The mist is settling, and the chilling details of Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 2023 are finally creeping into the light. Prepare to confront your deepest fears as Universal unveils its most thrilling haunted house lineup yet, with ten spine-tingling attractions promising to transmogrify the park into a realm of relentless terror. From the uncanny streets of Hawkins to the gory playground of the infamous killer doll, Chucky, brace yourself for a nightmarish journey that will leave even the bravest souls quaking in their boots. Plus, featured in his own haunted house, with stories woven through each of the scarezones, Dr. Oddfellow will be this year’s original HHN icon. 

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

Read on, if you dare, for a sneak peek of the phantasmagoric experiences lurking in the shadows of this year’s event…


Universal Halloween Horror Nights 2023 – Overview

Universal Orlando‘s event will run for a record 44 nights from September 1st through November 4th this year. While at Universal Studios Hollywood, Halloween Horror Nights will occur on select nights from September 7th through October 31st.

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

For 2023, Universal Hollywood and Orlando will share three maze themes in common. Both resorts will feature “The Exorcist: Believer,” “Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count,” and “Universal Monsters: Unmasked.”

But the most is known about Universal Orlando’s plans for Halloween. I’m sure you’re dying to know more…


Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights 2023

Halloween Horror Nights promises to bring guests’ “worst nightmares to life within 10 all-new movie-quality haunted houses inspired by everything from top names in terror and pop culture to unfathomable original abominations devised by the twisted creators of the event. Guests will also navigate five scare zones throughout the park – each filled with hordes of gruesome creatures stalking their every move – and enjoy outrageous live entertainment.

If you need a break from the scares, frightfully delicious menus will be available throughout the park, and you can shop event-exclusive merchandise at the highly-themed Tribute Store, and more. Some of Universal’s top attractions are also open to enjoy during the event.

IP Haunted Houses

Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count

Horror fans got a special treat on Halloween night last year when Universal announced the first haunted house of 2023… CHUCKY is coming to the event! This year, the killer doll is the star of his very own haunted house for the first time. A true sadistic killer, Chucky has been mired in the agony of disrespect he feels from his peers at not being taken seriously. Thus begins his quest to turn his haunted house into a living slaughterhouse by killing every person who enters.

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

While the house is inspired by the hit USA/SYFY series, this year’s presence of Chucky also coincides with the 35th anniversary of the original Child’s Play film, which was released in November 1988.

The Last of Us

On June 15th, Universal announced The Last Of Us is coming to both Orlando and Hollywood’s horror event.

Enter the frightening world of The Last Of Us – set in a ravaged civilization, where Infected and hardened survivors run rampant, based on Naughty Dog and PlayStation’s video game, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. 

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

The Last Of Us haunted houses on both coasts will propel guests into a world of carnage and mayhem as they follow in the footsteps of the game’s protagonists, Joel and Ellie, who endure a brutal journey in a world overtaken by a fungal virus that turns humans into various forms of a new threat known as the Infected. As guests encounter the Infected – Runners, Stalkers, and Clickers – along with The Hunters, a band of hostile humans, they will need to navigate the Pittsburgh Quarantine Zone, including iconic locations from the video game such as the creepy and desolate The Hotel Grand and a labyrinth of dark and dank tunnels, in a desperate attempt to escape and survive.

Stranger Things

It’s time to step back into Hawkins… After months of speculation, on July 13th, Universal announced the return of Stranger Things for both Orlando and Hollywood! The new haunted house will be based on the 4th [and scariest] season.

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

Universal shares: “You must band together with your squad if you want to resist Vecna’s gruesome curse. Take on the scariest season of Stranger Things yet. Like Eleven, now’s your chance to stop him once and for all as you have the ultimate showdown in Vecna’s blood-red mindscape.”

Season 4 is split between multiple plotlines, including mysterious teenage murders happening in Hawkins, Eleven visiting an ominous laboratory and reliving her past, Vecna in the Upside Down, and Hopper ultimately battling a Demogorgon within a Soviet prison camp. 

This will be the third run of the sci-fi fantasy series at Halloween Horror Nights. Are you hyped for another Stranger Things house?

The Exorcist: Believer

On October 13, 2023, “The Exorcist: Believer” hits theaters just in time for Halloween. Universal Orlando will be unleashing a haunted house inspired by the film. The theme park shares: “In this new chapter, guests will be transported to a bustling street market in Haiti, where an innocent purchase of a strange folk doll with three eyes leads to the opening of a demonic portal, the awakening of sinister spirits and the subsequent disappearance of two 12-year-old girls in the U.S.” Yikes! 

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

Universal Monsters: Unmasked

This brand-new haunted house is inspired by Universal’s iconic monsters. At “Universal Monsters: Unmasked” guests will be ushered into burial grounds filled with skeletons and secrets. Visitors can expect to see ominous characters such as The Phantom of the Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Dr. Jack Griffin (aka The Invisible Man). The creatures will be awaiting your arrival in the Catacombs of Paris. But, make no mistake, this won’t be a pleasant visit. After the area opens to the public, they’re intent on retribution. Watch out for furious fiends, for they lurk around every corner! (SLASH will contribute an original score for Hollywood’s version!)

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

5 ALL-NEW ORIGINAL HAUNTED HOUSES

Here are Universal’s five, new Haunted Houses and their descriptions!

Dr. Oddfellow: Twisted Origins 

“In the 1930s Dust Bowl era, guests won’t be able to resist going inside Dr. Oddfellow’s menacing menagerie of twisted oddities where they’ll encounter grotesquely distorted animals and freakish fiends. In Dr. Oddfellow: Twisted Origins, the price to enter this creepy caravan is steep as souls feed his immortal power.”

(Keep an eye out for hints of Jack the Clown and his brother Eddie here, as they once worked at Oddfellow’s carnival!)

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate

“The great wizard Merlyn has been transformed into the Enchanted Oak, leaving a power vacuum. When two powerful warlocks invade his castle to steal his spell book, they are turned into dragons of fire and ice. Now guests are caught in the middle of their battle and are forced to choose a path and a victor. But beware, one never knows who will win in Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate.

Inspired by the defunct roller coaster of the same name from Islands of Adventure’s Merlinwood, this house is an exciting throwback for theme park history buffs! Could there be 2 different paths winding through this house? Will you choose fire or ice?

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

YETI: Campground Kills

“In a 1950s campground, a group of towering, terrifying yetis are running rampant, ripping apart campers, rangers and anyone else who gets in their way. In YETI: Campground Kills, guests must flee through the campground into cabins, a bait shack and even the outhouse in hopes of making it to the ranger tower before it’s too late.”

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

The Darkest Deal

“In the Mississippi Delta, blues musician Pinestraw Spruce meets at a crossroads with a diabolical entity known as The Collector to make a deal: his soul for musical glory. Guests will witness his big break performing for a crowd before The Collector drags him to Hades with the other musicians who learned the terrible price of fame in The Darkest Deal.

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings

“Colonial-era villagers begin to worship the moon obsessively. When the blood moon rises at their fall festival, they take it as a sign that they must hunt down any non-followers within their village. Guests will need to try not to become part of the sacrifice as they gather body parts to form a grisly offering in Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings.

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!


5 ALL-NEW Scare Zones

Five, new, unnerving Scare Zones are lined up for 2023, with each of them sharing a connection… can you find the hidden symbol in each of the Scare Zone logos? They all tie into this year’s HHN icon, Dr. Oddfellow.

Dr. Oddfellow’s Collection of Horror

“Dr. Oddfellow will lure guests into Halloween Horror Nights with a promise of immortality. As he lifts the veil on all the horrors to come, they’ll soon realize they may not even survive the night.”

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

Dark Zodiac

“Dr. Oddfellow has entered a dark dimension to harness the power of the Zodiac and live forever. He twists the signs into malevolent beings who foretell one’s doom. As his star rises, yours falls.”

(Did you notice the zodiac symbols in Dr. Oddfellow’s house logo above?)

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

Jungle of Doom: Expedition Horror

“In the 1920s, Dr. Oddfellow ventured deep into the darkest jungle, performing horrific experiments on nature. Now his monstrous creatures are running amok and on the hunt.”

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

Vamp ’69: Summer of Blood

“At a 60s music fest in a small New York town, guests will jam to popular bands with fellow concert-goers until Dr. Oddfellow unleashes vicious vampires on the audience that are out for blood.”

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

Shipyard 32: Horrors Unhinged

“Enter a 1940s San Francisco shipping yard full of mysterious crates and cages bearing Dr. Oddfellow’s symbol. Beware, his nightmarish oddities have now escaped spreading fear and chaos in their wake.”

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!


NEW Experiences & Food Offerings

We’ve got the inside scoop on new experiences and food offerings to look forward to. Here are the details per Universal!

  • Nightmare Fuel Revenge Dream: Live show featuring a new dreamer confronting the creature that’s been turning her dreams into nightmares
  • All-new Tribute Store: Enter a mysterious NYC Comic Book Shop and experience the “Tribute to Terror” by stepping into the pages of this original, terrifying, horror comic book.
  • Death Eaters will appear in Universal Studios’ Diagon Alley for the very first time; roaming from the streets of London through the cobbled walkways of Knockturn Alley.

Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Unearth 2023’s Frights: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Details!

  • Dead Coconut Club: Enjoy a drink at the Red Coconut Club as it will once again transform, donning a new theme and menu
  • All-New Food & Beverage Items:
    • Bloody Campground Poutine
    • El Pastor Torta
    • Sour Apple Pie Funnel Fries
    • (Plus returning fan-favorites like Pizza Fries!)
  • Peacock’s Halloween Horror Bar (New): Themed libations within an ominous nightclub vibe, photo opportunities, and more
  • Taste of Terror: Offers guests an exclusive preview of select items that will be featured at Halloween Horror Nights select nights from August 10 through August 26

Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights Tickets

Nightly tickets, Rush of Fear, and Frequent Fear passes are available online now!

Halloween Horror Nights hotel and ticket packages and hotel offers have also been released, including savings of up to $200 when guests purchase HHN tickets, and their hotel stay together. Hotel guests also receive special access to a dedicated HHN entrance.

Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights Tickets

And here are the ticket options currently offered for Universal Studios Hollywood!

  • HHN single-night tickets, starting from $74
  • Universal Express, starting from $209
    • Includes a HHN ticket with one-time express entry to each participating haunted house, attraction, and ride
  • Universal Express Unlimited, starting from $249
    • Includes a HHN ticket with unlimited express entry to every haunted house, attraction, and ride, with the exception of Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge
  • After 2PM Day/Night ticket, starting from $149
    • Grants after 2PM entry Daytime General Admission plus same-day entrance to HHN. Also includes same-day access to Super Nintendo World from 7PM to 10PM.
  • After 2PM Day/Night Universal Express, starting from $329
    • Everything from the After 2PM Day/Night ticket, but also has one-time express access to each participating haunted house, attraction, and ride during the day AND an additional round of express access to use during HHN
  • RIP tour, starting from $379
    • Ticket includes a guided walking tour of the event; one-time R.I.P. entry to each haunted house as well as select rides and attractions (based on tour itinerary), reserved VIP seating at a live show (based on tour itinerary) while on the tour with R.I.P. Tour Guide, and Universal Express Unlimited access (with R.I.P. Tour credential) at select haunted houses, rides, and attractions for the night of your tour. Additionally, the tour includes a “Universal Backlot Halloween experience” in a private trolley AND a gourmet dinner in a private dining room.
  • Frequent Fear and Ultimate Fear Passes, starting from $209 and $329 respectively
    • Enjoy being repeatedly terrified with a pass good for up to 30 nights (Frequent Fear). or go all-out and secure the pass for every single event night (Ultimate Fear). 

Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights 2023 Quick Tips

  • HHN 2023 will run for 48 nights, on select dates from September 1st through November 4th.
  •  HHN 2023 tickets & Frequent Fear Passes are available online now.
  • HHN 2023 will offer 10 haunted houses, 5 scare zones, shows, highly-themed merchandise “Tribute Store,” and favorite HHN food and drinks. 
 

Fear will come to life select nights at Universal Orlando Resort September 1st– November 4th, and at Universal Studios Hollywood September 7th–October 31st.


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We Scare Because We Care

It’s shaping up to be another fun Halloween Horror Nights season in the Universal parks. The event is very popular and can be uncomfortably crowded the closer we get to Halloween. Would you buy front-of-line Express Passes or the RIP Tour to beat the crowds? If not, which haunted houses would be your priority, and what strategies do you use to see the things that are most important to you?

Happy Halloween dreams! 

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