Knott’s Scary Farm 2026

[Jake S]

I think both concepts are fun, but the use of AI for something like key art is just embarrassing. If people who are paid well for their creative endeavors and presumably take an enormous amount of pride in it are willing to roll out crap like this... it certainly makes me feel quite pessimistic.

 

[MikePat]

Seeing AI on the t-shirts for a haunted house about hand drawn cartoons is very bleak.

(picture from Dr. Weirdperson on r/HHN Discord)

 

[Jerroddragon]

Love Inked and it’s concept, very fun and creative

It’s insane that knotts can’t hire an artist to draw basic logos

 

[Viator]

I genuinely can’t find a reason to be excited to see how which of these houses will be.

The core concepts don't fascinate me, and when paired with endless GenAI usage from concepts to merchandise is incredibly and deeply insulting.

Knotts should be better than this. Knotts pre COVID wouldn’t stoop this low, and the bar keeps lowering further and further. They need heavy shakeup, and heavy shakeup asap.

 

[downunder]

Doesn't Six Flags use more A$$hole Intelligence lol. Maybe The Hanging will be good this year.

The mazes look interesting. Hopefully they plus some of the existing mazes. It will be interesting to see if they stick with lights out for the Zoo.

I hope they don't lose Halloween Hootenany for the log ride. Shame nothing in Knotts theatre.

 

[Spookies n' Stuff]

Honestly, Inked is sorta interesting just in that I'm always curious about heavily stylized houses even if this is a concept we've seen in other things probably pushing dozens of times, if we have at least one room that's entirely painted like you stepped into a cartoon I think this justifies itself, even as a weird pseudo-spiritual sequel to the very old Toon Terrortory maze.
Unearthed on the other hand is just a headscratcher to me. If at some point it comes out that the entire concept was written by AI i wouldnt even be surprised, it feels less like "whats a unique hook for a haunt that fills an unfilled niche in our lineup" and more "we have nothing, ask chatgpt to come up with a haunt concept" and the best they could get was mummies.

It makes me really sad to say it but I'm feeling more and more like every year after 2023 we've had at least one new maze that feels like a significant step down from what came before. Widows is fine but Depths was classic and they should've had something equally distinct and iconic to follow it, Bloody Mary kinda just pales in comparison to Waxworks for the exact same reason, and now this year I feel like theres a chance Grimoire and Mesmer both end up being better than what we get thats new. Obviously that ignores the successful mazes those years I'm leaving out, but after a long string of bangers and now that Chilling Chambers and Origins are on the chopping block its easy to worry that we're seeing the golden age of the last 10 years or so of the event finally petering out.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I know not many will care here but they also announced no filming in houses this year

 

[Jake S]

I know not many will care here but they also announced no filming in houses this year

Hallelujah.

Is anyone else surprised that they're killing Chilling Chambers rather than Room 13 this year? They were both introduced in 2023 alongside Cinema Slasher and I think Room 13 is far and away the weaker maze. Knocking off both Origins and Room 13 would have taken off what I think are the two worst mazes in one fell swoop. That would have followed killing Grimoire (not good) and Bloodline 1842 (very bad).

Anyway, we'll see how the lineup actually stacks up this year. I like Eight Fingers Nine just fine, but Widows is a miss for me. And The Zoo (in the dark) is pretty great, while the Don't Call it Bloody Mary house is also pretty mid.

 

[ghostsarejerks]

Much more interested in Inked rather than Unearthed. I think one aspect of Knott's haunts that makes them stand out is that their concepts are very out there. Evil cartoon characters coming to life and thirsty for blood is unique, mummies in a tomb just seems a little generic.

 

[deadbydawn]

Both maze concepts sound fun. I am excited to see how Inked works out. Unearthed has an interesting concept. My guess is the story may continue to expand on the Grimoire legend.

I am very happy to see a refreshed show at the Calico Mine Stage. I think theme is great. It made me miss the Voodoo maze more than I thought. I was also pleasantly surprised to see a collaboration with the Magic Castle for the Bird Cage show. Very cool. The most disappointing thing to me was the lack of anything in the Walter Knott Theater. I really thought the Boulet Brothers had more to do this year and it was kind of bizarre to bring them out for 10 seconds to announce their podcast recording. Then I thought maybe they are announcing something during that recording, but if that was the case I haven't heard one way or the other.

As far as the rest of the event goes, I am always happy be back in their scare zones. I didn't mind the Carnevil change a few years ago, but I am looking forward to seeing the new update. Give the clowns, fog!

Oh yeah, and the merch looks awful this year. It's obvious at the corporate level the merchandise is being handled by a team that is not using actual artists. Major bummer.

I know not many will care here but they also announced no filming in houses this year

This has technically been a rule for a long time, but the rule is only as good as the enforcement in this case. I hope it sticks.

Is anyone else surprised that they're killing Chilling Chambers rather than Room 13 this year? They were both introduced in 2023 alongside Cinema Slasher and I think Room 13 is far and away the weaker maze. Knocking off both Origins and Room 13 would have taken off what I think are the two worst mazes in one fell swoop. That would have followed killing Grimoire (not good) and Bloodline 1842 (very bad).

Me! I also think that Inked would be much better suited where Room 13 is from a theming standpoint if that matters.