Due to it taking 4 hours to get to the event on Thursday we missed the opening ceremony. Thankfully Albert was able to to grab some amazing pics.

This year the opening ceremony is in Calico Square which I honestly think makes a lot of sense. It spreads crowds around at the beginning of the night.

And of course all the monsters come out to greet you.

Let's start off with the two new mazes. Inked, one of two new mazes for 2026 replacing Mesmer behind Xcelerator.

Mortimer Morbid, a washed-up 1930s cartoonist and former head of Morbid Studios, discovering that when blood becomes ink, imagination becomes reality. Determined to create one final Halloween special, he brings his infamous cartoon characters to life—only to unleash a legion of murderous toons hellbent on pulling viewers into their twisted world.

Inked is absolutely phenomenal and is destined to be a Knott's Scary Farm Classic.

Created by maze designer Daniel Miller I think it's fair to say this maze represents a bit of a departure for Daniel who has created such Scary Farm classics such as The Tooth Fairy, Cinema Slasher, Pinocchio Unstrung and Delirium.

The maze seems a bit more "playful" than most Daniel Miller mazes, which is honestly not a bad thing at all. As I think it may be his best maze ever.

The second new maze for 2026 is Unearthed, which is replacing the short-lived Grimoire.

Embark on a perilous journey through the heart of an excavation site as you and your search and rescue team arrive at a ravaged base of the summit days after receiving a distress signal. Beware, for the discovery of the ancient tablets has awakened a malevolent force from a forgotten age—an ancient evil has been unearthed.

Unearthed has the distinction (like Pumpkin Eater before it) of debuting the same year as an absolute banger of a maze. Pumpkin Eater debuted the same year as the classic Dark Ride.

That's not to say this maze created by maze designer John Asperin isn't great, because it is. It's honestly my favorite maze he's ever created. But it just happens sometimes that a really good maze gets overshadowed in it's debut year. And sadly this year that distinction falls to Unearthed.

Like the previously mentioned Pumpkin Eater, I expect this maze to only get better throughout this season and subsequent seasons. That maze turned into one of our all-time favorites. And I believe this will be up there.

This maze also has some AMAZING Easter Eggs. Look at these scrolls closely. We'll leave it at that.

Let's move on from the two new mazes and take a look at the two mazes being retired in 2026, starting with the absolute classic Origins: The Curse of Calico.

Pierce the veil of time and discover the secret of the evil fog that hangs over Knott's Scary Farm in Origins: The Curse of Calico. Unearth the sinister paranormal activity that plagues the town as Sarah Marshall is put on trial for her suspected crimes of witchcraft.

Origins Debuted in 2019 and is literally from another era.

That being said, we did notice some very subtle changes in this maze on opening weekend that may signify that the Origins story is not done yet. But we'll see.

The second retiring maze for 2026 is The Chilling Chambers, which had it's debut during the 50th Scary Farm in 2023.

Venture into a hellish trip down memory lane in The Chilling Chambers. Guided by the menacing Crimson Lord, you'll face a collection of the most infamous monsters and themes from Knott’s Scary Farm’s horrific history! Each room reveals a different flavor of horror, drawing you deeper into a world filled with terror. Can you survive the Crimson Lord’s twisted tribute through the decades of fear, or will you become a permanent part of this macabre celebration?

I have to be honest, when they announced this maze was retiring I was very disappointed. And still am. This wouldn't have been my choice for a 2023 debut to be retired already. But I'm sure they have something awesome planned for this space. I just wish they would have updated the maze with more retired scenes.

Bye Thingy! Hope we see you again sometime. We'll be visiting you a lot during our visits this season.

Venturing through the mystical Midnight Theater, guests travel through the silver screen and into a trilogy of slasher movies. As they are swallowed into the world of gothic horror, they become the movie characters who try to escape the wrath of the dangerous Slasher. The theater opens its doors once again, daring those brave enough to buy a ticket to Cinema Slasher!

Cinema Slasher retains it's spot as an all-time great Scary Farm maze. This maze debuted in 2023 and shows no signs of age. A slightly redesigned final room this year is keeping things fresh.

After the tragic death of her family, Mary was violently murdered and buried alive by jealous townsfolk who were envious of her perfect family and home. Through immense pain and grief of her loss, Mary returns from the grave searching aimlessly for her family as she and her legion of nightmarish creatures will do anything to exact revenge on anyone that steps inside her once beautiful home.

This was our favorite of the new mazes in 2025 and has also received some updates in the first half of the maze. It's still just as creepy and is a definite visit for us every night we are at Scary Farm.

Become immersed in a living fairy tale in an 18th century colonial township that's under siege by an inhuman monster who has a sick penchant for eating fingers. As night descends, Eight Fingers Nine emerges from the shadows in search of fresh meat. His vicious bite penetrates deep, causing sleep paralysis which holds his victim in sway while he slowly consumes their flesh. Step lightly and beware of the dark, or you may be the main course at his next meal!

Quick story about the new (not official) name for Eight Fingers Nine. First off, we love this maze. One of our favorite Gus Krueger designs. Plus, he's a friend. Anyway, my wife could never remember the name of it and just started randomly calling it Five Finger Freddy. And it's now Gus approved. So this year we're making it stick.

The night of the arachnid is upon us! Enter a web-covered nursing home where demonic, eight-legged black widows emerge from their silken tunnels to possess the withered bodies of the elderly residence. Their sole purpose is to secure a mate and hatch a clutch of eggs before sunrise. Will you climb into their web and succumb to their dark desires?

Widows definitely takes the cake as one of the creepier mazes at Knott's Scary Farm. The design is amazing and going through with somebody who is deathly afraid of spiders is always fun. You'll see in our video below.

Something has taken over the abandoned zoo. What was once a lively showcase of exotic animals has been transformed into a terrifying laboratory of animal/human experiments. Hybrid creatures have turned on their creators and the compound is crawling with mutant soldiers thirsty for revenge. Rumors are swirling that the mutated monsters are planning something that will change everything!

Everybody has that one Scary Farm maze that just never quite clicked with them. To be honest for us, that's The Zoo. But we're definitely in the minority on this one it seems. Visually it's fantastic.

Violent murders at The Blind Tiger interrupt the Prohibition-era revelry on Memory Lane. A dangerously delicious new cocktail named The Devil’s Elixir seems to be at the root of the mayhem, but where did the mysterious green aperitif come from? The answers may lie at the heart of the extravagant Argive Hotel, where many have checked in to Room 13… but none have checked out.

While we really enjoy Room 13, this would have been the 2023 debut we would have chosen to bow out in 2026. In fact, it wasn't until I started editing video that I realized we didn't even go through the maze during media night. So sadly no walkthrough this year. But check out our lights-on tour from the Nightmares Revealed event in August.

I'll be honest, we didn't spend a whole lot of time in the scare zones this weekend. Obviously we only had 1 night to get footage inside the mazes and with us being so late we kind of felt rushed most of the night. But we'll be making a an effort to get more in the scare zones on our upcoming visits. So stay tuned!

We started off our night in the hotel where they have some specialty drinks. We really do miss when it was decorated for Haunt.

So great to see our pal Chopper again. Proof that monsters get bored in retirement.

I mean literally what even is this? It seems that whoever put these two mazes in some AI generator has never been through either of these two mazes and somebody approved it.