Every October, screams fill the night at theme parks around the world as guests are terrified by monsters suddenly appearing out of the darkness at their feet, sparks flying from their fingers, then gliding past and disappearing back into the fog. This is known as “sliding”, and much like the theme park Halloween industry itself, is universally acknowledged to have originated in Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Farm. Since the 1980’s, scare actors have been evolving the slide from a simple scare tactic into crowd-pleasing displays of athleticism and skill, featured in documentaries like “Season of Screams” and “Sliders of Ghost Town”, at the ScareLA convention, and even at other theme parks. Modern sliding is a physical *art*, a ballet on kneepads.

But neither the art of sliding nor the dedication of the scare actors performing it have ever been properly recognized where it began, at Knott’s. In the Haunt Museum, there are no pictures of sliders, no worn-through kneepads, only a brief mention on one of the displays. In years past at Haunt, the sliders themselves organized unofficial performances in Calico Square and elsewhere, but recently even that has been discouraged by management.

As fans of Knott’s Berry Farm and Halloween Haunt, we the undersigned ask that Knott’s properly celebrate and highlight its history as the birthplace and home of the art of sliding. That sliding be more prominently featured in the Haunt Museum, and in official shows at future Haunts. And that the scare actors who in many cases have spent *decades* developing the art of sliding as it exists today be honored with a plaque in Ghost Town recognizing their part in making Knott’s Halloween Haunt the legendary event it is today.

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