Knott’s Scary Farm opens Thursday, September 17, 2026, and runs 26 select nights through Halloween at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park. This year’s event has 10 mazes, two of them new (Inked and Unearthed), five scare zones led by a reimagined CarnEVIL, and three shows, two of them new. Tickets start at $65 online, the Scary Farm Pass covers every night for $164. The event is not recommended for children under 13, and anyone 15 or younger needs a chaperone. The event has run since 1973, and Knott’s bills it as Southern California’s longest-running Halloween theme park event.
Knott’s Scary Farm 2026 at a Glance
| Dates | 26 select nights, September 17 through October 31, 2026. Thursdays through Sundays, except Sunday, September 20. |
| Hours | 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Thursdays and Sundays. 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. |
| Where | Knott’s Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA 90620 |
| Mazes | 10. New: Inked and Unearthed. Returning: Mary, The Zoo, Eight Fingers Nine, Widows, Room 13, Cinema Slasher, The Chilling Chambers, Origins |
| Scare zones | 5. CarnEVIL (reimagined), Ghost Town Streets, The Gore-ing ’20s, Forsaken Lake, The Gauntlet |
| Shows | 3. Occultum Curated by Magic Castle (new), Voodoo: Bayou’s Edge (new), The Hanging: Noose Maxxxing |
| Tickets | Single night from $65 online. Scary Farm Pass $164 ($155 for Knott’s passholders). Fright & Fast Lane from $139 (admission not included). Groups of 15 to 99 from $60. |
| Ages | Not recommended under 13. Guests 15 and younger must be with a chaperone 21 or older. |
| Bags | Clear bags under 12 x 12 x 6 inches, or non-clear wristlets and clutches under 5 x 8 x 2 inches. All bags searched. |
| Separate from daytime | Scary Farm is a separately ticketed event. Regular Knott’s Berry Farm admission, season passes, and daily parking do not include it. |
When Does Knott’s Scary Farm Start? The 2026 Dates and Hours
Opening night is Thursday, September 17. The event runs Thursdays through Sundays for the rest of September and all of October, skipping only Sunday, September 20, and closes on Halloween night, Saturday, October 31. That is 26 nights:
- September: 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27
- October: 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31
Gates and mazes open at 7 p.m. every event night. Thursdays and Sundays close at 1 a.m., and Fridays and Saturdays run until 2 a.m. Because the event runs only on select nights, check the Knott’s calendar before you drive, especially for the two Thursdays in September and the Sundays.
Knott’s Scary Farm Tickets and Prices for 2026
Tickets are sold online only at knottsscaryfarm.com, and prices vary by night, with Thursdays and Sundays cheaper than Fridays and Saturdays and the late-October dates and Halloween itself priced highest. Knott’s Season Passholders get a discount on single-night tickets. All tickets are non-refundable.
| Ticket | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Single-night admission | From $65 | Admission for one night, with all mazes, scare zones, and shows. Passholder discount applies. |
| Scary Farm Pass | $164 ($155 for Knott’s passholders) | Unlimited visits on all 26 nights. Sold in limited quantities. |
| Fright & Fast Lane | From $139 (varies by night) | Unlimited priority access to every maze plus priority boarding on Fast Lane rides, for one visit. Admission is separate and required. |
| Scary Farm Experiences | Prices vary | The Boo-Fet dinner, the Very Important Monster Tour, and the Midnight Breakfast Buffet, each sold separately from admission. |
| Group tickets | From $60 | Groups of 15 to 99, one visit, with one free ticket for every 15 purchased. |
| Knott’s Hotel Rest in Peace Packages | Varies by package | An overnight stay at Knott’s Hotel with Scary Farm admission, a collectible key card, and hotel parking. Bigger packages add daytime Knott’s Berry Farm admission, an exclusive Scary Farm t-shirt, Fright & Fast Lane, a Pre-Scare Dinner Experience with early entry to select areas, and the breakfast buffet. |
How to pay less. Pick a Thursday or Sunday, which are the cheapest and least crowded nights. If you hold a Knott’s Season Pass, the single-night discount and the $155 pass price both apply. The Scary Farm Pass pays for itself on the third visit against the $65 floor, and it is the only way to see the event on more than one night without buying twice. Groups of 15 or more get the $60 rate and a free ticket per 15.
What Is New at Knott’s Scary Farm 2026
- Inked (maze). A 1930s cartoonist’s murderous toons come to life. It takes the former Grimoire footprint.
- Unearthed (maze). A search-and-rescue mission into an excavation site that woke something ancient. It takes the former Mesmer site.
- CarnEVIL (scare zone, reimagined). The hypnotist Mesmer now runs the Boardwalk circus.
- Occultum Curated by Magic Castle (show). Magicians from the Magic Castle in the Bird Cage Theatre.
- Voodoo: Bayou’s Edge (show). Marie Laveau and the court of Baron Samedi on the Calico Mine Stage.
- The Hanging: Noose Maxxxing. The long-running satire returns with a new title and a new year of villains to skewer.
What Is Returning
- Mazes: Mary: The Haunting of Worth Home, The Zoo, Eight Fingers Nine: The Boogeyman, Widows, Room 13, Cinema Slasher, The Chilling Chambers, and Origins: The Curse of Calico. Knott’s said at Midsummer Scream that Origins and The Chilling Chambers are in their final season.
- Scare zones: Ghost Town Streets, The Gore-ing ’20s, Forsaken Lake, and The Gauntlet, alongside the reimagined CarnEVIL.
- Retired after 2025: The Grimoire and Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind, whose sites hold the two new mazes.
The 10 Mazes
Every maze is included with admission. New mazes draw the longest lines of the night, so the two below are the ones to hit first.
Inked (new)
Mortimer Morbid, “a washed-up 1930s cartoonist and former head of Morbid Studios,” discovers “that when blood becomes ink, imagination becomes reality.” Determined to make one final Halloween special, he brings his cartoon characters to life “only to unleash a legion of murderous toons hellbent on pulling viewers into their twisted world.” Cartoon horror is a 2026 theme beyond Buena Park: in Central Florida, A Petrified Forest’s new Drawn to Death trail sends Saturday-morning characters off the screen and into the nightmare.
Unearthed (new)
Guests and their search-and-rescue team “arrive at a ravaged base of the summit days after receiving a distress signal.” The dig has turned up ancient tablets that “awakened a malevolent force from a forgotten age,” and, in Knott’s words, “an ancient evil has been unearthed.”
Mary: The Haunting of Worth Home
Debuted 2025. After the death of her family, Mary “was violently murdered and buried alive by jealous townsfolk who were envious of her perfect family and home.” She returns from the grave searching for her family, and she and “her legion of nightmarish creatures will do anything to exact revenge on anyone that steps inside her once beautiful home.”
The Zoo
Debuted 2025. An abandoned zoo has become “a terrifying laboratory of animal/human experiments,” where “hybrid creatures have turned on their creators and the compound is crawling with mutant soldiers thirsty for revenge.”
Eight Fingers Nine: The Boogeyman
Debuted 2024. An 18th-century colonial township is under siege by “an inhuman monster who has a sick penchant for eating fingers.” His bite “penetrates deep, causing sleep paralysis which holds his victim in sway while he slowly consumes their flesh.”
Widows
Debuted 2024. A web-covered nursing home “where demonic, eight-legged black widows emerge from their silken tunnels to possess the withered bodies of the elderly residence,” with one goal: “to secure a mate and hatch a clutch of eggs before sunrise.”
Room 13
Debuted 2023. Murders interrupt Prohibition-era revelry at The Blind Tiger on Memory Lane, and a new cocktail called The Devil’s Elixir seems to be at the root of it. The answers “may lie at the heart of the extravagant Argive Hotel, where many have checked in to Room 13… but none have checked out.”
Cinema Slasher
Debuted 2023. Through the Midnight Theater and into “a trilogy of slasher movies,” where guests “become the movie characters who try to escape the wrath of the dangerous Slasher.”
The Chilling Chambers
Debuted 2023, final season. The Crimson Lord guides “a collection of the most infamous monsters and themes from Knott’s Scary Farm’s horrific history,” a room-by-room tribute to the event’s past decades. This is the last year to walk it.
Origins: The Curse of Calico
Debuted 2019, final season. The maze that explains the evil fog over Knott’s Scary Farm, as Sarah Marshall “is put on trial for her suspected crimes of witchcraft.” It has the earliest debut year in the current lineup, and 2026 is its farewell run.
The Five Scare Zones
Scare zones are free-roaming and included with admission. Hundreds of monsters take over the midways every night, and they cannot follow you into stores, restaurants, or ride queues.
- CarnEVIL (reimagined), Boardwalk. The hypnotist Mesmer now runs the circus, “where the sideshow is the main event and countless deviant clowns, cutthroats, and curiosities will vie for your attention… and your ounce of flesh.” Mesmer moved here from the retired Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind maze, joined by two new characters Knott’s introduced at Midsummer Scream, The Barker and the Clown Maker.
- Ghost Town Streets. The original zone, running since 1973. “Bands of half-human, half-animal monsters prowl the streets and inhabit the fog,” along with the Sliders “who lunge from every fog-filled corner of the land.”
- The Gore-ing ’20s. Gangsters “run illicit hooch for the ghostly revelers as the otherworldly musicians play the music of the damned.” Tell the Bouncer the password.
- Forsaken Lake. The lake beneath Silver Bullet releases “gothic creatures, which have been ravaged by the dark and murky waters,” looking for victims to drag back down.
- The Gauntlet. “The King and Queen of the realm, maniacal jesters, brutal barbarians, wicked wizards and lawless peasants.”
The Three Shows
Occultum Curated by Magic Castle (new)
Inside the restored Bird Cage Theatre, magicians from the Magic Castle perform what Knott’s calls “an evening of wonder” of surprise, delight, and mystery.
Voodoo: Bayou’s Edge (new)
On the Calico Mine Stage, Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen, guides the audience past the gate into the court of Baron Samedi, Lwa of the dead. “Dancers drift through the mist, flames rise, tombs drum and the cemetery wakes.”
The Hanging: Noose Maxxxing
At Wagon Camp, the Lawman and the Hangman battle “the vilest villains of the past year” in what Knott’s calls “the ultimate skewering of pop culture,” promising “gore and laughs to the maxxx.” It contains adult themes and is not suitable for children.
How a Night at Scary Farm Works
Arrive for the 7 p.m. opening. Lines are shortest in the first hour. Go straight to Inked and Unearthed, then work back through the returning mazes.
Lines close before the night ends. Knott’s cuts off maze lines ahead of the 1 or 2 a.m. close and does not let you jump in at the last minute, the opposite of Halloween Horror Nights, so save nothing you care about for the final half hour. The two new mazes each year, Inked and Unearthed in 2026, hold the longest lines all night, which is the other reason to do them first.
Add the Boo-Fet if you can. The pre-event dinner gets you into the park before the general opening for a head start on select mazes. On an event that runs to 2 a.m., that early window is the most useful add-on Knott’s sells, and Knott’s has been known for its food since it started as a boysenberry stand.
Fright & Fast Lane is worth it on Fridays and Saturdays. That is when standby lines build. On Thursdays and Sundays, crowds are lighter and the add-on is harder to justify.
Time Ghost Town Streets around the shows. The zone thins out when one of the three shows starts, which is when you get the longest improvised encounters with the monsters.
Know the safe zones. Monsters stay out of stores, restaurants, and ride queues. Photography and filming inside the mazes are not permitted.
Bring the right bag. Clear plastic bags smaller than 12 by 12 by 6 inches are allowed, along with non-clear wristlets or clutches no larger than 5 by 8 by 2 inches. Every bag is searched at entry. Lockers are available near Guest Services and at several rides if you would rather not carry a bag through the mazes.
Age Limit and Chaperone Policy
Knott’s does not recommend Scary Farm for children under 13. Every guest 15 or younger must arrive with a chaperone who is at least 21, who shows a government-issued photo ID with date of birth at the ticket entry, stays inside the park for the visit, and is reachable by phone. One chaperone may cover no more than ten guests 15 or younger. Guests 16 and older may be asked for ID, and anyone who cannot prove their age may be turned away. Guests 15 or younger found inside without a chaperone are subject to ejection.
Food and Drinks
Beyond the Boo-Fet, Knott’s 2026 event menu runs to a Jalapeño Popper Burger, Loaded Pastrami Fries, Birria Flautas served in a mini black cauldron with Esquites Negro, a Pepperoni, Jalapeño and Cheese Panini, The Zoo Tots and The Creatures Pizza, and Voodoo Fries. On the sweet side: Cemetery Churro Bites with neon green icing, candy corn, and gummy worms, a Poison Apple Funnel Cake, a Vampire Frappuccino, a Black Chocolate and Raspberry Skull Tart, and a Zombie Brain Funnel Cake. Collectibles sold online include the event T-shirt, a No-BOO necklace, and an interactive lantern that lights up and reacts at spots around the event.
Nightmares Revealed 2026: What Was Announced
Knott’s named the full lineup at Nightmares Revealed on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, a ticketed preview night at Knott’s Berry Farm with a creative-team panel, a lights-on maze walkthrough, costume and makeup demonstrations, monster encounters in Ghost Town, night rides on Silver Bullet and Sierra Sidewinder, and the Legacy Store. Tickets sold out within an hour of going on sale June 19, and the presentation was livestreamed on Knott’s Berry Farm’s YouTube channel. The two new mazes, Inked and Unearthed, the two new shows, and the reimagined CarnEVIL were all announced there and confirmed in Knott’s August 20 press release. Ten days earlier, at Midsummer Scream on August 8, Knott’s had already said Origins and The Chilling Chambers were entering their final season and previewed Mesmer’s move to CarnEVIL.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Knott’s Scary Farm start in 2026? Thursday, September 17, 2026. It runs 26 select nights through Saturday, October 31.
What are the Knott’s Scary Farm hours? 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Thursdays and Sundays, and 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
How much are Knott’s Scary Farm tickets? Single nights start at $65 online, with prices rising on Fridays, Saturdays, and late October. The Scary Farm Pass is $164 for every night, or $155 for Knott’s passholders. Fright & Fast Lane is a separate add-on from $139.
How many mazes does Knott’s Scary Farm have in 2026? Ten: two new (Inked and Unearthed) and eight returning. There are also five scare zones and three shows.
Is there an age limit? It is not recommended for children under 13, and anyone 15 or younger needs a chaperone who is 21 or older.
Do I need a separate ticket from Knott’s Berry Farm? Yes. Scary Farm is a separately ticketed night event. Daytime admission, season passes, and daily parking do not include it, though passholders get discounts.
What is the bag policy? Clear bags under 12 by 12 by 6 inches, or non-clear wristlets and clutches under 5 by 8 by 2 inches. Every bag is searched.
Knott’s Scary Farm or Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood? Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood runs September 3 through November 1 with single nights from $77 and a house lineup built on licensed films. Knott’s runs September 17 through October 31 from $65 with 10 original mazes, five scare zones, and a 2 a.m. close on Fridays and Saturdays.
Event Details
- Event: Knott’s Scary Farm 2026
- Location: Knott’s Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA 90620
- Dates: 26 select nights, September 17 through October 31, 2026
- Hours: 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursdays and Sundays, 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays
- Ages: Not recommended under 13. Chaperone 21 or older required for guests 15 or younger
- Tickets: From $65 online at knottsscaryfarm.com. Scary Farm Pass $164
HAN’s Prior Knott’s Scary Farm Coverage
Most of the 2025 mazes return in 2026, so HAN’s walkthrough of last year’s event is still a good look at what you will see:
- Knott’s Scary Farm 2024: Two New Mazes Unveiled
- Knott’s Scary Farm Celebrates 50 Years of Never-Ending Nightmares
Knott’s cast its 2026 monsters over the summer through online auditions. If you want to work the maze next year instead of walking it, see how to become a scare actor.
Last updated: September 6, 2026.
This event is part of our Haunted Houses in California 2026 guide.
