SCarowinds 2026 guide: Dates, haunted mazes, tickets, rides, and more
SCarowinds returns to Carowinds on select nights from Sept. 11 through Nov. 1, 2026, bringing haunted mazes, scare zones, live entertainment, nighttime rides and more to the Carolinas’ largest Halloween event.
SCarowinds returns to Carowinds this fall with haunted mazes, scare zones, live entertainment and nighttime rides on select nights from Sept. 11-Nov. 1, 2026.
This year’s Halloween event will introduce “Jason: Blood Reign,” a new haunted maze inspired by Jason Voorhees, while “The Conjuring: Beyond Fear” returns as a separately ticketed interactive horror experience.
SCarowinds is a nighttime experience inside the Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte on the state line of North and South Carolina. There’s a lot to see and do.
Here’s your guide to planning a sensationally spooky visit to Scarowinds 2026.
Scarowinds 2026 tickets
SCarowinds is included with daytime admission to Carowinds, as well as eligible season passes and memberships. However, admission to the park does not include access to the haunted mazes.
Guests can purchase a Haunted Attractions Pass (ranging from $10-$25, depending on the night) for access into the haunted mazes. An option to add Express, a skip-the-line benefit, is available for an extra charge.
“The Conjuring: Beyond Fear” (attraction details below) is charged separately and is not included with Carowinds admission and is also not included with the Haunted Attractions Pass. Entry into “The Conjuring: Beyond Fear” ranged from $15-$25, depending on the night during its debut last year.
The park doesn’t close between the transition from Carowinds to Scarowinds. If you’re visiting the park on a Scarowinds day and planning on staying for the haunts, you don’t have to exit and come back. Conversely, if you happen to be at Carowinds and didn’t plan on staying for Scarowinds, you can spontaneously decide to do so at no extra cost.
Carowinds single-day tickets — which, on event dates, include admission to Scarowinds, Tricks and Treats, and Oktoberfest — start at $45, when purchased online. Also when purchased online, access to the haunted mazes is just $10 more, a total of $55 for admission to the park plus the haunted mazes.
Seeing as Scarowinds doesn’t require a separate ticket, Carowinds gold season pass holders receive entry into Scarowinds with their pass (but still require extra payment for haunted mazes and “The Conjuring”).
An All-Season Haunted Attractions Pass is currently $49, granting unlimited entry into all haunted mazes.
Explore all Scarowinds ticket options on Carowinds’ website.
Scarowinds dates and hours 2026
Scarowinds takes place select evenings from Sept. 11 through Nov. 1, 2026.
On nights when Scarowinds happens, the event’s operating hours for 2026 are:
- Thursdays: 6 p.m. – 12 a.m.
- Fridays: 6 p.m. – 12 a.m.
- Saturdays: 7 p.m. – 12 a.m.
- Sundays: 7-11 p.m.
Again, though, guests already at Carowinds prior to Scarowinds’ “opening time” do not need to leave, nor does the park close and reopen. The hours above merely refer to the operations of Scarowinds, not Carowinds.
‘The Conjuring: Beyond Fear’
Returning for 2026, “The Conjuring: Beyond Fear” is a 20-minute walkthrough attraction set in the world “The Conjuring” movies from Warner Bros. It’s the most elaborate experience Scarowinds has ever created. The pace is fast, the scares are fun, and the special effects are impressive.
Photo courtesy of Carowinds
Your mileage may vary as to whether you think the extra cost is justified, but we loved it. Read our full review of “The Conjuring: Beyond Fear” for more of our thoughts, as well as our recommendations for how to decide if it’s worth it for you.
Scarowinds mazes 2026
Scarowinds usually hosts five haunted mazes (also called haunted houses; nearly all of them go in a linear path, no maze element involved).
2026 maze “Jason: The Blood Reign”
Jason is back, and he’s bringing a bloody new nightmare to SCarowinds. The “Jason: Blood Reign” haunted maze debuts this fall, challenging guests to survive a terrifying encounter with the masked killer.
We experienced “Jason: Blood Reign” before its debut and found it to be the most advanced haunted maze we have encountered at a Six Flags park. Read our full [“Jason: Blood Reign” review] for a closer look at its elaborate sets, Easter eggs, special effects and scares.
Photo by Carly Caramanna
Slaughterhouse
Step behind the butcher’s counter and enter the blood-soaked halls of a shuttered meatpacking plant.
Silver Scream Studios: Director’s Cut
Step beyond the velvet rope and enter the movies at Silver Scream Studios, where scenes from the big screen become terrifyingly real.
The Toothfairy
Enter a decaying dreamworld where nursery rhymes turn into screams and childhood bedrooms become surgical nightmares.
Paranormal Inc.
Uncover the sinister secrets of Hayden Hill, an abandoned hospital where deranged doctors and nurses subjected patients to decades of torment.
A fan favorite haunted maze at Scarowinds remains “Paranormal Inc.,” which originally debuted at Knott’s Scary Farm before moving to Carowinds in 2022. In 2023, we got a lights-on tour of “Paranormal Inc.,” billed as “a forsaken hospital marred by a chilling history.”
Photo courtesy of Carowinds
Scare zones 2026
The Hollow
When the skies dried up and the soil turned to dust, the desperate people of The Hollow began searching for a miracle.
Grave Garden
This garden was intended to be a peaceful resting place for those who have passed on. Unfortunately, not everyone buried here is resting.
The Hollow
When the skies dried up and the soil turned to dust, the desperate people of The Hollow began searching for a miracle.
Grave Garden
This garden was intended to be a peaceful resting place for those who have passed on. Unfortunately, not everyone buried here is resting.
Scarowinds live entertainment 2026
An extensive lineup of live shows provides a nice balance to the haunted attractions (and a great detour if the mazes’ lines are too long for your liking).
New: The Resurgence
The Mendax kick off the night by introducing guests to the horrors lurking around every corner.
New: Blade Drummers — The Sacrifice
Rhythmic blades, live drumming and fire effects come together in a high-energy nighttime performance.
New: Sinister Slide Squad
The Sinister Slide Squad emerges from the shadows and tears through areas guests once considered safe.
The Spectral Sisters
The returning Spectral Sisters are a group of singing, swinging and harmonizing performers bringing haunting melodies to SCarowinds.
Merchandise (including ‘No Boo’ necklace)
Scarowinds’ signature retail shop is located near Starbucks toward the front of the park. The store sells a wide variety of items, including the “No Boo!” necklace, available for $19. If you’re wearing this necklace, scare actors will not jump out to frighten you in the scare zones.
An interactive lantern syncs with the lighting throughout the park.
Other merchandise that is usually available includes pins, hats, hoodies, drinkware, and a t-shirt with all of the logo designs for the haunted mazes.
During 2025, merchandise celebrating “The Conjuring” was sold at the gift shop at the exit of “The Conjuring: Beyond Fear.”
Scarowinds tips if you don’t like being scared
Is it possible to attend Scarowinds if you don’t want to be scared? Kind of. As seen above, the park sells a “No Boo!” necklace at Evil Emporium. Performers (in scare zones) will not scare or approach guests wearing the necklace.
Wearing noise-canceling headphones while walking through the haunted mazes also helps mitigate the experience’s sensory overload.
In contrast to the mazes, scare zones are more palatable for guests who are nervous about attending Scarowinds. With most scare zones taking place in open spaces — designed to accommodate huge amounts of foot traffic during regular park hours — many performers openly walk about. This means you can better prepare yourself for a scare; you can see them coming.
Scare zones are less-scary (but still, often, startling) alternatives to haunted mazes for those who prefer a tamer Scarowinds evening, or those lingering in the park for a while after a full day.
That being said, if the vibe itself — loud atmospheres intensely themed to horror and gore — is what you’re hesitant about, Scarowinds probably isn’t the event for you. Fortunately, there’s a daytime alternative, Trick and Treats, with a full lineup of seasonal activities that are spooky rather than scary (see below).
Daytime event: Tricks and Treats
During the daytime, guests can participate in Tricks and Treats, Carowinds’ family-friendly Halloween event. Activities and entertainment take place throughout the park and do not require a separate event ticket.
Guests can visit trick-or-treating stations throughout the park to pick up candy and participate in a costume contest.
Photo courtesy of Carowinds
Oktoberfest at Carowinds
Following the Halloween season, Carowinds will celebrate Oktoberfest on select days from Nov. 7-22, 2026. The event features German-inspired food and beverages, live entertainment and seasonal activities, including stein-holding and brat-eating contests. Oktoberfest activities are included with regular park admission.
This guide was last updated on Sept. 6, 2026 by Dani Meyering and will continue to be refreshed as Carowinds announces additional details about SCarowinds, including haunted attractions, ticket information, food, entertainment and special experiences.
More Attractions Magazine stories:
Follow us:
No matter where you want to go, our trusted partner MEI-Travel will handle the planning so you can focus on the memories. They offer free vacation-planning services and have nearly 20 years of experience creating memorable vacations. Visit MEI-Travel for a fee-free, no-obligation quote today.
