CALIFORNIA FOCUS / EVENT RECAP: Knott's Scary Farm

Knott's Scary Farm has four scare zones: Ghost Town Streets, Fiesta de los Muertos, Carnevil, and The Hollow that is new for 2016. These four zones cover the entire theme park. Ghost Town is easily the best, with both the most involved scare actors and the spookiest atmosphere. There is even a section so filled with fog that visibility is no more than five feet. Fiesta de los Muertos and the Hollow are both good scare zones with decent actors, but they are more open and less populated. Lastly, Carnevil is the weakest of the four as it is extremely spread out and too light for the actors to truly hide.

Skeleton Key Rooms.

In previous years, skeleton key rooms were attached directly to the mazes at Knott's Scary Farm. This year, however, the rooms were removed from the mazes and became separate attractions. Due to the limited capacity, these rooms are only open to those who purchase Fright Lane, and they can still get waits of up to an hour.

Visions

Located in the Green Witch Museum, guests are given phantom finders in order to investigate suspected paranormal activity in the area. After everyone in the group is given a device, you are set free to search the room. Markers have been placed on objects suspected to be haunted, and your device lets you see the spirits.

ZOZO

The most predictable of the skeleton key rooms, this room has the group attempting to communicate with spirits using a Ouija board. At first, everything seems to be going as planned, but then an evil spirit possesses the board. After spelling out its name, special effects occur throughout the room before everyone is plunged into darkness.

Slasher

From the outside, this room just looks like a plain box. Inside, however, it resembles the hideout of a serial killer. After entering the room, narration tells the story of the Angel Maker Killer, then the action begins. During the story, there are moments where the room goes dark. When the light comes on, the killer will suddenly be standing beside someone, brandishing a knife.

Prey

The last room is tucked away in a corner of Camp Snoopy and is notably larger than the others. This room begins with a five minute preshow where a group of hillbillies explain the story: They don't like city folk, but have decided to capitalize on them when they come snooping around. They've created a hay maze full of dangerous hybrid (pronounced hay-bred) creatures and invite tourists to check them out. Everyone is then given a lantern and sent into a dark hay maze.

Is a Skeleton Key worth it?

This is a question I'm sure people will ask, and I would say the following: It is absolutely worth checking out the skeleton key rooms if you purchase Fright Lane