Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood: What Not to Miss from the Scariest Event Yet

Spooky season is here — and it might be the scariest yet at Universal Studios Hollywood!

On Thursday night, the Southern California theme park opened its doors to thousands of Halloween enthusiasts for the premiere of its annual Halloween Horror Nights event.

The celebration of all things spooky, running for 38 select nights from now until October 31st, returns with eight terrifying haunted houses, the popular terror tram, three original scare zones and two new live experiences.

This year’s haunted house lineup includes The Last of Us, Stranger Things 4, The Exorcist: BelieverUniversal Monsters: Revealed, Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count, Evil Dead Rise, Monstruos: Monsters of Latin America and Holidayz in Hell. The theme of this year’s terrorist tram is The Exterminatorz.

When horror fans walk through the dimly lit park to get to their next haunted house, they’ll unexpectedly land in this year’s scare zones that include Toyz and Ghostz and El Terror de las Momias, a sequel to this year’s Monstruos haunted house.

Courtesy of Universal Studio Halloween Horror Nights

Halloween Horror 2023: See all the haunted houses, ranked from least to scariest

In addition, this year’s two live experiences include Blumhouse: Behind the Scenes, where fans will get an up-close look at movie props, costume displays and terrifying encounters with characters from Blumhouse’s horror films, as well as The Purge: Dangerous Waters, an all-new live show inside the WaterWorld venue.

Regardless of whether you are easily scared or not, this year’s event is sure to be full of adrenaline. While attendees will feel completely immersed from start to finish, here’s what you don’t want to miss when attending Halloween Horror Nights.

Opening ceremony

Courtesy of Universal Studio Halloween Horror Nights

Spoilers ahead for Halloween Horror Nights 2023 at Universal Studios Hollywood

The opening ceremony takes place every hour on New York Street — and it’s a wild experience.

This year, Toyz steal the show. Starting with a scary ballerina bouncing around the floor, more Toyza start joining in and deathly staring at the audience as loud music plays over the speakers.

Before you know it, fire shoots up in the air and dozens of monsters run out and smash through the crowd, causing everyone to scream and run in all directions. This sets the scene perfectly for the night ahead.

Top 3 haunted houses that will surely make you scream

With the exception of Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count (which is creative but not bone-chilling), every haunted house this year is truly terrifying and want make you scream.

Since the lines for each house are known to be extremely long, it is important to plan in advance what you have to do. Here’s where you should start.

The first choice is The exorcist: Believer. The hype surrounding the upcoming film aside, this is a must-see HHN experience for one reason: sensory overload.

Courtesy of Universal Studio Halloween Horror Nights

Fans can expect temperature changes, disgusting smells, loud chanting and of course, very creepy girls. This house is a many, so be prepared for an intense experience if you decide to enter.

Another experience not to be missed is Universal Monsters: Unmasked. This haunted house extends the legacy of horror icons The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame with original music by Slash playing on the speaker.

Be prepared for jump scares and characters inches away from grabbing you. The transitions between each story, the detailed illustrations and (spoiler alert) digging through bloody pigs hanging from the ceiling are sure to leave an impression as well.

Courtesy of Universal Studio Halloween Horror Nights

The third surprise winner was Holidayz in Hell.

Starting on New Year’s Eve, this haunted house will manage to make you squeal as you make your way through the big holidays gone wrong. Don’t be surprised if the Easter Bunny lunges at you or an incognito pumpkin gets in your face.

The best part of this house? At least there was no line on the opening night.

Terrorist tram

The Terror Tram is a fan favorite that you can expect to drop you off at the Universal backlot for a long-lasting walking experience.

With this year’s theme being The Exterminatorz, the riders were met by Larry Larva—a large, creepy figure whose goal is to exterminate humans from planet Earth—and he, along with a host of bug-like creatures, rushed the group.

While this is a cool experience, it’s not really scary. The reason why the Terror tram ride is mandatory this year Our-thematic experience, which is inspired by Jordan Peele’s award-winning film.

As the riders reach the end of the passage, they encounter dozens of gruesome figures wielding scissors and wearing red overalls who outnumber the riders and prompt some to almost try to escape. But you’d be missing out if you didn’t stay until the very end!

Halloween Horror Nights can also be found (with different attractions) at Universal Orlando Resort. Check out our ranking of the houses there from the most terrifying to the least terrifying.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education