{"id":30156,"date":"2025-10-30T12:39:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T12:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/30156\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T12:39:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T12:39:12","slug":"from-scott-joplin-to-katy-perry-this-haunted-piano-takes-requests-redlands-daily-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/30156\/","title":{"rendered":"From Scott Joplin to Katy Perry, this haunted piano takes requests \u2013 Redlands Daily Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Knott\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The ghost of Fingers \u2013 who tickled the ivories for decades in the Calico Saloon \u2013 returned to his old haunt in a spirit form for the first time this Halloween season with a little help from the Knott\u2019s Scary Farm creative team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s theatrical. It\u2019s eerie. It\u2019s kind of beautiful,\u201d the Hauntmas Girls<\/a> wrote on Instagram. \u201cIt\u2019s Knott\u2019s storytelling at its finest \u2013 blending myth, memory and a little spooky mischief.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new Fingers haunted piano show has been in soft opening mode during Knott\u2019s Scary Farm and will continue in Calico Saloon after the Halloween seasonal event ends on Nov. 1.<\/p>\n

ALSO SEE: Knott\u2019s Berry Farm attendance up, Universal Studios down, Disneyland flat<\/a><\/p>\n

The Knott\u2019s Scary Farm creative team has created a backstory for Fingers\u2019 Ghost that stretches from the Calico Saloon to the Boot Hill Cemetery.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s playing the Melodian in Charleston circle.<\/p>\n

\"Fingers'Fingers\u2019 tombstone in the Boot Hill Cemetery at Knott\u2019s Berry Farm. (Courtesy of Parks and Cons via Instagram)<\/p>\n

Fingers was laid to rest in the Boot Hill Cemetery at Knott\u2019s Berry Farm by Dakota Dan and Cameo Kate \u2014 the hosts of the Calico Saloon\u2019s vaudeville-style musical extravaganza.<\/p>\n

Fingers\u2019 tombstone features his signature bowler hat and musical notes with the epitaph: \u201cMusic to him means the most. Now he lives on as a ghost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piano music plays from his headstone when visitors approach his final resting place, according to Parks and Cons<\/a> on Instagram.<\/p>\n

ALSO SEE: Knott\u2019s Scary Farm turned me into a Pigman super soldier<\/a><\/p>\n

During Knott\u2019s Scary Farm, Fingers\u2019 Ghost sits on an empty stool at a player piano on the Calico Saloon stage and plays requests shouted out by bar patrons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf his spirit is willing and knows the song, you may just hear the ghostly sound of our lost piano player,\u201d according to Knuckles\u2019 letter.<\/p>\n

A black funeral wreath with an \u201cIn Loving Memory\u201d sash and hands playing piano keys in the center stands above a spittoon next to the upright piano.<\/p>\n

ALSO SEE: Six Flags Magic Mountain teases 7 possible new attractions<\/a><\/p>\n

Fingers\u2019 Ghost plays requests ranging from the 1899 \u201cMaple Leaf Rag\u201d by Scott Joplin to the 2010 \u201cCalifornia Gurls\u201d by Katy Perry.<\/p>\n

Fingers\u2019 Ghost plays a wide repertoire of tunes, but he will let you know if he doesn\u2019t know a song.<\/p>\n

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