Skansen, the open-air museum and zoo on Djurgården in Stockholm, ran its first Halloween event last autumn. This year it is making it three times the size, and most of the growth is a new area built around a giant labyrinth.
Halloween på Skansen 2026 runs on five evenings: October 24, then October 28, 29, 30 and 31, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The scarier part, the Skräckzonen, opens at 5 p.m. It is included in an ordinary one-day ticket and in an annual pass, and children up to the age of 15 get into Skansen free at any time.
What is new and what is coming back
Returning from last year: trick-or-treating among the historic houses, and the pumpkin disco, which Skansen calls Pumpa med pumpa. New this year, besides the labyrinth, is a half-frightening and deliberately comic show from the Allsångsandebandet, an afternoon that alternates singalongs and music with dancing devils and fire shows, and a Halloween parade at the end of the evening that gathers visitors and costumed characters into a joint dance finale.
The one genuinely eerie set piece is at Seglora church. From outside the wall, visitors can look into the churchyard, where wraiths move through smoke, unsteady light and sound. Elsewhere on the site there is a flashlight hunt for escaped cats, which is about the right pitch for the age group Skansen is aiming at.
“I år gör vi halloween tre gånger så stort och skapar ännu mer för familjer att upptäcka tillsammans,” said My Gudmundsdotter, project leader for Halloween på Skansen: “This year we are making Halloween three times as big and creating even more for families to discover together,” in a statement translated from Swedish.
Daytime stays a zoo day
The evening program sits on top of Skansen’s ordinary autumn-break daytime schedule, which continues through the same week with keeper talks about the animals and an anatomy session for children that Skansen calls Skelettskolan, the skeleton school.
That is the reason a seasonal event at a zoo is worth writing down at all. Skansen says most of the evening is playful and suited to the youngest visitors, with the churchyard held back for anyone who wants something colder. Either way it brings people through a gate in October that they would otherwise walk past until spring, and the collection is still there when they come through it.
Edinburgh Zoo runs the same play with light rather than costume. Our report on its Giant Lanterns season is here, and Skansen’s own announcement is on its news page.
Quick answers
- When is Halloween at Skansen in 2026?
Five evenings: October 24, then October 28, 29, 30 and 31, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Skrackzonen, the scarier section, opens at 5 p.m.
- Does it cost extra?
No. It is included in an ordinary one-day ticket and in an annual pass, and children up to the age of 15 always get into Skansen free.
- What is new this year?
A whole new area built around a giant labyrinth, a comic show from the Allsangsandebandet, dancing devils and fire shows in the afternoon, and a Halloween parade with a dance finale. Trick-or-treating among the historic houses and the Pumpa med pumpa disco return from last year.
