Hersheypark’s haunt event hits its fifth year on Saturday, September 12, with five haunted houses, five scare zones, and one net-new addition. Here is what returns, what is new, and what you need to know before you go.
Hershey, PA — Dark Nights at Hersheypark is back for a fifth year in 2026, and the event is scaling up in the way it has grown every season since 2022: by adding one more reason to stay after dark. This year that reason is Reese’s Depot Of Doom, a fifth scare zone that brings the event to a full five haunted houses and five scare zones. The five houses from 2025 all return, the four scare zones from 2025 all return, and the new zone is additive rather than a replacement.
The event opens Saturday, September 12, 2026, and runs select nights across eight weekends through Sunday, November 1. Every ticket includes the haunted houses, the scare zones, all rides and coasters, and the family-friendly Hersheypark Halloween programming that runs alongside it. There is no separate Dark Nights upcharge, and the event is included with a 2026 Season Pass+.
Here is everything Hershey Entertainment & Resorts has officially confirmed for 2026, plus the year-over-year context to help plan a visit.
What is new for 2026
The only significant new element is one scare zone.
Reese’s Depot Of Doom is set in a fog-drenched freight yard. Per the event’s official description, it follows the fractured tracks of an abandoned depot that comes alive at night with “shadowy trespassers starving for company.” It is themed to the Reese’s brand as part of the event’s Reese’s and Kit Kat presenting sponsorship. Hershey Entertainment has not disclosed the zone’s physical location within the park.
All five haunted houses return unchanged in name, and the other four scare zones return with what the event describes as “evolved” storylines. There is no new haunted house for 2026, which breaks a four-year pattern of adding one house per season.
The 5 haunted houses
Kill ‘N Fill Garage: The killers who took over an abandoned service station in 2025 return with reinforcements. Guests navigate a body shop and a gore-slicked car wash. Original 2025 house, occupies the space that housed The Descent from 2022 to 2024. HAN went behind the scenes of this house at its debut, where Hershey’s Chris Brown, Director of Planning and Design, called it “our most ambitious house yet”.
Estate of Evil: A 13-room mansion where “a long-forgotten room has been discovered.” Debuted 2024.
Auntie Mortem’s Abattoir: Auntie Mortem’s meat-processing operation adds a new partner and a new specialty for 2026. Debuted 2023.
Twisted Carnevil: The Hypnotist presides over “the never-ending hall of illusions where greasepaint drips like blood.” Traces its lineage to 2022’s Twisted Darkness.
Haunted Coal Mine: “Something dark is flooding the mine,” and something new is crawling out of the black water. Original 2022 house.
The 5 scare zones
Reese’s Depot Of Doom: NEW for 2026. Freight yard, fog, and boxcars, with a fractured-tracks story about a depot that “comes alive at night.”
Path Of Shadows: Coven’s Curse: “The coven has grown,” with all-new rituals and spells. Debuted 2025. Previously located behind Chevrolet Music Box Theatre.
Fallout Zone: Green radioactive fog, chaos rising, with more creatures fighting through the smog. Debuted 2023.
Midway of Misery: Home of the Decayed Brigade, whose viral slider crew has become a Dark Nights signature. Original 2022 zone, previously located outside Shaq-A-Licious Laff Trakk.
Darkstone’s Hollow: Jezebeth returns to reclaim her throne, igniting what the event calls “a brutal battle in the shadows.” Original 2022 zone, located in The Hollow.
Dates, hours, and how the calendar works
Dark Nights opens Saturday, September 12, 2026, and Hershey has confirmed the event runs eight weekends. Running the math on eight Friday-through-Sunday weekends from the opener puts closing night on Sunday, November 1, with Halloween itself (Saturday, October 31) falling in the final weekend.
Nightly haunt operations begin at 6 p.m. Based on the 2025 structure, park hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays, noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 9 p.m. Sundays, with Dark Nights extending one hour past park close, until 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 10 p.m. Sundays. Verify against the official hours calendar closer to your visit.
Tickets
Every 2026 Dark Nights ticket includes admission to all five haunted houses, all five scare zones, more than 50 rides and coasters, and the full Hersheypark Halloween entertainment lineup.
- 1-Day Any Day Ticket: $66.99 (from $89.95). Valid any public operating day through January 3, 2027.
- 2-Day Any Day Ticket: $50 per day ($130 total) at the online promo rate. Valid any two public operating days through January 3, 2027.
- Group Tickets (15+): starting at $40.95 per person.
- Included with any Hersheypark Halloween admission and with a 2026 Season Pass+.
Hershey is also selling Hersheypark Halloween Packages that combine one or two nights of resort lodging, park tickets, and daily breakfast. Details are on the official packages page.
Fast Track and add-ons
Hershey’s 2025 Fast Track program included four tiers, three of which applied to Dark Nights: Hersheypark Fast Track plus Dark Nights Haunted Houses Unlimited, Dark Nights Haunted House Fast Track Unlimited (houses only), and Hersheypark Fast Track Unlimited. The event has not published 2026 Fast Track pricing at the time of writing. Expect similar tiers when the add-ons drop.
The 2025 event also carried a Hersheypark Halloween Tasting Pass ($37.95 in 2025), sampling seasonal food and drink across the park. Confirm pricing and availability on Hersheypark’s add-ons and offers page.
Age recommendation and intensity
Hershey advises the haunted houses “may be too intense for children younger than 13.” Per Steve Sheldon of EPIC Entertainment Group, the event’s operating partner since launch, Dark Nights is aimed at “the 12 and up crowd.”
For younger visitors, the Avenue Of The Afterlife is a family-friendly zone with Hershey Characters, dining, and no scares. Hershey’s Trick-or-Treat Trail ends in Treatville with roughly 13 to 14 candy stops for kids 12 and under. Guests can also choose to walk around scare zones on marked bypass routes.
There is no published per-house scare rating.
What else is happening at Hersheypark Halloween
Dark Nights runs inside a larger Hersheypark Halloween umbrella that includes daytime and evening programming for all ages.
- Lights-out coaster rides during the last operating hour on Candymonium, Comet, Lightning Racer, and Wildcat’s Revenge (Laff Trakk runs dark all day).
- Shake, Rattle and Glow: Monster Ball at the Chevrolet Music Box Theatre, the family show with dancing, singing, and photo ops with Hershey Characters.
- Creatures Of The Night flashlight tour at neighboring ZooAmerica.
- Slider Showcase performances by the Decayed Brigade.
- Spirit’s Rooftop Bar at The Chocolatier and a full seasonal food and beverage program.
- Dark Nights Emporium for event merchandise.
Watch the 2025 event
Here is HAN’s full 2025 walkthrough of all five houses:
How the event has grown
Dark Nights has added at least one new element every year since it launched. Here is the year-by-year build:
- 2022, Year 1: Debut. 4 houses (Haunted Coal Mine, The Descent, Creature Chaos, Twisted Darkness), 3 zones (Darkstone’s Hollow, Valley of Fear, Midway of Misery). Houses were a separate paid add-on.
- 2023, Year 2: Added Auntie Mortem’s Abattoir (5th house) and Fallout Zone (4th zone). Houses became included with any Halloween ticket.
- 2024, Year 3: Added Estate of Evil (house) and Darkstone’s Hollow: Battle for Spring Creek (zone). Introduced Avenue Of The Afterlife.
- 2025, Year 4: Added Kill ‘N Fill Garage (replacing The Descent) and Path Of Shadows: Coven’s Curse (4th zone). Full HAN 2025 coverage here.
- 2026, Year 5: Added Reese’s Depot Of Doom (5th zone). 5 houses, 5 scare zones. “5 Years of Screams.”
Producers and creative partners
Dark Nights has credited a consistent roster of creative partners since 2022, though Hershey has not published a specific 2026 vendor credit. Historical partners include EPIC Entertainment Group (production design and operating partner, since launch), Adirondack Studios (design and fabrication), Illuminated Integration (entertainment technology, lighting and sound, with lighting designer John Kaufman working on Kill ‘N Fill Garage in 2025), Zeitgeist Design & Production (conception for Haunted Coal Mine, Creature Chaos, and Twisted Darkness)
