Los Angeles, CA — The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride is adding a new maze that turns guests into a doomed 1980s rock band, bringing back Elvira, and serving alcohol in its haunted town of Midnight Falls for the first time. Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group detailed the 2026 season at its Midsummer Scream panel, where producer Melissa Carbone called this year’s hayride trail its most ambitious in years.
The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride runs select nights from September 18 through November 1 in Griffith Park, and our Los Angeles Haunted Hayride 2026 guide tracks the full lineup and tickets.
Fallen Angel Turns You Into a Cursed Rock Band
The season’s new maze, Fallen Angel, drops guests into an ’80s Sunset Strip that never let go of a tragedy. As Carbone told the story, the band Fallen Angel was the loudest act on the Strip and was rehearsing for the biggest Halloween show of its life when a pyrotechnics mishap set the stage on fire. The doors were chained for the private rehearsal, and every member died on the stage. The venue was condemned and chained shut, fans left candles at the doors every Halloween, and a late-night rock station began playing 30 seconds of the band’s final rehearsal tape at midnight each Halloween before going silent.
This year, a cult of superfans cuts the chains and plays the tape, and the band starts to wake up. “You, the guest, are the band. And obsessive fandom is the monster,” Carbone said. She was blunt about her enthusiasm for it: “I have not been this excited about a maze in a really long time.” A new opening scaremony in the town square this year serves as the teaser for the maze.
Elvira Returns, and Midnight Falls Gets a Bar
Elvira is back. Elvira’s Trick or Treat Mayhem, the candy-and-chaos maze that debuted last year, returns for 2026 alongside the Elvira Pop-Up Shop. Cassandra Peterson, who plays Elvira, confirmed it in a video message. “I’ll be back at the LA Haunted Hayride this fall with Elvira’s Trick or Treat Mayhem, exclusive Elvira merchandise you won’t find anywhere else,” she said.
For the grown-ups, the event is loosening up. For the first time, the Hayride will serve alcohol inside Midnight Falls. “For the first time ever in Midnight Falls, you’ll be able to enjoy adult beverages while you’re getting your scare on,” said Amy Hollaman, the 13th Floor director of Halloween attractions.
A New Villain and a Deepening Curse
Midnight Falls also picks up a new threat. The town’s popular prankster, Herschel, the friendly face who works the ice cream truck, turns out to have an evil twin. The team introduced Allister, a pyromaniac who was banished from the town on November 1, 1981, and has found his way back this year looking a lot like Herschel but bloodier.
The town’s resident medium, Madame Aurora, is expanding her seance show to dig into why Midnight Falls is cursed to relive Halloween night 1985, and she hints the answer traces to a character guests already know. Down at the end of the street, Hellbilly Halloween returns, the backwoods maze where a cannibal family invites guests to a dinner where they are the meal, then chases them out with chainsaws.
The Biggest Trail Upgrade in Years
Carbone framed the hayride trail itself as the year’s largest swing. “This year’s Hayride trail represents our most ambitious evolution in years,” she said, describing a darker ride where the hayride of the past and the hayride of the future collide. The upgrade brings back the sway poles, the towering aerial scare-actor rigs the event has not used on the trail in more than a decade, and a reimagined drive-in movie scene with original choreography by Pussycat Dolls choreographer Bobby Newberry. “This scene by itself is worth the ticket price,” Carbone said. An expanded cinematic soundscape now runs the length of the trail.
Dates, Tickets, and the Full Guide
The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride runs select nights from September 18 through November 1 in Griffith Park, with a discount presale open now. For the full attraction lineup, add-ons, and tickets, see our Los Angeles Haunted Hayride 2026 guide. Tickets are available on the official Hayride site.
