What to Know
- Halloween Horror Nights opens Sept. 7 at Universal Studios Hollywood
- A haunted house inspired by season 4 of Netflix's hit series "Stranger Things" will make its debut
- A scary "Chucky" experience, as well as one themed to the video game "The Last of Us," are also on the fright festival's 2023 calendar
Just when summertime is at its sunniest zenith, and the world is optimistically awash in pool toys, pitchers of iced tea, and easy warm evenings, we're reminded that Vecna is out there, somewhere, lurking at the edges of lives.
Waiting.
Of course, we can always find the extremely intense monster within the peculiarly drawn perimeters of "Stranger Things," the hit Netflix series that put the dastardly Dungeons & Dragons villain in a central and oh-so-scary role.
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Finding Vecna on our side of the screen, though? That is just fantasy, surely?
That comforting notion will be terrifyingly turned Upside Down on Sept. 7 when a haunted house inspired by the "Stranger Things" season 4 debuts at Halloween Horror Nights.
The Universal Studios Hollywood fright festival, which summons all sorts of cinematic startles over several September and October nights each fall, made the "Stranger" announcement on Thursday, July 13.
The Scene
This in-person experience "... mirrors the mind-bending twists and supernatural terror of Season 4, immersing guests in a heart-pounding experience alongside valiant characters from the series, including Eleven, Max, Eddie and more."
"Guests will find themselves on the front line of Vecna's deadly attacks on the citizens of Hawkins while traveling through iconic scenes, including the notorious Hawkins Lab, the enigmatic Creel House and Vecna's chilling mind lair."
Like the young heroes of Hawkins, you'll want to keep your close friends close as you turn tight corners and roam shadowy passageways, never knowing if the creature will emerge from the next dark space, the one that is just beyond the corner of your eye.
"From the opening shots of 'Stranger Things 4,' episode one, we knew this was meant to be an experience at Halloween Horror Nights," said John Murdy, Executive Producer of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood.
This newest eek-out experience joins two previously revealed 2023 haunted houses on the roster: A haunted happening inspired by one of cinema's most terrifying playthings, Chucky, and an adventure that finds its fun(gi) frights in the hit video game "The Last of Us."
Tickets are now on sale for Halloween Horror Nights, which opens on Sept. 7, 2023.
Universal Studios and NBC-owned TV stations operate under the same parent company NBCUniversal.
