These 10 Universal Hollywood Horror Nights Experiences Are Why I am So Excited to Go in 2025

Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando are among the best Halloween theme park events. While I also love Disneyland‘s Oogie Boogie Bash, Halloween Horror Nights provides a scarier experience for teens and adults.

Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood will run on select nights from September 4 to November 2, 2025. Each year, the event changes its themed haunted houses, making it feel like a “new” event each season. Here's what I am most excited about this year as a big Halloween fan!

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1. Terror Tram Makes a Return to Blumhouse

Each year, Halloween Horror Nights features a newly themed Terror Tram, which is essentially the Studio Tour tram that takes guests to a special scare zone area in the Backlot. Guests are taken to the backlot and typically exit the tram through the set areas of the Studio Tour to witness moments from popular horror films and see notorious monsters. This is hands down one of the best things about Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood which is unique to this park.

This year's “Terror Tram: Enter the Blumhouse” will again feature the most iconic villains from Blumhouse's popular horror franchises including The Grabber from The Black Phone, the possessed from Exorcist: The Believer, M3GAN, the ruthless killers from The Purge franchise, the demons from the Insidious chapters, Blissfield Butcher from Freaky and Babyface Killer from Happy Death Day. This year's Terror Tram experience features so many iconic villains, I cannot wait to interact with them all! Especially M3GAN, she is a crowd favorite.

2. Fallout Is This Year's Best Pop Culture House

Halloween Horror Nights typically has one or two pop culture houses that feature films or shows that may not necessarily be horror but fall in that “spooky” category. One of this year's pop culture houses is based on the popular show and video game “Fallout” franchise. Guests will travel into the vaults and be attacked by raiders before escaping into the wasteland. You will see notable characters from the film like Lucy, The Ghoul, and Maximus with the Brotherhood of Steel armor.

This genre of houses is where you see the movie-level set design that Universal excels at. Since Fallout is such a dynamic setting, I imagine this will be one of the best immersive experiences this year. This house could be as good as the Stranger Things houses in the past were, and that's setting a pretty high bar because those houses were always amazing.

3. Teens Will Go Nuts for Five Nights At Freddy's

We've been asking for it for years! Back in 2023, Halloween Horror Nights featured an immersive exhibit that featured the actual animatronic costumes from the Five Nights at Freddy's film. Ever since that film was released and the exhibit, we have been asking for a Five Nights at Freddy's haunted house! This year, we finally got our wish as these “cuddly” animatronics will be the star of their own haunted houses as guests enter the Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria and encounter these characters.

For teens who grew up playing this video game (many in secret against their parents' wishes…), this will be a huge deal. My teenage son is beside himself in anticipation of this haunted house.

4. Terrifier House Will Offer a Wet Path…?

The most hyped house this year is easily the haunted house based on all three of Damien Leone’s “Terrifier” films. Guests will enter the Terrifier funhouse and encounter Art the Clown and the Little Pale Girl, and according to Universal, will be literally “dripping with terror” and “drenched with fear.”

Yes, you read that right. The Terrifier house will have a “wet” and “dry” path with the wet path drenching guests with water as part of the scare experience. Universal is known for its unique way of reaching all the senses in its houses (including smells!), so it makes sense to incorporate water.

5. Poltergeist Is Just For Universal Studios Hollywood

The 1982 cult horror classic Poltergeist film will get its own haunted house that is unique to Universal Studios Hollywood this year! The house will bring guests “into the light” as they encounter one of the scariest films of all time.

I love to see Universal Studios Hollywood have so many unique Halloween Horror Nights experiences. As the smaller counterpart of Universal Orlando, it's nice to see when it gets this special attention. This house was one of the last announced this year, but I have a feeling it might be one of the best since it's honoring a well-loved 1980s horror film.

6. The Purge: Dangerous Waters Returns

Speaking of unique Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween experiences! The Purge: Dangerous Waters returns for its third year. The show focuses on “The Purge” franchise, where crime is legal for 12 hours as part of the government's annual Purge. The story of this show focuses on a race against time as a politician escapes to an island to avoid The Purge. The island is then overrun by Purgers, and then a fight ensues with action sequences, lighting, laser effects, high fall fire burns, and massive explosions.

The show makes great use of similar amazing stunt scenes, explosions, and visual effects we see during the WaterWorld show, but with the extra twist of horror. You will see bloody fights and gruesome special effects, which are something you don't often see in a theme park show. Even though you know that's the drill with Halloween Horror Nights, the first time I watched it took me by surprise when the first death happened and we saw blood fly in the air! Do not skip this show and find a way to fit it into your night.

7. You Can't Go Wrong with the Classics

This haunted house honors the classic Jason Voorhees character from the “Friday the 13th” franchise as guests visit the summer camp where his legend began. I always appreciate when Universal incorporates iconic characters like these. In the past, they've also done haunted houses featuring Chucky, the Universal Monsters, Leatherface, and more.

While I do appreciate the new horror movies from franchises like Blumhouse, I enjoy getting the chance to revisit the stories of the most iconic villains that the genre is known for.

8. Most Terrifying House Is Now a Trilogy

Monstruos 3: The Ghosts of Latin America is the third house in a trilogy of houses featuring the folklore and stories of Latin America. This year's house features three legends of Latin America, including La Llorona, La Muelona, and La Siguanaba.

I experienced this house in 2023, and it was the house that took me by total surprise at how completely terrifying, gruesome, and immersive it was! It's those unique houses that are the ones to watch out for, that can be the spookiest of the whole bunch. After the second house being such a vivid memory for my family, we cannot wait to see what they've done for the third version.

9. The Horrors of The Wyatt Sicks

Yes, this year also features a WWE house. This isn't a new concept. Back in 2000, Universal did a Halloween Horror Nights house focusing on The Undertaker character. This will likely be a similar concept, taking the lore surrounding this group of characters and making it into a haunted house. This house is inspired by the WWE group called The Wyatt Sicks.

This wrestling group is inspired by characters developed by Bray Wyatt. Following Wyatt's death in 2023, his real-life brother Bo Dallas returned and created The Wyatt Sicks with four other wrestlers. The wrestlers portray the puppet characters used by Wyatt: Bo Dallas, Rambling Rabbit, Mercy the Buzzard, Huskus the Pig Boy, and Abby the Witch. Bray Wyatt was a beloved wrestler, and the house will feature The Fiend, his wrestler's alter ego.

10. Iconic Guitarist SLASH Has Big Presence at HHN This Year

This house features a Depression-era farm with larger-than-life scarecrows taking revenge on those who ravaged the land. What makes this house unique is that it features an original score created by SLASH. This will also be paired with a new vinyl album release by SLASH featuring volume 2 of his HHN music from over the years and an all-new themed Slash bar.

SLASH’s original score for the experience, which he composes similarly to a motion picture by engaging with each scene, will deliver an unnerving sense of fear. This is a great treat for fans of SLASH and another example of how Universal uses the senses to immerse guests in these houses.

I cannot wait for this year's Halloween Horror Nights, which kicks off September 4. Read my article on all the best tips to survive Halloween Horror Nights to prepare for this iconic event.

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