The New D&D Season of Horror Is Officially Underway

Official D&D art from Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, featuring a grotesque monster made up of various zombie body parts, with a demonic screaming face.

The New D&D Season of Horror Is Officially Underway

May 1, 2026

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The Mists of Ravenloft are rising once again, thanks in large part to Wizards of the Coast’s recently introduced D&D Seasons. This new initiative features three month periods focused around a unique theme designed to promote new products and organized play events. Kicking off the new program is the Season of Horror, which officially started in April with the upcoming Ravenloft: The Horrors Within sourcebook as its centerpiece.

So just what can fans expect now that the mists have parted and were well into the Season of Horror? Below, we break out all the terrifying details.

Official D&D artwork from Ravenloft, the horrors within, featuring a female Vistani sorcerer facing down two terrifying ghosts.

When does the D&D Season of Horror take place?

The Season of Horror officially runs from April through June 2026. This does seem a bit odd given that Halloween and early fall would have been more a suitable period of time for horror, but key dates include:

April 13th: Pre-orders open for Ravenloft: The Horrors Within.
June 2nd: Early Access to Horrors Within for D&D Beyond Master Tier subscribers.
June 9th: Early Access to Horrors Within for D&D Beyond Hero Tier subscribers.
June 16th: Wide global release for all Season of Horror products.

Official D&D art from The Horrors Within, featuring a weeping female ghost outside a crypt.

What D&D products will be included in the Season of Horror?

So far we have confirmation on four official products that will be linked to the season.

Ravenloft: The Horrors Within: A new player and DM-facing sourcebook with new lore and character options for the Domains of dread.
Tarokka Deck: An updated 60-card deck used for in-game fortune-telling and procedural quest generation.
DM Screen: Featuring new Ravenloft art and quick-reference tables for horror mechanics like Fear and Stress.
Map Pack: Five double-sided poster maps that tie in to the The Horrors Within.
Strahd Silver Edition Box Set: Beadle & Grimm’s is also releasing a deluxe box set version of The Horrors Within that includes bonus content, maps, accessories and player hand outs.
D&D Horrified Ravenloft: An expansion for the popular D&D Horrified board game, this expansion will be released in July (a few weeks after the Season ends), but is available for pre-order now.
WizKids Ravenloft miniatures: While full details have not yet been revealed, WizKids has confirmed that they will be releasing a pack of pre-painted minis inspired The Horrors Within (including a new figure based on Cthulhu).

Official D&D art, featuring Professor van Richten working in his laboratory with a ghostly assistant writing on a chalk board.

What D&D events will be taking place during the Season of Horror?

D&D Encounters: This is a new version of a program that was previously run in the early days of D&D fifth edition, with local game stores provided with free adventure material they can run on a weekly basis (although notably, this material will also be made available online for use at home). Each Encounter is a short, three-hour, low level adventures that can accommodate 20 players at one time. Stores will also be given awards for players and DMs. Game stores who are members of the Wizards Play Network (WPN) and part of the early access program will be able run D&D Encounters from June 5-14, 2026. Stores without early access, however, won’t be able to D&D Encounters until June 19-28, 2026.
Dungeon Masters: This new official D&D actual play series is also part of the Season of Horror as it takes place in Ravenloft and uses content taken from the new Horrors Within supplement. In addition, the show will also release weekly “Play-Along-Packs” (such as the Zombie Clot pack), which is based on monsters, events and NPCs from the show.

Official D&D art from Ravenloft, featuring an army of ghosts attacking a man with chains.

Final Thoughts

As the Mists recede in late June, D&D will transition immediately into the Season of Magic, which runs from July to September and is anchored by the Arcana Unleashed sourcebook and the Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall adventure. In the meantime,, you’ll want to sharpen your stakes and prepare your silvered weapons as the Season of Horror approaches.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on updates around D&D events and new products days ahead and will update this page with new information as it becomes available.

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Jason Volk is the Publisher of Dungeons & Dragons Fanatics and lives in the wilds of Western Canada. He has been playing D&D for over 25 years and is a huge fan of Dragonlance and the Forgotten Realms. His favorite character of all time was a Necromancer named Neek who spent most of his adventuring career resurrecting the corpses of slain monsters. When he’s not playing TTRPGs, Jason enjoys video games, Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer 40K, watching football and spending time with his wife and adorably nerdy children.
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