Just like clowns and spiders….many people are phobic of dolls. With that said, those with a doll phobia (Pediophobia or just simply, Fear of Dolls) entering The Doll Factory were simply jacked….screwed…..or, to say it nicely, in a very unfortunate situation. But what about those who don’t have a fear of dolls? Not all of you who voted for this maze as Maze of the Year have a fear of dolls, right? We feel it was not just one “thing” that made this maze great. In other words, yes, the dolls were creepy, but there were many, many other factors of this maze that made it number one in 2007.

The design/decorations: This maze had a ton of eye candy that aided in setting the mood of what guests were entering. Although some of the ideas were explained to us later on as far as the story and some of the specific scenes, the bottom line is that all of it was creeped-out. We’re not sure the thousands of guests need to know the specific storyline behind the maze due to the fact that the disturbing props and decorations set the tone of what was transpiring within the maze. Beginning with the assembly line marked up dolls through the gates into the area where humans were being made into furniture. How about walking up to the brightly colored and life size dollhouse (yes, we’ll get more into that in a little bit)? Life size doll packages and even a freezer area! Wow! The Marionette Murderer was on full swing inside The Doll Factory and with a vengeance.

The Monsters: Before we get into the specifics of the characters, we do want to note the costumes. The costumes were very creative and just as the décor set the tone of what was transpiring, the costumes helped to define the various storylines and scenarios throughout the maze. We were happy to see The Bunny back into action and we were shocked by the Murderers and his helpers. The energy was stupendous.

However……

Not since Skittles, in his debut in Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns in 3D in the year 2000, have we seen a maze monster make such an impact on not only a maze, but the event as a whole. However, with the introduction of “THE GIRL”, the world of Halloween Haunt characters were turned upside down. No pictures we show you on Ultimatehaunt.com are going to accurately describe “THE GIRL”. Amazing is not the word for her talent. You simply had to witness her movements live and in person.

Video is okay to see her actions, but again, it’s not like being there live. She brought something unique to the Halloween Haunt and don’t forget folks….this event has been going on for THIRTY-FIVE years. It’s quite a difficult task to stand out at the event….especially in the confines of a maze. If we could make a determination of a Monster of the Year….she would have to get it, without any doubt. She took the idea of the character and the theme and made it her own. We could go on and on about her….and based upon your thoughts and ideas, you pretty much agree as well.

Speaking of which, let’s take a look at a few thoughts you shared with us this season regarding The Doll Factory for 2007:

"The sets looked great and the talent was awesome. I got several good scares in here and that's rare for me. Great job all around"

"Loved loved loved the Doll Factory. One of the very best all time mazes. The designers and talent both outdid themselves. It rocked and I had to hit it twice"

"The Doll Factory is by FAR the best maze!!!!!! Deserves the maze of the year for sure!!! FREAKY!!!!!!!!"

"The sets for the Doll Factory were outstanding. I felt like I was in a factory and the talent were the actual workers. The Doll theme flowed very well throughout the maze until the end which seemed a little strange. The talent couldn't have done any better from the men in the factory to the women in the doll house yelling "play with me" they made you feel as if you were in a nightmare. The music was awesome especially the facade music screaming "I want your soul". It definitely put you in the mood and the costumes were very scary making each character more understandable."

"I don't know if it was intentional or not, but I pull a creepy story from this maze, and more details get added every time I go through it. When I immerse myself in this story, it is creepy on a sort of intellectual level, realizing the disturbing things that are going on. In this story I have imagined for the maze, it is not the dolls that are the scariest part, but rather; the evil of the doll makers. Before the maze, I imagined the story as simply dolls in a factory come to life and turn homicidal. In my first run through the maze the story was modified. First, I noted that the dolls were life sized (duh), and modified as my story to the dolls being made life sized. I then realized that the dolls were once real people who were turned into dolls. So before my second run of my maze the story was; Evil doll makers turn people into dolls that are living monsters. On my second run through the maze; the story I created for it expanded . . . and became more twisted.

In the maze I saw dolls with human entrails within them, and what twisted my story even more; dolls in chains and bondage positions. I imagined the doll makers binding and raping women both before and after they had transformed into plastic. I imagined people chopped into bits and those bits would be turned to doll parts which would be put back together. I imagined victims in partial transformation with doll bodies on the outside and human insides within, as they were mutilated and strung up by their blood vessels. There was also a theme of the creation destroying the creator. "If I should die before I wake . . . I pray the dolls to crack and break." The doll makers expected to be murdered by the dolls in his sleep and wished for, under such circumstances, the dolls to be destroyed.

On the dolls themselves "What they did to me was monsterous . . . . and they created a monster." This quote from V for Vendetta seems to be a running theme through all kinds of horror; from mazes to movies to real life horror . . . kind of like in The Asylum maze (or my interpretation of it), where the psychiatrists themselves are monsters, and their "patients" too, are monsters."

"My vote is for the doll factory. The Girl as she is being called is hands down the hardest working monster in the park. She never broke character and continued to scare us long after we passed her. The maze has good environments, and sets, and the continual breakdown of the maze's theme from creepy doll factory to hell was great. Other great monsters were the other girl who never did the same thing twice and the Asian-looking doll behind the glass. All in all it was perfect."

"The Doll factory was my absolute favorite! It seemed to have elements from movies like The Cell (Display boxes with very creepy talent, and the bound mannequin). I loved the Foam doll heads and bodies on the wall, and the machinery like the doll assembly line chain.

The music was really fitting (electro-core, creepy techno-ish music…ect) and really kept the maze flowing well. The costumes were great! I enjoyed the talent inside the holding tanks, their make-up looked great, but still needed a little more to tie them into the maze. The talent outside the tanks were wearing factory style- lab coats and masks that felt very much a part of the theme. I loved the “freezer” section, but felt that it would be even better with a few air conditioning units to bring the temperature down to a more un-comfortable cold.

The burnt out section might also do a little better if it smelled charred. Maybe set a few small newspapers ablaze before the park is opened to give it that fresh burned experience (make sure to have a fire extinguisher handy!). Overall, The dollhouse is a great maze and I look foreward to seeing it again when I bring students from the City Of Irvine to experience the great time at Knott’s Halloween Haunt!"

"The 'Doll Factory' had it all: creepy music, atmosphere, props and imagination, but most of all was the 'Doll Girl'. The female who was dressed-up in a little dress and wore black contacts was very creepy. Her movements were perfect and without flaw as she walked toward you with robotic/possessed intent. She kept up the Knott's Scary Farm tradition of staying in character and creeping the S%*# out of you. I was so impressed with her demonstration, I went back a total of 5 times through the night just because of her. The way she would come up to you and stare with that 'lifeless' face was truly hypnotizing."

"This maze rocked. It had to be one of the eeriest mazes they have produced, next to the Grudge 2."

"I love this one!!! I love the costumes!!"

"Very well done and my first choice with Lost Vegas a close second."

"This maze was one of the best ever, and I've been coming to the Knott's Halloween Haunt for 33 years straight!"
"Once again KSF proves that if they really want to they can create a great scare environment. Maintaining a similar flow to Hatchet, but with one major improvement-Great hiding places...cut-outs in the walls both high & low add for killer scares. The effects were top knotch as well. Puppet dolls, big baby faced dolls, maniacs in aprons, psychotic surgeons, a giant stuffed bunny...yeah I think they worked quite well."