Theme Park Report
Original haunted houses are drawing some of the strongest praise at the 2026 edition of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, according to a review from Theme Park Insider.
The event features eight haunted houses across the Upper and Lower Lots. While several are based on established film, television or music properties, the review highlights three original concepts: Sinners, Dead, Deader, Deadest and Killceañera: Music by Slash.
Theme Park Insider described Sinners, based on Ryan Coogler’s film, as a “signature achievement” for the event. The house is located in the former year-round Walking Dead Attraction space and uses a permanent environment that includes a show scene inside Club Juke. The review said the experience brings the film’s vampires and several of its action moments into a live setting.
Dead, Deader, Deadest takes guests into a mortuary, with the review specifically praising its foyer and scenes involving a freezer and an incinerator. Killceañera, meanwhile, uses a Latin American horror premise involving a quinceañera and a selection of monsters. Although the review noted that some of those creatures may be familiar to regular Horror Nights visitors, it characterized the house as a fresh take.
The remaining houses are Hellraiser, Evil Dead Burn, Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness, Killer Klowns From Outer Space and Stranger Things 5. Theme Park Insider found the Ozzy Osbourne house enjoyable and praised its music and environments, while describing the Hellraiser house as delivering the expected appearances and themes from the horror-film trilogy. The review offered less enthusiasm for Evil Dead Burn and said there was little new to report from the returning Killer Klowns From Outer Space and Stranger Things experiences.
The event’s Terror Tram features Art the Clown, following the character’s appearance at the 2025 event. This year’s experience uses Christmas elements from the second Terrifier film and takes over Studio Tour sets. The official event guide identifies the attraction as Terror Tram Starring Art the Clown, with an original soundtrack by Ice Nine Kills.
Halloween Horror Nights also includes the FORTNITEMARES, El Circo de la Muerte, Hackerz and Blood Bog scare zones, along with the Nikki from Obsession, Murder of Crowz, Art the Clown and Shriek of the Banshee street experiences. Murder of Crowz appeared as a scare zone in 2024 and 2025 but is classified as a street experience in 2026.
The separately ticketed event runs on select nights from September 3 through November 1, with operating hours listed as 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Universal Studios Hollywood’s 2026 lineup also includes The Purge: Dangerous Waters, the Death Eaters Encounter and select park attractions.
