The History of Knott’s Scary Farm: A Sinister Start | Expedition Knott’s Berry Farm
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- Опубликовано: 20 авг 2024
- Warning - This video contains strobe lights
In 1973, a West Coast horror host sparked a Knott’s Berry Farm tradition. Venture through the slimy wall and discover the cornerstones of the original Halloween Haunt.
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This episode was written and produced by Greg Tulloss
Thanks for sharing the beginnings of the original Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm. Many don't know that it all started at Knott's in 1973. I was the very first witch (1973-74-75-76) -- my photo is included several times in this video, along with my Knott's pals who also worked the first few Halloween Haunts (before additional monsters were added). We had such a great time! It was wonderful to meet Seymour - we all shared the same make-up room and he was such a nice guy. Also enjoyed being the witch announcer for the Hello People show in Wagon Camp the first two years. As the witch, in 1974, I was on top of the very tall roof of the Gold Trails Hotel at the end of Market Street. That was the culmination of the "Market Street Monster Massacre" where the gunfighter/monsters ran down the street, yelling and shooting their pistols. They got to the Gold Trails Hotel and one of the gunfighters with a big rifle shot me (the witch on the roof). I screamed and said "Everybody KNOWS Monsters NEVER DIE!" then I disappeared into a puff of smoke. We did that "Market Street Monster Massacre" once an hour all night the first three Halloween Haunts, then the hangings started in Calico Square on the fourth Haunt (1986). We all have great stories to tell of the very early years of the Knott's Halloween Haunt!
Wow!! Amazing to see a comment from the Diana Kelly!!! Thank you so much for giving us the haunt's iconic green witch. You freakin' rock!
Wild stuff !!! 😃
That is so awesome! Great memories to be the first!!! Classic.
OMG! I remember you, Diane! I worked in the information room at that time and I used to go out to do surveys on those nights and remember talking to you out there between shootings! Good to hear about you!
You wouldn’t have expected KNOTTS to have been the park that invented Halloween Theme Park nights! This was extremely cool!
As someone from Southern California, I actually can most definitely believe it. Knott’s pioneered a lot of stuff
I grew up in the area so I was well aware of it, more so because both Six Flags Magic Mountain and Universal Studios Hollywood didn’t get into it until much later, especially Universal: They tried a couple of times in the 90s but was a failure compared to Orlando’s. It wasn’t until 2006 when it started to see a success and became a yearly thing.
The scare zones monsters at Knotts in the 80s were relentless. Other parks today (even knotts themselves) couldnt DREAM of doing what some of the monsters got away with back then.
They definitely stayed on you like flies on crap they wouldn't let up.
My last Halloween Haunt was in 93. I worked at the Chicken Dinner Restaurant so I got in for free after I called in sick. It was so miserably packed and wouldn't you know out of all those people I ran into my boss.
It's a reminder that Halloween didn't exist in Japan until Disneyland Tokyo brought it - and here we have the origins of the Halloween events.
That's crazy to think about now since japan has the craziest street Halloween parties
My cousin and I were 8 years old when Knott's started doing this. My cousin was so scared on the log ride. And when we got to the top, just before the big drop, that guy with the axe jumped out and at the same time my mom grabbed my cousin's leg to tell him it would be alright. My poor cousin started screaming at the top of his lungs, "He got me! He got me!". It was years before he would go back on that ride. Thank you for this video. You brought back a great memory.
Scarlett Thompson , I would’ve reacted just like your cousin!!!! Lol
Epic scare ! 😅
I went to Knott's scary Farm in the late '70s and early '80s. Elvira was the top billing then!
I bet she was
I also went in the early 80s and saw Elvira. I think I saw her the second or third time she did it. Probably 82 or 83. Lots of fun.
I'm glad her shows were still pretty popular over the recent years when she came back. Lots of younger kids today who don't really know who she is.
thank you for this. i am a local of knotts and first went to the event at the age of 13 in 2005. i then went on to be a scare actor for years and frequent the event throughout the season. for those close to the event its like home. there is something so special about it that cannot be duplicated at any other halloween event
Nice! i started going to knott's scary farm around 1977, when i was just starting junior high school. it was a huge deal! it started selling out and everyone would scramble to get tickets. from what i remember, the kids at my school would try to go on the same night, usually friday. if you didn't go, on monday morning, you were left out of all of the conversations. i remember being scared to death by the roaming monsters, but also having the time of my life. knott's scary farm was something to look forward to all year!
Ha! We're about the same age and experienced the same HH you did. I was just starting at Chapman JHS -- located on Knott Ave. BTW -- in 1977.
I loved going to Scary Farm during the 80's and 90's. I remember when the park took the scare zones to the next level in the early 90's by adding laser light effects and bungy jumping scareactors to the mazes. Good times, good times!
Nowadays it's really tame.glad I am not the only one that misses the intensity
@@alucard2010 why is it more tame now ? :(
@@kriskater no more bungy actors, not that many sliders. They moved almost all the mazes to backstage areas with no atmosphere. Took away all the shows except for 2. Now the hanging is gone.. they brightened up the mazes, less fog. So much was removed and it's a shadow of it's former self☹️
@@alucard2010 no way ! :( do you think they will revamp it this season ? I hope they still have it this year ...
@@kriskater the management has stated they do not want anything haunt interfering with day time park operation. This has been going on since at least 2012
With this year having their stunt show, the Hanging, a new maze and ghost town streets all being interconnected I’d love to see a video done focusing on the lore and storyline of scary farm and how it developed into what we know today
I was a junior in high school when I went to my 1st haunt with Seymour! It was AWESOME!! We watched his show twice that night. I went again to see Wolfman Jack and finally to see Elvira. Good memories and a lot of fun!
Do you remember which movies Seymour screened that night?
Oh my word. I'm sorry but that was soooooo long ago I just can't recall. My hubby doesn't remember either. I think that was the point. The film's were terrible and we just waited for what Seymour would say. He was the show.
I recalled it was bride of Frankenstein in 74
These Knotts videos are great, mate. a real side of theme parks that you don't see covered enough and certainly not with the Defunctland/Yesterworld/Expedition Theme Park level of quality and information. Cheers.
Thank you for giving footage credit 😊😊 Two of our team members work Scary Farm, and we are thrilled to see more channels start digging into the backstory of Haunt ☠️
Your channel is great- deserves many more subs!!
I love your coverage of Knott's Berry Farm. They pioneered so much of what we see in theme parks today. I never knew how much of a legacy they paved the way for us all, from roller coasters, great food and now this, Halloween!
Btw, someday, I'd like to buy an Expedition Knott's Berry Farm shirt. That logo has to be my all time fave logo next to Expedition Alton Towers and Animal Kingdom.
This supports my contention that Seymour is the Man Who Made Halloween ! And thanks for including my late friend , John Waite !
and now I work in Ghost town for the event! Always will be the best!
Look at you, still busting out those seasons. :D We worked the 09' season, which was my last
I’m thrilled to see a video that emphasizes the talents of Larry (Seymour) Vincent. I was a big fan of his show on both channels 9 and 5, and his unexpected and untimely death meant I never had the chance to see him live.
The green, dripping, oozing wall!
@@TheMollyPitchers What lurks behind the slimey wall!
Now this was a top notch mini doc... So Knotts basically started the whole Halloween nights. Man ya gotta love history no matter what it is.
I absolutely love Knotts Scary Farm 👻 🎃 💀
I’m going to Knotts Scary Farm today. That’s so crazy. I also love your videos so much❤️
Mario Solis
Have fun!
Have the best time!
Have fun!
I was there last night, it was a awesome year. The new wax museum maze is great
I’ve seriously been waiting for this forever!! I work there and I’m in love with the park because of all the history wrapped up in the farm itself and our Halloween Haunt. If you’re a Scary Farm/Haunt nerd and have the chance to go this year you will adore Origins.
I worked The Haunt from 88-90 in Food & Beverage then Ride Operations, then in 1993 when I interviewed for a job at The Adventuredome at Circus Circus (Las Vegas) I suggested that since the fall is kinda slow in Vegas that they should do a 'haunt' as well and they did 2 years (?) later and I redeco'd a ticket both as a 'Bloody Bakery'.
I worked KSF as a street performer in Ghost Town Streets for a few years. When I saw Ted Dougherty in your credits, I knew you did your homework. Well done.
I am a Scary Farm regular. I've been going every year for the past 9 years!! I love everything about this video
Brings back some great memories from attending and working the haunt.
You worked it? What was it like? I've always wanted to work at the haunt myself
princesskristan it was a lot of fun. I worked at the park for 5 years, late 80s early 90s.
this story was delightful and heart warming!
Knotts Berry Farm is my favorite amusement park in the L.A.area.
I appreciate this content as someone who went to Knotts berry farm a lot as a kid and Knotts scary farm a lot as a teenager.
Ugh the quarantine has me going insane!!
Love the Magic Mountain concert footage from This Is Spinal Tap (it was actually filmed there, so, accurate.)
So after 50 years they are having a tribute store and getting an offical icon called The Keeper who is a sinister tribute to Sinister Seymour. Without him we wouldn't have Halloween haunts to this day.
Loved this episode 😭
Anyone else catch Seymour in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood... "and now what you've all been waiting for...A little fanfare please"
Thank you very much for this video! I have been going to Knott's Halloween Haunt every year for 25 years and have never seen it's history told so well. I would love to see a video on "The Hanging"
I've been waiting for a video like this on Knott's for ages now!! This is amazing!
This was very interesting. I guess I had read they were the birthplace of theme parks having haunt events, but I didn't realize it was so long ago. They were definitely ahead of their time.
Man I loved Halloween Haunt at Knott's Scary Farm,the first time I went to Knott's for Halloween was in 1977 and we had a blast.
It's amazing to see such evolution of ingenuity. But on the other hand, it has also lead to something that really rather buggers Halloween in my mind. Still, I love that it began with the ider of the monster movie host. I think it's to bad that kind of thing no longer has a place on TV.
Wow! What a great video-so many awesome memories! You guys did a terrific job with this. Kudos! I thank you and my mom thanks you (that’s her getting Dracula’s autograph in 1973)(or 1974). Cant wait for more!
unclemike cool, at what time in this is your mom getting the autograph?
Yes! More knotts :D
This is fascinating! I'm really excited to learn more of Knott's spooky history, especially as, living on the east coast of the US, I'm still like three time zones away from California, so who knows if I'll ever get to experience that park.
I hope I'm not rude in saying this however, but I just wanna give you a heads up: Weird Al's surname is Yankovic, not Yankovich. It ends with a hard k sound, not a ch.
Awesome video as always. Super informative and interesting!
I loved going to Knotts any time of year back in the 70s but the haunt was out of this world.
I would like to see the history of Knott's Merry Farm, and how it was started as well as who started it.
And there was this old commercial where they sang "it's another beautiful day at Knott's merry farm." I've been looking for that commercial for years with no avail. If anyone finds it please let me know
Cool to see a lot of OGs here! I was a Gypsy Fortune Teller 90-95. Good times!
love this video i saw Elvira at Knotts Scary farm 5 times sooooo good
I think if there was one Halloween event I would want to go back in time and experience, it would be this first one. It’s just the right level spooky and hokey and just looks like pure Halloween fun
It’s kinda crazy that this year is the 50th anniversary for Scary Farm
Thank you so much for this video! Knott’s has such a great rich history and it deserves to be recognized! I would love to see a video about the history of The Hanging, especially since this was its final year. R.I.P.
I had only recently learned about knott's Scary Farms, but my first time visiting was a blast. It really made me appreciate Knott's Berry a lot more since i hadn't visited in years🤩
The original and the best. Worked at Knotts in the 90s as a ride operator. Worked the Halloween Haunts. It was a great time.
I can't tell you how many times I've rewatched this video. I've shared it with friends, family and my partner. It's a well done, shortened version of the Season of Screams documentary. Love and appreciate your content!
We love how you showed Revenge of the dead
when you ask about more adventures
Yes!!!
we would love an entire adventure about the biggest maze that ever happened at Knott’s.
I think it was 1986 that during Knott's Scary Farm I was working a day shift and my Supervisor came to talk to me about a ride issue. She had a beautiful redhead with her that I didn't know. I was later informed by her that the redhead was no other than Elvira. I was pissed!
Knotts Scary Farm is so much fun! I went for the first time back in high school and I had a ball. Didn't get to see The Hanging show that time, but I hope I get to one day
I find it interesting how Walter Knott essentially from retirement was the one to save the Halloween party idea, and possibly saved Knott's itself. Like, of all the Knotts you'd think he'd be the one to try and stop it with his more conservative approach to the theme park & strict theming ideas.
So wonderful! Brought back great memories.
Love your Knott's historical videos. Keep up the great work! Thanks!
How the park has grown over the years. Been going to Scary Farm since 09 and they seem to top themselves every year!
Ed Alonzo's magic show is awesome!
Ooh! The opening’s new, but I like it!!!!❤️
Amazing video! Really great to see the history of Knotts scary farm.
It be cool to hear more about weird al
This was awesome! I’m thoroughly interested in the history of the Haunts and Scary Farm. Great vid!
I love knott's berry farm!!!!! If it's not to hard can you do Magic Mountains Green Lantern First Flight as a video????😁😁😁😁😀
That would be a real horror video.
Yes! More magic mountain videos in general. Their are magic mountain history vids out there, at least not compared to Disney and knotts
Aw yeah, my home park/place of employment. Good times!
I really really recommend you going to knotts Halloween haunt. I've been to horror night quite a few times and I can honestly say knotts is better. It's just more fresh and more original. They hold nothing back and spare no expense when doing this event every year. Please do you're self a favor and go!! You'll thank me
Loved, Loved, LOVED this episode!!! Hope to see more on Knott’s Scary Farm as I’ve been attending since 1998!!!
Personally, I’d love to see a video on The Hanging, the vampire mazes (they have a VERY interesting history) and Trapped (their attempt at an upcharge maze)!
It is illegal to reference that theatre at Magic Mountain without referencing the thumbs down guy from Spinal Tap (I don't blame him, Spinal Tap Mark II was crap), so good job. :) Great story too, thanks for this video!
With Scary Farm celebrating its 50th year it might be time to revisit this video. It’s already amazingly well down and one of my favorites but I’m curious if it can be improved on
Just went this pass weekend. Had a blast! Best Halloween event of the year.
I kinda had a bad experience as a 5 year old with a haunted house/ghost train style attraction and it left me unable to complete anything similar without having a strange PTSD/ anxiety attack reaction. I can watch any horror movie without being phased and ride any rollercoaster happily, but combining horror with live actors, jumpy hydraulic effects or dark mazes is just something I can’t physically endure. Unfortunately I’ll just have to enjoy videos like this and watch from a distance.
What an amazing video! Great job.
I used to work the Halloween Haunt and it was a blast! After Seymour didn't do that anymore, Elvira took over and it was great! Fringies!
That was very interesting, thank you for posting.
I had no idea Knotts started the scare mazes
Double thumbs up for using the Spinal Tap footage for the Magic Mountain theater.
do a video on the timber mountain log ride/calico mine ride during halloween. like their various overlays and what they entailed
Camp gonna get ya and santa claws mountain please!
This is fantastic. Amazing research and video clips
Some more Scary Farm content would be amazing! Especially with it being the 50th anniversary this year 🙂
Oh my god! So in Knott’s new Wax Works maze, there’s actually a Spidora poster! What a cool reference!
Tell me where. TELL ME WHERE!!
GTMGUNN Right as you’re about to exit the dungeon into the bee room, on the left wall
All your videos are first rate. Thanks so much!!!
LETS GOO!!!!!!!!!!!! I was hoping you'd do Knott's. Love the videos!
I recalled headless horseman following the stagecoach and monsters on big train
Hey thanks guy I've got something new to add to my Knott's scary farm
Please tell us more about the history about this
I remember Seymore met him at Knotts Berry Farm when I was a kid, he was before Elvira, and Svenghoulie.😎
That was great! Thanks!
Great video!!!! I’ve always been curious about knott’s and this is really informative!
Crazy cool stuff!!
love your scare and Halloween vids! If only the UK had more!!! Keep the spoopy vids coming mate :)
KNOTT'S BERRY FARM is the coolist Amusement Park in AMERICA!!!🇺🇸😊❤👍
Hell yes it is! It's got class
Larry was such a nice guy, I managed Farrell's restaurant in Van Nuys and after he went to the gym he would come over and have a sundae and we would chat. Once he had to leave when a troop of Cub Scouts surrounded him, very funny.
This place was amazing
Been going since a teen in the 90’s. It’s the best. Better than horror nights at universal studios.
And now the Muppets of Puppet Up!: Uncensored are taking over the Haunt, plus the Peanuts featruing good ol' Charlie Brown have creating their very own version of the Haunt called Knott's Spooky Farm!
More History on some of the other Cedar fair Haunts and how they got started Kings Island Dorney park Scarrowinds...etc
Yes Knott's Berry Farm was the first Park that got all this Halloween scary stuff going,then Universal and Magic Mountain got involved,then.last but not least was Disneyland, But Knott's is the original one and the best one of them all
Cool video
Cool comment!
So Knotts is the originator.
I want to know the history of The Hanging. What was that like in the beginning? Was is as topical as it is today?
Can you do the history of six flags fiesta Texas and how it got started and how it got where it is now?
I used to Love watching "Seymour Presents" on KTLA 5 on Saturday nights! The corny jokes and making fun of those old "B" movies were just the thing for a 12 year old boy who was new to Southern California. There's nobody who can compare to Larry Vincent, even to this day.