Halloween Horror Nights Kicks Off at Universal Studios Hollywood With New Attractions

Universal Studios Hollywood officially welcomed Halloween Horror Nights on Thursday, drawing large crowds eager to experience the park’s newest haunted houses and scare zones.

Among the highly anticipated openings is a house inspired by Ryan Coogler’s film “Sinners,” which transports visitors into the vampire-infested Club Juke. Another major attraction, “Stranger Things 5,” takes guests from Castle Byers into the Upside Down, featuring appearances by Vecna and a Demogorgon battling Karen Wheeler. Additionally, the event marks the Halloween Horror Nights debut of “Hellraiser,” alongside returning favorites “Killer Klowns From Outer Space,” “Evil Dead Burn,” and the Slash-curated “Killceañera.”

Queue times reflected the initial surge in attendance. Within half an hour of opening, the wait for the “Sinners” house reached 60 minutes, while “Hellraiser” saw a 50-minute delay. “Killer Klowns From Outer Space,” “Evil Dead Burn,” and “Killceañera: Music by Slash” each had 30-minute waits. The “Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness” experience drew a 35-minute line, with “Stranger Things 5” and “Dead, Deader, Deadest” holding waits of 25 minutes.

Scare actors also roamed the park, including a blood-soaked version of Nikki from the film “Obsession.” Lacking a fixed meeting point, she wanders unpredictably through the crowds, repeating her character’s unsettling declaration of affection before disappearing to seek new victims.

In the Lower Lot, Universal paid tribute to the late rock legend with Ozzy’s Bar, which saw wait times approach an hour by nightfall. The venue served themed beverages such as the Blizzard of Ozz-arita and Ultimate Sin-ammon, alongside food items like the Bark at the Naan taco. The adjacent Ozzy haunted house featured various manifestations of the musician, including a mad-scientist variant and a demonic bat figure, culminating in a “Crazy Train” scene complete with corpse props set to the hit song.

The Upper Lot housed the “Sinners” house, where characters including Mary, Annie, and Pearline lurk among guests. Nearby, a Fortnite-themed area attracted visitors posing in front of the franchise’s iconic Battle Bus.

Halloween Horror Nights will continue on select nights through November 1.