Blood Bayou was another twist on Leatherface. From what we understand, years ago the maze held a stronger Voodoo slant and was more intense. I would have enjoyed this angle more, but again, another interesting maze…

Then there are the 3-D mazes... two to be exact. Malice in Wonderland, not your Disney version, but rather a wonderful trip thru Lewis Caroll's drug induced looking glass in blazing technicolor. A fond hello to the doormouse who spotted us! And bring in the clowns.... what attraction would be complete without a tribute to coulrophobia (fear of clowns), enter the "Carnival of Carniverous Clowns."

Did you count them? That was TWELVE houses... a lot of bang for your buck... but we're not done yet!! Besides the "Ghost Town" scare zone we mentioned at the beginning, there are three more.

Carnevil takes place in the parks "Boardwalk" area and hosts some of the more memorable humorous characters of the evening, from demented roller waitresses, to Shriners with KFC fez's (who would not allow us to take their picture, the only non-compliant characters we would run into all evening), to ice cream vendors with more in store then frosty treats.

More photo opportunities abound in the Swamp, where we ran into "Vaseline" the Werewolf, who can also be seen lurking in our message boards from time to time.

The Gauntlet is perhaps the most modern of the scare zones, with more of a post apocolyptic feel to the characters. It was here that I decided to take a break and spread our map out on top of a trashcan to figure out just where in the hell we were, what we had left to do, and how we were going to find our way there, when my map was snatched up by own of the resident evils. "MINE!"
Being a smaller chick, I find myself the target of actors looking for the "leap and scream" of the average girl, so I think the actor was equally surprised when I grabbed the other end and said "No, MINE!" And we continued with a small tug of war until I couldn't help but laugh. Realizing that we were from the website, the members of this area got together and gave us a few group shots, and the friendly competitiveness came thru with boasts of "we're better then Ghost Town..." We told them we would make sure to pass that on to the actors there on our way out of the park...

Still counting, we are up to 16 different areas of entertainment... but still, there's more!
The SHOWS! As if there weren't already enough to do, they offered FIVE shows, ranging from magic with sexy song and dance to the scandalous satire of the Hanging.
The Hanging takes place in "Calico Square.” The only drawback to this show is that it is standing room, and does not offer the convenience of stadium seating as does Bill & Ted in Universal, but what they do offer is some of the funniest moments in haunted attraction history.

Years ago, the Hanging was based on the hanging of a witch, and actually, her fate was sealed in several different ways... burning at the stake etc. As years progressed, the writers looked to keep the show fresh, and they brought in additional cast... leaving the audience to wonder, who will they hang THIS year? No toning down for the kiddies, the humor was adult with a biting edge, no song and dance numbers, but slashing and stunts, with Freddie K. being the master of scaremonies.

We caught this show twice. While waiting for the show to begin, guests were entertained with "Blood Light" commercials… and the laughs just went from there… we caught the show early in the season when it still featured Freddy and Jason, but hear thru the grapevine that they were forced to alter the show and not utilize the trademarked characters. Old favorites such as Larry Flynt were featured in conjunction with new parodies from The Black Pearl without missing a beat, or seeming out of place.

We also caught Ed Alonzo's act, and from the "Coop-like" devil girls that adorn the entrance sign of this attraction we knew this was not your kid's birthday party magician. The girls were beautiful, the outfits divine and the magic was magnificent. All that was missing were the martinis in this little bit of vegas showmanship.

We were only able to catch three of the shows that evening, the final one being Dr. Cleaver, more magic and mayhem then bodacious beauties, but very entertaining as well, leaving us laughing as we exited the park for the midnight breakfast buffet in Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant.

Finally off our feet for a few minutes, we were able to recap the evening... we had been solidly entertained for 6 hours, very few minutes of that time were wasted. We had been lucky in attending an off peak night and we waited for only one attraction, the "Army of the Underworld." All of the other attractions allowed us entry within about 5 minutes. We WOULD have had a wait as well for "Red Moon Massacre" had we not shied away from the attraction, but again, the waits were not significantly long.

Here I sit several months after the event and I am still taken aback by all that Knott's had to offer. With 31 years of experience, and a park smaller then many of their "competitors," they have managed to offer the most comprehensive night of entertainment that we have seen to date. Not on the cutting edge of sophisticated scenery like some, not relying on liquor sales or gimmicks, they have managed to draw in crowds year after year with a solid base of entertainment, what more could you want? If you are a haunt enthusiast you owe it to yourself to visit the Haunt at least once in your lifetime, try as I will, it is impossible to put into words just the feeling that is in the air at the event. There is a reason it is called the "Grandaddy of all haunts." More then monsters roam the streets, lingering about is the energy of 31 years, the wonder of children and the shrieks and giggles of young girls. It is traditions with family and friends. And it is not to be missed.

Editors note: Look for “The Haunt Revisited” another article in the months to come. With the volume of entertainment, Brian and I were able to see the houses only once, and we were truly overwhelmed. We look forward to bringing you more details from our 2004 trips, as well as a behind the scenes glimpse into the lives of some of these most famous monsters.