Fear & Adrenaline Continue To Elevate SCarowinds For 2026

Mid-September means it’s officially the Halloween season.  Haunts around the country are opening, and that includes Carowinds‘ annual Halloween Haunt – SCarowinds, which is celebrating its 26th iteration this year. After a step in the right direction in 2025, we we were eager to see how the park would be able to build upon its successes from last year with the addition of eight new experiences in 2026 – four new shows, three new scare zones, and a one new haunted maze: Jason: Blood Reign, Carowinds’ second IP-based Haunt attraction in as many years.

As SCarowinds “veterans” at this point, attending eight of the past ten years (really eleven, but there was no SCarowinds in 2020 because of the pandemic) – with reviews from 2025, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 linked here for your reading pleasure – it’s our opinion that there’s a good injection of “new” this year to complement some longtime favorites. (It’s wild seeing some of these older reviews and my thoughts on Slaughterhouse and Silver Scream Studios, who have had a decade’s worth of staying power in one form or another.)

But how would SCarowinds stack up this year? Following a podcast recording with Carowinds’ Live Entertainment Manager Matt Riggle, we attended a “dress rehearsal” this week to learn more – and honestly, we feel like Carowinds has continued to take another step up following last year’s success to continue to improve the event.

What’s New At SCarowinds in 2026?

Following seven new experiences in 2025, SCarowinds boasts eight more new experiences for 2026. The headlining addition is the Jason: Blood Reign haunted house, which takes over the space formerly occupied most recently by Defex 2.0 on the outskirts of Camp Snoopy. But there are three new scare zones – CarnEvil, located in Thrill Zone, Lost Souls in the Thunder Striker event plaza, and Restricted, in County Fair. These experiences are joined by four new live shows – The Resurgence, which kicks off each night of SCarowinds, Blade Drummers: The Sacrifice, located inside the Lost Souls scare zone, Incatations with the Enchantress in the Thrills Shop, and the “Sinister Slide Squad,” which has taken up residence in CarnEvil.

Also new this year is the way you access your Haunted Attractions. Beginning last year, to access the haunts/mazes, you needed purchase a Haunted Attractions Pass during your visit, which got you access to all of SCarowinds mazes. Last year, these attraction passes were wristbands, but in 2026, they are now all digital, and you redeem the experiences on your phone. You can get your haunted attraction pass by scanning a QR on signage throughout the park, rather than the “ticket booths” inside the park last year. (There are options for “Haunt Season” passes and “Express” Options as well.) Like last year, these prices will vary by night, and for more information, check out the Carowinds website to see what these upgrades will cost you.

Jason: Blood Reign

Following the success of The Conjuring: Beyond Fear last season, Carowinds announced that the park would be adding a second IP-based attraction this year, welcoming Jason Vorhees of “Friday the 13th” fame to SCarowinds. (And unlike The Conjuring, Jason: Blood Reign is included in your Haunted Attraction Pass alongside mazes like Slaughterhouse and Paranomal Inc. The park worked alongside noted horror purveyors Plague Productions in order to bring the Jason Universe to life, and even as someone who has never watched any of the twelve films in the “Friday the 13th” franchise, I was completely blown away the build and fully immersed in the environment.

Following the transformation of the building to Defex 2.0 for the 2025 season, the haunted attraction was taken down to the outer shell of the building, creating an environment that isn’t rooted in just one “Jason” film – but more of a journey across the franchise. We got a lights on tour of the maze prior to experiencing it firsthand, and the attention to detail inside was incredible, especially for guests who will not see much of the detail closely. There’s a strong blend of screen-based and practical effects, and you can tell that the maze was designed and routed with scares in mind – with countless opportunities for the multiple hockey mask wearing “Jasons” to “get you” around every corner.

Carowinds encourages guests to “Ignore every warning and step into the dark woods surrounding the legendary summer camp. Cross into the Friday the 13th franchise, discover the secrets within, and retrace the blood-soaked events that made Jason Voorhees the most feared slasher ever. What should have stayed dead has returned. Be part of the story at Carowinds.” While trying to remain as “spoiler-free” as possible – there were three stand-out moments for me in this maze that I want to highlight – not a comprehensive list of “wow” moments by any means. The first, a mix of practical and digital effects for Jason Vorhees’ tombstone near the beginning of the maze. The second is fairly simple, but was a fantastic hiding location for Jason – entering the house – watching a hockey mask pop out of that location was unsettling, to say the least. The third is a moment approximately midway through the maze where the Plague Productions and Carowinds teams somehow made it “rain” indoors. (There were multiple content creators out there taking POV videos if you want to find one, but these are moments that I feel need to be experienced in person.

In last year’s review, I wrote this line: “The Conjuring is far and away the most impressive haunt experience I’ve ever had at Carowinds.” Just one year later, I think The Conjuring, while still a spectacular experience that I’ll touch on here shortly, has been dethroned. Jason: Blood Reign now holds that distinction. The set details were incredible. The scares were fantastic, and to think that this transformation was able to take place over a few months really shows that the bar continues to be raised for SCarowinds experiences.

The Conjuring: Beyond Fear

Perhaps the newest and most notable addition to SCarowinds in 2025 was the park’s new “SCREAMium” Experience – The Conjuring: Beyond Fear. Guests who experience The Conjuring: Beyond Fear navigate iconic scenes from New Line Cinema’s The Conjuring Universe to lock away cursed artifacts before supernatural chaos is unleashed. They stepped into the role of paranormal investigator, recruited by Ed and Lorraine Warren to lock away cursed artifacts before supernatural chaos is unleashed.

Returning again this year, The Conjuring: Beyond Fear is still approximately a 20-minute experience that is part haunted maze, part escape room, part murder-mystery dinner theater, and is a truly unique experience. Like with Jason: Blood Reign, the park worked closely with Plague Productions a to create an insanely detailed atmosphere that was true to The Conjuring universe. If you want a full blow-by-blow review of The Conjuring – give last year’s review a look. This year, the process has been streamlined a little bit with fewer actors guiding you through the storyline, but that’s not a detractor to the experience. We went through The Conjuring twice during our visit – and the energy demonstrated by the two “guides” taking us through the story was top notch.

SCarowinds Returning Mazes

In addition to the debuting Jason: Blood Reign, Carowinds returns four mazes from 2025. The 25th anniversary of Silver Scream Studios: Director’s Cut (located in Thrill Zone) that pays homage to SCarowinds mazes of the past returns alongside Slaughterhouse (near Carolina Cyclone), the Tooth Fairy (near Windseeker) and Paranormal, Inc. (Blue Ridge Junction). Last year, I skipped Slaughterhouse and Tooth Fairy during my visit, and this year I skipped Paranormal Inc. due to time, meaning I made it to four of the five mazes – some of which I walked through multiple times.

One thing I noticed that carried over from 2025 to 2026 was the total saturation of monsters inside the mazes. I don’t know if there’s been more attention paid to the number of monsters inside of the mazes, but especially in Slaughterhouse and Tooth Fairy, there were SO MANY scare actors inside each experience – committed to the storyline of their respective maze. If I had to rank the mazes I experienced during our visit, Jason is clearly at the top, followed by Slaughterhouse, Tooth Fairy, and Silver Scream. (But I didn’t have a below average experience in any of the mazes.)

SCarowinds 2026 Scare Zones

SCarowinds boasts five scare zones that are scattered throughout the park – including the aforementioned three “new” scare zones, CarnEvil, Restricted, and Lost Souls – which take up residence alongside The Hollow and Grave Garden (near the park entrance). I walked through two of these scare zones when they were operational during the dress rehearsal, and was impressed with the overall theming and amount of scare actors. My favorite of the two I walked through was “Restricted,” which I think has the better backstory – effectively a nuclear weapon bringing mannequins to life. The scare actors here all played their roles well – the “mannequins” moved robotically and deliberately, while those in charge of “containing the outbreak” were frantic. It’s a great tie-in to the County Fair area of Carowinds.

I feel like CarnEvil has been a scare zone in some capacity for the past decade, just with different name and/or location every year. I feel like clowns are a trope that makes sense in a haunt environment, where ever they happen to be located in the park. The clowns are creepy, and I had a pretty good stare-down with one of the scare actors during my walk through. The addition of “sliders” dressed as clowns was a good addition to the area, but that’s also because I love watching the sliders pop up on unsuspecting guests.

SCarowinds Live Shows

A night at SCarowinds wouldn’t be complete without experiencing some of the live entertainment – I caught glimpses of a few of the shows while they were rehearsing – the “Spectral Sisters,” who typically perform during the family-friendly “Tricks & Treats” event at Carowinds, also have a night-time show during SCarowinds. (Unclear to me if the shows are different other than attire, but something I’ll definitely look into if I make it back to SCarowinds this year.) The murder mystery “Wake The Dead” returns again to the Carowinds theater with an all-new soundtrack and multiple endings. But the show I want to talk about is Blade Drummers: The Sacrifice, because this show brings a new energy to SCarowinds’ live entertainment lineup.

Located in the Lost Souls scare zone, Blade Drummers is a show that’s heavy on percussion with a heavy rock-n-roll flare – complete with a fantastic lighting package. I picked up on versions of songs from Coheed & Cambria, Marilyn Manson, and Fall Out Boy (among others) during the set list. The show balances percussion and dance, showcasing the “sacrifice” moment that fits into the Lost Souls lore. While there is a good bit traditional drumming from the talented percussionists in the cast on multiple types of drums, there are also moments of “knife drumming,” fire, and oddly enough, a combination of both for the show’s finale. Carowinds hasn’t been afraid to push the limits with musical numbers in recent years, and while this show goes in a different direction than something like “Queen’s Ball” or “Conjure The Night,” Blade Drummers: The Sacrifice is another fantastic addition to SCarowinds (from our friends at JM Entertainment – creators of the Coaster101 Podcast theme song!)

SCarowinds Final Thoughts

Building on the success of 2025, it’s clear that SCarowinds has continued to improve in 2026. Despite it being the first night, the scare actors were already in mid-haunt-season form, and whether you go to SCarowinds for the mazes, the live entertainment, the scare zones, the food or the rides, you won’t be disappointed this year. Jason: Blood Reign is a must-see maze, The Conjuring; Beyond Fear is still incredible, and Blade Drums: The Sacrifice is a can’t-miss show!

If you’re looking for a veteran approach to SCarowinds, my advice is usually the same. I would recommend and suggest the following:

• I would prioritize visiting earlier in the season on a Sunday if possible, or if not, on a Friday. The prices become more expensive the closer you get to Halloween. The most popular (read: busiest) nights for SCarowinds are traditionally Saturdays.
• If available on a given night, I would purchase a Haunted Attractions Express Pass, rather than just the general Haunted Attractions Pass, especially if you’ve only got one night to get through as much as possible. You’ll get unlimited Front of the Line Access to SCarowinds’ five mazes.
• If your feet can take it, make an entire day of it. Carowinds also has  Tricks & Treats going on for a more family-friendly experience! Plus, if you ride coasters during the day, you won’t have to worry about riding them when there are mazes, scare zones, and live shows to experience.

SCarowinds is open select nights from September 11-November 1. For more information, make sure to visit Carowinds’ website, and follow the park on social media: Facebook | Twitter/X | Instagram