{"id":417741,"date":"2026-10-03T13:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T13:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/417741\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T13:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T13:38:09","slug":"universal-halloween-horror-nights-celebrates-35-years-of-terrifying-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/417741\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal Halloween Horror Nights celebrates 35 years of terrifying people"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the course of 35 years, Universal Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) has done more than just frighten guests \u2014 it\u2019s built a fandom for the ages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are stories of guests meeting each other at HHN and becoming friends and making the trip as an annual meet-up. Others met at HHN, fell in love, and now have their children working at HHN,\u201d said Lora Sauls, Assistant Director of Creative Development and Show Direction for Entertainment Art & Design at Universal Orlando Resort.<\/p>\n

Other fans once worked as scare actors themselves. Now, years later, they keep coming back as guests.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur fans are the very best. Some have been with us since the beginning,\u201d Sauls said.<\/p>\n

HHN, which runs through Nov. 1 on select nights<\/a> at Universal Studios, is celebrating its milestone anniversary by adding a few twists and a house that pays homage to its long history.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOur event has evolved yet again with Downtown Clowntown, one of our scare zones, being the largest scare zone we have ever created,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve also brought in new technology to support our creative, and we have some of the largest scale scenic moments within our haunted houses that the event has ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

HHN takes you anywhere from a creepy television station containing plenty of Easter eggs on HHN\u2019s history to outer space with murderous aliens. Movies like \u201cHellraiser<\/a>\u201d and \u201cSinners<\/a>,\u201d along with the long-running Netflix show \u201cStranger Things 5<\/a>,\u201d also get the HHN treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Recreating \u201cSinners\u201d took \u201cextensive research and deep dives into the source material to determine how the story, characters and environments can best translate into an experience for HHN,\u201d said Ramon Paradoa, Show Director for Entertainment Creative Development at Universal Orlando Resort.<\/p>\n

\"\"Universal Halloween Horror Nights. Image via Universal.<\/p>\n

Sinners is an Academy Award-winning movie about vampires who attack town residents in the Jim Crow South, with violence escalating inside a nightclub.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor \u2018Sinners\u2019 in particular, I was already a massive fan of the property long before it came on our radar for HHN 2026. I had already seen the film three times prior to the conceptualization of the haunted house. Once we officially began working on the experience, myself and scenic designer Manuel Cordero rewatched the film with a more analytical lens to really determine what elements would translate into a scary, yet beautiful haunted house,\u201d Paradoa said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThroughout the process, we partnered closely with Universal Studios Hollywood, Warner Bros, and the filmmaking team every step of the way to ensure we were staying authentic to the iconic film. The behind the scenes work to take experiences like \u2018Sinners\u2019 from concept to completion is an extensive one that requires the collaboration of a village of talented, hard-working people.\u201d<\/p>\n

One memorable haunted-house scene this year is hearing \u201cCrazy Train\u201d play on a train going off the rails inside the \u201cOzzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness<\/a>\u201d haunted house. It\u2019s hard not to fist pump to the banger while a twinge of emotion floods in, remembering the late singer at the same time.<\/p>\n

\"\"Universal Halloween Horror Nights. Image via Universal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe curated his music catalogue and mashed up multiple tracks to support each scene. With his family\u2019s blessing, we have woven together an original story inspired by the album covers and his lyrics,\u201d said Charles Gray, Senior Show Director for Entertainment Creative Development at Universal Orlando Resort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen the reactions of guests, and they are truly connected to this house and the music. New fans are also embracing the experience and his legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind the darkness, past the jump scares and the frightening masks, there is an undercurrent of music that intertwines the house\u2019s themes and the carnival-themed scare zones.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic is the invisible foundation that supports visuals and connects the space between experiences throughout the event,\u201d Gray said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over the course of 35 years, Universal Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) has done more than just frighten guests…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[503,56986,139,141,140,2042,165342,2749],"class_list":["post-417741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-halloween","tag-hhn","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-orlando-theme-parks","tag-universal-halloween-horror-nights","tag-universal-orlando-resort"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}