Halloween Horror Nights

October 22, 2026 /

By Ava Fleming

This year, going to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios filled me with fear. Since 2026 marks the 35th anniversary of Halloween Horror Nights, the event this year was filled with more exciting attractions, haunted houses, and amazing scare actors. Walking into the park, you can feel the spooking atmosphere with fog floating around.  

One of the most thrilling parts of the event was seeing the scare actors throughout all the scare zones. In Downtown Clown town, I encountered horrifying clowns all dressed differently to scare. There was Art the Clown, killer clowns, and clowns from outer space. Their makeup and strange movements made this area even more frightening. Not to mention, the fact that the clowns are allowed to chase and follow you through the scare zone makes it hard to walk though.  

One of the most unique experiences this year was Fortnitemares, a scare zone inspired by the popular game Fortnite. Instead of walking through a traditional horror setting, visitors entered Freaky Fields, a Halloween themed battlefield from the game. This area included the Battle Bus, Fortnite inspired characters, and even characters ziplining about the walkways. There was Shadows and Husks lurking through the zone while people walked through. There were characters that were just straight from the game but Halloween themed and this made it all the more realistic.  

The haunted houses were another amazing highlight. There were ten houses to explore and walk through with the most popular ones being Stanger Things 5, Sinners, Evil Dead Burn, and Cybergoria. All these houses had their own scent and effects to make them more terrifying and realistic. Each of the 10 houses were heavily gory, and some had sensitivity to viewers. While the houses were open, there were also four original Universal attractions open. Revenge of the Mummy, Escape from Gringotts, Transformers, and MEN IN BLACK were all open along with the houses. The rides closed at 12AM while the houses and scare actors stayed out until 2AM. Overall, the vibes from this year’s Horror Nights are unmatched compared to other years. The Fortnitemares zones and the original houses come together to bring visitors of all ages to be included this year.