As mentioned on my page on Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights' Universal's House of Horrors maze, IMHO the vampires at Knott's do a much better job than their Universal kindred. This maze is one of my favorites every year. Lore of the Vampire debuted in 2001, though there was reportedly a cool combination maze / show (wish they would do more of that) called Lair of the Vampire in 1992 and a Lair of the Vampyre in 1993, and then Gothic Graveyard in 2000 with a partial vampire theme.
Like other mazes on this visit to the Haunt (though not as bad as some), the maze seemed a bit understaffed. For instance, I was sorry not to see the freaky vampire bishop guy, who's been a staple of previous years. (He can be seen in his red robe on Theme Park Adventure's Lore 2005 review page.) YouTube user KritterHC tells me he was promoted to The Gauntlet scare zone this year. I don't get why Knott's considers the scare zones to be the place to put the veteran monsters. To me, the mazes are so much cooler, require more acting ability, and require more skill to surprise people in than the dark, foggy outdoors. But I suppose the freedom to wander around over a large area and not have to listen to a short, repetitive music / sound effects loop is probably a nice benefit for them.
There were also fewer of the sexy female vampires, and they're one of the
main reasons I love this maze so much. There was only one vampiress with the
long feather tickler, and she didn't tickle me (a first). 
In the
underground club section (which Lore inherited from The Underground maze --
formerly Industrial Evil -- after it made its final appearance in 2003), they
didn't even have a female vampire dancing in the plexiglas dance booth,
instead having a lame male monster. I was placated by the great vampire
dolly girl who walked past, grinny evilly at me at that point, though.
Speaking of elements borrowed from retired mazes, I don't know what the giant wraith at the end has to do with vampires (it originated in The Inquisition, I believe -- the suits of armor now seen in Lore probably used to be there as well), but it's a pretty awesome scare when done well, so if this is the best place they can find for it, I'm glad at least that they're keeping it.
For a more satisfying look at the maze than what I experienced in 2006, check out Theme Park Adventure's video of the maze from 2005. Like TPA's other videos that year, the maze was taped by special arrangement with Knott's and utilizes a usually verboten (visible spectrum) video light, and has no mazegoers present, the maze fully staffed, and the monsters hamming it up for the camera. The maze really shines in that presentation.
Per ThemeParkAdventure.com, this maze will be back again in 2007. Excellent -- I'll definitely miss this one when it's gone.
Dan Harkless
Last modified: February 16, 2010
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