Knotts Berry (Spooky) Farm (22416357850) · Prayitno · CC BY 2.0 · cropped
Knott’s Berry Farm will run Knott’s Scary Farm on select nights from September 17 through October 31, 2026, at 8039 Beach Blvd in Buena Park, according to the park’s official Scary Farm event page. The overnight Halloween takeover includes haunted mazes, scare zones, shows, and more than 1,000 costumed creatures, and Knott’s says it is not recommended for children under 13.
The next useful step is to pick a night and buy event admission on the official ticket page before the first Thursday fills in. Scary Farm tickets are separate from daytime park admission and do not include parking. If you are pairing the haunt with coasters, start with the Scary Rides at Knott’s Berry Farm guide, then match a ticketed night to the rides you still want after dark.
- Opens: Thursday, September 17, 2026, then select nights through October 31.
- Where: Knott’s Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, California.
- New for 2026: Inked and Unearthed mazes; Occultum, a rotating Magic Castle show in the Bird Cage Theatre.
- Tickets: Online event admission, with passholder discounts; Fright and Fast Lane does not include entry.
- Rules: Not recommended under 13; chaperone required for guests 15 and younger; no costumes; no re-entry.
Opening Night Is Thursday, September 17
Knott’s lists Scary Farm as a select-night event, not a nightly overlay. A Six Flags entertainment calendar for the 2026 haunt names September 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, and 27, then 18 October dates through Halloween, and skips Sunday, September 20. Treat those nights as the working calendar and recheck the official event page before you drive, because the listing says dates are subject to change.
Hotel packages tied to the haunt are sold for Thursdays through Sundays from September 17 through October 31 and bundle overnight lodging with Scary Farm admission. That is the cleanest path if you do not want to hunt for parking after a late exit. For a daytime visit on a non-event date, use the Knott’s Berry Farm park hours page instead of assuming the haunt calendar.
Local planning guides list a 7 p.m. start, with Thursday and Sunday nights running until 1 a.m. and Friday and Saturday nights until 2 a.m. Knott’s does not print those clock times on the main event page, so confirm hours in the Six Flags app on the night you hold tickets.
Magic Castle Magicians Take the Bird Cage Theatre
The Orange County Register reported on September 9 that Knott’s is adding Occultum, a Halloween-themed magic series curated with the Magic Castle, inside the Bird Cage Theatre. Magician Ruby Coby is curating the lineup. The Register said a new Magic Castle magician is expected to rotate in each weekend, and that the other names beyond opening weekend had not been posted yet.
Shock illusionist Dan Sperry is scheduled for opening weekend, September 17 through 19, with four Occultum shows each night, according to that same Register report. Sperry is billed as the first magician of the season. If the Bird Cage Theatre is your reason to go, opening weekend is the only block with a named performer as of September 9. Later weekends remain a wait-and-see until Knott’s or the Register publishes the rest of the roster.
Occultum is a show, not a maze, so it does not replace Inked or Unearthed. Build a night that puts the theatre on the itinerary and still leaves a first-hour window for the two new houses. For ticket products that cover daytime rides as well as the haunt, compare options in the Knott’s Berry Farm tickets and passes guide before you stack a Scary Farm add-on.
Tickets, Passes, and Hotel Bundles
The official Scary Farm ticket page sells single-night event admission, a 2026 event pass, group tickets for 15 to 99 people, and military or first responder tickets. Passholder and member discounts apply for eligible Knott’s, Six Flags Prestige, and Six Flags West Region Gold passholders. The event pass is sold as a season-long product with limited remaining quantity, and Knott’s says it is non-transferable.
Fright and Fast Lane is sold separately and does not include event admission. Boo-Fet dinner, the Very Important Monster Tour, and the Midnight Breakfast Buffet are also extras. All of those products are listed as online only, with taxes extra. Event tickets do not include parking or daytime park admission, and product benefits are not valid during the daytime.
Deep Arrival already covered the two new mazes in August. This week’s decision is operational: which night to buy, whether a pass beats a second single ticket, and whether opening weekend is worth it for Occultum. See Knott’s Scary Farm Adds Inked and Unearthed Mazes for 2026 for the maze-by-maze breakdown rather than repeating that list here.
Mazes, Scare Zones, and House Rules
Knott’s official event page flags Inked and Unearthed as the new mazes. Inked sends guests into a 1930s cartoon studio gone wrong. Unearthed is staged as a search-and-rescue walk through an excavation that woke something buried.
Returning houses on the same page include Eight Fingers Nine: The Boogeyman, Chilling Chambers, Cinema Slasher, Mary: The Haunting of Worth Home, Origins: The Curse of Calico, and a widow-and-spider convalescent-home maze.
Scare zones listed on the event page include Ghost Town Streets, Forsaken Lake, The Gauntlet, The Gore-ing ’20s, and a Mesmer-run circus overlay on the Boardwalk. Those zones are the open-air part of the night, which is why the bag and costume rules matter as much as maze strategy.
Knott’s code of conduct requires guests 15 or younger to be with a chaperone who is at least 21. Clear plastic bags smaller than 12 by 12 by 6 inches are allowed, as are non-clear wristlets or clutches no larger than 5 by 8 by 2 inches.
Costumes are not allowed. Re-entry is not permitted. The event runs rain or shine. Every guest, regardless of age, needs a paid Scary Farm ticket. If you are bringing teens, the chaperone rule is the gate that fails at the parking lot, not inside a maze. If you are carrying a standard backpack, leave it or use a clear bag that matches the posted size.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Want the named Occultum magician | Buy September 17, 18, or 19 for Dan Sperry’s four nightly shows, then watch later weekends for the rest of the Magic Castle roster. |
| Want the cheapest, thinner night | Prefer a Thursday or Sunday after opening weekend, and skip Sunday, September 20, which is not on the Six Flags haunt calendar. |
| Expect two or more haunt nights | Price the 2026 Scary Farm event pass against a second single ticket before opening weekend sells the remaining pass inventory. |
| Are bringing anyone 15 or younger | Arrive with a chaperone 21 or older, skip costumes, and treat the event as adult-intensity even though there is no posted age ban. |
September 17 is opening night. Buy event admission now if you want Inked, Unearthed, and the first Occultum block on the same visit.
September 20 is not a haunt night on the posted calendar. Do not assume every weekend date is live; confirm the night on the official event page.
October 31 is the last listed night. After Halloween, the overlay ends and daytime Knott’s hours apply again.
When does Knott’s Scary Farm 2026 start?
Knott’s says the event runs on select nights from September 17 through October 31, 2026, in Buena Park. Opening night is Thursday, September 17.
Do daytime tickets include Scary Farm?
No. Official ticket copy says Scary Farm admission is a separately ticketed event and does not include parking or daytime park admission.
Who is performing Occultum on opening weekend?
The Orange County Register reported that Dan Sperry will perform four Occultum shows each night on September 17 through 19 in the Bird Cage Theatre, with later Magic Castle magicians still to be named.
Can children go to Knott’s Scary Farm?
There is no posted age ban, but Knott’s says the event is not recommended for children under 13, and guests 15 and younger must attend with a chaperone who is at least 21.
