Taking place at Playland in October, Fright Nights at the PNE is a Vancouver Halloween tradition featuring multiple haunted houses and amusement rides.
In 2022, Fright Nights returned in its usual format with seven haunted houses and other fun, scary stuff! It ran on select dates between October 7th and October 31st.
In addition to Fright Nights, the PNE also hosted a family-friendly event in 2022. Tricks & Treats took place on the Saturday and Sunday of October 29th and 30th. This new event featured amusement rides, games, three tamed-down haunted houses and a candy scavenger hunt.
For full details about this year’s scary event, visit frightnights.ca. To learn about the kid-friendly event on October 29th & 30th, visit pne.ca/tricks.
FRIGHT NIGHTS’ INFO IN THIS ARTICLE
Click any of the following topics to jump to specific information, or continue reading to learn all about PNE Fright Nights.
Dates & Times | Prices | Haunted Houses | Amusement Rides | Monsters of Schlock | Fright Nights Tips | Other Information
Halloween Fright Nights
Running most evenings from early October until Halloween night, Fright Nights is Vancouver’s largest and most popular venue for celebrating Halloween.
In 2022, Fright Nights ran on October 7th-9th, 14th-16th, 20th-23rd and 26th-31st. This is the first Fright Nights since 2019, as the last two years had seen modified versions of the event with Slayland in 2020 and Playland Hallowed Eves in 2021.
Fright Nights is not recommended for children under 12 or folks over age 65. That’s a warning, not a rule, but a good one. It’s a great place for older youth and adults, but definitely not for young children or people with genuine fears (including claustrophobia).
The vast majority of Fright Night-seekers when we last went appeared to be between ages 18 and 30, which isn’t surprising. What might be surprising, however, is the fact that slightly more women than men typically attend.
For an in-depth description of the PNE’s various haunted houses, click Fright Nights Haunted Houses Reviews. For a list of tips and the history about the PNE at Halloween, click Fright Nights Tips & History. For general information about Fright Nights, however, continue reading below.
Admission, Hours and Location
Fright Nights takes place at the PNE’s Playland location at 2901 East Hastings Street in Vancouver. Most years it runs from the first Friday in October until Halloween on October 31st, on most (but not all) days, from 6:00 pm to between 11:00 pm and 1:00 am, depending on the date.
Fright Nights Dates & Times
In 2022, Fright Nights was open October 7th to 9th, 14th to 16th, 20th to 23rd, and 26th to 31st.
Hours of operation are typically from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm on the first three days of the event. Hours then increase an hour or two, so from 6:00 pm until midnight on most other days, but also until 1:00 am on a few days (like on the weekend closest to Halloween).
For tickets and full details about this year’s event, visit frightnights.ca.
Fright Nights Admission Prices
Tickets for Fright Nights in 2022 ranged from about $45 to $55 for general admission, depending on the date. You can usually get them slightly cheaper if purchased online or at 7-11 stores.
General admission usually includes access to 20 carnival rides, seven different haunted houses and the Monsters of Schlock sideshow.
Admission with Rapid Pass costs up to around $100 at the gate and gives you expedited queue access for each of the haunted houses and once each for the Wooden Roller Coaster, Music Express, Atmosfear, The Beast and Hellevator rides.
Unless it’s raining, Fright Nights gets busy, which can make the extra price worth paying if you can afford it, especially on weekends and later in the month. On a really busy night, even with a Rapid Pass, it can be challenging to see and do everything.
Fright Nights Attractions
There is a lot to see and do at Fright Nights at the PNE, including the attractions listed below. Highlights are of course the various haunted houses, but also the rides. Expect large lineups for them all. Below are details from 2019 that were similar for 2022’s Fright Nights.
PNE Halloween Haunted Houses
Fright Nights is where you’ll find the highest concentration of haunted houses anywhere. There are eight in total, including Darkness, Fear (which features all kinds of phobias), the Car-n-Evil 3-D experience with clowns, the Keepers Doll Factory, the Haunted Mansion, Hollywood Horrors and Materia Medica.
The newest PNE attraction is “The Bloodshed,” a frightening summer cabin with nightmarish rooms that rivals even the scariest of Fright Night’s other seven haunted houses.
Expect to wait for at least 30 minutes for each of the PNE’s haunted venues on weekend evenings, and likely longer. The most popular haunted houses include the Asylum and Fear.
Not sure if you have any phobias or what kind of horrors affect you most? Check out all eight venues and you’ll find out!
For detailed descriptions about each of the PNE’s eight haunted attractions, click Fright Nights Haunted Houses Reviews.
Fright Nights Amusement Rides
Admission to Fright Nights at the PNE includes access to the Break Dance, The Beast*, Enterprise, Gladiator, Hellevator*, Hell’s Gate, Music Express*, Pirate Ship, Rock-n-Cars, Wave Swinger and the Westcoast Wheel.
Additional rides for 2018 and 2019 that weren’t included in previous years were Bug Whirled, Dizzy Drop, Merry Go Round, Scrambler and the Tea Cups. That brought the total up to about 20 rides from just 15 before.
Rides marked with an asterisk (*) offered priority access to Rapid Pass ticket holders last year. The Revelation was also available for folks willing to pay an extra fee.
For tickets and full details about this year’s event, visit frightnights.ca.
Radiant Heat Fire Performance
The dance show featuring fire, phantoms and zombie performers is worth seeing and was offered in past years. It did NOT, however, happen in 2018 or 2019.
In years when it does take place, the Radiant Heat Fire Performance is a good show. It’s not scary and you don’t normally have to get there early to avoid the crowds as most folks are focused on the rides and haunted houses.
Monsters of Schlock
Monsters of Schlock is a live comedy show featuring painful stunts, slapstick and old-time carnival entertainment. In the past, performances took place at 8:30 pm, 9:45 pm and 11:00 pm.
If you arrive just a few minutes before show time you’ll have a good chance of still getting a seat. (Note: Often the Monsters of Schlock do not perform on the first weekend of October and this was the case in 2018).
Fright Nights Tips
Here are some suggestions on how to make the most of your Fright Nights experience:
TIP #1: If you want to minimize your time in the lineups either purchase the Rapid Pass (for as much as $62 extra) or go on a rainy day. Also, as can be expected, weekends are busier than weekdays.
TIP #2: Read tips #3 and #4 below carefully. You don’t want to stand in line for 20 minutes to get in and then be refused admission or find out you won’t be able to return to your car to get your umbrella part way through if it starts to rain.
TIP #3: Don’t go to Fright Nights in costume or with face paint. Also prohibited are the usual list of contraband items like firecrackers, weapons, drugs and alcohol, plus extra things like pets, cameras with detachable lenses and selfie sticks. For the complete list of what you can’t take with you to Fright Nights see PNE Guest Services. Also, expect to have your body and personal items searched upon entry, which is for everyone’s safety.
TIP #4: Re-entry is not permitted – there are no in-and-out privileges. So don’t plan to meet your friend outside part way through the night, go to McDonald’s nearby for a snack after a couple of hours or to go back to your car later to get something.
TIP #5: There is often free on-street parking south of the PNE grounds. Just make sure not to park somewhere that says “residential parking only.”
Other Information
For more tips and information about Fright Nights and its admission prices, lineups and history, click PNE Halloween Tips & History.
To learn more about the PNE’s various haunted houses, click Fright Nights Haunted Houses Reviews.
For more information on this amazing Halloween venue, check out the PNE Fright Nights website.
For more ideas on Halloween things to see in October, check out the following:
- Vancouver Children’s Halloween Activities
- Lower Mainland Haunted Houses
- Vancouver’s October Calendar
- Lower Mainland Halloween Events
For information on the Pacific National Exhibition in the summer, click PNE in August. And for information on access to the carnival rides at other times of the year, click Playland.
