HALLOWEEN EVENTS : THEY’RE CREEPY and THEY’RE KOOKY : . . . Making Things Altogether Ooky at Knott’s Berry Farm’s Annual Haunt

Like a recurring nightmare, Knott’s Berry Farm’s annual Halloween Haunt returns once more to indulge the darker side of Orange County’s psyche.

The haunt, which continues through Nov. 2, offers horror fans a graveyard full of fun and frights, including Elvira in her campy shock-rock review “Truth or Scare,” eight terror-themed rides and mazes, spooky melodramas and side shows, fortunetellers, and a ghoul-filled ghost town, all in addition to the park’s conventional rides and the roller-coasters. The event is geared for teen-agers and adults and is not recommended for children younger than 12.

Elvira’s all-new “Truth or Scare” revue will be presented three times nightly. Expect the Mistress of the Dark to deliver her usual bawdy one-liners and several campy song and dance routines. As you might guess from the title, she also pokes fun at Madonna in a goofy takeoff of the singer’s “Truth or Dare” movie. The show also includes a routine by impressionist Gordy Brown, who takes devilish aim at the likes of Axl Rose, Michael Jackson, Tracy Chapman and other pop stars.

Five thematic mazes are interspersed throughout the park. The best of these is “Re-Bait’s Motel,” which offers scenes from some of Hollywood’s most bloody splatter movies along with some healthy doses of black humor.

New this year is “The Body,” which is, alas, a long, tiresome walk through claustrophobicly narrow corridors meant to resemble the insides of a corpse on an autopsy table. As you stumble along, unidentified black-clad ghouls grope at you from the darkness. Although this maze doesn’t quite come off, it does have one good moment: the trip through a 40-foot revolving tube that gives you the feeling of being on a surfboard during a tsunami. (“Body” replaces last year’s “Timothy L. Eary’s Time Machine,” a ‘60s-themed presentation.)

The other walk-throughs are “Revenge of the Dead,” a moonlight stroll with an army of gibbering zombies; “Uncle Ernie’s Mad House,” a nightmare world of maniacal, murderous clowns and surrealistic phantoms; and the alien-themed “Encounters of Darkness.”

Also back are “Terror Mountain”--the Calico Mine ride as tour through a haunted logging camp--and “Threshold of Doom,” in which guests take a log ride to search for a slithering mountain beast.

Presented twice nightly is “The Hanging,” a special-effects-filled romp played for laughs and shock featuring cameo appearances by film characters Freddy Krueger, Bill & Ted, Beetlejuice and, of course, the Terminator.

The park also brought back its usual lineup of sideshows and melodramas.

Hypnotist Tony Angelo performs most nights in the Wagon Camp, and “Dr. Cleaver Strikes Again, and Again, and . . .,” a vaudeville-style revue with a horror theme, is presented nightly in the Bird Cage Theatre. “Laser Music Madness” is presented several times each night at Reflection Lake, and “The Bizarre World of Rudy Coby,” a spooky variety show, is offered nightly in the Cloud Nine Ballroom. Dr. Deranged & His Mad Music Monsters play rock most nights in Calico Square.

Escape artist Michael Griffin will present a tribute to Harry Houdini on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 and 2 by attempting to free himself from a locked box submerged in the park’s dolphin pool.

What: Knott’s Berry Farm’s 19th Annual Halloween Haunt.

When: Through Nov. 2. Thursdays and Sundays from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Where: Knott’s Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park.

Whereabouts: Take either the San Diego (405) or Riverside (91) freeway and exit at Beach Boulevard, then go south to La Palma Avenue. The park is at the corner of Beach and La Palma in Buena Park.

Wherewithal: $24 in advance; $27 at the door.

Where to call: (714) 827-1776.