Halloween season has returned to Universal Orlando Resort with Halloween Horror Nights 35! We’ve gone through the houses, survived the scare zones, and sampled all sorts of delicious bites and sips to bring you our guide to this year’s event.

The Basics

What is HHN?

Halloween Horror Nights is an annual haunt event at Universal Studios Florida that runs on select nights in the fall. It features 10 IP-themed and original haunted houses, scare zones, and live entertainment, plus exclusive food and beverages and merchandise.

Tracker Tip: Keep in mind that this event can be intense and may be too much for kids (even with the Fortnitemares scare zone this year). Halloween Horror Nights is not recommended for those under the age of 13, and no costumes are allowed.

Dates

Halloween Horror Nights 35 runs on select nights from August 28 through November 1, 2026. The full list of event dates includes:

• August 28, 29, and 30
• September 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 30
• October 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, and 31
• November 1

The event runs from 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. on those select nights, with Stay & Scream starting at 2 p.m.

Premium Scream Night is also open to guests with that specific ticket on August 27 and October 19.

Tickets

There are several different ticket types available for Halloween Horror Nights to fit every member of your Scream Squad. These include:

• Halloween Horror Nights Single Night Ticket – Starting from $89.99 per person
  • Single night admission to Halloween Horror Nights
• Halloween Horror Nights Premium Scream Night – Starting from $450 per person
  • August 27 or October 19
  • Access to haunted houses with shorter wait times compared to regular Halloween Horror Nights event nights
  • All-You-Care-to-Enjoy select food and non-alcoholic beverages
  • Free self-parking (must show valid Halloween Horror Nights Premium Scream Night admission ticket)
• Halloween Horror Nights Scream Early Ticket – Starting from $70 per person
  • One (1) time guest admission to Universal Studios Florida starting at 2 p.m.
  • Access to select haunted houses starting at 2 p.m. (minimum 3 houses at the discretion of Universal Orlando)
  • Separate event admission for the same date is required
• Halloween Horror Nights Express Pass – Starting from $239.99 per person
  • Express access to use one time at all 10 houses and participating attractions
  • Separate event admission for the same date is required
• Halloween Horror Nights Rush of Fear Pass – Starting from $239.99 per person
  • Admission to Halloween Horror Nights for up to the first 18 nights
• Halloween Horror Nights Frequent Fear Pass – Starting from $289.99 per person
  • Admission to Halloween Horror Nights for up to 31 nights
• Halloween Horror Nights Frequent Fear Plus Pass – Starting from $339.99 per person
  • Admission to Halloween Horror Nights for up to 41 nights
• Halloween Horror Nights Ultimate Frequent Fear Pass – Starting from $469.99 per person
  • Admission to Halloween Horror Nights for up to 49 nights
  • Includes all 2026 eligible event dates (not valid on Premium Scream Night August 27 or October 19)
  • Self-parking after 5 p.m. on all eligible Halloween Horror Nights event nights

Guests with a valid annual pass or a daytime ticket to Universal Studios Florida can take advantage of the Stay & Scream perk, which will grant admission to at least three haunted houses starting at 2 p.m. before the event officially begins at 6:30 p.m. You will need to obtain a wristband to get access to the houses, which will be given out near Guest Services starting at park open, and then at Hogwarts Express: King’s Cross Station and Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast.

Tracker Tip: Remember that parking is not included with standard HHN admission. Annual Passholders, Premium Scream Night guests, and those with an Ultimate Frequent Fear pass get free self-parking.

Things to Do

HHN is always packed with plenty to do for everyone, and this year is no exception. With 10 houses, 4 scare zones, and two nighttime shows, you’re bound to find something to do, even for the scaredy-cats.

Haunted Houses

Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control

Step into the origins of Jack the Clown and Dr. Oddfellow before you find yourself lost in the Oddverse. These two HHN icons will go head to head as they pit chaos and control against each other, and find that they are more powerful when working together.

Sinners

Experience the award-winning film by Ryan Coogler in the flesh as you enter 1930s Mississippi and the Smokestack Twins’ juke joint. When Remmick’s vampire fellowship joins the fray, you’ll just have to hope you make it to sunrise.

Stranger Things 5

Enter the final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things as the Upside Down invades Hawkins for one last showdown. Will you take down Vecna once and for all?

Hellraiser

This haunted house is based on the original Hellraiser film trilogy. Journey through Hell and encounter Pinhead and the Cenobites as you try not to get caught in their rituals.

Tracker Tip: If you’re a fan of the original films, keep an ear out for Pinhead’s voice, which was provided by Doug Bradley, the actor who played the character in those movies. He recorded custom voice work for the haunted house on both coasts.

Evil Dead Burn

The Book of the Dead has been opened once again as its forces invade a family home. Based on the new movie of the same name, you’ll have to escape an entire family of Deadites.

Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness

Celebrate the Prince of Darkness himself with this house that takes you through a world inspired by his lyrics and discography, which cemented him as a true rock ‘n’ roll legend.

Tracker Tip: This haunted house will feature rooms inspired by the covers of his albums, including Diary of a Madman, Bark at the Moon, The Ultimate Sin, and Black Rain.

H.R. Bloodengutz Presents: A Halloween Fright-Tacular!

H.R. Bloodengutz is back with WKNB to bring you a special scare-athon of curated Halloween favorite movies from HHN lore and more.

Tracker Tip: Keep an eye out for references to Slaughter Sinema, as well as an appearance from the Pumpkin Lord!

MADLANDS: Caged Cannibals

This original haunted house will dare you to survive a dystopian wasteland inside a defunct zoo, where the animals have been replaced by cannibal factions out for blood.

Cybergoria

In Cybergoria, you awaken from cryo-sleep to find that our robot overlords have transformed the human race into something worse. The machines are driven to do one thing: make us live forever, even if it kills us.

INVASION: Alien Abduction

Make your way through the middle of an alien abduction amid a Southwestern homestead, dodge probing tentacles, and make contact with horrors from the far reaches of space in this original haunted house.

Scare Zones

Tracker Tip: Each scare zone will have swirls hidden throughout, which serve as the portals that Dr. Oddfellow has opened to bring horrors from the Oddverse to our reality.

Infernal Carnival of Nightmares

In this scare zone, Jack and Dr. Oddfellow present the horrors that hide in every shadow, formed into a carnival full of sinister spectacle.

Sideshow of Decay

Cindy Caine, with the help of Dr. Oddfellow’s sorcery, has opened a portal in the carnival’s junkyard to bring back HHN nightmares from years past to haunt the present.

Tracker Tip: Cindy Caine was originally created to be the icon for HHN: Islands of Fear in 2002, but was replaced by the Caretaker, Dr. Albert Caine. He was later written to be Cindy’s father. She made her first official appearance at the event in the 2006 haunted house, Screamhouse: The Resurrection.

Fortnitemares

Where we dropping, Scream Squad? The horrors of Fortnitemares have escaped your console and are now in the real world, Storm and all. Get your emotes ready!

Downtown Clowntown

New York has been taken over by your worst nightmare… clowns. See Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Art the Clown, and more in this scare zone (which was our favorite of the event)!

Mel’s Die-In Zombies

While not a scare zone in the traditional sense, Mel’s Drive-In has once again been transformed into Mel’s Die-In, complete with zombie carhops ready to offer their delicious fare.

Club Horror

Enjoy the stylings of an undead DJ in San Francisco as it’s transformed into Club Horror for HHN 35.

Entertainment

Nightmare Fuel: Blood Noir

Resist the temptation of the night as Nightmare Fuel returns with a vampire-themed show packed with death-defying stunts — including a sword swallower!

Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins

Relive the moments of all five seasons of Stranger Things with this nighttime show projected on the Universal Studios lagoon, themed to a special broadcast from WSQK.

Dining

There are multiple locations throughout Universal Studios Florida to grab a bite in between haunted houses during your evening of scares, including:

• Evil Dead Burn Food Booth
• Stranger Things Food Booth
• Hellraiser Food Booth
• Sinners Food Booth
• Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness Food Booth
• Death Tank Food Booth
• Devilish Delights Food Booth
• Jack’s Surplus Food Booth
• Oddfellow’s Menagerie
• Crosshairs Coop Food Booth
• Meetz Meats Food Booth
• Día de los Muertos Food Booth

You can also find more bites at Maloney’s Food, Parkside Fare, Dreamworks Imagination Cafe, San Francisco Pastry, Today Cafe, Croissant Moon Bakery, Richter’s Burger Co., Louie’s Italian Restaurant, Schwab’s Pharmacy, Central Park Crepes, Lard Lad Donuts, Cletus’ Chicken Shack, and Fearful Fare. See the full menus for Halloween Horror Nights here.

Merchandise

This year’s merch lineup includes items celebrating the 35th anniversary of the annual event, which feature Jack the Clown and Dr. Oddfellow. There are also collections themed to this year’s haunted houses, including Sinners, Stranger Things, Hellraiser, and more.

Items featuring HamiKuma are also available this year, and you can also meet the fan-favorite bear from Universal Studios Japan at a special meet-and-greet experience in Five & Dime.

All of these items and more can be found in this year’s Tribute Store, which is back in its original spot to the left of Revenge of the Mummy. This year’s store is themed to a Sideshow Obscura, a traveling sideshow packed with oddities, creatures, backstage areas, and a midway.

Have you been to Halloween Horror Nights yet? Which haunted house is your favorite? Let us know in the comments and on social media, and check out our vlog from our opening night experience!