During the New & Hot Haunts for 2022 panel at Midsummer Scream, Riverside, CA amusement park Castle Park announced three new mazes and an overhauled look for the park’s Halloween experience, Castle Dark.
Under new direction from Creative Director Joey Ancheta and an all-new creative team, Castle Dark will get a new look for 2022, starting with the entrance and spanning the entire event. While Ancheta didn’t go into details around the new look, he did share concept art for the entrance and said they are taking a story concept to this year’s event.
Beyond the new look, Castle Dark will also feature three all-new mazes: Jinxx’s Funhouse of Terror, The House Next Door, and Morgana’s Revenge.
Jinxx’s Funhouse of Terror will be a funhouse featuring a mirror maze. While Ancheta kept most of the maze’s details close to his chest, he did share they were taking a retro approach to the maze using many of the techniques seen in the 90s, such as black light effects and the like. He also shared that the park’s signature clown Jinxx and his partner Havoc will both be on hand to dish out scares during the event.
The House Next Door will ride the wave of 80s nostalgia and takes place at a Halloween party in an abandoned house in 1988. As a guest at the party, you’ll first be impressed by its retro decorations, but as you go through the maze, you’ll uncover some of the house’s secrets and, ultimately, the house’s true evil.
Finally, Morgana’s Revenge, which Ancheta referred to as “the main event,” is a nod to Castle Park’s main roller coast Merlin’s Revenge and the Merlin character in the park. Morgana is an evil sorceress who has taken over the entire park and released an army of medieval characters into the maze. You’ll encounter dragons, trolls, and other creatures as you go through the maze. Ancheta added, “It’s a very World of Warcraft” style maze.
The event will also feature two new scare zones: Medieval and Midway. The two zones will span the entire park, and Ancheta says that this experience is unique because the scare zones will spill over into the mazes, meaning some characters may move freely from the streets into a maze and then back out onto the streets.
Castle Dark opens September 23 and will run on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through Halloween.
