Knott’s Scary Farm visitors who belly up to the bar at the Calico Saloon can shout requests to a ghost pianist who plays everything from Ragtime masterpieces to summery pop hits by Katy Perry during the annual Halloween seasonal event.
The ghost of Fingers – who tickled the ivories for decades in the Calico Saloon – returned to his old haunt in a spirit form for the first time this Halloween season with a little help from the Knott’s Scary Farm creative team.
“It’s theatrical. It’s eerie. It’s kind of beautiful,” the Hauntmas Girls wrote on Instagram. “It’s Knott’s storytelling at its finest – blending myth, memory and a little spooky mischief.”
The new Fingers haunted piano show has been in soft opening mode during Knott’s Scary Farm and will continue in Calico Saloon after the Halloween seasonal event ends on Nov. 1.
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The Knott’s Scary Farm creative team has created a backstory for Fingers’ Ghost that stretches from the Calico Saloon to the Boot Hill Cemetery.
Fingers died when he fell into a ravine outside Sweetwater on his way back to Calico from a gig, according to an 1895 letter written by his son, Knuckles. Knuckles has a daily gig at Knott’s playing the Melodian in Charleston circle.
Fingers was laid to rest in the Boot Hill Cemetery at Knott’s Berry Farm by Dakota Dan and Cameo Kate — the hosts of the Calico Saloon’s vaudeville-style musical extravaganza.
Fingers’ tombstone features his signature bowler hat and musical notes with the epitaph: “Music to him means the most. Now he lives on as a ghost.”
Piano music plays from his headstone when visitors approach his final resting place, according to Parks and Cons on Instagram.
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During Knott’s Scary Farm, Fingers’ Ghost sits on an empty stool at a player piano on the Calico Saloon stage and plays requests shouted out by bar patrons.
“If his spirit is willing and knows the song, you may just hear the ghostly sound of our lost piano player,” according to Knuckles’ letter.
A black funeral wreath with an “In Loving Memory” sash and hands playing piano keys in the center stands above a spittoon next to the upright piano.
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Fingers’ Ghost plays requests ranging from the 1899 “Maple Leaf Rag” by Scott Joplin to the 2010 “California Gurls” by Katy Perry.
Fingers’ Ghost plays a wide repertoire of tunes, but he will let you know if he doesn’t know a song.