A Special Story by Rick West

Now, that may not seem like a big deal to most - hardly story-worthy as part of Theme Park Adventure's coverage of the Scary Farm.  I disagree.  This turning point highlights the birth of the next generation of Haunt fan.  In this case, probably uber Haunt fan (she is my daughter, after all).  The introduction of Emily to Haunt marks also a turning point in my life - not only did many of my friends finally get to meet the youngest West for the first time, I was also able to take out a new lease on Haunt fandom within my own bloodline - Em will be around a lot longer than I will be to continue the West love and admiration of this event, as long as Knott's continues to host it.  I just upped my longevity at the Scary Farm by about 20 years or so!

The idea of taking my child to Knott's Scary Farm is something I have wanted to do since she was born.  Life kind of got in the way and due to my stringent "working" schedule when I do visit Haunt to take pictures or shoot video, there has just never been an appropriate time to take Emily.  This year, I made the time.  Emily West had just turned six years-old at the end of September and there was no question in my mind - it was time to unleash the next generation of TPA - the next generation of Haunt fan.

This is where commentary comes in.

If you're reading this with interest and thinking to yourself, "This looks fun - I think I will take little Susie or Bobby next year!" I urge you to re-think your steps unless your child is at least a teen or mature beyond his or her years.  Halloween Haunt is NOT an event for children.  It is strongly advised that folks under the age of 13 do NOT come to Haunt.  And I agree completely.

So then how can I begin to glow over the fact that I took my barely six year-old to Halloween Haunt this year?  Because Em's situation is unique; totally unique.  The ONLY other children out there that fit into this category (and hell, have blazed the trail) are children of Haunt monsters themselves that grow up around the Haunt Family and KNOW what and who this event is before they can even speak.

Since Emily was old enough to point or talk, she knew what Haunt is.  For years, Em has sat on my lap as I have processed thousands of photos and countless hours of video that I have taken at Haunt.  In recent years, she has begged me not to work on Haunt pictures until she's taken her spot on my lap so she can watch "daddy's friends" on the computer screen.

And there have been some test-runs, if you will.  In 2007, I took Emily to her first haunted house when we lived in Las Vegas.  She was five years-old then and was the talk of the queue as people stood in line and watched her as she chatted with, well, anyone about how NOT scared she was.  The advantage that Emily had over "normal" kids is that she gets it.  She understands through my work what haunted houses and "monsters" really are.  And she differentiates real and make-believe without flaw.  When the door creaked open and Emily actually led our group of adults into the haunted house fearlessly, I knew that she was ready mentally and emotionally for Halloween Haunt.

Granted, when the door slammed shut and the dim lights went out, she was up my leg and into my arms like a monkey before you could say, "BOO!"  However, as I walked her through that haunted house - she never closed her eyes and she laughed all the way as monsters jumped out and other girls in our group screamed in terror.

The seed had been planted and my child had now had her first taste of my kind of Halloween fun.

I have attended Haunt since 1981; I was 11 years-old at that point.  And this year, I introduced Emily West to Haunt at half the age I was when I fell in love with the Scary Farm. 

The afternoon began with an early arrival to Knott's.  My intent was to show Emily the entire Haunt process from folks arriving and checking in at Warehouse P, to Wardrobe and then into the Make-up chairs.  I wanted to show Emily the transformation process in its entirety so that her young brain could put it all together logically, rather than just throw her into the darkness and fog.  To me, even with a child that has seen more Haunt pictures and more Haunt footage than most adults even already, I felt that the only responsible way to introduce my kid to the Scary Farm would be in the daylight, one step at a time, holding her hand all the way.

Which was a great plan on paper.  When we parked and got out of the car and ran immediately into monsters Hollywood and Smiley on their way to a Pre-Scare Dinner event at the Knott's Resort Hotel, the whole plan was shot to hell basically.  It was SHOWTIME!

And Emily LOVED it.  She knew immediately what to do - she roared back at the monsters, introduced herself as Emily West and yes... posed for the first of many pictures with them.  A total West, through and through...

Once we'd said farewell to Hollywood and Smiley, we made our way back stage to the Marketing department where Em made the rounds and was treated like a celebrity by the staff.  Everyone was so wonderful at making Em feel so welcome and so at home.  The funny thing was - almost everyone asked two questions of Emily: "How old are you?" and "Are you scared?"

And regardless of the fact that I have worked with many of these folks for 14 years covering Haunt, the nervous "are you sure about this?" looks I got and glances when Emily would say her age were undeniable.  I am confident that even some of the people that know me wondered if I was nuts bringing Em to Haunt at such an early age.  And then the looks of surprise that followed when Emily insisted that she was NOT afraid of Haunt or monsters... there is no doubt in my mind that a betting pool of sorts took place at Marketing when we left the building as to how long Em really would last that night.

Into Warehouse P we went and I showed Em where the Haunt costumes are kept and how people check them out to begin dressing up as monsters.  It was into the Make-up areas next and I could tell that Em was just fine with the whole thing - not a nervous twitch to be found.  As half-made monsters approached with, "Oh my God!  Is this your daughter?" and the posing began, I knew there was no turning back - the transformation of my own child to genuine Haunt fan had begun.  I've seen in for years in our readers and friends I have personally introduced to the Scary Farm; now I saw it actually happening to Emily West.

I'd be lying if I didn't say I was on the verge of tears throughout the evening; proud isn't the word and "excited" doesn't even begin to describe what I was feeling as a parent first and the founder of TPA second.  Emily was finally taking her place in the Haunt Family.  A moment I had waited a long, long time for.

The chatting and socializing at Warehouse P went on for some time.  And as darkness began to fall and the crowd began disbursing into the Farm, a little hand was tugging at me and a confident little voice was saying, "Come on, dad!  Let's go to the Scary Farm!"

And that was that.  I asked if she was ready to experience Halloween Haunt and she dragged me toward Ghost Town, shouting, "YES!  YES!  YES!  Come on, dad!"

As we walked on stage, her pace slowed.  Suddenly the sound of howling wind, the sight of swirling fog and the sound of people being scared in the darkness hit home.  It's hard to explain with words - but I could see everything click in Emily's busy little brain - and her eyes spoke for her... "I'm finally here."

We walked hand-in-hand into Ghost Town and turned the bend to Goldie's.  I knew darn well what was waiting ahead in the darkness.  And I didn't let on or give Em any warning.  In moments, my expectations rang true and the sound of a slider launch filled the air.  The Goblin, a long-time friend of mine, slid right up to here and reared up into her face.

Emily was in awe.  She immediately knew that it was "a slider!" and eagerly posed for a picture with her new-found pal, Goblin.  Wade and I have been friends for as long as I've run Theme Park Adventure - so I was personally thrilled that he was my kid's first slider attack.  I couldn't have planned or hoped for a better introduction to Ghost Town Streets than that.  After introductions, Emily and I stood back in the shadows.  She literally crouched down and studied the sliders for a long time.  Emily not only thought they were amazing to watch - she squealed and laughed with delight when the monsters would attack and scare the crap out of people.  That's my girl!

Further into Ghost Town, word spread quickly that we were there and monsters were more than happy to introduce themselves to Em and pose for group shots.  Then, another long-time dear friend of mine - RiFF (if I used his real name, I know he'd spank me so I will refrain) - picked Emily up and used her as a "prop" - a screaming battering ram as he darted in and out of crowds of guests.  Emily screamed, confused guests screamed and the night was peppered with, "What the f*ck was that?!"

A beautiful thing, people.  A beautiful thing.

And no - Haunt monsters are NOT in the business of touching guests, let alone snatching up their kids and running around with them.  This was something that was discussed and agreed on between RiFF and myself as friends.  This is not something that is done with the general public, nor should visitors expect it to happen or ask for it to happen with their own kids, etc.  It was a fantastic moment, a great memory and wow... what fun for Emily!

Once we moved away from the streets, Emily started asking about the mazes.  Away we went.  I started off with Lost Vegas, for several reasons.  At the time, we lived in the real Las Vegas, so I figured the theme would be something that Em would get and understand - and relate to.  I also chose Vegas because the monsters there are fairly well-lit and the maze itself is mostly bright and "funny", compared to dark and heavy like The Asylum.

My gut feeling was correct - Em loved Lost Vegas!  The monsters didn't quite know what to make of her - some were nice and dropped to their knees to give her high-fives and some just backed off and ignored her as to not frighten her.  The minute we exited, Emily announced that she wanted to do all of the other mazes RIGHT NOW!

Ah, my swelling heart!

Between mazes, she encountered more street monsters such as Sleazy Clown - all of whom were so kind and so amazing with her.  It was with Sleazy that Emily decided that she had her own Haunt "trademark scare" - a "Haunt bark" that I am sure, sounded ferocious to her, but was honestly more like a rabid Chihuahua's yapping.  The monsters all however, played along and cowered in fear. 

FEAR THE MIGHTY HAUNT BARK!  FEAR IT!

Another highlight of the night was Pyromaniax, or as Em refers to Timber Mountain, "the Lincoln Log Ride".  Forget that it was dark, loud and there were monsters popping out - the child is in love with the Log Ride at Knott's.  There were no lines really, so we ended up riding Pyromaniax three times before Emily even considered moving on!  And yes, for the rest of the night after every maze... "Can we go back to the Lincoln Log Ride yet?"

God.  Daddy doesn't like water rides very much, Em! 

So?

It was Em's night.

Into Cornstalkers she went, and there we encountered the first blackout that actually gave me a glance of disapproval.  The young lady looked at Emily, looked at me and then gave me a quick look as if to say, "Dude.  What is wrong with you?"

And that was perfectly all right!  In fact, it gives me hope for today's society!  Someone who did NOT have a clue as to who we were or why in the world I would bring a six year-old to Haunt actually was concerned and felt something stir in her gut that made her give me a very brief glance of disapproval.  I say GOOD FOR HER!  Because she was right.  In a normal case, anyone wanting to drag their first-grader to Haunt, let alone through a maze such as Cornstalkers - should have their head checked, seriously.

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen parents carrying their young kids through Haunt and through the mazes as the kids bury their faces as deeply as possible into their parent's chest or arm.  And that sucks.  That makes me as a parent very angry.  Hell, if grown women piss themselves and fall on the ground screaming - do you honestly think it's a great environment to take your young children into simply because you couldn't find a babysitter for the night or thought it would be "funny" to have them scared at Haunt?  There is nothing cute or funny about forcing Haunt on anyone that has reservations about it or is not mature enough to understand what is going on.

Ironically, weeks later when I was shooting in Cornstalkers, I saw a father carrying his very young daughter through the maze.  She had her head buried and was crying as "dad" was walking through and laughing.  It really pissed me off and I said something like, "What in the hell is wrong with people?" loud enough for everyone to hear as they passed.  What a jerk.

What a way not to introduce a kid to the Scary Farm.  What a way to not create another young Haunt fan.  That sucks.

Another very interesting thing happened as Emily experienced Haunt... she found that monsters gave her stuff.  It was like friggin' Halloween!  Almost every maze, and randomly on streets, monsters would give her candy, little toys, and as we passed through Labyrinth, one of the monsters even gave her a stuffed Elmo doll.

WHO THE HELL CARRIES A STUFFED ELMO WITH THEM WHILE THEY'RE SCARING PEOPLE AT HAUNT?

Good stuff!

Anyway - Quarantine was no different and the older gentleman (sorry - I do not know your name, but you were the amazing "crazy man" that everyone thought rocked at the beginning of the Hazmat room) opened a desk drawer and presented Em with a large sucker; made her night, man!  It was a total trick-or-treat fest for Emily West at the Scary Farm all evening long!  Hilarious.

Another funny thing also happened in Quarantine.  One of the monsters broke character and attempted to be "friendly" and "nice" to Em.  The look on this guy's face when she yelled, "BRING IT ON!" was absolutely priceless.

More incredible interaction with monsters happened in The Gauntlet - Sir Bizkit (also a dear friend for years) took time to sit and play with her as she unleashed the unholy Haunt Bark on him.  Spaz then entered the picture and gave Em arguably the most memorable part of her night... a "piggyback" slider ride throughout The Gauntlet!  She was asked if she wanted to slide, she screamed, "YES!" and was instructed to hang on tight and help scare everyone.

And into the fog they flew.  Dropping and sliding, screaming, rearing up at people... again, "DID YOU SEE THAT?" and, "What is THAT?!" filled the night.  Unreal fun, folks.  It was a moment that I will never forget; I am sure Emily won't, either.

Sir Bizkit followed to make sure there was adequate supervision and protection and I picked up the rear, shooting pictures and laughing all the way.  Again, this is NOT something that monsters typically do - and is not something that they should be asked to do by the general public.  This was a unique circumstance and all Haunt employees are to have no physical contact with guests whatsoever.  Please don't put them in the awkward position of saying no if you ask for similar treatment.  Emily West is part of TPA and TPA is well, part of Haunt in a way... so yeah.  My kid got the super-lucky VIP treatment that most guests never will experience (or want to, for that matter).

There was one thing that Emily didn't dig in the mazes - I started picking up on that in a big way as we walked through Asylum and 13 Axe; Emily does NOT like stuff hanging down that she has to part and go through to move forward through a maze.  Whether it's plastic bags or burlap, she does not like it at all.  Which is also kind of funny, considering all she had to do was bend down just a bit to walk under most of it anyway.  The "scariness" factor of the hanging stuff won mazes such as 13 Axe and Doll Factory a "thumbs down" from Em - which is not at all a dis to the talent... she just was a bit thrown-off and creeped out by the mazes that had a lot of that element.

I explained to Em, "Baby, it's supposed to scare you!" and her response was, "It doesn't scare me dad!  It's just really freaky, okay?"

Okay.

The night ended back at Warehouse P (after another ride through Timber Mountain, of course) where Em mingled with exhausted monsters and yes, continued to be given stuff.  When Dusty opened his Haunt box to see what he had for her... I knew we were in for the long haul!

My most heart-felt thanks and appreciation go out to the Haunt Family for a night that in 27 years of coming to the Scary Farm, was by far, the best time I have ever had.  It was magical on so many levels.  And it is something that Em still talks non-stop about.  You all left a mark; a very special mark on both of our lives.  And I am honored to use my site as a vehicle to share this frozen moment in time with anyone that cares or is curious.  It was pure magic.  And you should all know and be very, very proud that Emily West, without prompting, has begun asking...

"Daddy, when does Haunt start again?"

The Scary Farm will never be the same.

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