Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld San Diego

 Howl-O-Scream, San Diego’s largest Halloween nighttime event, returns to SeaWorld San Diego beginning September 11, haunting select nights through October 31.  2026 marks the event’s sixth year – and most fear drenched – with its largest lineup yet: six terrifying haunted houses. Guests will venture deeper into the darkness than ever before, confronting new scare zones, pulse-pounding live performances, dark speakeasies and themed bars, and unspeakable horrors lurking around every shadowed corner.  

For a limited time during the Sinister Sale, guests can save up to 65% off tickets, with prices as low as $33.99, at seaworld.com/san-diego/events/howl-o-scream/.  

Six Years. Six Haunted Houses. Countless Screams in 2026  

Howl-O-Scream is set to deliver six terrifying haunted houses—including two all-new nightmares and four returning fan favorites, each ready to deliver relentless scares and pulse-pounding surprises:  

• ALL-NEW Area 64: MOTHERSHIP debuts as an all-new haunted house, designed and built entirely from the ground up by SeaWorld San Diego’s Entertainment team. Serving as the prequel to the fan-favorite Area 64: Alien Outbreak, the experience transports guests 30 years before the original story, where negotiations between a secretive government taskforce and an extraterrestrial species have spiraled into chaos. Guests navigate the wreckage of a crashed alien mothership and government research labs where hybrid experiments have gone horribly wrong, coming face-to-face with a threat from beyond the stars. The attraction features an 80-foot-long, 16-foot-tall mothership façade — the largest show scene by volume ever created for a Howl-O-Scream San Diego haunted house.   

• ALL-NEW 6th House – A terrifying new haunted house will hook new and returning fans alike at Howl-O-Scream. This ALL-NEW house will reveal itself from the murky depths of Mission Bay in a few short weeks.  

• RETURNING – Circus of the Damned 3D – An evil ringmaster unleashes chaos and confusion in a neon-lit, 3-D clown nightmare as he searches for new performers to restore his cursed circus to its former glory. Guests must navigate the twisted big top, evade his condemned crew, and escape before they become the newest members of his horrifying circus.  

• RETURNING – Simon’s Slaughterhouse - Simon the Butcher delivers a gruesome walk through a deranged meat factory. Guests navigate a decrepit meat-packing plant while evading “Simon the Butcher” and his murderous crew, dodging screeching buzz saws, meat hooks, and menacing slaughterhouse blades.  

• RETURNING – Deathwater Bayou: Awakening, where a Mardi Gras night in New Orleans takes a dark turn – guests are bewitched and dragged into a cursed bayou, where witches summon an ancient, ravenous deity. With every step, the swamp grows darker and more alive – and escape becomes more unlikely.  

• RETURNING – Nightmare Experiment: Sweet DreamzZz, guests are led through a converted asylum now run by a mysterious pharmaceutical company testing a sleep aid with horrifying side effects. From hallucinations to uncontrollable rage, the results are disastrous – and you’re the next test subject!  

This event will have more announcements – stay tuned for more devilish news about new scare zones, vignettes, haunts, themed food and bars, hidden speakeasies, and more.  

Intended for a mature audience, Howl-O-Scream offers the most fun and frightening Halloween experiences in one place. Howl-O-Scream is a separately ticketed event. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit seaworld.com/san-diego/events/howl-o-scream/.