Dark.  Foreboding.  Scary as hell.  Violent.  Twisted.  Nightmarish.

Classic.

When the Mangler Asylum first made its debut at the Scary Farm in 2003, it took Haunt mazes to a whole new level almost overnight.  Set a cut above the rest with outstanding talent, an incredibly disturbing design and to this day, the greatest facade (opening year on Stagecoach Lawn) ever made for a Scary Farm attraction, Asylum immediately captured the hearts and thrills of visitors, hard core fans and Haunt monsters alike.  And as one of the longest-running mazes at Halloween Haunt, the Asylum never lost steam as far as its talent went - and the design element of the maze was never lost much, either, with the exception of some logistics trouble the past couple of years due to the maze's re-location to the back stage area of Knott's when the Silver Bullet roller coaster displaced it.

Consistently, the talent of Asylum has been at the top of their game year in and year out - and never have we been disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm of this maze's incredible cast and crew.  Even on nights that the talent has been thin or the crowds at Haunt have been less than spectacular, we could always expect and enjoy the kick-ass caliber of the lunatics and morbid staff member of Mangler to bring it and bring it hard.  In years past, Theme Park Adventure took it on the chin occasionally for focusing our reviews on aspects of Asylum other than the crew.  The only defense we've had and continue to have is - if you have a winning team and it never changes (except for the worst, which never happened in this case), there isn't much to go on and on about.

It's like saying how amazing chocolate is.  It just... is.  Or maybe how man-like Rosie O'Donnell is.  She just... is.  Or how gay Liberace was.  He just... was.

And the crew of Asylum - from the random maniacs to the Nurses... they just... were the Asylum.  And we forever will applaud and remember with love, awe and grand enthusiasm that they were arguably the strongest crew to ever grace a Haunt maze in the history of the Scary Farm.  That's not lip service, kids.  That is the truth.  The fans, the Haunt Family, the rest of Knott's and its management all the way to Ohio - everyone knows it and history cannot be re-written.

Over the years, the maze itself has be re-invented and altered, which has kept its tenure at Knott's Scary Farm fresh and exciting (terrifying, to many).  Whether purposely or altered due to the, well hell... put it up and make it fit in the footprint effect, it worked and the Asylum was always a thrill, always changing and always the best of the best at Knott's.

And Asylum's location has not always been complimentary; in fact, in recent years, the plain white warehouse in the back lot of Knott's Berry Farm has worked against the theme and design of the maze.  The most notable challenges last year in 2007 were the utter obliteration of the amazing forced-perspective facade of the Asylum against the massive white siding of the warehouse and the tragically distracting illumination of the maze's interior from the show lighting reflecting off of the white metal ceiling within.

TPA focused quite heavily on these challenges in 2007 despite the grumblings of some - because it was these challenges that Asylum faced that could have been make-or-break issues.  As far as we were concerned, these were the critical aspects of Asylum 2007.  The design of the maze and the strength of the crew - those were fortified enough not to be at risk.  Through our review, TPA wanted to make it very clear that the Asylum deserved better - and that the attention to correcting these problems was paramount.

Whether the Haunt gods heard and agreed or if we were simply on the same page and had ticket on the same train of thought, we were beside ourselves with excitement on Opening Night when we noted two very important changes had been made to Asylum for its final year at Haunt...

When we looked at the facade of Asylum for the first time this year, we didn't notice the huge white warehouse towering behind it; the show lighting had been adjusted so that the lights shined outward - away from the warehouse, and into the eyes of those waiting in the queue.  It was a brilliant (literally) adjustment that was so simple, yet made such a major difference, as you will see in one of the images below.  The placement of the show lighting gave Asylum not only an eerie - but an almost ethereal quality; fitting for its final year before fading into the Haunt history book.

The second - and more important aspect of change that came to Asylum this year was that the ceiling on the inside of the warehouse was painted black, to absorb and not reflect the maze's lighting.  It worked, and while there was still a certain amount of under lighting (unavoidable inside no matter what), we are so very, very happy that Knott's saw the importance in this not just for the last year of Asylum - but for the mazes that will follow in the location for years to come.

It was likely more difficult for the cast and crew of Asylum to say goodbye to the maze than the fans.  It's been an amazing run, but everyone knows the time has come.  Better for Asylum to go out on top than to become old and tired with everyone begging for its demise.  Everything about the Mangler Asylum was done well, from concept and design through execution year after year.

And yes - as we have always said of everything that is a major success at Halloween Haunt - it all boils down to the people.  A lot of amazing talent has come out of Asylum.  And just as importantly... a lot of tremendous talent stayed in the maze for its Haunt run; dedicated, talented and wonderful people that called Mangler Asylum "home" for years.

You men and women rocked it hard.  And that's the way it is.  Forever.  No one or anything can ever take that from you.

You all created something very, very special together... it's called a legacy.

All images on this page are the copyrighted material of Theme Park Adventure and Knott's Berry Farm.  Unauthorized use for personal or professional gain without the written consent of Rick West is strictly prohibited.  Images may not be linked to from other sites online.

Return to the Halloween Haunt 2008 Contents Page