Howl-O-Scream Week Two brings changes to our 2026 Busch Gardens rankings after another run through all six haunted houses on September 18. Howl-O-Scream 2026 has officially entered its second weekend at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. We were invited out and experienced a slightly different night regarding the Howl-O-Scream houses.

We got another opportunity to see how the event is developing now that the opening weekend rush has passed. While we can’t make it to Howl-O-Scream every week because of our work schedule, we’ll return several more times before the season ends and will continue to provide updates as we do. That matters because haunted houses are living attractions. Casts change, actors settle into their roles, operations improve, and even small adjustments can make a noticeable difference from one visit to the next.

During our second weekend visit on September 18, we also encountered much smaller crowds than during opening weekend. That made it easier to move through the event and gave us another look at each house without the same opening-night atmosphere.

Before getting into the rankings, remember that these are based on our experience. Haunted house preferences are incredibly subjective, and the house that works best for one guest might not be the one another guest enjoys most. Our goal with these rankings is not simply to identify which houses scared us the most. Instead, we are looking at the overall experience and which houses we think most guests will prefer or not prefer.

After one additional run through each house, the top three and bottom three remain fairly clear to us. However, there was definitely some movement within those groups.

Our Week Two Howl-O-Scream 2026 House Rankings

1. Anaconda: Fear Has No Escape
2. M.A.R.S.
3. Shadows of Wonderland: Reign of Madness
4. Raven’s Mill: Lambs to the Slaughter
5. Circus of Fear: Killer Encore
6. Stranglewood Estate: RePossessed

The biggest changes from opening weekend involve M.A.R.S., Shadows of Wonderland, Raven’s Mill and Circus of Fear. Anaconda continues to hold the top spot, while Stranglewood Estate has moved into the position we expected it to occupy coming into the event.

#1 Anaconda: Fear Has No Escape

Anaconda remains our top Howl-O-Scream house after another run through it. That is important because the novelty of the event’s first licensed haunted house could have worn off after opening weekend. Instead, we continued to find that the combination of the jungle environment, puppetry, set pieces and overall pacing gives Anaconda something that the other houses simply do not have.

Busch Gardens describes Anaconda as a story about a film crew attempting to remake the movie before production goes horribly wrong. Guests enter the abandoned production area while searching for the missing crew, with the distinction between the movie set and the real jungle becoming increasingly difficult to determine.

Our original preview of Anaconda also found that the house makes particularly good use of puppetry and has several sections that stand out from the rest of the lineup. After another run, we still think this is the house most guests are going to want to experience multiple times.

That does not mean everyone will agree with putting it first. Some guests are always going to prefer traditional haunted house scares over a licensed property. Others may simply have a better experience in one of the returning houses depending on the night and the cast. However, on our most recent visit, the guests behind us in Anaconda were being scared in a masterful way. For us, though, Anaconda continues to provide the most complete overall experience.

Week Two Status: Holding at #1

#2 M.A.R.S.

This is where we saw one of the biggest changes from opening weekend. M.A.R.S. moved up to second place after our latest visit, and the reason is pretty straightforward: the house seemed to work through some of the weaknesses we noticed during our first run.

On opening weekend, we thought M.A.R.S. was a visually distinctive house with excellent potential, but it didn’t always capitalize on it. During our second weekend visit, we experienced more scares and a stronger sense of narrative throughout the house. That made a significant difference.

The science-fiction setting remains one of the most unique concepts in this year’s lineup. While the other houses largely revolve around familiar horror environments such as mansions, carnivals, forests, and fantasy worlds, M.A.R.S. takes guests somewhere completely different. The first weekend left us feeling like the house could have done more with that setting. This time, it felt closer to what we wanted from it.

The important caveat is that we only went through the house once during this visit. A haunted house can change considerably depending on where you are in the group and which actors are working a particular scene. Still, based on this run, M.A.R.S. earned the move upward.

Week Two Status: Up from #3 to #2

#3 Shadows of Wonderland: Reign of Madness

Shadows of Wonderland drops one spot, but the house hasn’t suddenly become bad. In fact, it remains a good Howl-O-Scream house. The problem for us is the new Reign of Madness storyline.

Shadows of Wonderland has been one of our favorite houses at Busch Gardens for several years, and the previous version of the story worked particularly well with the sets and environments guests encounter throughout the house. This year’s storyline puts Alice in the position of the new ruler of Wonderland after the previous Queen is removed.

It is certainly a significant change, and we appreciate that Busch Gardens did more than simply give the house a new name. However, after another trip through the attraction, our group continued to come out feeling that something was not quite working.

Something is missing. The previous storyline seemed to fit the physical house better. With Reign of Madness, we find ourselves thinking about the story rather than simply getting swept up in the experience.

That distinction is important because the house remains exceptionally detailed. It still has fantastic environments and memorable sections, and guests who have never experienced Shadows of Wonderland may react very differently. For us, though, the new story does not work as well as the previous version. That is why Shadows of Wonderland moves down to third place.

Week Two Status: Down from #2 to #3

#4 Raven’s Mill: Lambs to the Slaughter

Raven’s Mill remains in the bottom three, but only by a very slim margin. In fact, this was probably the closest call of the entire ranking. The good news is that Raven’s Mill was noticeably better operationally during our most recent visit. We also thought the changes to the opening portions of the house worked far better than they did during opening weekend. That is encouraging.

One of our biggest concerns during the first visit was how the beginning of the experience was working. This time, the house felt more organized and the changes were easier to appreciate.

Raven’s Mill also continues to benefit from its setting. The house has a very different atmosphere from Anaconda, M.A.R.S., Shadows of Wonderland and Circus of Fear, and the outdoor portions help create a different rhythm.

Ultimately, though, we still placed it fourth. The difference between Raven’s Mill and the two houses below it was extremely small. A stronger or weaker cast on another night could easily change how we feel about that comparison. For now, though, Raven’s Mill gets the fourth spot.

Week Two Status: Up from #5 to #4

#5 Circus of Fear: Killer Encore

Unfortunately, Circus of Fear went in the opposite direction during the second weekend. We enjoyed the house more during opening weekend than we did on September 18. This time, fewer scare actors appeared to be working the house, and there was more downtime between the major action pieces. That is particularly noticeable in a haunted house built around a circus theme.

Circus of Fear has a lot of visual material to work with. The setting, characters and atmosphere should naturally create a fast-moving experience, but the pacing depends heavily on the performers filling those spaces. During our second visit, those gaps were more noticeable. Even the outdoor portion of the experience under performed compared with opening weekend. That section had worked better for us during our first visit, making the difference particularly obvious.

This is one of the houses where we would be especially interested in seeing it again later in the season. The current ranking reflects what we experienced on September 18. It does not mean the house cannot improve.

Week Two Status: Down from #4 to #5

#6 Stranglewood Estate: RePossessed

Stranglewood Estate has officially dropped into the spot we expected it to occupy. That probably sounds harsher than we mean it to.

There were some positive changes during our second visit. Most notably, we encountered more scare actors throughout the house. That is particularly important because Stranglewood is one of the longer experiences in the lineup, and an attraction of this length benefits tremendously from having performers consistently filling the available spaces.

The problem is that Stranglewood Estate is now a legacy Howl-O-Scream house. The mansion has been around long enough that longtime guests know many of its tricks. While this year’s RePossessed storyline provides another variation on the concept, we think most returning guests will find the overall combination of story and scares increasingly familiar.

There are still moments that work, and we think this year’s version is better than last year’s. That needs to be said because last year’s Stranglewood experience was particularly disappointing for us. Still, But better than last year is not necessarily enough to move this house out of the bottom three in a six-house lineup.

With more performers, the house is certainly headed in the right direction. Still, we think most guests will find the storyline and scare patterns increasingly overdone at this point.

Week Two Status: Down from #5 to #6

How Much Can These Rankings Change?

Quite a bit. That is one reason we don’t want to treat these rankings as a definitive statement about the quality of the six houses.

Our opening weekend ranking was based on our first experiences with the 2026 versions of these attractions. This second ranking is based on another single run through every house. We already saw how much the experience inside M.A.R.S., Raven’s Mill, and Circus of Fear can change from visit to visit.

That is also why we expect these rankings could move again. The actors are still performing these houses night after night, and the event has a long way to go. Howl-O-Scream runs on select nights through October 31, giving Busch Gardens plenty of time to refine the experience.

Historically, we have found that Halloween events tend to improve as spooky season continues. As the cast settles in, operations become more consistent, and performers learn to work with the crowds, a house can become a noticeably different experience.

The Biggest Difference Between Opening Weekend and Week Two

The crowds! Our September 18 visit was dramatically less crowded than opening weekend. That made a noticeable difference in the overall experience. We had more room to move around the event and less of the opening-weekend frenzy that can affect everything from queues to how quickly guests move through a house. If you’re considering a September visit, keep this in mind.

Of course, crowd levels can vary dramatically from night to night, and we would not use one September 18 visit to predict what another date will look like. Howl-O-Scream remains a separately ticketed event, and Busch Gardens currently lists the 2026 event for select nights through October 31.

We Will Be Back

Our work schedule makes it impossible for us to visit Howl-O-Scream every single week. We wish we could. Instead, we will be back several more times before the season ends, and we will keep updating these rankings when we have enough additional experience to justify a change. That is particularly important this year because we have already seen how much a house can change from one weekend to the next.

Anaconda continues to hold the top position for us. M.A.R.S. made the biggest positive move after a stronger second experience. Shadows of Wonderland remains a solid house but continues to leave our group questioning the new storyline. Raven’s Mill improved enough to narrowly escape the bottom two, while Circus of Fear slipped after a weaker second weekend. Stranglewood Estate now sits where we expected it to land, although the increased number of scare actors was a welcome improvement.

For now, that gives us a very clear division between the top three and bottom three. Still, there are still several weeks of Howl-O-Scream left. From our experience with Halloween events over the years, there is no indication these houses are finished changing yet.

More Howl-O-Scream Coverage From Main Street Magic

• If you are planning a trip to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay for Howl-O-Scream 2026, our original Howl-O-Scream 2026 haunted house rankings provide the opening weekend comparison for these rankings.
• We also took an early look at Anaconda: Fear Has No Escape before the event opened, including our initial experience with the event’s first licensed haunted house.

FAQ: Howl-O-Scream 2026 Week Two Rankings

Did the Howl-O-Scream rankings change after the second weekend?

Yes. Anaconda remained at #1, while M.A.R.S. moved from third to second. Shadows of Wonderland dropped to third, Raven’s Mill moved from fifth to fourth, Circus of Fear dropped from fourth to fifth, and Stranglewood Estate moved from fifth to sixth.

Are these the definitive Howl-O-Scream 2026 rankings?

No. These rankings reflect our experiences during our visits, including a single run through each house during the second weekend. Haunted houses can vary based on cast, operations, timing and guest placement, so future visits could change our rankings.

Which Howl-O-Scream house improved the most during Week Two?

M.A.R.S. showed the most noticeable improvement for our group. We experienced more scares and felt that the narrative worked better during our second visit.

Which Howl-O-Scream house declined during Week Two?

Circus of Fear was the biggest disappointment on our second visit. We experienced fewer scare actors, more downtime between action pieces and a weaker outdoor section than we encountered during opening weekend.

Will Main Street Magic update the rankings again?

Yes. We cannot visit Howl-O-Scream every week because of our work schedule, but we expect to return several more times before the 2026 season ends. We will provide additional updates when we have enough new experience to justify changing the rankings.

For more theme park-related news and information, visit MSM News.

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