Haunts: From Scary to Not Very

The nights grow cooler, the sky darkens earlier and the howling begins. The howling of tourists, that is, who are flocking to the spooky events celebrating Halloween.

It’s that time again when theme parks and local tourist attractions attempt, with various levels of success, to reinvent themselves as Halloween horror zones. These scare-fests are big business around the country now, and Southern California shows why it’s on the cutting edge of eerie entertainment. To help you spend your money wisely, we’ve rated three larger haunts.

Be warned that the places get crowded, sometimes feeling like a line at the DMV.

Many festivities at each venue are not recommended for young children due to violent, graphic and oftentimes adult content.

Knott’s Scary Farm

Knott’s has done it again, this time even bigger than previous years’ efforts. The originator of the Southern California scare scene refuses to rest on its laurels and once more turns its family-friendly Buena Park theme park into a hideous and oftentimes genuinely scary place to spend a crisp autumn evening.

If the ingeniously designed mazes, stalking street creatures and Hollywood-caliber makeup jobs don’t scare you out of your wits, the swelling crowds will. Plan on arriving early and staying late if you want to take it all in.

You’re barely through the entry turnstile when you find yourself walking cautiously down darkened streets full of fog-shrouded goblins and ghouls. The streets are layered in dry ice, spooky crimson, blue and green lighting effects, while horror music and wind sound effects follow you. And that’s not all following you. Sooner or later you might find yourself alone and stalked by an 8-foot werewolf.

Eventually if you survive the onslaught of the wandering scare squad, you’ll find one of those bright orange signs held aloft that announce another maze. Since there are so many options, this year I focused only on the new mazes. The highlight of the evening has to be the Lewis Carroll-inspired “Malice in Wonderland” walk-through maze, equal parts 3-D visual and literary-inspired madness. Knott’s has taken the book and fashioned a surreal and very trippy living version. Music from Jefferson Airplane fills and feeds your head as a fluorescent and very demented-looking Alice leads you through her world. At the tea party, the Mad Hatter’s face literally floats in front of you thanks to the 3-D glasses that cost $1 extra.

Another new maze that merits praise, especially in the category of makeup, is “Lore of the Vampire,” a multi-generational trip through the history of those infamous bloodsuckers. Then there is “Blood Bayou,” what could only be described as a backwater trek through some twisted vision of a dark place inhabited by in-breds, cannibals and zombies. You know, just your average night at a theme park.

If those three mazes alone aren’t enough for you, there are seven more scattered about the 160 acres. The only one you’ll want to miss is something they’re calling “Curse of the Spiderwoods.” More than a few guests were heard to be grumbling after waiting in a long line for what amounted to a few seconds of blandness.

You can’t go to Knott’s without taking in the always fun and edgy live stage show, “The Hanging Starring the Crypt Keeper.” This year’s very public list of those hung or at least seared at the expense of the Knott’s creative team were the cast of “The Planet of the Apes,” Tom Hanks and the Disney Electrical Light Parade. On a smaller stage in a different part of the park, you can find another hilarious show called Dr. Cleaver Returns. Right after leaving this ribald laugher, we were startled by a slider (one of the knee-pad wearing ghouls who flies across your path) with flashing blue eyes. That’s Knott’s success--the place makes you laugh and scream.

Queen Mary’s Shipwreck

The people who put together this year’s event, improved over Shipwreck 2000, have finally begun to see the dark. Now some mazes have a reasonable number of creatures stalking about and, unlike last year’s group, these monsters play their parts well and often succeed at scaring you.

The Queen Mary in Long Beach put its employees through scare school this year and the results show. The place still needs more goblins, especially in the lengthy on-ship mazes, but performance-wise it’s a huge step in the right direction. That, combined with newly configured and somewhat more elaborately designed mazes and spookier lighting, adds up to much better results.

The seven mazes are in two separate areas--inside the ship and around the marketplace area just a short distance from the liner. It’s clear that the off-ship mazes are where most of the changes have taken place. There you’ll find the lion’s share of live performers working the crowds and most of the better sets. The most interesting offering, “Londontowne of Terror,” a multi-themed maze, works better this year due to more detailed sets and a cast of scarier performers.

Inside the Queen Mary you’ll feel a slight tingle of fear from just being able to explore the insides of the ship’s great belly. Brave souls find themselves walking deeper and deeper into her cavernous hull exploring the three mazes, the best of which is “Decks of the Dead.” Thankfully this year there are more actual beastly inhabitants in there trying to scare you back outside.

Six Flags Fright Fest

Magic Mountain in Valencia has a long way to go if it hopes to truly compete in the lucrative Halloween market in Southern California. Too few mazes, hardly enough ghouls and monsters to haunt the streets and a poor showing in the special effects and lighting departments cause this event to fall below its fright-fest potential. Nevertheless, Six Flags does have some of the finest roller coasters in the United States, so if you’re going to head there, do so to ride the metal monsters and only consider the Halloween environment as an added attraction.

The best maze of the three offered is called “The Jokester’s Hideout.” This is the only haunt at Six Flags that has an actual storyline. Inside various colorful rooms you’ll find yourself surrounded by giant Jack in the Boxes, and you’ll never know until it’s too late when and from where the next living demented clown will appear.

Taking its cue from the main stage show at Knott’s, Six Flags offers its own big stage event titled “The Strongest Link Celebrity Death Challenge.” People we love to hate, i.e., Jerry Springer, Martha Stewart and Anne Robinson, the host of “The Weakest Link,” get their roasting.

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* Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween Haunt, Oct. 11-14, 18-21, 25-31. $36 pre-sale, day of event $40. 7 p.m.-2 a.m. (877) 858-7234* Queen Mary Ship Wreck 2001, Oct. 12-14, 19-21, 26-28, 30-31. $25 includes nightly dance party. 7 p.m.-midnight. (562) 435-3511* Six Flags Fright Fest, Oct. 12-14, 19-21, 26-28 and 31. $42.99. 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Fridays 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (you can arrive any time during the day and stay into the evening Fright Fest hours). Park opens at 10 a.m.