Update, August 3: Busch Gardens confirmed the Killarney Diner building will not host the haunted house this year. The theater is being converted for Return to Corkscrew Hill, the 2027 ride revival announced today — the six-house lineup below predates that confirmation.
Williamsburg, VA — Busch Gardens Williamsburg runs Howl-O-Scream on select nights from September 11 through November 1, 2026, and unlike the Orlando, Tampa, and San Diego events, it is included with regular park admission rather than separately ticketed. Six haunted houses are named. The terror-tories and shows are not.
Full franchise coverage: See HAN’s Howl-O-Scream 2026 guide to all five United Parks locations for the umbrella event and cross-park comparisons. United Parks announced a second Sony Pictures license the same day, I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Final Catch, at its three SeaWorld parks.
When Is Howl-O-Scream Williamsburg 2026?
Howl-O-Scream runs 25 select nights. September 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27. October 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31. November 1. Event hours are 6 p.m. to park close.
The September 11 opening puts Williamsburg on the same start date as all four other Howl-O-Scream parks in 2026, and the November 1 close is one of the two latest in the chain alongside SeaWorld San Antonio.
Howl-O-Scream Is Included With Park Admission
This is the structural difference that matters. Orlando, Tampa, and San Diego sell Howl-O-Scream as a separate hard ticket that a regular admission or annual pass will not get you into. At Williamsburg the event is included with park admission, which, along with SeaWorld San Antonio, means guests holding admission pay nothing extra for the event.
Busch Gardens has not published Howl-O-Scream upgrade pricing for 2026.
Six Haunted Houses
Busch Gardens listed five haunted houses on its event page, then added a sixth on July 31 with a Sony Pictures license. The park’s descriptions follow.
Anaconda: Dead on Arrival
Announced July 31 and opening September 11. Per United Parks, guests are “sent deep into the Amazon to search for a missing film crew, quickly turning into a fight for survival.” Busch Gardens Tampa Bay opens a separate Anaconda house the same night, and the company describes the pair as “two unique tales while honoring the legend of an iconic film.” United Parks says it is the first time Sony Pictures has licensed the film for a Halloween event. Our full coverage.
Werewolves: The Wolf’s Revenge
Marked all-new. Hunters track a creature “long thought extinct from memory” through the forest, capture it, and bring it to a containment facility to identify it. Per the park, “the hunters have quickly become the hunted,” after the creature breaks its chains inside the building.
Bloodshot
Marked all-new. A dive bar for the undead uncovered deep within the ruins of Pompeii. The taps have run dry and the vampires need “refills of A, B, and O-negative.” The park’s warning: if you are still inside at last call, you may be the next keg.
Clown Town
Marked a returning favorite. Clowns thrown out of the Festa Italia village for being “too terrifying” have built their own territory, where “their whims dictate who will escape and who will remain trapped in their demented circus.”
Death Water Bayou: Morte
Marked revamped. The bayou pull that started as a lure into the swamp has become “a chilling threshold between our world and the next,” with the Voodoo Queen closing in on a final sacrifice.
KILLarney DInEr: Condemned
Marked revamped. A boarded-up 1950s diner with something moving behind the walls. Per Busch Gardens, “the glory days of the ’50s are long past, and now the terror of the ’20s awaits all who enter.”
Terror-Tories and Shows Are Not Announced
Busch Gardens calls its scare zones terror-tories, and its event description confirms both terror-tories and sinister shows without naming any of them. There are no terror-tory or show listings on the event page. More is coming, and HAN will add them here as Busch Gardens announces them.
Ten Coasters Run at Night
Busch Gardens says 10 coasters run at night during Howl-O-Scream, which it describes as “a completely different ride experience.” The event takes over the entire park rather than a section of it.
What to Know Before You Go
- Included with admission, so no separate event ticket is required
- Event hours are 6 p.m. to park close on select nights
Busch Gardens has not published event policies for re-entry, bags, photography, or costumes on its 2026 Howl-O-Scream page.
Across the Howl-O-Scream Parks
All five Howl-O-Scream parks open September 11, 2026. Orlando, San Diego, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay close October 31, while Williamsburg and SeaWorld San Antonio run through November 1. Williamsburg and San Antonio include the event with admission. Orlando, Tampa, and San Diego are separately ticketed.
For the deepest 2026 reveals, see HAN’s Howl-O-Scream Orlando 2026 coverage and Howl-O-Scream San Diego 2026 coverage. For opening dates across every haunt in the country, see when haunted houses open.
Event Details
- Event: Howl-O-Scream 2026, Busch Gardens Williamsburg
- Location: Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia
- Dates: 25 select nights, September 11 through November 1, 2026
- Hours: 6 p.m. to park close
- Admission: Included with park admission
- Official site: buschgardens.com/williamsburg/events/howl-o-scream
Last updated: July 31, 2026. Dates, hours, admission model, and five of the six named haunted houses were verified against the official event page on July 31, 2026, and Anaconda: Dead on Arrival against United Parks’ press release the same day. Terror-tories, shows, and upgrade pricing have not been announced for 2026.
