Halloweenies & Hauntings...

Knott's Halloween Haunt is probably the oldest, biggest, best Halloween event in the country.

And this year once again I'm proud to be a part of it.

Currently people can catch my show at the Boardwalk Ballroom Theater which should only seat 375 people, but with the growing crowds, we've been seating 400-475 per show. Once the chairs are filled, people sit in the aisles and on small steps circling the house area. And the crowds have been great!

During one of the Haunt's Preview Nights, I had a chance to run around and catch the rest of the park's cool shows, mazes and attractions. At least two of the mazes are done in "3-D", and with the cool glasses (at an extra $1.00 a pop) they're a hoot to walk though. You swear the walls are coming at you, let alone the monsters, gouls, etc.... the best 3D maze is a fairytale theme....But fairytales that have gone horribly wrong. A must see!

My experience with the Haunt has spanned over the last twenty years....Starting with a blind date way back when which went horribly wrong - just like the fairytale maze. The girl was quieter than Teller of Penn & Teller, and we pretty much stared at each other's feet while standing for hours in line for this ride and that ride. (NOTE: A themepark is the WORST place for a bind date. May my misfortune help future daters.) Finally at 11pm, we escaped the acres of fake fog and I quickly drove her back to her home....except that REAL fog had set in and the freeways were crawling at around 5 miles per hour. Yippie!

Anyway, that was a loooong time ago, and presently I'm not married to her.....I think. Not sure, as it was dark that night and I don't remember her face really. Could me my wife.

Two years later, I worked the Haunt as an assistant in a magic illusion show. Hardly saw much of the park, as we were doing four shows a day and I was exhausted. Mostly from lack of sleep. But it was still fun and exciting.

Years later I worked the Haunt as a makeup artist. I wound up working several seasons in a row, making up hundreds of Knott's employees each night of the Haunt. Abel Zeballos was in charge of the makeup artists and he was simply the best and the nicest guy to work for. In under a minute we could apply rashes, gouges, scars, tears, wrinkles, teeth, black eyes, etc... to each face put in front of us. We learned on our feet and really could only rest after the last employee had finally waddled through the line and onto their respective ride operator position somewhere in the park.

After a year or two absence, I was back at the park for yet another Haunt. This time around as a street performer. NOT a monster, like many who take pride in scaring people year after year. No, we were real performers, entertaining the long lines of people waiting hours on end to ride a three minute Log Ride or Mine Train Ride. Very fun and strange. My adlib skills greatly honed, as I forced myself to banter endlessly with people one after another. Every night I tried to come up with a new character, but my favorite was a guy who simply woke up and didn't realize his razer was still stuck in his face from shaving that morning. He drank his coffee, asked people where his wife was and if they'd seen his dog. And then in a fit of rage, he'd yell at the the strangers in line and demand that they "get off" his front lawn.

Cut to years later, and I periodically wind up performing at Knott's - sometimes at the Boardwalk Ballroom, sometimes at the Birdcage Theater. It's always kinda cool, and the audiences are like a pitbull - They're waiting to pounce if they sense fear from the performers at the park, but once they know you're there to throw them a curveball of your own, they're quite the happy campers.

Halloween was and is a wonderful time for experimenting with theater and performing. We all allow it to be a little more 'naughty' and wierd, and it's all okay...After all, it's Halloween!

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Knott's Halloween Haunt in Buena Park, CA is the largest Halloween themed event anywhere. Open most of October, it will attract hundreds of thousands of people during that time. For more info on Chipper's appearance there, go to: www.chipper.tv