Field of Screams in Mountville, Pennsylvania enters its 34th season as one of the biggest names in American haunting, an HAA-certified Iconic Top Haunt that bills itself as America’s number one haunted attraction. Brothers Gene and Jim Schopf founded it on the family farm in 1993 and have scared more than a million guests since. This page carries the confirmed 2026 dates, the day-based pricing system, and the story from our years of embedded coverage.
2026 Dates and Hours
Field of Screams opens Friday, September 11, 2026 and runs Fridays and Saturdays in September, then Fridays through Sundays in October with Thursday nights added from October 15, plus November 1, 6, and 7. Two special events close the year: the Extreme Blackout night on Friday, November 13 and the Zombie Fun Run 5K on Saturday, November 14, with part of the run’s proceeds benefiting the PA Breast Cancer Coalition.
Hours vary by night. On a typical evening the parking lot opens at 6:30 p.m., gates at 7:00, and the ticket booth closes promptly at 9:30, with every attraction running until the last guest is through. A quiet tip from the haunt’s own FAQ: Halloween night itself normally does not draw large crowds.
Tickets and Prices
Field of Screams prices by demand: green calendar nights are cheapest, red nights busiest and most expensive. On opening night the all-four Scream Pass is $40, three-attraction combos run $38, two-attraction combos $35, and single attractions from $18. On the busiest October Saturdays the Scream Pass rises to $60 and combos and singles come off the menu entirely. VIP front-of-line upgrades run $15 to $35 per ticket depending on the night.
Two things catch first-timers: the on-site ticket booth is cash only (there are two ATMs, or buy online by card), and online tickets are timed-entry QR codes with all sales final. The Entertainment Area, with live bands or DJs every operating night, food, games, the Scream Shop, axe-throwing lanes, and the 21-plus Chainsaw Bar beer garden, is free to enter even without an attraction ticket.
The Four Attractions
- Haunted Hayride — the flagship ride through the farm’s back acres
- Den of Darkness — “Three stories of sheer terror await as you creep through the dismal passageways and maddening mazes of this 200 year-old original barn,” as the haunt puts it, and home to 2026’s new Midnight Masquerade scene per the season announcement
- Frightmare Asylum — four floors of doctors and nurses gone wrong. “In the Frightmare Asylum, no one can hear you scream!”
- Nocturnal Wasteland — the wooded trail, stalked by mutant creatures
Each takes 20 to 25 minutes, so the full pass is a full evening. Strobes run in all four, and the two indoor attractions never close for rain.
The Farm Family Behind It
“Mountville is where Gene and I grew up, played ball, and went to school, and it is where Field of Screams was born,” Jim Schopf told us this summer. The brothers, both Division I wrestlers out of Hempfield High and Millersville University, still run Schopf Bros. Farms alongside the haunt, and the 33-acre property has become a year-round scare operation: a St. Paddy’s Day haunt each March, the Halfway to Halloween Haunt and Music Fest launched in May 2025, and the Blackout and Zombie Fun Run capping each fall. The hometown never left the business either. This year Field of Screams put more than $23,000 into Mountville organizations, from a batting cage for the youth athletic association to an outdoor classroom at the elementary school.
One more thing the Schopfs want you to know, straight from their FAQ: “We have no association with any other haunts although some may use the name Field of Screams.” The Mountville original is the one on our Top Haunts list, certified alongside the separately owned Field of Screams MT in Montana.
Our Field of Screams Coverage
Haunted Attraction Network has walked every attraction on camera for three straight seasons. See the full 2025 event for yourself:
- Inside all attractions, 2025 — our most recent full walkthrough
- All four attractions, opening weekend 2024
- Behind the scenes of Chop Shop with Gene Schopf — rare build-season access
- The East Coast Haunters Convention haunt tour — off-season industry walkthrough
- The St. Paddy’s Day episode — Jim Schopf on the origin story and the March haunt
- The 34th season announcement — Midnight Masquerade and the 2026 calendar
Field of Screams FAQ
When does Field of Screams open in 2026?
Friday, September 11, running select nights through November 7, with Extreme Blackout November 13 and the Zombie Fun Run November 14.
How much are tickets?
It depends on the night. The all-attraction Scream Pass runs $40 on the lightest nights and $60 on peak October Saturdays. The ticket booth is cash only, so bring cash or buy timed online tickets by card.
Is it too scary for kids?
The haunt does not recommend it for children under 10 and points families to its daytime sister event, Corn Cob Acres. Its own FAQ says it best: “Some 8 year olds have a great time while some 38 year olds cry for their mommy!”
Where is Field of Screams?
191 College Avenue, Mountville, Pennsylvania, just off the Mountville exit of Route 30 in Lancaster County.
Is this the same Field of Screams as the ones in other states?
No. The Mountville haunt states it has no association with any other haunt using the name.
Updated July 19, 2026. Prices shown as posted for the dates sampled and vary by night. Every announced opening date lives in our when do haunted houses open guide.
