Halloween Events in Los Angeles 2026: Parties, Haunted Houses & Horror Nights
I’ve walked these mazes with a camera for years — the fog on the Terror Tram, the backlot at midnight, the hayride rattling through the dark at Griffith Park. LA does Halloween bigger and longer than anywhere else in America, and it starts in September, not October.
Here’s the 2026 season as it actually is.
For daytime fall fun before the nighttime scares, check out our guide to the best pumpkin patches in Los Angeles.
The Big Three
Halloween Horror Nights — Universal Studios Hollywood
The flagship. This year’s run is the biggest yet: 42 select nights from September 3 through November 1, with gates at 6:30 p.m. and the event starting at 7 p.m.
The 2026 haunted-house lineup includes Sinners, Stranger Things 5, Hellraiser, and Evil Dead Burn, plus the Terror Tram, scare zones, and — new this year — SUPER NINTENDO WORLD open during the event from 7 to 10 p.m. One catch worth knowing: the new Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster is not included with standard event tickets; only certain ticket types get you on it.
Pricing: general admission starts at $77, Express starts at $249, the R.I.P. Tour (guided VIP) starts at $439, and the Frequent Fear Pass starts at $179 if you’re going more than once.
My take after years of covering it: Horror Nights is the best-produced Halloween event in Southern California, full stop. But go on a weeknight if you can. On a Saturday in late October without Express, you’ll spend the evening in lines instead of mazes — and at these prices, that’s a bad trade.
LA Haunted Hayride — Griffith Park
The most LA Halloween experience there is. The Hayride is in its 18th season, running select nights September 18 through November 1 at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park, transformed into the fictional town of Midnight Falls.
This year’s additions include the new Fallen Angel maze (set in a condemned Sunset Strip theater), Elvira’s Trick or Treat Mayhem, and Hellbilly Halloween — plus haywagons with actual seating now, and s’mores stations in the Town Square. Tickets start at $34.99 for the hayride alone, $49.99 for all attractions, and doors open at 6:30 p.m.
This is my best-value pick of the season — a haunted ride through the Old Zoo ruins at half the price of everything else on this list.
Knott’s Scary Farm — Buena Park
The purist’s haunt — running since 1973, and the one the hardcore haunt crowd judges the others against. The 2026 event runs 26 select nights, September 17 through October 31 (Thursdays through Sundays), 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Thursdays and Sundays, until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
This year: 10 mazes (including new ones Inked and Unearthed), 5 scare zones, and 3 shows — including Occultum, curated with the Magic Castle, and Voodoo: Bayou’s Edge. Single-night tickets start at $65 online.
If you only do one big-ticket haunt and you care about maze quality over IP, this is the one. Knott’s builds original mazes instead of renting movie licenses, and it shows in the details.
Masquerades, Immersive Theater & Grown-Up Halloween
Beyond the mazes, LA’s October belongs to the costume crowd:
Haunted Soiree (Nocturne Theatre, Glendale) — a 21+, two-hour immersive cocktail theater experience running select nights October 10–31, inspired by a 1928 murder mystery with an Oktoberfest streak. Tickets start at $59 and include a complimentary beverage.
The Haunted Ball 2026 (Friday, October 16, 6–11 p.m.) — a formal-attire masquerade near Griffith Park with live music, DJ and dancing, tarot readings, a photo booth, and a mocktail bar. General admission is $59.99, and a portion of ticket sales benefits the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. Ages 14+.
Halloween-O-Thon at the Los Angeles Theatre — a horror marathon (this year’s program includes The Shining) inside the stunning 1931 movie palace at 615 S Broadway downtown, followed by a 21+ afterhours afterparty with DJs, full bars, costume contests, and haunted tours of the theater itself.
The Industry Circuit
October is also when the industry parties start — the premieres, the afterparties, the invite-only rooms where the costumes cost more than most people’s rent. I’ve covered enough of them to tell you this: the best costume you’ll see all season will be on someone who didn’t buy a ticket.
If you’re not on a list, the move is the public-facing stuff — the masquerades above, the costume parties with red-carpet photo moments, and the premiere fan events along Hollywood Boulevard. (For the rest of the year, our things to do in Los Angeles guide covers the full calendar.)
What’s Actually Worth the Ticket Price
Worth every dollar:
- Halloween Horror Nights — on a weeknight, or with Express. The production value per dollar is unmatched.
- Knott’s Scary Farm — 10 mazes from $65. The connoisseur’s pick.
Best value:
- LA Haunted Hayride — $34.99 entry for the most atmospheric night in the city.
- Haunted Soiree — $59 for two hours with a cocktail included. A genuinely good date night.
Only if the price is right:
- Halloween night itself (Saturday, Oct 31) — everything runs, everything costs more, and everything is packed. Buy early or go the weekend before.
- Generic club costume parties — fine for dancing, bad for scares. If the flyer leads with the DJ and not the haunt, calibrate accordingly.
Tips From Someone Who’s Walked the Mazes
- Weeknights or Express. I have watched entire evenings die in maze lines on late-October Saturdays. The math on Express only fails if you go on a Tuesday.
- Leave the elaborate costume for the party, not the maze. The Haunted Hayride bans costumes, props, and face paint outright; Knott’s bans anything that conceals your identity. Dress for the masquerade; go plain for the haunts.
- Layers. Griffith Park at 10 p.m. in October is cold. The fog machines don’t help.
- Rideshare to Universal and Knott’s. Trust me on this one.
- Buy early for Oct 31. Halloween night is a Saturday this year — the single highest-demand night of the season, and the cheap ticket tiers go first.
Staying in instead? Our guide to the 21 best Halloween movies to watch in 2026 is your movie-marathon playbook.
More from David’s Guide
- Things to do in Los Angeles: The Insider’s Guide (2026) — the full LA events calendar, season by season
- Things to Do in Los Angeles This Weekend — the weekend roundup, updated every Thursday
- Celebrity Photographer Los Angeles: 27 Years of Portraits — what really happens on the red carpet
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When does Halloween season start in Los Angeles in 2026?
A: Early. Halloween Horror Nights opens September 3, Knott’s Scary Farm opens September 17, and the LA Haunted Hayride opens September 18 — all running on select nights through November 1. By the time October arrives, the season is already in full swing.
Q: What is the best Halloween event in Los Angeles?
A: It depends on what you want. Halloween Horror Nights has the biggest production values, Knott’s Scary Farm is the purist haunt fans’ pick with 10 mazes, and the LA Haunted Hayride is the best value and the most ‘only in LA’ experience — a haunted hayride throu
For the full ranked breakdown — all ten haunts with 2026 dates, ticket prices, and a side-by-side comparison — see my 10 best haunted houses in Los Angeles for 2026.
gh Griffith Park’s Old Zoo.
Q: Is Halloween Horror Nights worth the money in 2026?
A: Yes, with a strategy. Go on a weeknight to avoid the worst lines, or buy Express on weekends — the 2026 lineup includes houses for Sinners, Stranger Things 5, Hellraiser, and Evil Dead Burn. General admission starts at $77.
Q: Are there 21+ Halloween events in Los Angeles?
A: Yes. Haunted Soiree at the Nocturne Theatre in Glendale is a 21+ immersive cocktail theater experience (October 10–31), and the Halloween-O-Thon afterparty at the historic Los Angeles Theatre downtown is 21+.
Q: What’s open on Halloween night itself in 2026?
A: Halloween night falls on Saturday, October 31 this year, and all three majors run that night — Horror Nights, the Haunted Hayride, and Knott’s Scary Farm. Expect peak pricing and the biggest crowds of the season; buy tickets early.
