It's been a long time since there was something as confusing to guests as The Dark Realm at Knott's Halloween Haunt.  Located in Camp Snoopy, but not considered part of The Gauntlet (although the signage read "At The Gauntlet"), The Dark Realm was a cross between a maze and a mini scare zone.

Utilizing the stagecoach trail that runs the perimeter of Camp Snoopy, The Dark Realm was a unique attraction filled with monsters and props from former Scary Farm mazes.  It seemed at first that no one was buying in to it; on slow nights, Line Control people begged guests to enter The Dark Realm, often with the help of two or three DR monsters standing at the entrance, taunting passers-by.  On busy nights, there seemed to be a steady trickle of guests into The Dark Realm.

Definitely, The Dark Realm improved with each week.  The talent became more comfortable with their surroundings, the crowds at Haunt grew as the days inched closer to Halloween, more props were placed throughout the attraction and eventually, The Dark Realm was firing on all cylinders.

When Theme Park Adventure first learned of this addition to the Scary Farm, we didn't quite know what to make of it - like most people.  Dark Realm wasn't a maze or a scare zone.  The question that everyone - including us - asked: What the hell is it?

After experiencing DR, it was safe to refer to it as an "attraction."  If we had to get totally analytical, we'd have to classify it as a maze; a maze without built walls, floors or ceilings.

One thing that Theme Park Adventure quickly realized was that the Dark Realm's crew was very high-energy, very committed and very good at what they did.  Word has it that the DR crew caught a lot of flack from the rest of the Scary Farm at first; a lot of ribbing and tongue-in-cheek taunting.  Once the team pulled together and showed everyone that they could hold their own very well, there was nothing but respect at the end of the day.

The scares were plentiful - each monster used every nook, every prop and every inch of The Dark Realm to his or her advantage.  Inch-for-inch, DR delivered a powerful punch.

Haunt fans and vets were big-time amused by the various props strewn throughout The Dark Realm.  It became a real-life trivia game; guess which maze or attraction this or that piece came from... good fun!  It was literally a graveyard of Haunt props past!

The funny thing to us was that each week, more and more props appeared throughout The Dark Realm.  It was awesome!  More and more stuff was added - it amused the hell out of the monsters and fans alike.

And one prop in particular - The Cage - was our favorite.  We have video to share of this piece in action for your viewing pleasure.  Imagine if you will, a large cage, holding a monster at bay; just out of reach as guests hurry past in the darkness and fog.  Suddenly, the monster inside simply picks the whole cage up and walks with it along with the guests!  Screams and laughter erupt from the surprised Haunt guests.  It was a scene we never grew tired of watching and want to give huge props to the guys that made this gag work time and again - art in motion, guys; art in motion.

Our hats are off to the men and women of The Dark Realm for making this experiment in fear truly work.  You all did a great job!

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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 The Dark Realm will be made available for your downloading pleasure.  We thank you for your patience and understanding.

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