Huge thank you to the amazing team at Universal Studios Hollywood for inviting us back to Halloween Horror Nights this year!
Update: This is our full review, however due to a large workload I will be adding more videos + pictures as I can.
Year after year, Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood seems to get more and more popular, and it doesn’t look like that’ll be slowing down anytime soon. The crowds are massive, the scares are there, and the event continues to grow, but what’s actually the best part of HHN for the average person?
Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood Houses Ranked
Universal Studios Hollywood had eight houses this year, leaning pretty heavily into the IP side of the event. With five out of eight houses being based on established properties, there are a lot of expectations to meet and not quite as much room for surprise.
With that being said, here’s how I ranked this year’s houses from best to least scary.
Hellraiser
Clive Barker is one sick and twisted man—in the best way possible.
I’ve always loved Hellraiser, and you can tell the HHN creative team does too. They’ve talked a lot about Hellraiser being their “white whale,” and now that the rights have reverted back to Clive Barker, they were finally able to get their hands on it.
This house was located behind The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which was smart on their part. Those houses usually need at least one really strong attraction to make that trek feel worthwhile, and let me tell you, Hellraiser was absolutely worth the walk.
With the Box built at the entrance and the voice of Doug Bradley kicking things off, this house comes out swinging immediately. Chains hang from the ceiling throughout the walkthrough, and the house delivers on scares, giant set pieces, and appearances from your favorite characters.
The scare actors in this house really nailed it too. Each Cenobite has its own personality, and that personality stays consistent from actor to actor. It actually feels like the same characters are appearing throughout the house rather than just different people wearing the same costumes.
I’d absolutely go through this one again. It’s a top-priority house and one of only three this year that I think is worth waiting more than an hour for.
Sinners
Admittedly, I had my doubts about a Sinners house. When it was first announced, I was super hyped, but as the weeks went by I got more and more nervous wondering how in the world they were going to pull something like this off.
Well, I’m happy to report that they absolutely did. They also proved that they can still make great houses in the old Walking Dead location. This house had great scenes, HUGE set pieces, strong scares, and some seriously convincing actors to the point where you might actually need to do a double take.
Sinners was neck and neck with Hellraiser for me, but I’m giving the edge to Hellraiser for nostalgia’s sake. There were two moments in Sinners that really stood out to me and kept me talking for the rest of the night.
The first was a massive set piece where “Preacher Boy” is firing a rifle into the rafters. It isn’t just implied either. They built a full two-story room with people actually running around above you. It was amazing, and I really wish HHN would do stuff like this more often.
The second was a Remmick scare actor who descends down in his vampire form, coming in for the kill before floating away again. It’s such a cool and menacing scene, and once again, it’s the type of thing I wish they experimented with more often.
Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness
I tend to be a big fan of the music-inspired houses, and Prince of Darkness was no different. This house references some of Ozzy Osbourne’s most popular albums. You’ll board the Crazy Train, Bark at the Moon, and enter the Osbourne Asylum, all while surrounded by scare actors who are clearly having a great time with their house assignment.
My favorite part comes right when you enter and hear the initial, “Allllllllllllll aboard!” The Ozzy scare actor on stilts is awesome, and it’s such a fun introduction to an already really fun house.
An honorable mention for my favorite moment is the giant bat getting its revenge on Ozzy. It’s a really funny jab done in a tasteful way, and I think the late Ozzy Osbourne would’ve gotten a kick out of it. All in all, this is an amazing tribute house and easily one of the better music-themed houses HHN has done.
This is also the last house on my ranking that I personally think is worth waiting more than an hour for.
Killer Klowns From Outer Space
This is the only returning house this year, and I love Killer Klowns From Outer Space. When I think B-movie, I think KKFOS, so I was stoked to see this house return. Walking through it, I had the same giant smile on my face that I had a few years ago and enjoyed pretty much every minute of it.
I do have to say, though, it felt a little different this time around. The house felt longer, but it also felt like there were a lot more empty hallways. Either way, I still love walking through scenes from this movie. The human puppet scene is always creepy in the best way. I love it because it brings such an unsettling vibe to an otherwise joyful movie.
And I will always love the “Another door?? Another door?? Another door??” bit. It never gets old.
All that said, this house is still extremely fun and definitely enjoyable. However, if you’ve seen it before, you’ve basically seen it this time. Don’t miss another house just to do this one again.
Dead, Deader, Deadest
This is a sequel house to one of Universal’s original properties, continuing the story of Universal Horror Hotel, and it’s a gruesome one. This time, you’re entering the Deville Family Funeral Home. There’s a fake drug that is supposedly meant to restore a corpse without embalming it, but things obviously go horribly wrong and the drug begins reanimating the dead.
This house has some really good scares that genuinely caught me off guard. The story is easy to follow, and even the smells throughout the house are incredibly thematic. There’s also an AC room in this house, so on a hot California night, I’m definitely not going to complain about that.
This house is fun. I actually debated putting it above Killer Klowns From Outer Space, but ultimately landed just below it. If this line is around 45 minutes, I think that’s the perfect wait.
Killcenera
I’ve grown to really love the Mexican folklore houses over the years, so when Monstruos last year seemed like it might be the end of an era, I was pretty disappointed.
When it was announced that the Mexican Heritage houses were coming back, I was very excited. And the story behind this house sounded intriguing, so I went into it with pretty high expectations.
Unfortunately, I think I may have set the bar a little too high.
By no means is Killcenera a bad house. There are a ton of great little details, the monsters look fantastic, and the main character, Lola, is both tragic and scary. There’s also a story here that’s fairly easy to follow, along with a ton of references to Hispanic culture. The problem for me is that there’s almost too much to look at.
When you’re walking through these rooms, you can’t exactly stop and take in the scenery, so I constantly felt like there was something I was missing. Oddly enough, I think this house would benefit a lot from a second walkthrough. The problem is that I’m not sure I could justify waiting more than 30 minutes just to go through it again.
I really love the Monstruos houses, so part of me went in expecting that same level of experience. It’s not that Killcenera didn’t reach that level, it just felt like there was too much happening for me to fully take in during one walkthrough.
Evil Dead Burn
I love the Evil Dead franchise, but I never really thought about how it would work as a Horror Nights house. This house takes you through the events of Evil Dead Burn in mostly chronological order. In some cases, that type of structure translates really well to HHN, but in this case, I don’t think it fully worked.
There were definitely some scenes that translated well, like the car crash at the beginning, but there was a lot in this house that didn’t really work for me. Many of the scares happened in large, open rooms where the scare actors felt like they were half a mile away.
I think Evil Dead has the potential to be genuinely terrifying, so I just wish they had cranked the scares up a little more, especially considering this was in the same location as the Insidious house, which absolutely bombarded you with scares. They tried to bring some of that intensity toward the end of the house, but I think the spaces were simply too open for too long. Some tighter rooms would’ve done wonders here.
Stranger Things 5
Lastly, we have Stranger Things.
I have to say, I’m not exactly sad to see the end of Stranger Things at HHN. This is the final season of a show that I couldn’t even bring myself to finish, so this house already lacked a personal connection for me.
From a scare-factor perspective, this house also has the disadvantage of relying heavily on people as characters, which is usually less scary to me than monsters.
There was one Dustin scare actor who jumped out at me, and I actually got excited because they looked like a really convincing Dustin. But outside of moments like that, most of the scares come from Demogorgons, Vecna, and animatronics.
The house tells the story well, but with so many empty rooms, it felt like there was a lot more they could’ve done. There are a few large scenes that are genuinely impressive, but the overall house was a bit of a letdown for me.
This is the only house this year that I would recommend skipping if you’re really crunched for time. Every other house is at least worth checking out, but this one mostly just gave me and the person I was with a new inside joke.
Terror Tram, Scare Zones, and Scare Actor Interactions at Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2026
One thing HHN Hollywood has that Orlando doesn’t is the Terror Tram, but depending on who you ask, that could either be a positive or a negative. Personally, I like the idea and experience of the Terror Tram, but the execution over the last few years has fallen a little flat. This year’s version was a huge step above last year’s, but admittedly, that was a pretty easy task.
This year, the Terror Tram was themed around Art the Clown’s love for Christmas with Merry Art-mas. The Terror Tram usually comes with some kind of fun story to set the tone, and this year Art was basically told that it wasn’t Christmas yet, so naturally, we all had to pay for making him sad. With an original soundtrack by Ice Nine Kills, I actually thought the vibe and overall idea of the Terror Tram was really great.
However, once I got into the walkthrough, I noticed a few reused props from last year that were pretty blatantly obvious. The biggest example was the Grabber’s van, which was quite literally still the Grabber’s van, just with an Art the Clown-themed message painted on it. The walkthrough was also still way too crowded. It was difficult to get close enough to some of the scenes to really appreciate what was happening, and because there are so many people moving through at once, it becomes incredibly difficult for the scare actors to properly time their scares.
But it definitely wasn’t all bad. There were a few moments I really loved outside of the soundtrack and overall concept. At the motel, there’s a chainsaw battle between Art and Sienna that’s really cool, but my favorite part comes when you reach the War of the Worlds set. Instead of it randomly becoming, “Oh look, now we’re in the wreckage of a plane crash,” they actually give you a very in-your-face explanation this time around.
Art the Clown SHOT THE PLANE DOWN HIMSELF.
I thought this was extremely funny, and the Art actor looked like he was having an absolute blast with the scene.
Unfortunately, I also have to say that the Scare Zones just aren’t what they used to be.
I don’t necessarily think that’s Universal’s fault either. I think they know exactly how massive their crowds have become. If they made the streets extremely dark, filled them with props, and had scare actors running around everywhere, it would probably become impossible to navigate. It’s already hard enough to move through the park as it is, so I understand why the Scare Zones have become much more focused on the scare actors themselves.
However, I do think there’s a solution: make more of them and make the existing zones bigger. More Scare Zones would mean fewer areas where guests suddenly feel completely “safe,” allowing the event to maintain that Halloween atmosphere throughout more of the park without completely destroying crowd flow. Also, bring back the Toxxic Tunnel!
On the other side of that argument, the scare actors themselves do an amazing job in the Scare Zones. They somehow manage to make everyone feel like they’re getting their own little moment without breaking character or completely stopping what they’re doing. They’re constantly on the move, but it still feels like you have enough time to snap that picture if you want one.
And, of course… we have to talk about Fortnite. I was skeptically optimistic when Fortnite was first announced. I thought the idea sounded kind of silly, but I figured it could be fun depending on the execution. After actually experiencing it, unfortunately, I’m not a fan.
I thought the scare actors were great. They were funny, energetic, and heavily interactive, so I don’t want to take anything away from their performances. I know those actors probably made a lot of people’s nights. But for me personally, the whole thing mostly felt like a traffic jam with some funny scare actors mixed in. I actually think this could’ve worked much better over in Springfield. Putting it directly in the middle of Universal Boulevard was definitely an interesting choice because pretty much all night there was a wall of people stopped in the area. Getting through without bumping shoulders with someone felt almost impossible.
Food and Drink at Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2026
I always enjoy when theme parks roll out their seasonal food offerings, especially around Halloween because everything gets some kind of thematic, gory name. Halloween Horror Nights always has so much to eat and drink that it’s honestly difficult to get through everything in one night.
There are a few things you should be aware of before you start ordering, though. The Slurp Juice was sold out at multiple points throughout the night, but they did continue refilling it, so don’t give up if you see it unavailable early on. The Fortnite Battle Bus Hot Dog is also not included in the meal plan, and almost everybody I saw who ordered one ended up throwing away at least part of it. Take that information however you want.
I always try to eat and drink as many of the seasonal options as I can, and thankfully, the food lines actually weren’t too ridiculous this year. One of the biggest highlights for me was the Death by Cheesestick at the Clown Cafe. My only complaint is that the “spicy marinara” wasn’t exactly spicy, but the cheesestick itself was still very good, even as it cooled the cheese stick stayed cheesy instead of just getting thick like they usually do.
Also at the Clown Cafe, Art’s Killer Cold Brew is so, so good. I thought the thick layer of foam on top was going to be way too much, but it’s actually the perfect amount and helps cut through the bourbon really well. And for anyone wondering whether it’s actually strong, yes, it is. The bourbon is definitely forward, but in the best way possible.
Unfortunately, the Ozzy-themed cocktails didn’t hit quite as well for me. Specifically, the Bark at the Moon Mule tasted like pure sugar, and after finishing it, I didn’t want anything except water for a while. On the other hand, you really can’t go wrong with pretty much any of the cocktails or Micheladas over in Día De Los Muertos Plaza. The birria tacos also looked and smelled really good, but by around 11:30 they were already sold out.
So, moral of the story: if you plan on eating throughout the night, snacking between houses, or especially if you bought a meal pass, get your food early.
Is the meal pass worth it?
That really depends on what you’re planning on eating and drinking.
Are you more of a cocktail-and-snack person? Then the meal pass probably isn’t worth it.
Are you traveling with a friend or significant other and don’t want to worry about paying for meals throughout the night? Then yes, it’s absolutely worth it.
Or do you simply like trying a little bit of everything? Then it’s also a great option.
The meal pass is probably your best chance at getting the most variety out of the event, and nine times out of ten I’ll probably recommend it, especially if you’re traveling with more than one person. At $65, it offers some seriously good value.
Merch at Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2026
There’s a lot of really great merch at HHN this year.
I don’t usually wear long sleeves because I run hot, but the Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood Spirit Jersey is really nice. I also always buy the house shirt with the full list of houses on the back as a keepsake, and this year’s design had almost a circus-style theme to it. It actually fits really well with the circus standees they’re selling for each of the houses.
As for the individual house merch, I do wish they sold more for the original houses, but I’m sure the IP-based houses are probably much easier to sell merchandise for.
The Ozzy clothing was especially nice. A lot of it genuinely looked like something you could see being sold at a music store or concert. I also liked the Hellraiser gear, but I was really hoping for some kind of weird, creepy T-shirt. The Sinners merch was also really, really nice, but I couldn’t personally see myself wearing most of it, so I ended up walking away with a coaster instead.
One quick thing to keep in mind: I was there on opening night, and when I asked about some of the merch I was looking for, one of the employees told me they still hadn’t received some of the expected products. So if you don’t see something you were hoping for early in the event, there’s a chance it simply hasn’t arrived yet.
Do you need an express pass at Universal Studios Hollywood?
Heck yes, you do.
Look, I know Express Passes aren’t cheap, especially after you’ve already paid for your ticket, parking, food, drinks, and whatever merch you inevitably convince yourself you need. But if there’s one upgrade I’m going to recommend for Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood, it’s Express.
HHN gets crowded, and the most popular houses can easily have waits pushing up to 2 hours or more during peak season. Without Express, you’re going to spend a pretty significant chunk of your night standing in line instead of actually experiencing the event.
Can you do HHN without Express? Absolutely. But you’re going to need a game plan, get there early, and accept that you probably won’t get to everything you want to do. With Express, the night becomes significantly less stressful. You have more time for the houses, Terror Tram, food, drinks, Scare Zones, and even going back through one of your favorite houses if time allows.
So, do you need an Express Pass? Technically, no. Do I think you should get one if you can afford it? Heck yes.
Final Thoughts
Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2026 is another really strong year for the event, even if there are still a few areas that could use some improvement. The houses are easily the biggest highlight, with Hellraiser, Sinners, and Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness all being worth prioritizing during your night.
The Terror Tram was also a noticeable improvement over last year, even if overcrowding continues to hold it back, and I still think Universal needs to find a way to bring more life back into the Scare Zones. Food, drinks, and merch are all solid this year too, with plenty of options that make it very easy to spend even more money once you’re inside the park.
HHN Hollywood continues to get bigger and more crowded every year, but when the event is firing on all cylinders, it’s still one of my favorite Halloween events to attend. Plan ahead, prioritize the houses you really want to see, grab your food early, and most importantly, enjoy the chaos.
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood is running select nights until November 1st, get your ticket now!
If you’re planning a trip to Halloween Horror Nights soon, here’s our Everything You Need to Know About Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood. We’ll also be traveling to Orlando later this month to experience Halloween Horror Nights on the East Coast for the first time, so keep an eye out for our review of that as well!
