Thrills, Chills, and Spine-Tingling Screams At Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights

MacabreDaily attended Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) 2024 at Universal Studios Hollywood on opening night, diving into its haunted houses and scare zones for a night of pure terror. Read on to see what we thought of the scares and exclusive merchandise!

You may wonder, “Why did you wait a week to give us your opinion of HHN?” We’ve been attending Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood since roughly 2004. With that, we know that the opening night and employee preview night are what creative director John Murdy calls, “Show Rehearsals.” What we mean is that some of the scares that are designed to be timed just right for guests to scream their heads off to, may not even happen or not go off at all. Some actors are not in their proper places and fine-tuning needs to be done before Halloween Horror Nights gets it stride and turns it up. So we waited to attend again and boy howdy were things far better.

From the moment you walk into Universal Studios Hollywood, you are being stalked by some Chainsaw Punkz. Now we dig punk music and chainsaws but these guys were serious! Each scare actor was superb and screams filled the evening air like a melodious funeral march.

All Photos By Stephanie Alvarado: MacabreDaily

Halloween Horror Nights is known for its IP-heavy haunted houses and there are tons of fan sites just chomping at the bit to be right about what properties will be featured at HHN. This year was a bit predictable as “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire”, “Insidious: The Further”, and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, were the main attractions for HHN this year and all films either had a premier or an anniversary that correlated with HHN. All three houses showed why Universal Studios Hollywood is the premier source for haunted attractions based on films. Nobody can touch them in this regard. The lighting, sound, and even smell of each of these houses were the stuff of a nightmare and we loved it.

As you can see from the above images, HHN got Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire right and the effects, sounds, and scares were both a joy and pretty frightening if you ask us. The scare actors’ placement and follow-through for this house were timed right the second time around as various elements were not active when we toured it on opening night. The house was filled with scenes from Frozen Empire and tons of easter eggs referencing the other films in the franchise.

“Insidious: The Further” was another must for us and it did not disappoint. Some are calling it the scariest house HHN has ever done but then again, some say that about at least one house a year. This house featured every villain and ghost in the Insidious franchise and HHN did not skimp on the creep factor as you hear the now infamous song “Tip Toe Through The Tulips” by Tiny Tim as you entered the house all while the red-faced demon waited above you.

These two houses were right next to each other so it made for a quick double feature if you will. We traveled back up to the main park and headed for The TERROR TRAM. This is by far our favorite aspect of HHN. This year was all Blumhouse-themed. From M3GAN to The Black Phone, the terror tram pulled no punches and utilized the areas behind the famous Bates Motel as well as the motel itself. After attending HHN for years, we have to say this year’s use of Blumhouse was spot-on and done superbly by staff. We highly recommend you go to the Terror Tram before 10 pm as it is subject to shut down early and usually is the first thing to close up for the night.

The rest of HHN was as expected. The Weekend’s maze was full of Gen Z’s dancing in the line before going into it. We enjoyed last year’s “After Hours” house and this year was more of the same. If you dig The Weekend and his music, this maze will for sure get your toes tapping but we must be honest, this was the one house that had more scare misses than hits. Many of the actors were not hitting their cues and in some instances, weren’t even in the house at all to begin with. The house’s look was of course stunning and we do not fault the fabricators or the creative staff for these little mistakes. You have to imagine a whole production crew, doing a live performance, every night. That is impressive and daunting.

After dancing our way through The Weekend’s house we also went on “The Mummy’s Revenge” ride as that is tradition for us during HHN and then we hit our last two houses. Unfortunately, we were unable to get any clean images from both The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dead Exposure: Death Valley. We were very eager for the TCM house but felt it was just the same as years past with many of the same set pieces, scares, and even smells being used again. The one very cool aspect of this house was the setting…meat rendering and meat processing plant. You know how bad those places smell and the TCM house was no different.

We really enjoyed Dead Exposure: Death Valley. The house showcased irradiated zombies and scientists going berzerk in the desert and the nuclear radiation that turned them into walking, dripping, radiation victims. If you’re a fan of the Fallout series and games, this house is for you. It had everything we expected and more.

We truly feel that Halloween Horror Nights is doing its best work as of late and the attention to detail can hardly be matched by any other “haunted attraction” in California let alone the United States. We will however say, that this year, the houses that really impressed us were the original concept houses. Sure IPs are cool and bring people into the park to “live in the movies” but the original houses pack so much punch we would be remiss if we didn’t let you know about them.

Another area where HHN shined was of course the merchandise for the event. The park was littered with everything from shirts and hats to prop replicas and signed posters. If you brought your wallet with you, it was hurting after visiting these shops. Check out the images below!

We had such a rad time at Universal Studios Hollywood for Halloween Horror Nights and we know you will too. It’s got just the right amount of fun, scares, and thrills to make any trip to Hollywood a must. Till HHN 2025, we’ll see you in the fog!

Halloween Horror Nights spans 40 select nights through Sunday, November 3, 2024.

A variety of tickets are available for sale. Click to purchase tickets and for Terms and Conditions. Details for each ticket type are subject to change.

General Admission: general admission ticket to Halloween Horror Nights
Universal Express: One-time (per day) express access to each participating haunted house, ride, and attraction. Does not include early event access.
Universal Express Unlimited: Unlimited express access (per day) to each participating haunted house, ride, and attraction. Does not include early event access.
Frequent Fear Pass: Experience up to 33 nights (based on your selected first visit date during purchase) of General Admission to this year’s event. Valid on select nights only; blackout dates apply. Does not include early event access.
Ultimate Fear Pass: Experience the scares over and over for up to all event nights (based on selected first visit date during purchase). No blackout dates on return visits. Does not include early event access.
After 2 PM Day/Night: Daytime General Admission to the Theme Park after 2:00 p.m. and same day evening General Admission to Halloween Horror Nights.
Early Access Ticket: Early access, beginning at 5:30 p.m.(subject to change) to select haunted houses prior to the event opening. A Halloween Horror Nights admission ticket must be purchased separately.
R.I.P. Tour: Enjoy V.I.P treatment with an evening of first-class horror, expert shared guided tour of the haunted house, exclusive experiences along the way and a gourmet dinner.
Pass Member Special Pricing: Platinum Annual Pass Members can reserve their complimentary Halloween Horror Nights General Admission ticket, select nights apply.

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Nov 4, 2020

Samuel Santiago

Nov 4, 2020

Sam has been writing Horror news, reviews, and handling event coverage for over 10yrs in Southern California. Well versed in movies as well as music knowledge Sam watches over the world that is MACABRE DAILY and makes sure its just spooky enough for everyone's liking...especially his.