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

Halloween 2026 is a Saturday, and the Arizona Cardinals are not home that weekend. Arizona also stays on standard time all year, so when other states fall back on Sunday, November 1, clocks in Phoenix do not move. The haunts are spread across the whole Valley. 13th Floor is on West Bell Road in north Phoenix, AZ Field of Screams is on a Glendale farm, Fear Farm has moved to Tempe, Sanctum of Horror and Scarizona are in Mesa, and two long-running operators now share one lot on East Washington Street. This is the scary half of a night out. The eating half is at the end, in central Phoenix.

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

The night, in order

Pick the haunt, then stay on that side of the Valley. Buy tickets before you leave home: Fear Farm and 13th Floor sell online only, each ticket tied to a date and time slot, and 13th Floor says to arrive 15 to 30 minutes early. Scarizona’s Fast Pass is sold only at the door. Leave the costume in the car. 13th Floor allows no costumes, face paint or props inside and only small clear bags, and Fear Farm bans full-face masks and props. On an opening weekend, dress for heat: the normal Phoenix high is 95°F on October 1 and 83°F on Halloween. Eat after, not before. The kitchens below are open to 10 and 11 p.m. on Saturdays.

The haunted houses

• Fear Farm Haunted Fairgrounds, Tempe: four main haunts, including Jason Universe: Survive the Night, an officially licensed Friday the 13th walkthrough. Select nights September 19 to November 14 at 1475 N. McClintock Drive; the operator says map apps may still show its old west Phoenix site.
• 13th Floor Haunted House Phoenix, North Phoenix: three indoor haunts, Dead City Uprising, House of Flesh and Reaping Grounds, on select nights to November 1. The operator says most guests spend 45 minutes or more inside.
• Sanctum of Horror, East Mesa: two haunts on one ticket. Gates open at 7 p.m., and October 23, 24, 30 and 31 run until midnight.
• TNT and The Crypt Haunted Attractions, East Washington Street: new for 2026, six attractions at Phoenix Park N’ Swap, which the operator says is the only haunt in Arizona reachable by light rail. It is a contact haunt, so actors may touch guests. Opening weekend is October 2 to 4.
• Scarizona Scaregrounds, West Mesa: three outdoor haunts on one ticket, in Mesa for over 20 years by the operator’s count. Closed-toe shoes are required, and 2026 nights are posted only on its ticket page.
• AZ Field of Screams, Glendale: Tolmachoff Farms turns its corn maze into a haunted maze after dark, starting Friday, October 2 at 7 p.m. Haunters do not touch guests.

With kids

Sanctum of Horror runs Lights On, a walkthrough of both mazes with no actors and no scares, plus trick-or-treating. Spook-Track-Ula at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale runs every October night, 6 to 9:30 p.m., with timed online tickets. The Spooktacular Hot Air Balloon Festival at Salt River Fields turns more than 20 balloons into candy stations October 23 to 25. Desert Botanical Garden’s Strange Garden Family Weekend is October 23 and 24, with pumpkins for children 12 and under. Spooky Safari at the Phoenix Zoo moves to October 28 to 30, and the zoo says its events often sell out early. DTPHX Hallows’ Eve brings trick-or-treating to Arizona Center on Thursday, October 29.

Twenty-one and over

On Halloween, Crawl With US runs the Scottsdale Halloween Bar Crawl through seven Old Town bars from 4 to 10 p.m.; its standard is 21 and over, so confirm on the ticket page. The Children’s Museum of Phoenix hosts Costumes & Cocktails, 21 and over, on October 17. PoeFest stages Edgar Allan Poe at the Hotel San Carlos October 23 to 31. The bars inside Fear Farm and 13th Floor are 21 and over with ID.

What is not open this year

Pumpkin Fest at the Princess is not returning in 2026; the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess says it is focusing on Christmas, though some older guides still list it. The Gauntlet at Golfland Fright Nights in Mesa has posted no season since its schedule page said it was closed in 2019.

The full list

Dates, ticket rules, ages and directions for every one of these, plus the Día de los Muertos festivals, pumpkin patches and ghost tours, are on my beat, not a restaurant site’s. The full Phoenix haunted house and Halloween events guide on Mr. Fear has all 25 listings checked against each organizer’s own page, with the links to buy.

Where to eat after

All three are in central Phoenix, downtown, just south of it and on 44th Street, the closest end of town to TNT and The Crypt, Arizona Center and the Papago Park family nights. These three are on the Top of Phoenix date night list. The scores are theirs, not mine.