SeaWorld San Antonio’s Howl-O-Scream marks its 25th year in 2026 with three all-new haunted houses, including one based on the I Know What You Did Last Summer films, and the whole event is included with park admission rather than a separate ticket. It runs select nights from September 11 through November 1, opening at 7 p.m.
Dates and Hours
Howl-O-Scream runs select nights from September 11 through November 1, 2026. Those nights fall on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and the event starts at 7 p.m. and runs to park close, with the park open from 6 p.m. It is built for a mature audience, with intense content, and costumes are not allowed.
Included With Admission
Unlike Howl-O-Scream at the chain’s Florida and California parks, the San Antonio event is not separately ticketed. A single-day daytime ticket includes nighttime event entry, and every annual pass covers the event across its run.
Optional upgrades speed up the night, all sold on top of admission:
- Fear Pass, from $49.99: one-time priority access to rides and haunted houses.
- Fear Pass Plus, from $59.99: unlimited priority access to haunted houses and major thrill rides.
- Ultimate Fear Pass, from $89.99: unlimited priority access, plus two drinks, a one-time reserved Monster Stomp seat, and 25 percent off Howl-O-Scream merchandise once.
- Sip & Scream, $29.99: one-time priority to one haunted house plus a cocktail or mocktail in a light-up souvenir cup.
- Monster Stomp reserved seating, $9.99.
- Ultimate VIP Tour, from $450 per guest: a private guide, priority access, and reserved seating, with a “Fun to Fright” start at 3 p.m. that runs from daytime rides into the haunts.
The Five Haunted Houses
Three of the five houses are all-new for 2026.
- I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Final Catch (all-new): based on the slasher films, it relives a July 4th massacre after four teens dump a body in the sea, then bring the killer back one year later.
- Witch of the Woods (all-new): a powerful witch and her Disciples lure victims deep into the forest, where few find their way out.
- Dead Wreckoning (all-new): a doomed pirate ship in its final hours, as a cursed voyage spirals into madness and mutiny.
- Dis-Assembly Line (returning): an industrial nightmare where the lost become another cog in the machine.
- The Swamp at Blackwater Bayou (returning): the Sinister Sorcerer and his minions return to the swamp.
The Eight Terror-tories
Scare zones, which the park calls terror-tories, fill the walkways between the houses. One is all-new:
- Terror Through Time (all-new): the 25th-anniversary zone, a portal to Howl-O-Screams past that brings back familiar faces from a quarter century of the event.
The seven returning zones are Colleen’s Dollhouse, Nightmare Midway, Ripper Row, SINdustry, Till Death Do Us Party, Water’s Edge, and Blackwater Bayou.
Three Sinister Shows
- Shamu Rocks: Moonlight Mayhem (all-new): a nighttime killer-whale show built on music, lights, and the sea after dark.
- Monster Stomp: a Jack the Ripper rock spectacular of percussion, dance, and song, staged at the Nautilus Amphitheater.
- Siren Song: along Water’s Edge, sirens lure the unsuspecting closer with their song.
Bars and Extras
Seven themed bars serve the night: Liquid Voodoo, Scorched, The Crooked Clock, Sliced, the Monster Stomp bars inside the Nautilus Amphitheater, the FANTA Fright House, and Haystack Snacks. Signature pours include the Texas Swamped Iced Tea and the Blood Bag, along with a nonalcoholic Gelatin Shot served in a souvenir syringe. The park’s thrill rides also run in the dark between scares.
For how San Antonio compares with the chain’s other Howl-O-Scream parks, see our Howl-O-Scream 2026 guide to every United Parks location. For opening dates on haunts nationwide, see our guide to when haunted houses open.
