The Farm Haunt presents Dr. Diablo and the Curse of Castaic Creek: 2021 Review
The Farm Haunt, Castaic, CA
If at first you don’t succeed, try again, they say. And for us, the third time has been the charm! Last Saturday, we finally had the chance to visit The Farm Haunt in its full glory as a walk-through haunted maze after years of trying. The Farm Haunt is the creation of Tim Fowler, and we first heard about it several years ago when it was still located in Glendale. Unfortunately, at the time, it just wasn’t a destination we were able to make, but after the Fowlers relocated out to Castaic a couple of years ago, we were able to include it as a stop on our Santa Clarita Valley haunting spree.
That first year, however, in an effort to ingratiate himself with the neighbors and not just immediately overwhelm them, Tim put up a “modest” Halloween yard display instead of a full maze. There are air quotes there, because if you saw our update on the yard haunt in 2019, you’ll know that “modest” is understating things completely. Headlined by a beautiful facade for Dr. Diablo’s Caskets & Curiosities, Tim’s set-up was brimming with props and furnishings and details and gorgeously lit to accentuate the odd and subtly supernatural and sinister features of Dr. Diablo’s establishment. With grisly corpses almost popping out of coffins or rising from the ground, spooky jack-o-lanterns, and skeletal creatures, this display immediately became one of our favorites for the unbelievable layers of theming present.
Last year was supposed to mark the transition to a maze after 2019’s “dipping the toes into water” test to see how the neighbors would react. Unfortunately, COVID dominated last year, and pretty much all haunts chose to omit walk-through mazes to mitigate health risks associated with people in closed quarters and tight contact and the possibility of Coronavirus transmission. Nevertheless, the Farm Haunt’s display expanded, adding an elaborate funeral hearse with projection effects, more spooky figures, and even more detail to peek into inside Dr. Diablo’s business. From creepy dolls to changing portraits to a surprising number of heads, this magnificent haunt grew richer, setting up its late 1800s context and rough and tumble Old West ambiance.
Dr. Diablo’s Caskets & Curiosities is finally open this year, and you may not want to see what’s inside.
Finally this year, Dr. Diablo was ready to see customers. The Farm Haunt was open for a haunter’s and media night last Saturday, and we naturally had to stop by to see the wonders and horrors of The Farm Haunt in all of its splendor. What we found was an incredibly entertaining, immersive, comprehensively intricate haunted experience that ranks among the best in Southern California. Although The Farm Haunt is one of the shorter home haunt walkthrough’s by length, there is so much to see and take in that the experience feels much longer—in a great way. It’s hard to believe how much Tim has crammed into his front yard, garage, and driveway area, and the the ultimate product has firmly entrenched The Farm Haunt among the Big Three Santa Clarita Valley home haunt mazes that cannot be missed each season.
Guests approaching The Farm Haunt quickly find themselves drawn into the world that Tim has crafted. This year’s haunt is entitled “Dr. Diablo and the Curse of Castaic Creek.” The scene is the dusty, unincorporated area of Castaic over a hundred years ago, when the outskirts of Los Angeles were little more than a lawless place that any malevolent doer might retreat to in order to conduct hideous misdeeds.
A sign outside offers a glimpse into the local news, mixing in time-appropriate announcements with some real-life links to the SoCal Haunt List and references to other great home haunts to check out. Most prominent is news of the disappearance of a local paperboy (played by Tim’s young son, who already is a clear young haunter in the making and will probably be following the likes of Jacob Larson and Christian Sivley in the not-too-distant future). And if the news board doesn’t catch one’s attention, the interactive jabbering of a few local housewives outside Dr. Diablo’s will.
In full character that never breaks, these ladies constantly banter with hilarious irony in a way that is reminiscent of the interaction that occurs at Ghost Town Alive! This is no surprise, as the Fowlers are big fans of Knott’s Berry Farm and have included many Knott’s Easter eggs within the haunt. One of the ladies asks guests if they’ve seen her son, stricken with worry but delivering her lines with a tinge of campiness that conveys the family-friendly scary level of haunting to expect at The Farm Haunt. Another pushes a wheelbarrow full of severed hands and miscellaneous articles, quipping that it’s the FastPass option into the maze. A third woman sits on the porch of Dr. Diablo’s, functioning as the guide and rule-setter for visitors entering the establishment. Across from her, a young girl sits, silently staring at those who come by, looking sullen and unnerving in her tacit gaze.
The interiors are sumptuously furnished with a collection of all sorts of items related to the macabre.
Once guests enter Dr. Diablo’s, they find themselves completely enveloped within an exhaustively themed office full of morbid curios ranging from body parts (again, mostly heads) to skeletons to tools and devices appropriate to the era. A portrait of Walter and Cordelia Knott hangs on one wall—an example of the Knott’s Easter eggs, while Dr. Diablo himself sits behind a desk and questions the visitors on their motivations and purposes for their visit. The verbal interaction is again similar to what happens at Ghost Town Alive!, rooted in improvisation but following a general story before a climactic show moment sends guests scurrying out of the office.
Making their way around a disturbing scene with a looming scarecrow and monstrous and deformed farmer (a nod to the original environment of The Farm Haunt when it was still in Glendale), guests head indoors into a separate annex. A corridor to the left introduces the visitors to some of the other proprietors with Dr. Diablo’s business, and they seem none too friendly! A couple of jump scare opportunities add some excitement before guests turn into the second big scene of the maze, featuring a stern butcher hard at work dissecting human body parts and farming them for unspeakable uses. He seems none to pleased at the intruders, and it is here that guests also discover what has happened to the missing paperboy! Fortunately, he seems alive and healthy enough. But a sort of Stockholm Syndrome seems to have taken effect. Not only is he not eager to leave, he seems to have taken a fancy to the habits of this human slaughter shop!
However, a deeper descent into the grounds reveals a horrific scene of butchery and carnage.
It’s time to make a quick escape, and this means navigating the treacherous waters of Castaic Creek itself. The scene takes on a boggy feel with a highly effective laser swamp. The slanting ground of the Fowlers’ driveway reinforces the unease in making one’s way through, and naturally, unseen creatures lurk beyond the mists, waiting to strike! Those who can pass through unscathed find themselves back on Diablo Place, safe from the carnage… for now. And they get to interact with the wonderful cast of characters outside as well.
The only escape is to navigate the creek, which has terrifying fiends lurking in the dark!
The Farm Haunt is a fantastic example of haunt storytelling that weaves a simple but enthralling story and transports guests to another, nostalgic, and ill-boding world. Everything about this haunt supports the narrative, from the theming and atmosphere to the delightful cast of characters both inside and outside. Tim Fowler has employed a fantastic crew of family and friends who have really dived into their roles, providing fantastic entertainment for all who visit.
The haunt itself visually features gory scenes, but they are rendered in an almost campy execution, never looking too realistic to be intense and graphic, and maintaining an appropriateness for families that might visit. The Farm Haunt is a stepping-stone level of fright, similar to The Pirates Cave, providing young tykes the chance to experience some light scares without anything that might be too severe. It’s the Big Thunder Mountain between kiddie coasters and Six Flags-level thrill rides—a fun but still forceful experience that leaves guests wanting to go back for more. Bravo to Tim and his family and the entire Farm Haunt crew. They have created a truly wonderful home haunt experience, and we’re so glad we were finally able to see it in all of its elaborate grandeur!
Oh dear, it seems that even the local paperboy has been turned into a member of the grisly crew!
The Farm Haunt is located on 29130 Diablo Pl, Castaic, CA 91384 and will be open next Friday and Saturday, October 29th and 30th, from 7:00 to 10:00pm. The Farm Haunt will not be open on Halloween night. For those visiting, please refrain from parking on Diablo Place out of respect for the Fowlers’ neighbors and instead park on an adjacent street or the nearby Live Oak Elementary School parking lot.
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
