Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Howl-O-Scream returns for 2026 with six haunted houses, an all-new Anaconda maze, and the return of its fan-favorite show Fiends. The separately ticketed event runs select nights from September 11 through October 31, opening at 7 p.m., with tickets starting at $48.99.
Dates and Hours
Howl-O-Scream runs select nights from September 11 through October 31, 2026, about 27 nights in all: Fridays and Saturdays in September, then Thursdays through Sundays in October. The event starts at 7 p.m., and the park gate opens at 5 p.m. The event is separately ticketed and not included with daytime Busch Gardens admission.
Tickets
Prices below are from Busch Gardens’ site, verified September 17, 2026. Pass Members get the best rate.
- Single-Night Ticket: from $48.99
- Any Night Ticket: $66.99, valid on any event night
- Unlimited Scream Pass: $124.99 for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, or $189.99 for a two-park pass that adds SeaWorld Orlando
The Six Haunted Houses
Anaconda is the event’s only all-new house this year, a Sony Pictures license. The other five return with fresh storylines.
- Anaconda: Fear Has No Escape (all-new): a film crew came to remake Anaconda and never made it back, and guests follow their trail deep into the Amazon in a fight for survival.
- Stranglewood Estate: RePossessed (returning): a seance wakes Madame Stranglewood and the servants who vanished inside the mansion’s walls.
- Circus of Fear: Killer Encore (returning): the circus runs wild in 2026 under a new ringmaster, Vittorio Belladonna.
- Shadows of Wonderland: Reign of Madness (returning).
- Raven’s Mill (returning).
- M.A.R.S. (returning).
Scare Zones and the Roaming Horde
Six scare zones fill the park, along with a roaming horde called the Dead-End Kids. Three are all-new:
- Mr. Gleam’s Auto Spa, where a mysterious cleaning solution comes at a ghastly cost.
- Rootbound, where the Grimherd rises from reopened graves to drag victims into the dark.
- The Punchline: Riot, where a night of bad jokes and crazed clowns spirals into a full-blown riot.
Three returning zones come back with new storylines: Breadcrumbs to Nowhere: Once Upon a Time, The Pestilence: Lazarus Strain, and Ragnar’s Wrath: Call of Odin.
Shows: Fiends and Cirque X-Scream
Busch Gardens runs two sinister shows in 2026. Fiends! Resurrected is the adult, pop-culture party show built around Dr. Freakenstein and his assistant Igor, back by popular demand with new music, monsters, and surprises. Cirque X-Scream returns with all-new acts, from trampoline tricks to aerial stunts. Both play under the event’s 2026 story arc, Dark Side of the Gardens, which the park bills as “Chapter Three.”
Bars, Fright Feast, and Extras
Beyond the houses, Howl-O-Scream fills out with immersive bars and photo ops. Madame Mary’s Red Rum Social is a speakeasy bar and photo op themed to a Roaring Twenties club with a bloody secret, and the all-new Fear Foto op drops guests into three haunted scenes. Fright Feast serves a buffet in TreeTop Kitchen from 6 to 7 p.m. and adds front-of-line access to select houses from 7 to 8 p.m. The park’s coasters also run in the dark between scares.
Age, Costumes, and Getting Around
Howl-O-Scream is built for a mature audience and is not recommended for young children, and costumes are not allowed. Because it is separately ticketed, a daytime ticket or pass does not include event entry, though Pass Members get a discounted rate.
For how Tampa 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.
