Looks like Halloween’s going to be a scream again this year. Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, which traditionally features several haunted houses themed to different film and television series, is coming back with some brand new haunts in Fall 2023. The theme park has just announced its new lineup, so if you’re sick of summer and longing for spooky season, click on to get excited about the upcoming scares, which begin September 7 and continues through October 31.
The Emmy-nominated series The Last Of Us was a huge hit this year, so transforming it into a haunted house was a slam-dunk idea. The Horror Nights attraction promises scares from Clickers and Bloaters, but there might be even more lore that goes beyond what the first season covered, as Universal promises even more features from the video games.
Stranger Things is a Horror Nights favorite—in addition to the haunted house, attendees can also visit Surfer Boy Pizza, Scoops Ahoy, and a new “Stellar Bar” for cocktails. But perhaps even more than previous Stranger Things/Horror Nights crossovers, the fourth season is a perfect fit. There was an actual haunted house in this season! Fans can look forward to the theme park’s interpretation of the latest big battle with Vecna.
The Exorcist: Believer trailer thrilled moviegoers before Oppenheimer, and now it can thrill theme parkgoers who get to experience a slice of the new film in real life. Universal describes the attraction as a “terrifying new beginning in horror, as two families battle a sinister demonic force that has possessed their young daughters.”
If you’re looking for more of a Multiverse of Macabre-ness situation, the Universal Monsters: Unmasked house is your best bet. Classic icons like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Phantom of the Opera, The Invisible Man, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame all come together for the first time in a new scary story. (Side note: we would argue that The Hunchback of Notre Dame isn’t exactly a horror character, but who are we to deny him his own spooky season celebration?)
It’s been a great few years for killer dolls. While we would love to see a M3GAN house next year, her progenitor, Chucky, is getting his own spotlight in a tour of the the pint-size slasher’s most infamous kills through his new SYFY series as well as the classic franchise films. In celebration, quick service restaurant Hollywood & Dine will also transform into a Chucky-themed BBQ joint.
The Last Of Us’ clickers and bloaters aren’t the only zombie-like creatures set to terrorize Horror Nights visitors this year. After the box office success of the Evil Dead franchise’s 2023 reboot, Universal is giving park-goers the chance to experience an entirely new demonic tale from Sam Raimi and Lee Cronin’s blood-soaked universe... if they dare.
With this sure-to-be-spooky house, Universal is paying homage to “the most terrifying ghosts and creatures from Latin American folklore.” Per a panel that announced the haunt, these will include El Sibón aka The Whistler, Tlahuelpuchi (a “vampire witch”), and La Lechuza aka The Owl Witch, who “disguises her voice to mimic an infant to lure people in.” The main plaza will also be transforming into a celebration of Dia de Los Muertos, featuring Latin Folklore-themed cocktails.
Even if you’re the type of person who doesn’t find the fact that Universal is already gearing up for Halloween as terrifying as the holiday itself, you might still be horrified thinking about Christmas (not to mention July 4 and Easter next year). The theme park is banking on it in this not-so-jolly house, which will apparently take visitors on “a petrifying trip through a series of psychotic seasonal celebrations.”
This Halloween, the Universal backlot tour is getting hijacked by a humanoid bug man named Larry Larva, whose devious plan is to start an insect uprising exterminating all humans from the Earth. As if that wasn’t scary enough, visitors will also walk through the real Jupiter’s Claim set from Jordan Peele’s Nope, in which they will be confronted by the tethered from Us. This one sounds like it’s really not for the faint of heart.