The house, the dates, the ticket
The Children's Museum Guild runs its 62nd annual Haunted House from Oct. 9 to Oct. 31, 2026, at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, 3000 North Meridian Street. The house is Fright Academy, and PNC presents it. The run is the museum's largest annual fundraiser.
The house sells its own ticket. House tickets and museum admission are sold separately, so a group that buys both pays for both.
The ladder starts at 20 tickets
The museum publishes three steps for house tickets. One to 19 tickets cost $9 each. Twenty to 99 cost $7.50 each. One hundred or more cost $7 each. Group orders run through Customer Service at 317-334-4000.
The step from 19 to 20 tickets saves $1.50 a ticket, which is 16.7 percent off the $9 single rate. A 20-ticket order costs $150 against $180. The step from 20 to 100 tickets saves $2 a ticket, which is 22.2 percent off $9. A 100-ticket order costs $700 against $900.
The ladder prices the house alone at every step.
A second discount sits on museum admission
The museum takes 20 percent off general admission for groups of 20 or more. It applies the discount to businesses, organizations, family reunions, mom groups and more. Children under 2 enter free.
Museum admission is date specific and priced by season and day of the week. The dollar value of the 20 percent moves with the date. Indiana residents take a $3 discount and show proof of residency at entry.
The museum's plan-your-visit page states that group tickets must be purchased in advance in a single transaction to receive the discount.
Reservations take two weeks
The museum requests group reservations at least two weeks in advance of the visit. Booking runs through the Customer Call Center at 317-334-4000 or the museum's event inquiry form, and Customer Service answers 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The museum campus closes to visitors Sept. 14 to 25, 2026, for maintenance. Customer Service stays open through the closure at the same number.
Book two weeks out to fix the date, the headcount and the meal order in one pass.
Bulk tickets suit hotels and companies
The museum sells discounted bulk ticket packages to companies, hotels and organizations. It lists corporate gifts, employee perks, nonprofit giveaways and community groups as uses. The museum states that the tickets can be used individually or distributed over time, and that a group does not have to arrive on one date.
A hotel that holds a guest perk buys once and draws on the tickets across the run. A company that runs a seasonal reward works the same way. Customer Service at 317-334-4000 handles group purchases.
Build the day around the house window
The house publishes two windows. Frightening Hours run Thursdays through Saturdays, 4 to 9 p.m., on nine nights: Oct. 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29 and 30. No Frightening Hours run on Friday, Oct. 9 or on Halloween, Oct. 31.
Friendly Hours run Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday adds a window from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sundays run noon to 5 p.m. The museum recommends the friendly window for children who scare easily.
Museum hours run Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Nov. 1. Mondays are closed, and Oct. 12, Oct. 19 and Oct. 26 carry no hours.
A group that wants the museum day and the evening house books one date and two windows on it.
Meals and add-ons
The Food Court seats groups that buy on site and groups that bring sack lunches, and the museum sets aside a sack lunch area. Group meals can be preordered as a box lunch or a full meal through Customer Service at 317-334-4000. Grab and Go and Coffee and Treats open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on museum days, and the other Food Court stations open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The museum sells gift certificates to The Museum Store in any denomination, also through Customer Service.
Corporate and private event inquiries run to a separate desk at levyscheduling@childrensmuseum.org or 317-334-3212.
Parking and the bus drive
Museum parking is free, garage included. The garage sits on the west side of Illinois Street just north of 30th Street at 3000 North Illinois Street, and the Skywalk connects it to the museum across Illinois Street. Surface lots north of the garage take the overflow.
Buses follow a set route. Drive north on Illinois Street past the museum, turn right onto 32nd Street, turn right onto Meridian Street, and take the first drive on the right to Entrance 4. Buses then park on the east side of Illinois Street at 32nd Street. Vans and oversized vehicles park in the surface lot past the garage at Illinois Street and 30th Street.
The museum asks groups to confirm arrival and departure procedures with Customer Service before the visit. IndyGo routes 18, 28, 30, 38 and 39 stop at the museum, and the Red Line runs through the day.
The October package
The museum sells a Family Fun Adventure package that bundles museum tickets, The Indianapolis Zoo and a hotel stay. Second-day museum tickets carry a discount at the Box Office.
Museum tickets are date specific. The museum exchanges an unused ticket to a new date when the exchange happens by 5 p.m. on the original ticket date, and it does not refund.
Build the group itinerary off the house window, and set the museum day beside it. The Family Fun Adventure package adds the zoo and a hotel stay to the same trip.
Twenty tickets cut the house price 16.7 percent. One hundred cut it 22.2 percent. Book two weeks out.