The 2026 Rust Halloween event has ended. Facepunch branded the 2026 patch Darkness Falls and switched it on with the Halloween patch on Thursday, October 22, 2026, and it ran until November 5, 2026, the same day as the monthly Rust force wipe. For two weeks the island fills with scarecrows and mummies, candy rains down around every player during the Candy Hunt, loot bags roll guns as good as the M249, rifts open into scarecrow dungeons and you can build your own Frankenstein pet monster.
This guide covers everything in the 2026 event: the exact start and end dates (and every past Halloween date since 2021), how the Candy Hunt works, what is inside the Small, Medium and Large Loot Bags, how to build and control a Frankenstein pet, what scarecrows drop, the rifts, the costumes and decor, the console event, the server commands, and the tips that get you the most loot before the wipe.
- Dates
- Candy Hunt
- Loot Bags
- Frankenstein Pet
- Scarecrows & Rifts
- Costumes & Decor
- Store & Drops
- Console
- Commands
- Tips
- FAQ
When Is the Rust Halloween Event 2026?
The 2026 Halloween event went live on PC with a separate mandatory client and server update on Thursday, October 22, 2026 at 17:00 UTC (1 PM Eastern, 10 AM Pacific, 6 PM UK). Facepunch’s patch notes say it runs until November 5th. That is the first Thursday of November, so the event ends with the November force wipe update. You do not need a fresh server for the event: it switched on for every vanilla server the moment they updated, whatever their own wipe schedule is.
Halloween lands at almost the same time every year: a Thursday or Monday in the second half of October, about two weeks before the November force wipe. If you want to know when the next one starts, look at the November force wipe date and count back roughly 14 days.
| Year | Start (PC) | End | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Thu, Oct 22, 17:00 UTC | Thu, Nov 5 | Candy Hunt, rifts, Frankenstein pets, Spooky Decor Bundle |
| 2025 | Thu, Oct 23 | Thu, Nov 6 | Candy Hunt, rifts, pets |
| 2024 | Mon, Oct 28 | Thu, Nov 7 | Dracula Cape and Mask back in the store |
| 2023 | Mon, Oct 23 | Thu, Nov 2 | Dracula Cape added |
| 2022 | Thu, Oct 20 | Thu, Nov 3 | Rifts (Halloween dungeons) added |
| 2021 | Thu, Oct 28 | Thu, Nov 4 | Frankenstein pet monster added |
How the Candy Hunt Works
The Candy Hunt (the game calls it a Trick or Treat event) is the heart of Rust Halloween. About once every two in-game days a hunt starts on the server and glowing Halloween Candy spawns on the ground around every player. You get 3 minutes to pick up as much as you can. When the timer ends, the top 3 players on the server win special loot bags, and everyone keeps every piece of candy they picked up.
Candy is not just for the leaderboard. It works like a currency you upgrade:
- 10 Halloween Candy = 1 Small Loot Bag. Candy stacks to 1,000, so carry it all.
- 10 Small Loot Bags = 1 Medium Loot Bag. Small bags stack to 10, and a full stack can be upgraded.
- 10 Medium Loot Bags = 1 Large Loot Bag. The Large bag holds the best Halloween loot in the game.
So a Large Loot Bag costs 1,000 candy. That sounds like a lot, but a few active hunts plus the bags you win add up fast in a group. Two items make hunting easier:
- Pumpkin Basket. Collects candy much faster during a hunt. It is the most common Small Loot Bag drop (22%).
- Candy Vision. Wearing the Ghost Costume or the Scarecrow Wrap highlights nearby candy, so you stop missing pieces in grass and rubble.
What Is Inside the Halloween Loot Bags?
Each loot bag tier has its own table. These chances are the chance per roll on a vanilla server, from the 2026 game files. Primitive servers add an extra medieval table (ballista, catapult and siege gear) that vanilla servers never roll.
| Bag | Item | Amount | Chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Loot Bag | Pumpkin Basket | 1 | 22.2% |
| Stones | 100-200 | 11.1% | |
| Wood | 200-400 | 11.1% | |
| Metal Fragments | 25-50 | 11.1% | |
| Chocolate Bar | 3-5 | 11.1% | |
| Scarecrow Wrap | 1 | 11.1% | |
| Vampire Stake | 3-5 | 11.1% | |
| Hunting Bow (with arrows) | 1 | 5.6% | |
| Compound Bow (with arrows) | 1 | 5.6% | |
| Medium Loot Bag | Stones | 2,500 | 14.7% |
| Hazmat Suit | 1 | 14.7% | |
| Double Barrel Shotgun + buckshot | 1 | 14.7% | |
| Revolver + 20 pistol bullets | 1 | 14.7% | |
| Coffin, Graveyard Fence or Spider Webs | 1-3 | 14.7% | |
| Pump Shotgun + buckshot | 1 | 8.8% | |
| Chainsaw + low grade fuel | 1 | 8.8% | |
| Jackhammer | 1 | 8.8% | |
| Large Loot Bag | M249 + 5.56 ammo | 1 | 16.7% |
| LR-300 + 5.56 ammo | 1 | 16.7% | |
| M39 Rifle + 5.56 ammo | 1 | 16.7% | |
| MP5A4 + pistol bullets | 1 | 16.7% | |
| Multiple Grenade Launcher | 1 | 16.7% | |
| Rocket bundle (incendiary, HV, MLRS rockets, homing missiles) | varies | 16.7% |
The maths favours upgrading. Opening 10 Small bags gives you ten rolls at mostly stones, wood and frags. Upgrading them gives you one Medium roll, where 60% of the table is a gun, a Hazmat Suit or a tool. Ten Medium bags turn into a Large bag, which is a guaranteed military weapon or a raid tool every time. Open Small bags early in the event for the Pumpkin Basket and stakes, then save the rest for upgrades.
How to Get a Frankenstein Pet in Rust
The Frankenstein pet monster has been part of Rust Halloween since 2021 and works the same way in 2026. You build a monster out of three body parts, wake it up at a table, and it follows you around, guards you and attacks the targets you pick.
- Collect the parts. Kill scarecrows and mummies. Their bodies drop a head, torso or legs. Medium parts are the most common (16.7% each); light and heavy parts drop at 8.3% each.
- Craft a Frankenstein Table. The blueprint is unlocked by default during the event. Craft it and place it in your base.
- Load the table. Put one head, one torso and one pair of legs in it. The parts do not need to match, so you can mix tiers.
- Wake the monster. Activate the table and your monster climbs off it.
- Command it. Press P to open the pet menu: follow, defend you, or attack a target. Use sleep to send it back to the table when you want to swap parts.
| Part tier | Effect | Scarecrow drop chance | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light | Slightly faster, slightly weaker | 8.3% per part | Keeping up while you roam |
| Medium | Balanced | 16.7% per part | Easy first monster |
| Heavy | Slightly slower, slightly stronger | 8.3% per part | Fighting; an all heavy monster is the toughest |
If the pet menu will not open, or P is already bound to something else, rebind it in the console (press F1). Facepunch’s own fix is:
bind p +pets
Swap p for any free key you like.
Scarecrows, Mummies and Rifts
Scarecrows (200 HP) and mummies roam the whole island during the event with melee weapons. They hit hard early in a wipe, so a bow or a pipe shotgun is the safe way to farm them. Their bodies are one of the best loot sources of the event: almost every scarecrow carries food, and a big share carry components, event weapons and pet parts.
| Scarecrow drop | Amount | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate Bar / Corn | 3-5 | 50% each |
| Metal Blade / Rope | 1-3 / 1-9 | 39.6% each |
| Sickle, Pitchfork, Butcher Knife | 1 | 29.4% each |
| Sewing Kit, Tarp, Empty Propane Tank | 1-15 | 22.2% each |
| Medium Frankenstein head, torso or legs | 1 | 16.7% each |
| Coffin, Graveyard Fence, Spider Webs | 1-3 | 16% each |
| Chainsaw / Low Grade Fuel | 1 / 20-40 | 11.8% each |
| F1 Grenade | 2-4 | 11.4% |
| Gears, pipes, springs, road signs, semi bodies, sheet metal, fuses | varies | 8.8% each |
| Light and Heavy Frankenstein parts | 1 | 8.3% each |
| Gravestone, Wooden Cross | 1 | 6.8% each |
| Double Barrel Shotgun | 1 | 5.8% |
| High Quality Metal | 15-25 | 5.7% |
| Ghost Costume, Frankenstein Mask, Mummy Mask, Scarecrow Wrap | 1 | 2.3% each |
Rifts (Halloween dungeons)
Rifts open in random places around the map for a limited time. In the 2026 lore, either cultists are opening them or a Cobalt experiment called R.U.I.N. went wrong (full guide: Rust Halloween rifts). Step through and you land in a small dungeon guarded by scarecrows, with normal and military crates as the reward (see our Rust loot tables for what those crates roll). Bring Vampire Stakes: a stake kills an undead enemy in one hit, releases its soul and gives extra loot. Do not take your best kit in with you; few players come back out with everything they took in.
Halloween Costumes and Decor
| Item | How to get it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost Costume | Scarecrow drop (2.3%) | Candy Vision, no armor value |
| Scarecrow Wrap | Small Loot Bag, scarecrows | Candy Vision |
| Frankenstein Mask / Mummy Mask | Scarecrows and mummies, loot bags | Cosmetic costume masks |
| Scarecrow Suit / Mummy Suit | Event drops | Full body costumes |
| Dracula Mask | Item Store; owners craft it from 10 cloth | Early head protection |
| Dracula Cape | Item Store, undead corpses | Jacket replacement that flows in the wind |
| Surgeon Scrubs | Steam Market (2019 store item) | Same protection as the Ninja Suit |
| Coffin | Medium Loot Bag, scarecrows | Storage for 42 items |
| Graveyard Fence | Craft: 250 stones + 75 metal fragments | Spooky fence |
| Sickle, Butcher Knife, Pitchfork | Craftable during the event, scarecrows | Event melee weapons |
| Spider Webs, Gravestone, Wooden Cross | Craftable during the event, scarecrows | Decor |
| Carvable Pumpkin / Jack O Lanterns | Store items, crafted from pumpkins once owned | Light and carving |
Halloween Item Store, Twitch Drops and Discord
The Halloween patch also brought a limited set of store skins (every one with prices: Rust Halloween skins 2026). New in 2026:
- Wallpapers: Cultist Tile, Manor Ceiling and Derelict Wood.
- Skull Wall Lamp, a skin for the Tuna Can Lamp.
- Inflatable Alien Costume with three decorative variations.
- Spooky Decor Bundle: the three wallpapers, the Skull Wall Lamp, an exclusive Halloween Wreath and Halloween String Lights.
Returning items include the Hockey Facemask (a Metal Facemask skin), the Cultist Deer Torch (a starter torch skin you respawn with once you own it), the Baseball Bat (a mace skin), the Skull Rock, Pumpkin Carving, the Skull Trophy and Skull Spike packs, Mummy Underwear, the Dracula Mask and the Dracula Cape. Want a Halloween profile picture to match? Grab the Scarecrow and Frankenstein PFPs on our Rust PFPs and wallpapers page.
Twitch drops: the Twitch Rivals Base Invaders broadcast on October 23 gave out a one day Spooky Backpack drop, and the Round 54 Base Invaders drops (Rug, Bed, Garage Door, Thompson and Large Wood Box skins) run on any Rust Twitch channel until November 1. Our Rust Twitch drops guide shows how to link your accounts. Discord: eligible Nitro members can claim the Zombie Wumpus Plush with Orbs in the Rust Game Shop on Discord from October 22 to November 5. It is a deployable decoration that gives 70% comfort.
Is There a Halloween Event on Rust Console?
Yes. Rust Console Edition runs its own seasonal events through Double Eleven’s updates, and its Halloween event went live on official console servers on October 15, 2026, a week before PC. Console content and timing do not always match PC, so check the in-game news panel for the exact end date on your platform.
Rust Halloween Commands for Server Owners
The event is automatic on official and vanilla community servers. If you run your own server (see how to host a Rust server), these commands control it from the F1 console or RCON:
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
halloweendungeon.population | Sets how many rift portals the map gets. Type it with a number after it to change it, or alone to see the current value. |
spawn halloweenhunt | Admin only. Starts a Candy Hunt right now. |
bind p +pets | Player bind for the Frankenstein pet menu. |
More admin tools are in our Rust admin commands list, and every spawn name in the game is in the searchable Rust prefab list.
Rust Halloween Tips
- Carry a Pumpkin Basket to every hunt. It is the single biggest boost to your candy count.
- Wear Candy Vision. The Ghost Costume or Scarecrow Wrap shows candy you would walk past.
- Upgrade instead of opening. Ten Small bags give much better odds as one Medium bag, and ten Medium bags become a guaranteed gun or raid bundle.
- Farm scarecrows with range. A bow or crossbow keeps their melee off you. Their bodies are full of components, food and pet parts.
- Bring stakes into rifts. One hit kills and extra loot make dungeon runs much faster.
- Build an all heavy pet for fights. Use light parts only if you want a pet that keeps up while you run.
- Spend everything before November 5. The force wipe clears the map, and the event ends with the same patch. Check the force wipe countdown so you are not caught out.
Planning for the next holiday? The Christmas event usually arrives in mid December, see our Rust presents guide for what the Christmas presents drop.
Rust Halloween Event FAQ
When does the Rust Halloween event end in 2026?
It ends on November 5, 2026, the first Thursday of November, with the monthly force wipe update. It started on PC on October 22, 2026 at 17:00 UTC.
How often does the Candy Hunt happen in Rust?
About once every two in-game days. Each hunt lasts 3 minutes, candy spawns around every player, the top 3 collectors win loot bags and everyone keeps the candy they picked up.
How do you upgrade Halloween candy in Rust?
10 Halloween Candy upgrade into 1 Small Loot Bag, 10 Small Loot Bags into 1 Medium Loot Bag and 10 Medium Loot Bags into 1 Large Loot Bag. A Large bag costs 1,000 candy in total.
What is in a Large Loot Bag in Rust?
One of six rolls at 16.7% each: an M249, LR-300, M39 Rifle or MP5A4 with ammo, a Multiple Grenade Launcher, or a rocket bundle with incendiary, high velocity and MLRS rockets plus homing missiles.
How do you get a Frankenstein pet in Rust?
Kill scarecrows and mummies for a head, torso and legs, craft a Frankenstein Table, put the three parts in it and activate it. Press P to command the pet. If P does not work, type bind p +pets in the F1 console.
What do the light, medium and heavy Frankenstein parts do?
Light parts make the monster slightly faster and weaker, heavy parts make it slightly slower and stronger, and medium parts are balanced. Parts do not need to match, and an all heavy monster is the best fighter.
What are rifts in Rust Halloween?
Rifts are portals that open at random places during the event. They lead to small dungeons guarded by scarecrows, with normal and military crates as loot. Server owners set how many spawn with halloweendungeon.population.
How do you get the Ghost Costume in Rust?
It is a rare scarecrow drop (about 2.3% per body) during the Halloween event. It has no armor value but gives Candy Vision, which highlights nearby candy during a Candy Hunt.
Does the Halloween event wipe the server?
No. The event switches on with its own patch and does not wipe anything. It ends with the November force wipe update, which does wipe the map on every server.
Is the Halloween event on Rust console?
Yes. Rust Console Edition has its own Halloween event, which went live on official console servers on October 15, 2026. Timing and content can differ from PC.
Sources and Further Reading
- Dates, Candy Hunt, pets, rifts, store items and drops: Facepunch, Halloween 2026 patch notes
- Scarecrow loot table: Facepunch Wiki, Scarecrow and Halloween Event
- Past event dates and loot bag tables: RustFront, Rust Halloween event