Williamsburg, VA — Howl-O-Scream returns to Busch Gardens Williamsburg on select nights from September 10 through October 31, 2027, included with park admission, the park’s event page says. The 2026 event ran 30 select nights from September 11 through November 1 with five haunted houses, the park’s terror-tories and shows, and unlike the Orlando, Tampa, and San Diego events, it was included with regular park admission.
Busch Gardens’ next event is Christmas Town, on select dates from November 13 through January 3, 2027. This page keeps the 2026 lineup as the record, and I add the 2027 houses as the park announces them. What opened at the park in 2026, what’s coming in 2027 and its full year of events are in my Busch Gardens Williamsburg guide.
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 2027?
Busch Gardens lists Howl-O-Scream 2027 on select nights from September 10 through October 31, 2027, from 6 p.m. to park close, included with park admission.
In 2026, Howl-O-Scream ran 30 select nights. September 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27. October 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30 and 31. November 1. Event hours were generally 6 p.m. to park close, which was 10 or 11 p.m. depending on the night.
The September 11 opening put Williamsburg on the same start date as all four other Howl-O-Scream parks in 2026, and the November 1 close was 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.
Because the event is included with admission, there is no separate event ticket. In 2026, Busch Gardens sold Haunted House Quick Queue from $89.99 and Quick Queue Unlimited Plus from $109.99, plus a NO BOO necklace for $19.99 that told the monsters not to scare you.
Five Haunted Houses
Busch Gardens ran five haunted houses in 2026, including the Sony-licensed Anaconda: Dead on Arrival and the all-new Fright at the Museum, which opened September 25.
Anaconda: Dead on Arrival
Announced July 31, it opened 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 opened 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. My full coverage.
Fright at the Museum
An all-new house themed to an archaeological dig gone wrong, which opened September 25, two weeks after the event’s September 11 start.
Werewolves: The Wolf’s Revenge
Returning from 2025. 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
Returning from 2025. 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.”
Two houses from Busch Gardens’ earlier plans, Death Water Bayou: Morte and KILLarney Diner: Condemned, are not running in 2026. The Killarney Diner theater is being converted for the 2027 ride Return to Corkscrew Hill.
Terror-Tories and Shows
Busch Gardens calls its scare zones terror-tories. The 2026 lineup added the all-new Viper Valley and Witch’s Way, alongside returning Disgrotesque, Wicked Wunderland, and Ripper Row. The park listed five terror-tories and four shows, including the all-new Undead Diva, the returning Skeletones In Your Closet, and Monster Stomp on Ripper Row, which opened October 1.
Coasters Run at Night
Busch Gardens runs its coasters at night during Howl-O-Scream, which it describes as “a completely different ride experience” (its pages cite nine to ten coasters). 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
During Howl-O-Scream, guests 15 and younger must be with a chaperone at least 21 years old after 4 p.m., and one chaperone can bring no more than six guests 15 or younger. No bags are allowed after 4 p.m., and there is no re-entry after 8 p.m.
Across the Howl-O-Scream Parks
All five Howl-O-Scream parks opened September 11, 2026. Orlando, San Diego, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay closed October 31, while Williamsburg and SeaWorld San Antonio ran 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. For the rest of the state, from Haunted Hunt Club Farm in Virginia Beach to Kings Dominion Halloween Haunt, see my Virginia haunted houses guide.
Event Details
- 2027: select nights, September 10 through October 31, 2027, included with park admission
- Event: Howl-O-Scream 2026, Busch Gardens Williamsburg
- Location: Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia
- Dates: 30 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: November 4, 2026, with the 2027 dates from the park’s event page. The full 2026 lineup (five houses, terror-tories, shows), hours, dates, and the admission model were verified against the official event and upgrades pages on September 17, 2026. Two houses from earlier plans, Death Water Bayou: Morte and KILLarney Diner, did not run in 2026.
