Long Beach, CA — Queen Mary Dark Harbor returns for its 2026 Halloween season on select nights from Friday, September 18 through Saturday, November 1. Beyond dates, the 2026 lineup has not been announced publicly. Full details on mazes, scare zones, entertainment, ticketing, and any returning special-event nights are expected at the producer’s Midsummer Scream panel August 7 through 9 in Long Beach. This guide will be updated as soon as the lineup drops.
What is confirmed for 2026
- Dates: September 18 through November 1, 2026, on select nights.
- Location: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, CA 90802.
- Producer: Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, which returned to Dark Harbor for the 2024 revival and produced the 2025 season.
- Where the lineup drops: Midsummer Scream, the Southern California haunt convention, runs August 7 through 9 at the Long Beach Convention Center. Thirteenth Floor Entertainment is one of the confirmed exhibitors for the Midsummer Scream 2026 Hall of Shadows, and Dark Harbor lineup announcements typically happen there or in the days following.
Watch the 2024 Dark Harbor event
Here is HAN’s walkthrough of the 2024 Dark Harbor event, the first season after the event’s revival:
What Dark Harbor is
Dark Harbor is a Halloween haunt event staged aboard the Queen Mary, the retired ocean liner that has served as a Long Beach floating hotel and attraction since 1971. The event uses the ship itself as its haunted setting, running mazes through its interior spaces and staging entertainment across the ShipYard adjacent to the ship.
The event has a long-standing mythology built around a rotating cast of original icons tied to the ship’s own reputation. Scary Mary, the ghost of a young girl associated with one of the Queen Mary’s historically reported hauntings, is Dark Harbor’s most recognizable character. Other legacy icons include the Ringmaster, the Iron Master, and Gale, all developed during the event’s earlier runs by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment.
The Queen Mary’s own reputation as a “haunted ship” predates Dark Harbor. The ocean liner has been the subject of decades of paranormal claims tied to reported deaths onboard during its 1936-to-1967 service life. Dark Harbor treats the ship itself as the event’s most durable set piece.
What to expect based on 2025
The 2026 lineup has not been announced, but the 2025 event provides a strong baseline for what the format will likely include.
Mazes and scare zones: The 2025 event returned Dark Harbor’s core maze lineup, with each Sunday of the season designated as a Maze Appreciation Night honoring one of the signature mazes with giveaways and icon appearances. Named 2025 mazes included Lullaby, Big Top Terror, and Feast.
Special-event nights: The 2025 season introduced a broader slate of themed evenings across the run.
- Pride Week (October 8 and 9, 2025) featured drag performances and identity-focused celebrations across the event’s scare zones.
- Sleepover Spectacular (October 12, 2025) extended operating hours to 1 a.m. with horror-film screenings in the 4D Theater and a midnight pillow fight in the ShipYard. Guests could book haunted staterooms with special package rates.
- Goth Night (October 15, 2025) featured absinthe frappés at a pop-up called the Nocturne Bar and encouraged goth-themed costume attendance.
- Día de los Muertos Weekend (November 1 and 2, 2025) closed the season with candle-lit altars, live Mexican music, sugar-skull face painting, and marigold decor throughout the ShipYard.
- Maze Appreciation Nights every Sunday featured giveaways, deep-dive lore, and appearances by fan-favorite icons.
Whether any or all of these return in 2026 has not been confirmed.
Dark Masquerade off-season events (2026 already delivered)
Dark Harbor’s producer expanded the property into off-season programming for the first time in 2026 with Dark Masquerade, a limited-run immersive event on the Queen Mary. Dark Masquerade debuted February 13 and 14, 2026, then returned in March following strong Valentine’s Day demand for two more nights on March 13 and 14.
Dark Masquerade is not a haunt in the traditional maze sense. The event is an after-hours story-driven immersive takeover of the Queen Mary built around Dark Harbor’s established icons. The core experiences were Gale’s Requiem (an atmospheric encounter set six fathoms below the waterline with live performance), The Search for Mary (a guided low-light experience through the ship’s corridors using a single red glow stick), and Sweethearts’ Slaughterhouse (an interactive storytelling experience with a curated tasting). VIP admission added a Pressure Test: Bound Below experience.
Whether Dark Masquerade or a similar off-season format returns in early 2027 has not been announced.
When more information is expected
Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group typically announces its full Dark Harbor lineup at or around Midsummer Scream in August. Midsummer Scream 2026 runs Friday, August 7 through Sunday, August 9 at the Long Beach Convention Center, roughly a 10-minute drive from the Queen Mary. The event’s Hall of Shadows exhibit floor includes major regional and national haunt operators showcasing what is coming for the upcoming season. Thirteenth Floor Entertainment is one of the confirmed 2026 exhibitors.
Watch this space for the full 2026 Dark Harbor lineup, ticket pricing, and any updated special-event schedule as soon as the panel drops.
Event details
- Event: Queen Mary Dark Harbor 2026
- Location: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, CA 90802
- Dates: September 18 through November 1, 2026, select nights
- Producer: Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group
- Tickets: Not yet on sale for 2026
- Official: The Queen Mary
