Knotts Scary Farm

Ted Dougherty is an unassuming Glendale paralegal and classical musician with an overt dark side that reaches its monstrous zenith every October. Dougherty stumbled upon his twisted passion in 1987 during a visit to Knott's Scary Farm, which ultimately led to a fan website dedicated to the seasonal theme park event, an annual job as an undead werewolf and now a new book, "Knott's Halloween Haunt: A Picture History. " > Photos: The history of Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm The authorized but unofficial pictorial compendium traces the history of the "Scariest Place on Earth" and its expansion over the past four decades at Knott's Berry Farm into the "Granddaddy of Halloween Events.

Ted Dougherty is an unassuming Glendale paralegal and classical musician with an overt dark side that reaches its monstrous zenith every October. Dougherty stumbled upon his twisted passion in 1987 during a visit to Knott's Scary Farm, which ultimately led to a fan website dedicated to the seasonal theme park event, an annual job as an undead werewolf and now a new book, "Knott's Halloween Haunt: A Picture History. " > Photos: The history of Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm The authorized but unofficial pictorial compendium traces the history of the "Scariest Place on Earth" and its expansion over the past four decades at Knott's Berry Farm into the "Granddaddy of Halloween Events.

The increasing popularity of Halloween theme park events has spawned a new generation of exclusive reservation-only haunted mazes that promise a more intense and intimate experience for those willing to pay a premium. Photos: 10 extreme haunted mazes and attractions The new Trapped maze at Knott's Halloween Haunt is the latest entry in an emerging trend toward up-charge attractions that cater to individuals and small parties prepared to bleed green for exclusive VIP treatment.

The increasing popularity of Halloween theme park events has spawned a new generation of exclusive reservation-only haunted mazes that promise a more intense and intimate experience for those willing to pay a premium. Photos: 10 extreme haunted mazes and attractions The new Trapped maze at Knott's Halloween Haunt is the latest entry in an emerging trend toward up-charge attractions that cater to individuals and small parties prepared to bleed green for exclusive VIP treatment.

Knott's Berry Farm will add five new mazes for Halloween Haunt 2012, including an up-charge VIP maze that promises to substantially increase the scare-quotient from years past. Photos: Halloween Haunt 2012 at Knott's Berry Farm The 40th annual Knott's Scary Farm will start on Sept. 21 and run on select nights through Oct. 31. The granddaddy of Halloween events will feature 13 mazes and four scare zones scattered throughout the Buena Park theme park. As part of the 40th anniversary celebration, Knott's entertainment supervisor Jeff Tucker promises higher quality mazes with more scares and better set decorations.

With about six months left before Halloween Haunt officially kicks off for 2011, Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park has already started planning for the 39th annual event. Knott's will blur the line between nightmare and insanity for its new Delirium maze, which was unveiled during a movie-like trailer shown at the recent West Coast Bash event. Delirium will replace the mediocre Club Blood vampire maze in the Ghostrider warehouse from the 2010 Haunt.

Knott's Berry Farm celebrates the 40th anniversary of Halloween Haunt with a crosstown rival threatening to tear the middle-aged monster limb from limb. But rather than cower and hide, Knott's Scary Farm has fought back against the resurgent Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, refusing to go quietly into the fog-filled night. > Photos: Halloween Haunt 2012 at Knott's Berry Farm Change takes time, though. The granddaddy of theme park events has grown to 13 mazes, nine shows and four scare zones with 1,000 monsters during its four decade reign of terror.

It saddens and pains me to say it, but the granddaddy of all Halloween theme park events has gotten tired, old and complacent. After 39 years, Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm looks like a creaky, middle-aged zombie that's lost its will to rise from the grave every night. > Halloween Haunt 2011 preview: Mazes | Shows | Photos I'm not sure whether to blame the malaise on contemptuous familiarity, increased competition or just a slow night on an opening weekend, but the Buena Park theme park that set the bar for haunted attraction excellence has become overrun with interchangeable mazes full of indistinguishable monsters.

About 20 ghouls, goblins and other creatures of the night lurched across the Cloud 9 Ballroom on Friday in the final two-hour session of instruction at this year's Knott's Scary Farm's Monster College. The school, at the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park, has trained more than 500 people to scare the thousands of guests expected for the 18th annual Halloween Haunt, billed as the world's largest and scariest Halloween party.

Hoping to scare up some new customers, Universal Studios Hollywood is going after the Halloween crowd. Backed by a strong promotional campaign, the theme park hopes to send a shiver through not only its guests but also executives of Knott's Berry Farm, who for two decades have had the lucrative Halloween business to themselves.

Knott's Berry Farm celebrates the 40th anniversary of Halloween Haunt with a crosstown rival threatening to tear the middle-aged monster limb from limb. But rather than cower and hide, Knott's Scary Farm has fought back against the resurgent Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, refusing to go quietly into the fog-filled night. > Photos: Halloween Haunt 2012 at Knott's Berry Farm Change takes time, though. The granddaddy of theme park events has grown to 13 mazes, nine shows and four scare zones with 1,000 monsters during its four decade reign of terror.

Knott's Berry Farm will add five new mazes for Halloween Haunt 2012, including an up-charge VIP maze that promises to substantially increase the scare-quotient from years past. Photos: Halloween Haunt 2012 at Knott's Berry Farm The 40th annual Knott's Scary Farm will start on Sept. 21 and run on select nights through Oct. 31. The granddaddy of Halloween events will feature 13 mazes and four scare zones scattered throughout the Buena Park theme park. As part of the 40th anniversary celebration, Knott's entertainment supervisor Jeff Tucker promises higher quality mazes with more scares and better set decorations.

It saddens and pains me to say it, but the granddaddy of all Halloween theme park events has gotten tired, old and complacent. After 39 years, Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm looks like a creaky, middle-aged zombie that's lost its will to rise from the grave every night. > Halloween Haunt 2011 preview: Mazes | Shows | Photos I'm not sure whether to blame the malaise on contemptuous familiarity, increased competition or just a slow night on an opening weekend, but the Buena Park theme park that set the bar for haunted attraction excellence has become overrun with interchangeable mazes full of indistinguishable monsters.

With about six months left before Halloween Haunt officially kicks off for 2011, Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park has already started planning for the 39th annual event. Knott's will blur the line between nightmare and insanity for its new Delirium maze, which was unveiled during a movie-like trailer shown at the recent West Coast Bash event. Delirium will replace the mediocre Club Blood vampire maze in the Ghostrider warehouse from the 2010 Haunt.

Standing outside the darkened entrance to Knott's Berry Farm, Tamara Franklin couldn't decide what worried her most--the mobs of shrieking girls on the other side of the turnstiles, or the curling fog that seemed to shroud every corner of what she had always considered, up until this night, a family-friendly park. "I don't know why you have to do this," Franklin, 42, grumbled, reluctantly pressing some spending money into her 17-year-old son's outstretched hand.

Somebody's created a monster--a monster of a holiday in Halloween. Over the past few years, huge crowds have been swarming into Southern California theme parks for their Halloween fright nights. Like the zombies in "Night of the Living Dead," they just keep coming.