What to Know
- Halloween Horror Nights 2023 opens at Universal Studios Hollywood on Sept. 7
- Several haunted houses, including one inspired by the video game "The Last of Us," have been revealed
- The 2023 event's final details were unveiled on Aug. 9; Death Eaters will roam The Wizarding World of Harry Potter while the Terror Tram will haunt the backlot
Horror stories always have that one final fright, the last jolt, the ultimate twist that you know is most definitely coming (even if you most definitely don't know when).
Likewise, a major horror-inspired event boasts some of the same tropes.
Take Halloween Horror Nights, the long-running falltime fright-tacular, the one with all of those over-the-top haunted houses, eerie entertainment offerings, and spooky sights aplenty.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
Announcements about the coming haunted houses roll out all summer, beginning around May or June, and then! That concluding chapter arrives suddenly, giving you all of the details you need to know about the multi-week autumn happening.
That news lurked into our worlds on Aug. 9, which is just about a month, give or take, before Halloween Horror Nights opens at Universal Studios on Thursday, Sept. 7.
There was plenty to unpack in this latest unveiling, from the Death Eaters' wicked return to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to the theme of the latest Terror Tram outing ("Exterminatorz" is the title, and Larry Larva is the villain, so let your imagination turn that one over, like so much moist garden dirt, for a few minutes.)
There's a lot beyond the backlot-roaming adventure and the Hogwarts-adjacent wraiths to ponder, from the Chucky-inspired barbecue takeover at Hollywood & Vine to cocktails with Día de los Muertos flair at Universal Plaza.
Scoops Ahoy, the dessert-serving staple seen on "Stranger Things," will also cameo during the event's big, big run. And we do mean "big": Halloween Horror Nights will haunt the world-famous theme park on select nights from Sept. 7 through Oct. 31, 2023.
Universal Studios and NBC-owned TV stations operate under the same parent company NBCUniversal.
