Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Amonarch
This year’s Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Studios Florida got underway earlier than usual with a “record-breaking” 48-day program of after-hours frights.
The interactive horror sets, live entertainment, exclusive limited-time menus, and other attractions that will be available at the Orlando theme park from 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. each night were all shown to Fox News Digital as a preview.
This year, park visitors can put their courage to the test at five scary zones and ten haunted houses, where skilled actors try their best to frighten guests.
“We are always paying attention to our guests, paying attention to fans, paying attention to pop culture,” said Matthew Flood, a senior show director for entertainment, creative development, and art and design at Universal Studios Florida, in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“This event does want to deliver something — a wide variety of things for guests to find the thing that they love,” he continued. “We are always looking for the best properties, the best original houses, the best scare zones so that everybody who comes will have the thing that terrifies them that they’re a fan of. That’s what makes this fun.”
Halloween Horror Nights Haunted Houses
Visitors can stroll through ten distinct haunted houses. While some are original works conceived by Universal personnel, others are based on well-known horror films and television episodes.
Exorcist: Believer
The sixth entry in the horror franchise, “The Exorcist: Believer,” is scheduled to premiere on October 13. Horror movie fans who like the 1973 supernatural cult film “The Exorcist” will be able to preview it.
Visitors come across a toy in a street market in Haiti that directs them to a demonic realm where two girls are possessed by evil spirits. Many people over the past fifty years have proclaimed the original movie to be the scariest horror movie of all time.
“The Exorcist: Believer was definitely both intense and gross as promised, but it was still a good haunted house and definitely the scariest one so far,” wrote one theme park visitor on X, formerly Twitter, on Sept. 8.
Stranger Things 4
The fourth season of the popular “Stranger Things” Netflix series, which premiered in the summer of 2022, allows fans to relive key scenes.
Visitors will encounter terrible monsters including demogorgons and demobats as well as Vecna, the primary antagonist of season 4, who casts fatal curses from his blood-red Mind Lair.
The Last of Us
Both experienced players and those who have never played a video game before can enjoy the critically acclaimed action-adventure title “The Last of Us” (2013), which has been adapted into a live-action HBO series starring Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie. This year’s first season began in January.
Visitors to haunted houses can stroll through a post-fungal virus in Pittsburgh and witness Joel and Ellie, the game’s protagonists, battle their way through the aggressive and deformed infected.
Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count
The “Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count” haunted house, a first-time takeover for the killer doll, brings the “Child’s Play” horror comedy franchise to life.
In order to reclaim his dreadful respect, Chucky commits murders from the cult classic movies and devises new ways to massacre visitors as they attempt to flee. One year after the “Living with Chucky” documentary, the haunted house makes its appearance.
Universal Monsters: Unmasked
The renowned antagonists from the Universal films “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1913), “The Invisible Man” (1913), “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923), and “The Phantom of the Opera” (1943) square off in front of 20th-century horror movie fans.
Visitors are taken to an underground labyrinth beneath the streets of Paris where they may view the collateral harm the feuding enemies left behind.
Dr. Oddfellow: Twisted Origins
Dr. Oddfellow, a beloved Halloween Horror Nights character from Universal, makes a triumphant comeback with a haunted house that explores the sinister beginning of the villainous circus ringmaster.
Visitors can see Dr. Oddfellow’s Carnival of Thrills, which is situated in a small Midwest town during the Dust Bowl, and learn about the twisted beginnings of the immortal ringmaster by watching “Dr. Oddfellow: Twisted Origins.”
YETI: Campground Kills
The sequel to Universal’s “YETI: Terror of the Yukon” (2019) theme park attraction, “YETI: Campground Kills,” brought back the abominable snowman haunted house that has been a fan favorite.
Visitors are taken to a campground in the Rocky Mountains from the 1950s when a family of vengeful yetis attack.
Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate
With “Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate,” a haunted house based on the theme park’s decommissioned Dueling Dragons rollercoaster, which operated from 1999 to 2010, longtime guests of Universal Islands of Adventure can relive their childhood memories.
Visitors can select their own sinister outcome as they witness the nostalgic struggle between the park’s fire and ice dragons.
The Darkest Deal
In Universal’s “The Darkest Deal,” a fictional 20th-century Mississippi Delta blues artist named Pinestraw Spruce sells his soul in exchange for musical success, realizing a celebrity-inspired urban legend.
Unfortunately, Spruce quickly discovers that some agreements are more than you bargained for, as do the visitors who hear his story.
Dark Offerings: Bloodmoon
Visitors to the “Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings” haunted house stroll through a colonial-era town of moon worshipers.
During a fall harvest festival, members of the Bloodmoon cult make attempts to kill nonbelievers while attendees struggle to flee from their grasp.
Make sure you are staying up-to-date with the latest and most important Florida news with Florida Insider. Whether you are interested in business, education, government, history, sports, real estate, nature, weather, or travel: we have something for everyone. Follow along for the best stories in the Sunshine State.
Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.