm Meet!  Grab your tickets now!

 

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Knott’s Scary Farm Meet

Tickets on SALE NOW!
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Ghouls and boys it is time once again to return to the foggy, mouldering streets of Ghost Town as we gather for the annual MiceChat/HorrorBuzz Knott’s Scary Farm Meet!  Join us as we feast on an all you can eat boo-fet, explore backstage realms and get a tour behind the scenes through the mazes with the designers themselves, and enjoy VIP Front of the line access to the mazes and skeleton key access ALL NIGHT and have the best time of your life being scared. 

ONLY ONE WAY LEFT
TO EXPERIENCE THE FEAR! 

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VIP Package (SOLD OUT)
Regular Price $145 

  • Backstage Tour of maze and meet and greet with Haunt Designer
  • All-you-can-eat Boo-ffet
  • Early Admission into Knott’s Scary Farm
  • Early entry to Elvira’s Asylum*
  • Front of the line for MAZES ONLY
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Elvira’s BIG Package
Regular Price  $250 

  • ALL features of the VIP package above, PLUS the following:
  • Front of the line for all RIDES & ATTRACTIONS
  • Special Meet and Greet with Elvira
  • Special Elvira Sovenier pack (a $50 value)

We also have a special discount code for those interested in staying at the Knott’s Hotel.  Use the Discount Code: HORRORBUZZ for 15% off the regular hotel room rates.

This is the ultimate way to see Knott’s Scary Farm and a true VIP experience. You could buy your own ticket and wander around aimlessly from line to line, starving to death from hunger, without a single person to hang out with. OR, you could pay one simple price, get the VIP treatment, and get an entire night of food, entertainment, friends, frights, and fun.


About the Author

Norman Gidney is a nearly lifelong horror fan. Beginning his love for the scare at the age of 5 by watching John Carpenter's Halloween, he set out on a quest to share his passion for all things spooky with the rest of the world.