Haunted houses and Halloween nights in Austin, and where to eat after

Halloween 2026 is a Saturday. The busiest weekend in town is the one before: Formula 1 is at Circuit of The Americas October 22 to 25, and on October 24 the Longhorns play at home while the Viva la Vida procession marches downtown. On Halloween night the Longhorns are away. The haunts are spread across the metro: House of Torment is in northeast Austin, Bat City Scaregrounds is south in Buda, Scream Hollow is southeast in Smithville, and Haunted Shores is on the Lake Travis side of Leander. This is the scary half of a night out. The eating half is at the end, in East Austin, where one taqueria stays open until 2 a.m.

I write the haunt guides on Mr. Fear, a Halloween site, and I am a guest here. Top of Austin asked for the haunted houses. They supplied the tables.

The night, in order

Pick one haunt and one side of town, because crossing the metro between timed tickets costs you the night. Ticket rules differ. House of Torment sells online only, through Zentix, and its terms say all purchases are final. Scream Hollow’s FAQ says tickets are sold at the gate by card, with no reservation system. Bat City Scaregrounds posts its 2026 nights only on its ticket site, and a ticket there is good only for the day it was bought. Scream Hollow says it stays open in the rain, and House of Torment’s lines can run past its covered waiting areas on busy nights. Eat after, not before. Clocks go back one hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1.

The haunted houses

• Scream Hollow Wicked Halloween Park, Smithville: five attractions on one property, including Mansion of Terror Coven, Sinister Circus, Lost Pines Asylum, Alien Encounter and Fort Split Rail, a haunted wagon ride. Fridays and Saturdays 7 p.m. to midnight, Sundays 7 to 10 p.m., September 18 to November 1. Children under 13 must be with an adult. No scary masks, scary costumes or fake weapons. Parking is free.
• House of Torment, Northeast Austin: three haunts from Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, including Jason Universe: Survive the Night, an officially licensed Friday the 13th attraction, plus Return of the Abominations and Beyond the Veil. Select nights September 12 to November 8. It does not post opening hours, so check your ticket, and every guest signs a waiver.
• Bat City Scaregrounds, Buda: three haunts on one ticket, RITUAL, which the organizer calls new for 2026, Castle Orlock and Slaughter Mall 3D. The homepage lists 7:30 to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Children 5 and under are not allowed inside the attractions, and no alcohol is sold or allowed.
• Haunted Shores, Leander: Volente Beach Waterpark’s first haunted walk, past creepy creatures after dark. Entries run on the hour from 7 p.m., with a 5 p.m. Saturday entry for younger kids while it is still light. The official page lists October 1 to 31 without a year and says tickets are coming soon.
• Ghost City Tours Austin, Downtown: three walks every night, rain or shine. The Ghosts of Austin Tour starts at the Texas State Capitol gates at 8 p.m., runs 90 minutes and is for all ages.

With kids

Skip the haunted houses and use the free trick-or-treat days. The City of Georgetown’s Trick or Treat Trail is at San Gabriel Park on Thursday, October 29, 5 to 7 p.m., with a costume contest by age starting at 5:30 p.m. Round Rock’s Hometown Halloween puts trick-or-treating along East Main Street on Friday, October 30, 3 to 7 p.m. The Downtown Candy Crawl in Georgetown is Sunday, October 25, 1 to 4 p.m., rain or shine. For lights instead of scares, Pumpkin Nights at Pioneer Farms runs a half-mile path of carved pumpkin displays through October 31, and children 3 and under enter free. Sweet Eats Fall Festival in Georgetown has a 4.5-acre corn maze and closes at 6 p.m. on Halloween so families can go trick-or-treating. The Austin Symphony Orchestra plays Peter and the Wolf at its Halloween Children’s Concert on Sunday, October 18, at 3 p.m.

Twenty-one and over

The Austin Haunted Pub Crawl from Ghost City Tours is 21 and over and meets outside the Fairmont on Red River Street at 8 p.m. for two hours. Inside House of Torment, the Nocturne Sanctum Secret Bar is for guests 21 and over, and Scream Hollow sells beer and wine. Ventana Ballet lists UNDEAD: Haunted House of Dances as adults only, October 21 to 24 and 28 to 31, including Halloween night; the company has not yet named the venue. Freaky Deaky brings two nights of electronic music to the Travis County Exposition Center on October 30 and 31.

What is not open this year

Boo at the Zoo at Austin Zoo has not posted 2026 dates. The zoo’s own event page still shows last year’s October nights, so do not buy from a listing site until the zoo publishes this year’s calendar.

The full list

Dates, ticket rules and addresses for all of these, plus the Viva la Vida Día de los Muertos parade, the pumpkin farms and the San Antonio theme park nights about 80 miles southwest, are on my beat, not a restaurant site’s. The full Austin haunted house and Halloween events guide on Mr. Fear has all 16 listings checked against each organizer’s own page, with the links to buy.

Where to eat after

East Austin starts just across I-35 from downtown, a short trip from the downtown ghost walks and closer in than any of the outlying haunts. Two of these kitchens are in East Austin and the third is downtown. These three are on the Top of Austin breakfast taco list. The scores are theirs, not mine.