The 62nd house opens Oct. 9
The Children's Museum Guild opens its 62nd annual Haunted House at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis on Oct. 9, 2026. This year's house is Fright Academy, and PNC presents it. The run ends Oct. 31.
The museum stands at 3000 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis.
The house sells its own ticket. House tickets and museum admission are sold separately, and a family buys both.
Nine evenings close at 9 p.m.
The museum publishes Frightening Hours as Thursdays through Saturdays, 4 to 9 p.m. Nine dates inside the run carry that window: Oct. 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29 and 30.
The window runs five hours and closes at 9 p.m. on each of those nine nights. Staff the desk for arrivals after the close on all nine dates.
Prices sit on the museum's own page. General admission to the house is $9, museum members pay $8, and Access Pass holders pay $5. Groups of 20 or more pay less through Customer Service at 317-334-4000.
Five dates carry no house hours
No Frightening Hours run on Friday, Oct. 9 or on Saturday, Oct. 31. The museum publishes Halloween as dark.
Museum fall hours run Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Mondays closed. Three Mondays fall inside the house run: Oct. 12, Oct. 19 and Oct. 26. No museum hours and no house hours run on those dates.
Write those five dates on the shift sheet as ordinary October days.
The daylight window fills the middle of the day
Uranus Fudge Factory Friendly Hours run Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday adds a second window from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sundays run noon to 5 p.m.
The museum recommends the friendly window for kids who scare easily. It runs brighter lights, upbeat music and friendly greeters. A free bike helmet giveaway runs every Wednesday.
Those hours put house guests in the lobby at midday and mid-afternoon. A Wednesday guest holds a house window that runs to 6:30 p.m.
Two dates buy two trips
Oct. 15 and Oct. 22 are Twice the Fright Nights, sponsored by Bassett Services. One Frightening Hours purchase covers two trips through the house on either date.
The page publishes no separate clock for the second trip. The 4 to 9 p.m. window governs both.
The rest of the October calendar
The haunted-house page lists four other dated items for October: a member preview party on Oct. 3, Museum My Way on Oct. 13, After Dark: Sports and Spells for guests 21 and over on Oct. 17, and Twilight Fright on Oct. 24. It lists Feast with the Witches on select dates.
The page carries no hours for those items. Send the guest to the museum's own pages for the detail.
Group visits run through one number
The museum asks group reservations at least two weeks ahead. Customer Service at 317-334-4000 books them, and it answers 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum campus is closed to visitors Sept. 14 to 25, 2026, and Customer Service stays open through that window.
Museum entry for groups of 20 or more takes 20 percent off general admission. Children under 2 enter free.
That discount applies to the museum day. The house ticket ladder is separate.
What goes on the shift sheet
Write five lines. Note the nine evening dates. Note the 9 p.m. close on each. Note the three dark Mondays. Note Oct. 9 and Oct. 31. Note that the house ticket sits outside museum admission.
Take the quiet-floor request at booking. Assign the room before the guest arrives, and keep one agent on the desk past the published close on the nine evenings.
The haunted-house page carries no attendance forecast for the 2026 run. Staff the nine evenings from the booking pace at your own property.
Nine evenings close at 9 p.m. Three Mondays carry no hours. The rest of October runs on the museum's fall hours.