Spooky Empire horror convention was held in Orlando, Florida during the weekend of June 20 through the 22nd, and Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights team hosted a panel at the event. They took the opportunity to announce that this year’s event will have an overall theme.
The announcement followed a post on X, where the theme for one of Halloween Horror Nights’ original house themes was dropped. And if that wasn’t enough info, yet another announcement was made today regarding a second original house theme.
Let’s start with the theme, which is The Conservatory. The theme was visualized through the use of a gothic-type aesthetic, including gargoyles, rustic stone architecture, vines, stained glass and the like. These features will be present throughout Universal Studios during Halloween Horror Nights.
Haunted house El Artista: A Spanish Haunting was the first original house theme to be announced. The storyline is set in Spain during the 19th century, when an artist moves into a remote mansion hoping to find inspiration for his art. Instead, “the art comes alive and possesses him.”
Late this morning, Halloween Horror Nights tweeted again, this time concerning the second original haunted house theme. Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters will take guests back to the Old West, where things are not going well. Lava demons are on the loose, and they are melting everything in sight as they try to possess you.
El Artista: A Spanish Haunting and Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters join the two houses that were announced earlier. Fallout, based on Prime Video’s post-apocalyptic series, was the first theme to be announced. Mutated beings wander the shattered landscape, as survivors hide out in underground vaults, trying their best to stay alive.
The next house to be announced (on Friday, June 13th, of course) was Jason Universe, which of course takes us through the world of Friday the 13th and its ruthless killer, Jason Vorhees. Guests will step into Camp Crystal Lake and see the history of Jason. You might even bear witness to some of Jason’s legendary murders while you are trying to make it through with your own life intact.
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando begins August 29, and runs through November 2. There are a variety of ticket options available, including the RIP tour, Express passes, and the Behind the Screams: Unmasking the Horror tour. There are also a limited number of tickets to Premium Scream Night, which allows guests to access the event the day before the official opening.
These options and more are available to purchase online.