Mickey Mouse has met a gruesome fate at a California theme park — and no, it isn't one owned by Disney.

A brand-new 2026 Halloween haunted house at Knott's Berry Farm places one of the world's most recognizable cartoon characters at the center of a deeply disturbing scene. Guests who venture inside eventually discover Mickey dead, caught in a massive mousetrap.

There's a very specific reason Knott's can get away with it.

A New Horror Story Comes to Life

The scene unfolds inside Inked, a new haunted house debuting as part of Knott's Scary Farm's 2026 Halloween offerings. The experience introduces guests to Mortimer Morbid, a washed-up cartoonist from the 1930s and former head of Morbid Studios. His career may have faded, but Mortimer stumbles upon a discovery that could give his work terrifying new life: when blood becomes ink, his imagination can become reality.

Mortimer decides to use that revelation to create one final Halloween special — but things don't exactly go according to plan. His cartoon creations turn murderous, escaping the world they were drawn into and beginning to target viewers, attempting to pull them into their twisted reality.

That premise gives Knott's plenty of room to play with the familiar look and feel of early animation while twisting it into something genuinely horrifying. And one particular scene makes the Disney connection impossible to ignore.

A Familiar Face Meets a Gruesome End

As guests move through Inked, they come face-to-face with the early Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie (1928) — and things have not gone well for him. The character lies dead inside a giant mousetrap.

Knott's Berry Farm can use this version of the character because Steamboat Willie (1928) entered the U.S. public domain in 2024. That means creators can use elements from that early incarnation without Disney's permission. However, Disney still maintains rights connected to later versions of Mickey, along with trademarks and other protected elements.

Inked leans into the older black-and-white cartoon style to fit its fictional 1930s animation studio setting. Even the villain's name carries a Disney echo — Walt Disney initially considered naming his famous mouse Mortimer Mouse before settling on Mickey. Knott's hasn't said Mortimer Morbid represents Walt Disney, but the name, era, cartoon studio setting, and appearance of the Steamboat Willie mouse create some noticeable parallels.