Screeemfest at Canobie Lake Park: Six Haunts Inside a Working Amusement Park
Canobie has confirmed Screeemfest returns in autumn 2026 but has not published dates or prices — and the costume ban catches families out every year.
Updated August 3, 2026
Screeemfest is the most flexible Halloween attraction in New Hampshire, because it is not really a haunted attraction. It is an amusement park that runs six haunted houses.
That difference matters more than it sounds.
What is confirmed
Canobie Lake Park states that Screeemfest will reopen in the autumn of 2026. The attraction is coming back.
Nothing else is published. Where the dates and pricing should be, the page currently reads "2026 Information Coming Soon."
85 N. Policy Street, Salem, New Hampshire 03079. 603-893-3506.
The park model
At a standalone haunt, everyone in your group does the same thing at the same intensity. At Canobie, the rides run, the live shows run, the roving performers work the midway, and the family areas stay open — so a group can split.
For a mixed-age party, that is the whole argument. The fourteen-year-old does the six haunts, the eight-year-old does the rides and the midway, and nobody spends the evening negotiating.
The rule that catches people out
No costumes or makeup are permitted. The park says so plainly — leave the scaring to their performers.
Every year this surprises families, particularly ones arriving from a costume-encouraged event like Ghosts on the Banke in Portsmouth, where costumes are actively invited. Different venue, opposite rule.
The Salem confusion
This is Salem, New Hampshire — not Salem, Massachusetts.
They are two different towns in two different states about forty minutes apart, and mixing them up is one of the most common planning errors in New England Halloween travel. Salem NH also has America's Stonehenge, which is open daily year-round. Salem MA has the witch trials, the ghost tours and the October crush.
If someone tells you they are going to "Salem for Halloween," it is worth asking which one.
What to do
Watch for the announcement through August. The park has committed to returning; the calendar is the missing piece.
If you need a confirmed New Hampshire date now, Fright Kingdom has published its full season, and Ghosts on the Banke has confirmed October 16-17 and 23-24 for the family end.
Our New Hampshire roundup tracks all of it as venues announce.