Be warned! A zombie apocalypse is imminent, if you’re brave enough to step foot inside Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood.
The annual event returns on September 4 through November 2, transforming the park into a playground of scares after darkness falls. This year, guests can venture through eight haunted houses, experience multiple Scare Zones, and hop the ever-popular Terror Tram from 7p.m. PST on select nights (early access begins 5:30 p.m.). Not all the details have been released just yet, but it’s safe to say the park will be plagued with fiendish ghouls, eerie happenings, and evil animatronics that will scare the bejeezus out of you — would you expect anything less?
The popular event tends to sell out, so you if want to prepare in advance, you can buy your tickets right here. So far, Universal has announced four out of the eight haunted houses, but we’ll be updating this list as more news is revealed. Here’s what we know so far about Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Hollywood.
Jason Un1v3rse – Haunted House
“The iconic horror villain Jason Voorhees is coming for you,” is the terrifying tagline of this haunted house themed to the seminal slasher franchise, Friday the 13th. Park-goers will be whisked (or dragged) through a summer camp “vengeance tour,” visiting Jason’s old stomping grounds to “see where it all happened, from the creaking floorboards of Jason’s ramshackle cabin to the decaying main lodge and the eerie forest that offers no refuge for his victims.”
Universal released details of Jason Un1v3rse on Friday the 13th (in June), indicating a commitment to detail that truly makes us shiver. With movie-quality sets, elaborate costumes, and plenty of inexplicable sights, we’re sure this will be no walk in the park.
Five Nights at Freddy’s – Haunted House
Decaying animatronic mascots are great fodder for horror stories, and it turns out, haunted houses. Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, Chica and the rest of the possessed gang from Five Nights At Freddy’s will spring to life at Universal Studios, terrorizing fans up close and personal.
According to the official Halloween Horror Nights account on X, FNAF will be presented in “a whole new way.” We’re on the edge of our seats, wondering how Freddy Fazbear and friends will shake up our reality, especially with a new Five Nights at Freddy’s movie set for release on December 5.
Initially launched as a video game in 2014 by Scott Cawthon, it wasn’t long before FNAF expanded into books, merch, numerous video game sequels, and a live-action movie, Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023), which is now streaming on Peacock. Universal and Blumhouse Productions teamed up again for the sequel, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, set to debut a month after Halloween Horror Nights closes, keeping the scary times rolling throughout the holidays.
Fallout – Haunted House
Mutant creatures and bounty hunters will feel right at home at the Fallout haunted house, a chilling rendition of post-apocalyptic Los Angeles set two hundred years in the future. Themed to the popular video game series of the same name and subsequent 2024 TV adaptation from Jonathan Nolan (Westworld, The Dark Knight trilogy), the attraction promises to be a spectacle of nightmarish kitsch.
Civilization has been destroyed by nuclear war, and those who survived the fallout escaped to underground shelters known as Vaults. Above ground, mutated animals and creatures roam the scorched earth.
Your journey starts “beneath the surface in Vault 33, where guests follow vault-dweller Lucy MacLean as she escapes a bloody massacre, only to discover an evil hidden secret. From there, visitors venture to the surface, where they must dodge attacks from Scavengers and Raiders, desperate survivors who will do anything to remain alive, as well as mutated cockroaches known as RAD Roaches,” reads the press release from Universal.
Along the way, you’ll confront the formidable bounty hunter, The Ghoul, and encounter Maximus with the Brotherhood of Steel.
Monstruos 3 – Haunted House
What began as a Scare Zone has since blossomed into two (now three) amazing haunted houses celebrating some of the scariest figures in Latin American culture. These folklore monsters and spirits will come to life in the Monstruos 3 haunted house, coming exclusively to Universal Studios Hollywood.
The house promises to spotlight three famous paranormal beings: La Llorona (aka “The Weeping Woman” known in several Latin American countries), La Muelona (a flesh-eating monster from Colombian mythology), and La Siguanaba (terrifying a horse-faced entity from El Salvadoran tradition).
Terror Tram
The Terror Tram is not a time to kick back and relax after visiting the haunted houses. Universal Studios typically goes all out creating a unique experience on the backlot to rival the established Scare Zones. Last year, characters from M3GAN, Happy Death Day, The Purge, and other Blumhouse Productions movies took over the tram. So far, we know this year’s attraction “is taking a disturbing new turn,” according to Universal, but details have yet to emerge.
Halloween Horror Nights is a separately ticketed event at both the Universal Hollywood and Universal Orlando theme parks. To find out all of the Halloween Horror Nights event dates or to buy tickets, check out the website.
