Halloween Haunt at Kings Island is the Midwest’s largest and longest-running theme park Halloween event, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors to Mason, Ohio each fall. What started as a regional scare event has evolved into a fully produced horror experience with a maze lineup that rivals the best standalone haunted attractions in the country. For 2026, Kings Island is raising the stakes with a landmark new addition: a premium interactive experience based on one of horror’s most recognizable franchises. Here’s everything you need to plan your visit.

Kings Island Halloween Haunt 2026 Dates

Halloween Haunt 2026 runs select nights from September 19 through November 2, typically Thursday through Sunday plus select weeknights. The event operates alongside normal park hours in the afternoon before transitioning fully to Halloween Haunt mode in the evening. Specific operating nights and times are available on the Kings Island official event calendar at visitkingsisland.com.

2026 Haunted Maze Lineup

Kings Island Halloween Haunt 2026 features seven haunted mazes — six returning favorites plus a major new SCREAMium addition. All mazes require a Haunted Attractions Pass (separate from general admission), and The Conjuring: Beyond Fear requires an additional charge on top of the Haunted Attractions Pass.

The Conjuring: Beyond Fear (NEW for 2026 — SCREAMium)

The headline addition of Halloween Haunt 2026 is an immersive, 20-minute interactive experience based on the Conjuring horror universe. Unlike a traditional walk-through maze, The Conjuring: Beyond Fear is a SCREAMium experience — a premium, ticketed attraction that blends immersive storytelling, actor interaction, and theatrical production values into a longer-format scare experience. The Conjuring franchise’s blend of supernatural dread and family lore makes it a natural fit for an extended haunted attraction format. Expect escalating tension, detailed period-accurate set design, and scareactors trained in character-consistent performance rather than jump-scare mechanics.

Order of the Dragon

A gothic medieval maze that plunges visitors into a castle overrun by supernatural forces. Order of the Dragon emphasizes atmospheric lighting, architectural set design, and a creature-forward scare approach with scareactors in elaborate costuming portraying dragon-mythology hybrids and cult members.

Slaughter House

One of Halloween Haunt’s most popular mazes year over year, Slaughter House leans into industrial horror with a meat-processing facility aesthetic. Tight corridors, overwhelming sound design, and actors positioned for maximum surprise make this a consistent crowd favorite.

Hotel St. Michelle

A classic haunt setting — a decaying Victorian hotel populated by the ghost of its homicidal former guests. Hotel St. Michelle rewards repeat visitors who notice the layered storytelling built into the set design, and it’s one of the few mazes in the Haunt lineup with a strong narrative throughline from entrance to exit.

Alien Abyss

Sci-fi horror meets the Haunted House format in Alien Abyss, a maze built around a spaceship overrun by extraterrestrial threats. The low-light environments and unusual scare geometries make this maze particularly effective at disorienting visitors in ways traditional haunt corridors don’t achieve.

KillMart

A big-box retail store transformed into a nightmare — KillMart’s satirical premise gives way to full-contact-style scares inside a maze that looks like a familiar space turned horrifically wrong. The mundane-turned-monstrous concept is one of Halloween Haunt’s most creatively distinct offerings.

Cornered

The most claustrophobia-inducing maze in the lineup, Cornered puts guests through a series of tight-cornered environments designed to eliminate sightlines and eliminate the ability to anticipate what’s coming next. If you’re visiting with someone who has claustrophobia concerns, preview this maze description before committing.

Scare Zones, Shows, and Entertainment

Beyond the mazes, Halloween Haunt features themed scare zones throughout the park — areas staffed with costumed performers who interact with guests during transit between attractions. These zones are included with general park admission and add continuous ambient scare value throughout the evening. Live entertainment including themed shows and DJ sets rounds out the event experience.

Tickets and Pricing for Halloween Haunt 2026

Kings Island uses a layered ticketing structure for Halloween Haunt — general park admission gets you into the event, but the haunted mazes require an additional purchase:

• General Park Admission (Haunt nights): Required baseline — includes scare zones, rides, shows
• Haunted Attractions Pass: Add-on required for access to all six standard mazes
• The Conjuring: Beyond Fear Ticket: Additional charge on top of the Haunted Attractions Pass for the SCREAMium experience
• 2026 Gold Pass ($115): Best all-in value — covers unlimited Kings Island visits, unlimited Halloween Haunt visits, plus access to 40+ Six Flags parks nationwide

For families or groups planning multiple visits, the Gold Pass at $115 is one of the best values in regional theme park Halloween entertainment. It unlocks full Halloween Haunt access (minus The Conjuring SCREAMium upcharge) across the entire season.

Planning Tips for Halloween Haunt 2026

Prioritize The Conjuring: Beyond Fear Early

New premium SCREAMium experiences draw significant demand in their debut year. Securing your reservation or getting into the queue for The Conjuring: Beyond Fear at event open will be the most important move of the night for 2026 visitors.

Visit in September for Shorter Waits

September dates at Halloween Haunt run with noticeably shorter maze queues than October weekends. If the full maze lineup is your priority, September visits are strategically superior to peak October nights.

Bring Layers

Mason, Ohio evenings cool significantly in October. Queue lines are outdoors, often extending into open park areas, and Ohio fall weather can shift quickly. A lightweight jacket or hoodie is the practical choice for any October Haunt visit.

Visiting Ohio for Halloween Haunt? Explore the top-rated haunted attractions across Ohio on HauntHarvester and build your complete fall scare itinerary.