09/17/2026
“I want to go to Halloween Horror Nights, but I’m scared it’s going to be TOO scary."
I hear this ALL. THE. TIME.
And if you asked 2005/2006 Karli about Halloween Horror Nights, I probably would have told you YES. 😂
Nobody does Halloween like Universal. They’re a movie company. Sets, special effects, makeup, costumes, lighting, sound design… this is literally what they do.
But after going back year after year, I think HHN has changed a LOT over the past 20 years.
It feels much more campy now. More immersive. More theatrical. And honestly? More FUN than truly terrifying.
On September 10th, I did an RIP Tour (The VIP Tour of Halloween Horror Nights) and went through all 10 haunted houses in one night, and there wasn’t a single house that I walked out of thinking, “OMG, that was absolutely terrifying.”
There were houses I LOVED, though.
Ozzy Osbourne and Stranger Things were BEAUTIFUL. Those two actually made me emotional. Like forget screaming… why am I about to CRY in a haunted house?! 😂 The sets, music, nostalgia and storytelling were incredible.
Jack & Oddfellow was just FUN. H.R. Bloodengutz was fun. Sinners was fun.
If we’re talking actual scares, Evil Dead Burn was definitely toward the top for me. Demonic possession is one of the few horror themes that genuinely gets under my skin, and I loved how the house got progressively more intense as you moved through it. If you’ve seen the movie, you’re basically walking through the movie.
But my sleeper house of the year?
Caged Cannibals.
I was NOT expecting that one to get me as much as it did. There were scare actors and pop-outs everywhere. Every time you thought you were safe… NOPE. 😂 For straight-up jump scares, that one ranked pretty high for me.
Cybergoria didn’t scare me much at all, and Alien Invasion… well… 😂 That one just wasn’t for me.
And the scare zones?
Look at these pictures. 😂
I spent part of the afternoon before my RIP Tour walking around the park with my favorite photographer, Natalie, and interacting with the scare actors in the zones. THAT is what HHN feels like to me these days.
It’s spooky. It’s weird. It’s campy. It’s chaotic. It’s hilarious. And yes, every once in a while somebody jumps out and scares the absolute crap out of you.
But more than anything, it’s super duper FUN.
HHN has become one of those events you go to every year because it’s tradition. You grab your friends, eat ridiculous food, scream at a few scare actors, laugh at yourself afterward, obsess over which houses were your favorites and immediately start talking about next year.
So if the only thing stopping you from trying Halloween Horror Nights is that you think it’s going to be unbearably scary, I really wouldn’t let that be the reason you miss it.
And YES… you can absolutely have professional photos taken at HHN. 😍
Natalie Szolomayer Photography followed me around before my RIP Tour and captured these, and I am OBSESSED. If you want photos that actually capture the craziness and personality of Halloween Horror Nights instead of just another picture standing in front of the Universal globe, she is absolutely my go-to. Imma drop her link in the comments for ya.
Now I want to know from the HHN veterans:
Do you think Halloween Horror Nights is actually SCARY anymore… or has it become more about the fun for you too?
