While the initial buzz on 13 Axe Murder Manor said that this maze was going to be nothing short of incredible, it didn't necessarily have the pre-Haunt anticipation swell that say, Red Beard's Revenge did in 2004 when it was first known that this maze was on its way.  We did know that it was going to be special - if anything, simply because of the budget that was bestowed on it, the amazing design work that went into it and because of that intangible, magical... something that makes a maze a legend in its own time at Halloween Haunt.

It's been proven that anticipation and all good things being said do not a legendary maze make.  We've seen this take place with Red Beard's Revenge - a maze that perhaps has not yet hit its full stride.  And we've seen this happen with Gothic Graveyard - the unfortunate follow-up to perhaps the most popular maze in all of Haunt history, Dominion of the Dead.  Graveyard had it made - the talent, the foundation of both Lair of the Vampire and Dominion, the mystique and beauty of the whole vampire thing... yet, it fell flat on its face regardless of the great things it had going for it, for multiple reasons.

The same goes for Curse of the Spider Woods' first year.  A "new era" in scare experiences was coming; all summer long, we heard how management was all over this project and that it would change the face of Haunt forever.  Opening Night came and the only thing that was shocking or frightening about Spider Woods was its entirely-too-long queue area and miserably anti-climatic show.

But leading up to the opening of Halloween Haunt 2005, the phone calls and email to us became very frequent and very standard - "You're not going to believe this maze.  It's the most elaborate thing Knott's has ever done.  It's going to blow you away."

So the stage was set.  13 Axe Murder Manor was either going to come on strong and become an instant legend at the Scary Farm, or it was going to be a vast disappointment.  Only time would tell.

One thing was certain about 13 Axe - this maze would have the largest facade of any Haunt maze ever.  The end result was a Psycho-looking house with a vaulted entry and a faux staircase leading up to a second level that doesn't exist (insert inside jokes here).

The exterior is fantastic; however, the only setback that its design team had is the space in which it sits.  Once guests enter the maze via the same backdoor access point that we entered Blood Bayou from for years, they find themselves in front of this structure.  Unfortunately, the area is so cramped and the angle of the facade so odd, that it is all but lost on those guests worried about walking down the sloping ramp next to it with the house actually to their backs.  Only when you make the final turn do you get a chance to look up and see the house; by then, you're about 15 steps from entering the front door - five seconds or so if the line is moving well.

Unlike The Asylum that has a stunning exterior that guests may savor while in queue, the brilliant facade of 13 Axe really is a lost treasure; and that is a damn shame, because it's absolutely impressive in every sense.  It makes us long for something that will probably never be - the maze set up inside the Farm, where guests can actually see the structure from a good distance.  A foreboding house that looms larger than life the closer you get to it.  That won't happen - but man, wouldn't that be sweet?

The interior of 13 Axe Murder Manor is a mixed bag.  Some scenes are breathtaking because they are so elaborate and well-designed.  On the other hand, there are large sections of the maze that leave a lot to be desired.  Burlap for miles comes to mind - we'll get to that in a bit.

An immediate problem that 13 Axe had was its identity.  At first, we heard that this was going to be a spooky, chilling haunted house with spirits and illusions galore.  Then came the whole Lizzie Borden thing - that the maze would be filled with sexy/scary little ladies wielding bloody axes.  Then as the First Night drew closer, word was that 13 Axe had no real theme.

And yeah, that is basically what it boiled down to.  The fact is, 13 Axe Murder Manor has no central, true theme that it abides by.  Unlike vampires, clowns or werewolves, 13 Axe is kind of a cornucopia of stuff - from cannibalism to some strange kind of witchcraft to maybe the rumored Lizzie Borden thing.  For some, that loss of central theme may have proven to be a weak link in an otherwise very strong new maze.  For us, it didn't have too much bearing ultimately on how much we like this new walk-through.

Theme Park Adventure typically does like a coherent storyline or at least, theme when it comes to haunted houses.  However, we didn't feel distracted by the different elements of horror within 13 Axe.  It all blended together and worked for us.  We really would have liked to see the whole Lizzie Borden theme/story carried out - but this is a new maze; we figure that over the next several years, perhaps a stronger focus will emerge.  Otherwise, it is fun just the way it is; where else can you go from seance room to human BBQ in just a matter of minutes?  What a deal!

Going in to such a widely-anticipated maze for the first time is a strange experience for us.  We're excited to finally see what all the hype has been and if the maze truly lives up to everything that's been said about it so far.  At the same time, we are very guarded and hesitant; a lesson learned with the debut of Red Beard's Revenge two years ago that was less-than-spectacular out of the gate.

There are some striking similarities between 13 Axe Murder Manor and the maze it replaced, Blood Bayou.  And they are not necessarily good things.  We'll get those items out of the way first because honestly, TPA loves this new maze and we have lots of praise to give it shortly.

Throughout the maze, there are pockets of talent clustered in a scene - which is great when it comes to wall-to-wall terror raining down on frightened guests as they walk through each area.  At the other end of that stick, there are big areas (including the second half of the maze) where there are no monsters - which is a big problem; the same problem that plagued Blood Bayou year in and year out.

Even though the physical space that 13 Axe Murder Manor occupies is the same of Blood Bayou's, we honestly never thought that the second portion of the maze would be light on talent the same way Bayou was constantly.  This is not a positive tradition being carried on here!  Early on, there were staffing issues with the crew at 13 Axe.  The result was a small team and the need to pull people from other mazes and positions across the Scary Farm to fill in the blanks; not the best move to have to make once the event itself has started.

Unfortunately, the influx of new faces was too little too late in some cases and thus, the "burlap mile" was born.  The same way we walked through corridors of hanging greenery when the maze was Bayou, guests now have to brave an endless amount of hanging burlap - which would be awesome if there were actually monsters lurking and waiting somewhere in that sea of brown obstruction.  But alas, 9 times out of 10, we'd walk the full length and not one spook would spring.  Others have been referring to this as well in writing about 13 Axe, so we do believe this is a major issue, not just an isolated couple of instances.

That said, we have all the confidence in the world that Knott's and its management that oversees the staffing and training of the Haunt maze talent understands what happened here and will make sure it doesn't occur again in 2006.  Frankly, it just can't.  If it does, the "Burlap Mile" is going to be something that goes down in Haunt history as a "standard" for that particular maze - not a compliment.  Management has to recognize this and act accordingly.  We have said it many times and it looks like we'll continue to say it - if you know that by the end of the first Haunt week, x amount of employees will drop out of the event, you must over-compensate and hire too many people to staff these mazes out of the gate if you're going to have any prayer of a strong, well-rounded team come the second week of Haunt.

Naturally, it's going to all boil down to budget, and we understand that.  "We only have so many dollars to hire so many people to fill these mazes, and so we do the best we can with what we have been given."  That is going to be the corporate answer, and we know this.  We also know that Halloween Haunt is big business for Cedar Fair.  Big business means big bucks flowing in - and those big bucks are coming from people who expect the mazes to be well-staffed. 

13 Axe Murder Manor is huge in scope.  Upon entering through the massive facade, guests are treated to scenes that have been given much thought a detail.  The seance room is a favorite of ours - not only is it odd and out of place enough to be mentally jarring, there are secret doors and hiding spots throughout the small room that the talent use flawlessly in executing surprise scares all night long.  It's amazing fun to watch - and a prime example of perfect scare tactics.

Another room that we were very impressed with was the intestine room.  Guests pass through a bedroom where a corpse sits up in bed, completely disemboweled with her entrails draped forward to the ceiling like some twisted sort of canopy bed.  It's a shocking visual - one that will go down in the Book of Great Scenes when it comes to the Scary Farm.  Typically, there is at least one monster in this room - but this is one spot where that is not necessary; it's strong enough on its own to stand as a prop room only.  The comments, reactions and horrified looks of the guests as we passed through this area each time said it all - it was gruesome goodness at its finest.  Major kudos to the design team on this particular room.

And while on the subject of scenes that are outstanding, there's no way we can not mention the one scene/area of 13 Axe Murder Manor that completely stunned us when we saw it the first time - and continued to "wow" us throughout the week as we worked on covering the event.

The dining room/conservatory scene is perhaps the single best maze section ever at Knott's Halloween Haunt.  Walking in to an elaborate dining hall with full settings on the table, chandeliers hanging overhead, candelabras lining the walls and a full-scale conservatory as the background has to be one of the best visuals ever at the Scary Farm.  The fact that we not only walk through the dining room and around the table is nothing short of exciting.  After wandering through the dining room, you leave the red-lit room and enter the blue and purple-lit conservatory outside; that is a moment of pure ecstasy for maze lovers.  The flow and the transition here is perfect - and for a moment, we actually believe we are leaving the manor and are stepping into a fog-filled conservatory, complete with plants and a statue that weeps blood.

That, friends, is Haunt at its best.  That touch alone places 13 Axe Murder Manor at the top of the list when it comes to the way mazes should be done from here on out not just at Knott's Scary Farm - but anywhere mazes are designed.  The visual we're raving about is hard to describe with text; you will find many images of the dining room and conservatory here on this page.  The flow-through video also will give you a great real-time idea of what this scene is all about.  Of course, the best way to experience this rush is to see it and live it yourself in 2006 if you happened to miss the 2005 debut of 13 Axe.  Without a doubt, this one maze is worth the price of a Haunt admission ticket - so make no excuses next year.  Get to Buena Park.  See it.

One of the most talked-about aspects of 13 Axe were the "changing" portraits that were found throughout the first portion of the maze in large numbers.  Unlike the changing portraits at Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, which are rear-projections, these new family pics are very nicely-done lenticular images that change as you walk past them.  The company behind this is The Ghoulish Gallery (www.TheGhoulishGallery.com) and their product seems to be everywhere now.

Normally, we don't discuss third-party companies that Knott's uses for props, etc.  However, we wanted to bring this up because The Ghoulish Gallery stuff is exciting and new - but - is now so instantly common at haunts of all sizes, that it's suddenly in our opinion, nothing special.  And that's a shame - because the work these folks does is very, very nice.  Props to them for the booming business - but the sad reality is, if you go to any other haunt (even home haunts, as these portraits are inexpensive and available to you, the good citizens of Calico to buy for your own jollies) and see these things, they will have lost their impact and will lack that certain "something" once you find them in the halls of 13 Axe Murder Manor.  What would have been awesome would have been for Knott's to locate this method, work on it internally and make one-of-a-kind pieces for 13 Axe that would only be found at this maze.

The sheer quantity is also a set-back in our opinion, when it comes to how many of these things line the walls in 13 Axe Murder Manor.  It's a great visual - a few times.  But when you have wall after wall with these things, it becomes unimpressive, unfortunately.  Too much of a good thing is, well, too much.  The number of portraits from The Ghoulish Gallery within 13 Axe is gross overkill at the end of the day.  We'd have preferred maybe less than half of the number of portraits that have been used - hell, with all of the money spent on these things, one big custom one would have been nicer - in one of the main scenes above a table, or fireplace, etc.  You know - something unique to Knott's and Halloween Haunt.

Overkill carried itself to the second portion of 13 Axe, where we find ourselves in a labyrinth of halls covered with what seems like hundreds of mirrors, in all shapes and sizes.  A bit strange, this section seemed out of place and was certainly nothing spectacular - perhaps it would have been better with actors popping out from behind some of them or more of them being two-way portals to horrific images.  But tons of mirrors - they just left most people shuffling through this section aimlessly, without any cause for fear or alarm; kind of a waste of space and energy, unfortunately.

Once you "leave" the manor, you find yourself wandering down a path that is kinda-sorta a flashback to Blood Bayou; cannibalism is the apparent theme here.  But due to the lack of involved scenes or talent, we can only guess what this was supposed to be.  This is the home of the "Burlap Mile."  Slashed piece after piece of burlap hanging down - after a while, it became rather frustrating; especially since there was usually no talent to be found for miles in this section of 13 Axe.

This is a serious issue that as we've already noted more than enough, needs to be cleaned up and taken care of next season.  We'd love to see some of this section removed and one or two larger scenes installed that really clarify the whole human BBQ thing that 13 Axe ends with.

And the end comes very abruptly.  One minute, you're pushing burlap out of your way and the next, you're standing in front of a large shed or smoke house.  What the hell is that all about?  We want to know next year!  Fill in the blanks, Knott's, and give 13 Axe Murder Manor the depth and mystery that it so deserves!  More story!  More history!

The final area is choked with fog usually - which is a good thing, as it contains a bungee scare.  However, we found a lot of the time that either this area was fully-staffed or there was no one home.  Coordination of breaks might be a good exercise for 2006, here.  There is nothing worse than going through an experience such as 13 Axe Murder Manor only to have your final scene come crashing down in failure as a big "Huh?" because all of the talent is missing.  Bad, bad, bad.

All in all, 13 Axe had a huge debut - one that is sure to go down as one of the greats.  That doesn't mean that there isn't room for a lot of improvement - which we would love to see in the coming years.  A tremendous foundation has been set here, folks.  Now let the games begin!  The coming years should be very strong for perhaps the strongest follow-up in Haunt history to The Asylum, which has become the Scary Farm's signature "disturbing" showpiece.

The soundtrack used for 13 Axe Murder Manor is fairly forgettable.  The good news is, that is okay in this case.  The music used in this maze takes a huge back seat to the over-the-top visuals found throughout.  Not once did we ever leave this maze saying, "God, where is the music?"  It's there, it's minimal in importance and it does its job of filling in the cracks.  Nothing more; nothing less.

We found that the talent in 13 Axe was either really good or really bad.  Considering the mess of staffing that this maze experienced throughout opening week, it's honestly a wonder at all that the talent was worth a damn at all.  But, those that gave it their all truly shined and deserve props.  There were some monsters who opted to attempt to make this a "funny" maze by saying really stupid things - things that we don't need to get in to here.  It was a mess at first, all but ruining our first impressions of the crew at the beginning of our coverage week.  However, the talent was "further instructed" on how to respect and become part of their surroundings - and in the end, the talent crew at 13 Axe really had it worked out.  They were a fun, energetic group that certainly should be very proud of their new home at the Scary Farm.  I would imagine many of them will want to return for 13 Axe's second year in 2006.

So that's it.  13 Axe Murder Manor came on strong and delivered for the most part in its debut year.  It was as impressive in some aspects as we'd been promised it would be.  We found other areas that need some work.  There is room for talent improvement, which we're sure Knott's will be all over next year.  And we're sure that this maze will be around for years to come.  Like a fine wine, this one is only going to get better with time.

We're going to be there each year to taste its sweetness, for sure.

Props to the opening crew of 13 Axe.  Kudos to the design team on creating the Farm's newest legend.  And God bless the original talent crew who hired on and hung in there for the entire run.  It's not easy - but many of you did it.  That in itself is awesome.  Your hard work was not ignored or unnoticed.  Big cheers for a great maze, and a very promising future!