If your idea of a good Halloween involves more deep-seated terror than trick-or-treating, Universal Studios wants to help you celebrate.
Launching 6 September at Universal Orlando Resort and 13 September at Universal Studios Hollywood, the theme parks’ Halloween Horror Nights programming is now in its 25th year, torturing fright-loving guests with themed scare zones, horror movie–inspired mazes, haunted houses, and more. In Orlando, five scare zones—one inspired by the movie Zombieland and one by the heavy metal horror music of Rob Zombie, plus three original creations from the Universal Orlando Entertainment team—will attempt to spook the bejeezus out of park guests, with actors standing in for slashers, maniacs, the undead, and more. In Anarch-cade, scare-seekers will have one life to escape a sinister ‘80s-themed arcade; in Vikings Undead, reanimated corpses of plundering Norsemen take over Central Park; and Vanity Ball sees Hollywood glamour transform into shocking works of living art.
Alongside an assortment of haunted houses, both parks will also feature an array of themed mazes filled with terrifying twists and turns. Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses brings to life the sadistic serial killers and degenerate victims of the filmmaker’s 2003 directorial debut, while an Us maze based on Jordan Peele’s instant horror classic features a labyrinthine network of tunnels housing the Tethered, doppelgängers who stalk and torture their above-ground counterparts. Also new this year are Universal Monsters, populated by the movie studio’s original creations, from Dracula and the Mummy to the Creature from the Black Lagoon; Killer Klowns from Outer Space, which, true to its ‘80s cult-fave namesake, drops guests into a small town overrun by homicidal clown-like creatures; and Ghostbusters, which ties into the classic flick’s 35th anniversary with a maze that lets guests follow in the spectral hunters’ footsteps via recreated scenes and characters from the film. For more information and to buy tickets, see halloweenhorrornights.com.
