Scary Farm Offers Thrills Knott for the Faint of Heart

Start spreading the noose: A monster is running amok at Knott’s Scary Farm! Alliteration is its name.

The Scary Farm is Knott’s Berry Farm’s October alter ego. Killer Kub Scouts and Krazed Kampfire Kids--not to mention “angry attack animals” and “arsonists with attitudes”--are hideously transforming the Log Ride into Camp GonnaGetcha.

The “campy, creepy” Kingdom of the Lounge Lizards, at what normally is Kingdom of the Dinosaurs, is a “tacky tribute” by “sequined sauruses” to the worst in “reptilian rock ‘n’ roll.” At Ghost Town, Toon TERRORtory’s “contaminated cartoon” characters create a “wickedly warped world.”

Even the Knott’s staff suddenly is talking funny: Entertainment division manager Matt Schliesman describes Toon TERRORtory as “a ‘toon that’s copped a ‘tude.”

In fact, more than 1,000 monsters--including “ghosts, ghouls and goblins”--will roam the park starting Friday night, terrifying visitors on weekends and some weekdays through Nov. 2. The Scary Farm is not recommended for children under 12. A non-scary daytime event at Camp Spooky has been designed for them (see accompanying story).

Of 11 mazes and re-themed rides throughout two scare zones, four are new this year. Well, 3 1/2. If the Underground’s apocalyptic post-nuclear holocaust scenario sounds familiar, that’s only because it is, sort of.

“It’s a new treatment of one of the favorite old mazes,” Schliesman allowed. “We did away with the industrial evil and mutant cave dwellers. We’re calling it new. It’s significantly new enough. What’s not new is the best of the old.”

Truly new among a half dozen stage shows, “Dead Monsters of Rock” unearths pop legends at the Toyota Ghoul Time Theatre. “The Hanging: Hooray for Hollywood” is a lampooning of infamous personalities, with stunts and pyrotechnics on the Calico Square Stage.

Stink Martindale, Vanna Fright and Doc Severedhead host Wagon Camp’s “Deadly Dating Game,” where unsuspecting members of the audience participate in such games as “Wheel of Misfortune” in an effort to find true love.

Guests at Indian Trails may come away edified as well as terrified when Native American dancers present an authentic Aztec “Night of the Dead” procession.

Smaller-stage productions include “Dr. Cleaver for President” in the Bird Cage Theatre. The show features “morbid melodramas,” “sinister satires” and “fiendish farces.” And “The Gauntlet: Festival of Freaks” offers “Renaissance revelry at its most repulsive” and a “melancholy mob of marauders.”

Stop me before I type again!

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* Who: Knott’s Scary Farm’s Halloween Haunt.

* When: Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11-12, Oct. 18-20, Oct. 24-27 and Oct. 30-Nov. 2. Open 7 p.m.-2 a.m. except on Saturdays, when it’s open till 3 a.m.

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

* Whereabouts: Take the Riverside (91) Freeway to the Beach Boulevard exit and head south.

* Wherewithal: $29.95 in advance, $33.95 at the gate.

* Where to call: (714) 220-5200. Ticketmaster: (714) 740-2000.