The first ticketed Halloween event of the year is August 7. Plus who’s actually buying that $25,000 Balrog.
Halloween is less than three weeks away. Now that you’re done panicking, let me explain.
August through October used to be the “shoulder season” in theme parks, the slow time after summer when families were settling into school. The theme park industry spent years training guests that September and October were worth a visit by developing Halloween programming. It worked so well that Halloween is now the anchor of the entertainment calendar. The first ticketed Halloween event of the year is August 7th.
How does that relate to haunts? Haunts are entertainment, and what happens in theme parks (particularly when it comes to training guests) trickles down to our industry. Our date tracker counts 18 large haunts opening on September 11th and 12th. And it no longer ends on Halloween, as haunts now run to November 14th. That means haunts will still be selling tickets a full week after Disney World’s Christmas parties have opened. The world’s largest operators now build their year around Halloween.
A season this big needs tracking, so we’ve compiled our full slate of 2026 guides: opening dates, HHN at every park worldwide, Disney Halloween, Fright Fest, Howl-O-Scream, Orlando, California, and more. We update them continuously as announcements roll in.
With a season this large, will spending hold up? Most haunts don’t have ticket pages up yet, but we have new data weekly. The latest bank earnings showed that card spending grew 9 to 12% at the four biggest banks, and while nearly 40% of lower-income households have no summer travel plans, they didn’t stop buying entertainment. They stopped buying travel. The flight they skipped becomes a drive to a regional attraction, which makes that 40% a demand pool, not a loss, and drive-to haunts are positioned to catch it.
Retail is another signal. Although more people decorate for Halloween than attend haunts, strong retail demand is a good sign, especially when it comes to decorating. Retailers are betting bigger than ever: HalloweenCostumes.com just released its largest animatronics catalog in company history, over 75 new pieces, and the licensed IPs dominating search (Five Nights at Freddy’s, Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas) are pulling fandoms into the Halloween aisle who might never have shopped it before. The headline piece is a $25,000 Lord of the Rings Balrog.
Who buys a $25,000 animatronic from a costume retailer? The semi-pro haunter, the home haunt that draws thousands, the small operator shopping outside the trade channel. Consumer retail has noticed that the line between decorating and operating keeps blurring, and it is now building product for the people in between.
Here’s the challenge: a larger market means more competition. You now must stand out in a season everyone wants a piece of.
Also this week: Universal discontinued its Fear with Express Pass products for HHN 35, Stranger Things gets HHN’s first single-franchise lagoon show, HHN Singapore and Japan revealed their lineups, Six Flags announced Blair Witch mazes at two parks, and the Scream cast reunites at Midsummer Scream for the film’s 30th anniversary.
Here’s what you need to know this week.
Philip Hernandez, Publisher, Haunted Attraction Network
Haunt Guides
The Halloween season is almost upon us and haunts around the country are announcing their dates, new additions, special events, and more. To help you manage the myriad of updates, HAN has compiled comprehensive guides to the top haunts in the U.S. and top theme park events around the world. Bookmark these for reference and check back often for updates:
- 🎃 When Do Haunted Houses Open in 2026? — A guide to confirmed 2026 opening dates, sorted by opening week.
- 🎃 The Best and Scariest Haunted Houses in America: The Top Haunts List — Our Top Haunts guide reflects the current published HAA list (2025: 67 attractions) and will be refreshed when the 2026 list is announced.
- 🎃 Halloween Horror Nights 2026: Dates, Tickets, and Lineups for Every Park — Orlando celebrates the event’s 35th anniversary with its longest run ever, opening August 28th, the earliest start date in its history.
- 🎃 Disney Halloween 2026: Every Park Worldwide — Disney runs Halloween on six resorts across three continents, and no two do it alike.
- 🎃 Fright Fest 2026: The Complete Guide to Six Flags’ Halloween Event at Every Park — Six Flags Entertainment Corporation’s Fright Fest returns for its 34th year across the park portfolio.
- 🎃 Howl-O-Scream 2026: The Complete Guide to All Five United Parks Locations — Howl-O-Scream returns to all five US locations for the 2026 season on September 11th.
- 🎃 Orlando Halloween Events: Every Park, Party, and Haunt — No city on earth packs more Halloween into one season than Orlando.
- 🎃 Halloween Time at Disneyland 2026: The Complete Guide — Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort runs August 21st through October 31st.
- 🎃 Haunted Houses in California 2026: Dates, Tickets, and What’s New — Every major theme park runs a Halloween event; professional haunts operate from San Diego to Sacramento.
- 🎃 How to Become a Scare Actor: Haunted House Jobs and Auditions — What operators told us about how to get hired, what happens in the room, and what makes an actor stand out.
Halloween Horror Nights News
Halloween Horror Nights 35 Opens a Portal to Its Own Past With “Sideshow of Decay”
For its 35th anniversary, Halloween Horror Nights (Orlando, FL) is digging through its own past. Universal Orlando has announced Sideshow of Decay, a scare zone set in a carnival junkyard where characters from previous years claw their way back through a portal. Sideshow of Decay is the second scare zone revealed for the event, following Infernal Carnival of Nightmares, announced the day before.
“Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins” To Become HHN’s First Single-Franchise Lagoon Show
Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights (Orlando, FL) will premiere its first-ever single-franchise lagoon show with “Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins.” Staged on the Universal Studios Florida lagoon, the show is a 10th-anniversary tribute to the Netflix series that spans all five seasons of Stranger Things. Per Netflix’s Tudum, the show uses water screens to project memorable scenes, projection mapping on Universal Studios Florida buildings to recreate Hawkins locations, dynamic lighting, and audio pulled directly from the series’ original score.
Halloween Horror Nights Singapore Reveals Four Haunted Houses and Two Scare Zones
Universal Studios Singapore (Sentosa Island, Singapore) has revealed the lineup for Halloween Horror Nights 14, running 18 select nights September 25th – November 1st. The 14th year of the event includes four haunted houses, two immersive scare zones, and a new roving scare experience.
The house lineup mixes original Singapore-inspired concepts with two internationally themed builds. Singapore’s Most Haunted: On Air returns the Singapore’s Most Haunted series for a third consecutive year, set inside an abandoned broadcast studio. Karang Guni: The Cursed Collection reimagines the karung guni, or itinerant rag-and-bone collector, as a vessel for the misfortunes contained in the unwanted items he has collected. Made in Hell: Xinling Robotics is set in a Chinese bioengineering and robotics facility where human lifeforce is being harvested for artificial immortality. Chatterbox Charlie’s Vaudeville Horrors promotes last year’s fan-favorite scare-zone character to his own house.
New this year, Universal is deploying roving scareactors called the Fatimah Rockers, inspired by the Karung Guni house’s premise and Pontianak, a Southeast Asian folkloric female vampire. They will “prowl the park and strike without warning” outside of the scare zones and houses.
Universal Studios Japan Celebrates 15 Years of HHN
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Japan (Osaka, Japan) returns for its 15th anniversary from September 11th – November 8th, running inside the wider Universal Extreme Autumn ~Discover U!!!~ umbrella event that opens September 10th. The 2026 lineup adds a new Resident Evil Requiem: The Dive maze in partnership with Capcom, a 15th-anniversary retrospective stage show (“Halloween Horror Night Academy ~15 Years of Screams~”), refreshed ride overlays for Hollywood Dream, and after-dark Jaws overlays. Universal Studios Japan is also marking its own 25th anniversary this season.
The 2026 season’s headline addition is Resident Evil Requiem: The Dive, a Capcom-tied indoor horror maze inside Stage 18 recreating the abandoned Wrenwood Hotel and the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care sanatorium featured in Capcom’s newest Resident Evil game. It opens September 11th and continues through December 27th, 2026 (well past HHN’s November 8th close), framed as a joint celebration of the Resident Evil series’ 30th anniversary and USJ’s 25th anniversary.
Universal Orlando Discontinues Fear With Express Pass Products for Halloween Horror Nights 35
Universal Orlando (Orlando, FL) has discontinued all of its “Fear with Express Pass” products for Halloween Horror Nights 35, ending the multi-year practice of packaging Universal Express access with the event’s multi-night Fear passes. The change affects guests who would previously have added Express access to the Rush of Fear, Frequent Fear, Frequent Fear Plus, or Ultimate Frequent Fear passes. The event will still offer its full multi-night pass lineup, but none of them will include a bundled Universal Express option in 2026. The four Frequent Fear tiers went on sale July 21 (from $229.99), alongside a new 5-House R.I.P. Tour at $299.99+.
Theme Park News
Legoland Shanghai Hits 2 Million: What China’s Fastest Park Launch Means
Legoland Shanghai passed 2 million guests in its first year, the fastest any LEGOLAND resort has reached that mark. In this week’s episode of Green Tagged, Philip and Scott break down the numbers behind the milestone: an 80% family guest base, 230,000 minifigures sold, and a guest pool expanding well beyond the Yangtze River Delta.
“Blair Witch: No Signal” Mazes Announced for Dorney Park and Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation has announced new Blair Witch: No Signal haunted mazes coming to Dorney Park’s Halloween Haunt (Allentown, PA) and Six Flags Great America’s Fright Fest (Gurnee, IL). The two mazes tie a licensed horror IP to Halloween events at two of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation’s parks, one from the former Cedar Fair side of the 2024 merger and one from the former Six Flags side.
Yzma Joins the Oogie Boogie Bash Villain Lineup
Yzma, the villain from Disney’s 2000 animated film The Emperor’s New Groove, is joining the villain lineup for Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure (Anaheim, CA) for the 2026 Halloween season. This will be Yzma’s first face-character appearance at a Disney park in the United States. The character has appeared previously in character meet-and-greet form at Disneyland Paris and in stage-show or parade contexts, but Disneyland Resort has never hosted her as a walkaround character before.
Halloween at Tokyo Disney 2026
Oriental Land Co. has announced the 2026 Disney Halloween season at Tokyo Disney Resort, running September 16th – October 31st at both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. The Coco-inspired Lazos de la Familia event at Tokyo DisneySea runs slightly longer, September 16th – November 2nd.
New highlights for 2026 include an expanded Lazos de la Familia, now extending into a wider area of Lost River Delta and including an illuminated marigold-covered bridge as a new nighttime effect. Coco’s Miguel will greet guests, appearing in two different looks: his Land of the Living look in the mornings, his Land of the Dead look in the afternoons. Tokyo Disneyland is adding new photo spots at the park entrance and in Toontown. Tokyo DisneySea is adding new pumpkin decorations at the entrance and a mural of Mickey and Minnie in Italian-themed costumes.
Tokyo Disney Resort’s Maximum One-Day Ticket Rises to ¥12,400 This October
Tokyo Disney Resort will raise its maximum one-day admission to ¥12,400 (about $76 at current exchange rates) beginning in October 2026. This is the first increase to its top ticket price since October 2023. The higher ceiling applies only to the highest-demand days on the resort’s variable pricing calendar (October 11th and 17th). Across October, most dates hold at ¥10,900, and the cheapest fall to ¥9,900.
Attractions News
Live Oak Canyon Debuts Its First Haunted Maze
After 45 years running Southern California’s largest pumpkin patch, Live Oak Canyon (Redlands, CA) is opening its first-ever haunted maze Fridays through Sundays October 2nd – 31st, “The Hollow.” The Hollow is a corn-maze path threaded through tented rooms with live scare actors, a hybrid of the farm’s existing corn-maze footprint and a full-cast walk-through haunt.
Heartstoppers Adds New Show and VIP Lounge
Sacramento’s Heartstoppers Haunts (Rancho Cordova, CA) opens for its 18th season on October 2nd and runs 13 select nights through November 1st. The headline addition for 2026 is the Frightfully Fancy Club, a VIP private lounge that includes a personal escort to the front of every haunt, capped at 20 guests per time slot. The event’s four haunted attractions (House McCutchen, Misery Mine, Blightwoods, and Deadlands) are all getting new scenes and upgrades for 2026.
Also new for 2026 is “Redemption!,” a stage show that plays at the top of every hour in the property’s Ghost Town area. Heartstoppers describes it as the connective story that ties all four haunts together and sets up the narrative for guests before they enter. Additional 2026 changes include new carnival games, a redesigned lobby, and an expanded Ghost Town program that continues to feature live bands, fire dancers, roaming characters, and food and drink.
Terror Vault Announces 2026 Theme: “Slashed: Return to Hellville”
Terror Vault (San Francisco, CA) returns to The San Francisco Mint in 2026 with a new production titled Slashed: Return to Hellville. This event marks a return to the Hellville storyline that Terror Vault has previously explored and continues the venue’s annual run of fully produced, immersive theatrical horror experiences staged inside the historic 1874 venue.
Terror Vault is produced under the Into The Dark banner by a three-way creative partnership: Joshua Grannell (aka San Francisco drag icon Peaches Christ) is co-founder, writer, and lead performer; David Flower Productions handles set and production design; and Non Plus Ultra operates The San Francisco Mint as an event venue and manages its logistics. Each production employs more than 100 local performers and technicians. Exact dates, ticket prices, and additional programming details for 2026 have not been announced.
The Haunted Car Wash Expands to Four SoCal Regions
The Haunted Car Wash is back for its sixth season this October, expanding to four Southern California regions: Anaheim, Lakewood, Inland Empire, and San Diego. These drive-through haunted attractions are staged inside functioning commercial car washes. Guests remain inside their own vehicles for the duration of the experience. As the car moves through the wash tunnel, scareactors appear around the vehicle and haunt-style special effects, lighting, and audio play in coordination with the wash cycle.
New Midnight Masquerade Scene Comes to Field of Screams
Field of Screams (Mountville, PA) will open for its 34th season on Friday, September 11th. The headline addition this year is a new Midnight Masquerade scene inside the Den of Darkness, one of the property’s four haunted attractions. The event runs select nights through November 7th with an Extreme Blackout event on Saturday, November 13th and Zombie Fun Run on Sunday, November 14th. Tickets are on sale now on the event’s official website.
Black Casket Productions Announces Cannibal Creek Theme for 2026
Black Casket Productions (Yucaipa, CA), the Inland Empire haunted attraction known for changing its theme every year, has announced its 2026 fall concept: Cannibal Creek. In a backwoods settlement, a “welcoming family” draws visitors in for something much darker. Loved ones have ventured into Cannibal Creek searching for missing family members, only to disappear themselves, leaving behind nothing but questions, rumors, and the echoes of those who never made it out.
Convention News
Scream 30th Anniversary Reunion Comes to Midsummer Scream
Midsummer Scream (Long Beach, CA) and Paramount Scares have announced a weekend-long celebration marking the 30th anniversary of Wes Craven’s Scream at the 2026 convention, bringing much of the original Scream cast, Ghostface voice actor Roger L. Jackson, and composer Marco Beltrami to the Long Beach Convention Center from August 7th – 9th. The partnership is Paramount Scares’s largest presence to date at the Southern California haunt-and-horror convention.
The 30th anniversary programming centers on autograph, selfie, and professional photo-op sessions across the weekend with much of the original Scream cast: Matthew Lillard (Stu Macher), Skeet Ulrich (Billy Loomis), David Arquette (Dewey Riley), Jamie Kennedy (Randy Meeks), Lee Waddell (stunt actor), and Joseph Whipp (Sheriff Burke). A limited number of attendees can book a private meet-and-greet with Roger L. Jackson, the voice of Ghostface, and record a custom voicemail or audio greeting.
Legendary Haunt Tour 2026
TransWorld’s Legendary Haunt Tour, taking place November 5th – 7th, has announced its 2026 haunt lineup. This year’s tour will take guests to Woods of Terror (Greensboro, NC), Kersey Valley Spookywoods (Archdale, NC), and Lake Hickory Haunts (Hickory, NC). Tickets are not yet on sale.
Retail News
HalloweenCostumes.com Debuts Its Biggest Animatronics Lineup Ever
With more than 75 new pieces, HalloweenCostumes.com has launched its most ambitious animatronics lineup ever. Leading the class of 2026: a $24,999.99 Lord of the Rings Balrog, a 12-foot Ghostbusters Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, a 25-foot inflatable Leatherface, and two of the internet’s most-requested video-game villains: CatNap and Huggy Wuggy from Poppy Playtime.
Freddy Fazbear Animatronic Comes to Spirit Halloween
After years of Freddy Fazbear haunting screens, theme parks, and every Halloween aisle, Spirit Halloween is finally bringing him home. The retailer’s first-ever life-size Freddy Fazbear animatronic from Five Nights at Freddy’s is real, priced at $499.99, and set to arrive when Spirit’s flagship store opens August 1st in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, with additional stores following. Freddy raises both arms and lifts a microphone up to his face. His eyes light up and track side to side. His torso sways. And he plays Five Nights at Freddy’s game audio, including a light-up eye pulse timed to the “Toreador March” music-box theme fans instantly recognize from the games.
Anthropologie’s 2026 Halloween Collection Is Live
Anthropologie’s 2026 Halloween collection is fully live, and it has already grown to 439 items. Prices run from a $12 Bistro Tile nut bowl to a $498 giant rattan vine spider, with most tabletop pieces landing between $16 and $68. Two returning programs anchor the drop. The Mystic Halloween Icon Juice Glass line ($16 each) adds four new motifs this year: deviled eggs, vampire fangs, black cats, and alien heads. Anthropologie’s fan-favorite Bistro Tile collection “underwent a spooky update,” per the product page, with midnight hues, nighttime creatures, and 24k gold accents.
Home Depot Launches 2026 Halloween Collection
The Home Depot launched its 2026 Halloween collection online and on its app on July 16th with an in-store rollout starting later in August. The collection headlines with an upgraded 12ft Giant-Sized SKELLY ($299) featuring app-controlled voice modulation and LCD LifeEyes, along with two new giants (an 11ft Mummy and an 8ft Perilous Plant Monster) that expand the roster of large-scale animatronics available for under $300 in-store. Interactive additions include a conversational parrot, an app-controlled Lethal Lily update, and a new 5.5ft Evil Pixie.
Costco’s 2026 Halloween Collection
Costco’s 2026 Halloween collection has begun to hit shelves at warehouses across the country. The showstopper is a warehouse-exclusive 3.6-foot Mickey Pumpkin with Infinity Mirrors ($219.99). Around it: a returning 62-inch Giant Ground Breaking Skeleton with LCD moving eyes, a full slate of Disney Nightmare Before Christmas licensed decor, spinning Disney character lanterns, and giant animatronics stretching from a 10-foot Jack Skellington to a 7-foot gargoyle.
LEGO Debuts “Midnight Valley” Halloween Village Subtheme
The LEGO Group has debuted a new adult-targeted seasonal building line called the Midnight Valley Collection, starting with a 1,420-piece haunted house called Mayor Manor. The manor is set number 11383, priced at $119.99 in the United States, and ships from September 1st, 2026. LEGO’s product copy details a full two-story interior with a suit of armor, fireplace, grandfather clock with hands frozen at midnight, table and chairs, framed artwork, and a bookshelf. The build measures over 9.5 in (27 cm) high, 11.5 in (30 cm) wide, and 5 in (13 cm) deep.
Lowe’s Rolls Out Its 2026 Haunted Living Halloween Lineup
Lowe’s is rolling out its 2026 Halloween assortment, with waves continuing to arrive on store shelves through the summer ahead of the fall selling window. Haunted Living is Lowe’s exclusive Halloween house brand, and 2026 continues the retailer’s push into consumer-grade animatronics in the sub-$300 giant category. In 2026, Lowe’s is leaning hard into the pumpkin motif with the 12ft Pumpkin King ($399) anchoring the yard giants, the 7ft Talking Pumpkin Scarecrow ($299) adding motion and audio at the mid-tier, and the 3ft Pop-Up Pumpkin Henchman ($99.98) as a coordinated companion.
Haunted Attraction Association News
Reminder: Call for Board Members
The Haunted Attraction Association is still accepting candidates for an opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors. Board members play an important role in supporting the association’s mission to promote, protect, and educate the haunt industry.
To be considered, owners/operators of haunted attractions must have been at an attraction or have an established industry business for 5+ years, be willing to volunteer for 45+ hours annually, be a current or new HAA member, and fundraise over $2,000 for operating expenses. Non-owner/operators must be a member of the Association in good standing, demonstrate a minimum of seven years of documented industry experience, and meet all other Director eligibility standards, including vetting by the Member Qualifications Committee.
Scareactor Auditions
- The Haunted Forests (Clarence, NY) — August 15, 22
- The Hollow (Redlands, CA) — Ongoing
- The Mortuary Haunted House (New Orleans, LA) — Ongoing
- Nightmare Wharf (Buffalo, NY) — August 15 – 16
- The Sawmill Haunted House (Covington, LA) — Ongoing
- The Thirteenth Hour Haunted Attraction (Indianapolis, IN) — Ongoing
Upcoming Events: July – September 2026
- August 1 – 2: Haunters Against Hate: The Event (Louisville, KY)
- August 7 – 9: Midsummer Scream (Long Beach, CA)
- September 11 – 13: Creep It Real OC Expo (Santa Ana, CA)
