SLASHED: Return to Hellville turns you loose inside a 1980s slasher movie. Terror Vault’s 2026 production is a fully immersive, walk-through haunt built as a blood-soaked homage to the decade of masked killers, final girls, and wildly inventive kills, and it drops guests into the story as participants rather than spectators. SLASHED runs on select nights from October 1 through November 1, 2026 at The San Francisco Mint (88 5th Street), with general admission from $64.42 to $90.30 at terrorvault.com. It is an 18-and-over experience.
The Story
Inspired by the era of masked killers, final girls, and wildly inventive death scenes, SLASHED drops guests into the real-time investigation of the infamous Shellville murders. When Petra Sterling, host of the hit true-crime podcast Hellville, disappears while researching a new wave of killings tied to the long-abandoned Fear Clinic, her assistant Tina recruits a group of volunteers to finish the investigation. Armed with Petra’s clues, guests venture into the sealed town of Shellville, confront the supernatural killer Darren Grieves (played by Ryan Cicak), and race to recover the missing components of the mysterious Fear Engine before the murders spread beyond the town’s borders. Along the way they meet the restless victims of Darren’s original killing spree, including camp counselor Tiff (Edie Eve), and survive set pieces inspired by classic 80s slashers, all staged with the practical gore, costumes, and analog-era detail the genre is known for.
“With SLASHED, we’ve created our own twisted valentine to the gloriously over-the-top horror films of the 1980s, where audiences don’t just watch the nightmare unfold, they become part of it,” said Terror Vault co-founder Joshua Grannell, the San Francisco drag icon known as Peaches Christ. “It’s bloodier and more immersive than anything we’ve done before.”
Co-founder David Flower said the team packed the production with period detail. “The slasher films of the 1980s had such a distinct visual language, and we wanted audiences to feel like they’ve stepped right into one of those movies,” Flower said. “Whether you’re a lifelong horror fan or discovering these films for the first time, there are Easter eggs and references around every corner.”
Dates and Hours
SLASHED runs on select nights across October and closes on November 1. Timed entry is available every 15 minutes for groups of up to 12 guests, and the experience is 18-and-over with a valid ID.
- October: 1–3, 9–10, 15–18, 22–25, and 28–31
- November: 1 (final night)
- Behind the Screams tours: November 7–8 (details below)
Tickets and Pricing
General admission tickets range from $64.42 to $90.30 depending on the performance day and time, and are on sale now at terrorvault.com. Each timed entry admits groups of up to 12, with slots every 15 minutes. VIP tickets, which add the Wainwright Family Carnival pre-show, are also available at terrorvault.com. All guests must be 18 or older with a valid ID.
VIP: The Wainwright Family Carnival
Before entering SLASHED, VIP guests pass through the gates of the Wainwright Family Carnival, an immersive pre-show hosted by Hellville’s deranged ringmaster, Pinwheel. The sinister midway turns Pinwheel and his troupe of freaks, carnies, and oddities loose on guests, blurring the line between performance and participation. VIP guests can sip themed cocktails from the carnival bar, play midway games, uncover exclusive pieces of the SLASHED story, and step into interactive photo environments open only to the VIP tier. Every VIP ticket includes a commemorative SLASHED souvenir cup with a lid to keep, which guests can fill at the carnival bar and carry into the experience. (Cocktail not included.)
Fang Bang and CreepShop
Guests can start and end the night at Fang Bang, an 80s New Wave and goth vampire-themed pop-up bar built into the vault of the San Francisco Mint, serving Halloween-themed cocktails. CreepShop, a pop-up retail shop, carries Terror Vault merchandise plus curated items from Kreepsville666, Middle of Beyond, and local artists, and also sells online through the Terror Vault CreepShop. Both Fang Bang and CreepShop are open to the public with no cover during operating hours, and a SLASHED ticket is not required to visit either.
Behind the Screams: the lights-on tour
On November 7 and 8, Terror Vault offers Behind the Screams, a one-hour lights-on tour of SLASHED led by the show’s ghost hosts. Guests get an up-close look at the sets, props, costumes, and special effects that bring the experience to life, plus access to backstage areas rarely seen by the public, while the team shares inside stories and horror tricks of the trade. Each ticket includes a complimentary beer, glass of wine, or soda, and space is limited.
The Terror Vault Experience
Terror Vault is a fully produced, immersive theatrical horror experience staged inside The San Francisco Mint, the historic 1874 Old United States Mint building at Fifth and Mission in Mid-Market, San Francisco. The building, known locally as “The Granite Lady,” is a National Historic Landmark and one of the few structures in the area to survive the 1906 earthquake. Each year’s production is a 60- to 70-minute linear, story-driven walkthrough that combines haunted-attraction, theatrical-show, and escape-room elements into a single guest experience.
Terror Vault is produced under the Into The Dark banner by a three-way creative partnership. Joshua Grannell, better known as San Francisco drag icon Peaches Christ, is co-founder, writer, and lead performer. David Flower Productions, run by David Flower, produces immersive theater and horror experiences and handles set and production design. Non Plus Ultra operates The San Francisco Mint as an event venue and manages its logistics and operations. Each production employs more than 100 local performers and technicians.
The experience combines comedy, horror, jump scares, and what the Haunted Attraction Association has called an “outrageousness that has garnered a local cult-like following.”
2024 OSCARES Established Haunt winner
Terror Vault won the 2024 OSCARES Board of Directors Award for Established Haunt from the Haunted Attraction Association, recognizing its 2023 production. The OSCARES are the highest juried honors in the haunted attraction industry, presented annually at TransWorld’s Halloween & Attractions Show. The 2024 win noted the two-part format Terror Vault used that year, a pre-show “Fang Bang” segment before guests entered the main production, “The Initiation.”
Terror Vault production history
Terror Vault has produced a new original show at The San Francisco Mint every Halloween since its 2018 debut, except in 2020 (COVID). 2025’s HEXED was billed as the event’s seventh year.
- 2018: Terror Vault (inaugural prison-themed season) + Dead Zone: Zombie Tag
- 2019: Terror Vault (season 2, prison-themed) + Apocalypse zombie escape room
- 2020: No full show due to COVID
- 2021: The Immortal Reckoning
- 2022: The Summoning
- 2023: The Initiation (OSCARES Established Haunt winner)
- 2024: Fatal Abduction
- 2025: HEXED (seventh year)
- 2026: SLASHED: Return to Hellville (an homage to 1980s slasher films)
Where Terror Vault fits in the California Halloween market
Terror Vault is San Francisco’s premier fully-produced immersive theater Halloween event and one of the few haunt-adjacent events in California built around a single site-specific location that cannot be replicated elsewhere. The San Francisco Mint’s granite basement, vault rooms, and historic upper floors provide a permanent, purpose-built stage that no theme park or seasonal outdoor haunt can match.
The event’s positioning is distinct from Southern California’s theme park haunts and from Northern California’s other major haunt attractions. It shares a fully-produced immersive theater DNA with Festival Fright Nights at Winchester Mystery House, which stages a similar narrative-driven walk-through inside a historic Bay Area property. Terror Vault differs from Pirates of Emerson, the East Bay professional haunt centered on scare-actor mazes, and from the theme park Halloween events including Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Knott’s Scary Farm.
Within San Francisco proper, Terror Vault is the anchor Halloween event.
Event details
- Event: Terror Vault 2026 SLASHED: Return to Hellville
- Location: The San Francisco Mint, 88 5th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
- Run: October 1 – November 1, 2026 (select nights: Oct 1–3, 9–10, 15–18, 22–25, 28–31; Nov 1)
- Behind the Screams tours: November 7–8, 2026
- Entry: Timed entry every 15 minutes, groups of up to 12
- Tickets: General admission $64.42–$90.30 by day and time; VIP available at terrorvault.com
- Age: 18 and over with valid ID
- Producer: Into The Dark (Joshua Grannell / Peaches Christ, David Flower Productions, Non Plus Ultra)
- Website: terrorvault.com
HAN prior Terror Vault coverage
- Haunted Attraction: Terror Vault the Immortal Reckoning 2021
- Unveiling the 2024 OSCARES Winners in Haunted Attractions
This event is part of our Haunted Houses in California 2026 guide.
Last updated: August 14, 2026.
