We turn our focus now to perhaps some of the hardest-working monsters at Halloween Haunt; the men and women of CarnEVIL.  This massive scare zone extends from the fountain area in front of Johnny Rockets all the way around The Boardwalk to Supreme Scream near the Fiesta Village border.  Without a doubt, this is the single largest scare zone at Knott's - and it has operated year in and year out with a minimal amount of street talent.

The result is a group of monsters that run themselves into the ground each year and have to continuously hear what a lost cause the scare zone is because it's simply too large and vastly understaffed.  Yet, Knott's continues to proceed with this theme and 2005 was no exception.

There has been a slight increase in monster activity over the years throughout CarnEVIL - and the props these folks use are awesome.  From "surprise" pop-up baby carriages and ice cream carts to good ol' chainsaws... the scares are definitely there... if you can find them, or if they happen to find you.

The problem remaining with CarnEVIL again is not the talent at all.  We hung out and watched for a good amount of time and saw monsters with just as much skill as those found in any other zone at Haunt.  CarnEVIL's problem continues to be the number of monsters that Knott's hires to use in this area.  We're said it before - you could put 100 monsters in CarnEVIL and it still would not seem full.  The area is that big.  You could use the same amount of talent in CarnEVIL as you have in Ghost Town and The Gauntlet combined and it might be just right, numbers-wise.

Not only does this bare-bones team have to deal with an impossibly large scare zone each night - they also have disadvantages that the other scare zones do not have to endure.  In The Boardwalk, the majority of space is open - large walkways with virtually no hiding spots.  The lighting is somewhat dimmed throughout CarnEVIL, but it is nowhere near as dark as The Gauntlet or Silver Bullet Mine Town.  For the most part, if a monster is out and about, everyone can see him or her a mile away.  The element of surprise is squashed most of the time in CarnEVIL.

The only saving grace for a monster in this area are the crowds clumping together on busy nights.  Using the masses as moving shields, monsters dart in and out of Scary Farm guests, which is awesome to watch - especially when it sets off a chain reaction of terror and scores of guests panic at once.  You see this a lot when a chainsaw suddenly fires up, and the crowd explodes in all directions - it's a hell of a thing!

It would be fantastic to see Knott's finally step it up and add more talent, more atmosphere and even some fog to this area in 2006.  Obviously, management is hell-bent on making this work, although it's continued to be less than spectacular over the years.  2005 was definitely the strongest for CarnEVIL, which really pleased us.  However, there is a long way to go here - especially if CarnEVIL is ever to rank on the same level as Silver Bullet Mine Town or even Ghost Town; a mighty long way.  And that is not a talent issue - that is 100% a Knott's hiring and budgeting issue, which we understand is completely out of monsters' hands.  Strength in numbers is the name of the game with a scare zone the size of CarnEVIL.  Now, we sit and wait for Knott's to step up in 2006 and show us all that they are finally ready to make CarnEVIL a world-class scare zone worthy of the Halloween Haunt name.

To the men and women of CarnEVIL - God bless you guys.  We know how hard you bust your asses each night and that you absolutely do wonders with what you've been given.  And to those CarnEVIL vets who return each year when they could easily abandon this challenge and go elsewhere at the Scary Farm - major props to you for sticking it out and rising to the occasion year in and year out!

Theme Park Adventure looks forward to seeing what happens this year with CarnEVIL.  Whatever is in store, you can bet these men and women are ready to bring it!

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EDITOR'S NOTE:

While our video difficulties seem to have been fixed, Theme Park Adventure is slowly rolling out our Haunt 2005 videos one at a time.  In other words, we are playing catch-up at the moment.  Shortly, video of CarnEVIL will be made available for your downloading pleasure.  We thank you for your patience and understanding.

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