Greetings, True Believers! It is I, your magnanimous leader, back once again to lay some knowledge on you from beyond the computer screen.

I know it’s only September but brace yourselves…Halloween is coming! It’s still 90 degrees out here in L.A. but Halloween is invading the local theme parks this week, next week and the week after that at Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood and Knott’s Berry Farm, respectively. Disneyland started today with its Halloweentime celebration taking over for the outgoing 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration decor which has been up since summer 2015. Now they have pumpkins and scarecrows and candy corn, all in lighthearted Halloween fun. Haunted Mansion Holiday is back with a few new surprises this time around, so watch for full coverage of that and more from Disneyland in a future issue.

Universal Studios Hollywood starts its Halloween Horror Nights begins Sept. 16 featuring mazes, rides, a new take on the Terror Tram walk-through and a park-wide scarezone based on “The Purge: Election Year.” Its mazes this year include Freddy vs. Jason, American Horror Story, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Exorcist, among others. It will be interesting to see how The Wizarding World of

Harry Potter does during the event, as this is its first Halloween since opening in April. I don’t imagine there will be a great feast like in the books, but hopefully some Dementors or something to get in the spirit of the season.

Knott’s Berry Farm becomes Knott’s Scary Farm the weekend after that with their opening on Sept. 22. The Ghost Town 75th anniversary and Ghost Town Alive will transform into Ghost Town Undead for the area’s scarezone. Favorite mazes like Tooth Fairy, Voodoo: Order of the Serpent and Paranormal Inc. return while new mazes Shadow Lands and The Red Barn join in the fun. I’m honestly most looking forward to the new six-acre scarezone called The Hollow, which features the Headless Horseman and his army of undead Revolutionary soldiers. There are also standalone Skeleton Key rooms which require a ticket upgrade, and a new interactive experience called Prey which takes guests through a hay maze with a flickering, faulty lantern.

There’s a lot coming to True Believer in the next two issues with Halloween from the parks, as well as a few other surprises. So be sure to check back every two weeks for the new issue, and follow me on Instagram: @Flynn42 for all this awesomeness as it happens. Until next time, True Believers, Fight On!