Universal Halloween Horror Nights

Tickets are Now on Sale for ‘Halloween Horror Nights,’ at Universal Studios Hollywood

August 26, 2015 By Daniel Hale

Official Press Release

Let the Terror Begin!

Universal Studios Hollywood Announces Tickets are Now on Sale for

“Halloween Horror Nights,” Southern California’s Most Extreme Halloween Event,

Which Kicks Off on Friday, September 18

Universal City, CA, August 18, 2015—Tickets are now on sale for “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood as Southern California’s premier Halloween event unveils a slate of new mazes, an exciting hip-hop dance show, a new cutthroat Terror Tram experience and terrifying Scare Zones, beginning Friday, September 18, 2015.

Tickets to this year’s event are available for purchase at www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com/hollywood, including a “Killer Deal Nights” ticket option with discounts of up to $25 on select dates as well as a Front of Line ticket option which enables guests to enjoy priority access to each “Halloween Horror Nights” maze, “Terror Tram,” Jabbawockeez show and theme park attractions. Advance purchase is recommended as event nights will sell out.

“Halloween Horror Nights” dates are: September 18, 19, 25, 26, 27, October 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, and November 1, 2015.

“Halloween Horror Nights” brings together the sickest minds in horror to immerse guests in a living, breathing, three-dimensional world of terror inspired by TV and film’s most compelling horror properties. This year’s line-up includes:

All-New Mazes and Show:

“Guillermo del Toro Presents Crimson Peak: Maze of Madness” is inspired by the visionary filmmaker who directed, co-wrote and produced the upcoming October 16 Legendary and Universal Pictures feature film. The three-dimensional living replica of the film is designed to send guests spiraling through the chilling world and into the footsteps of Crimson Peak’s lead character, Edith Cushing, first as they venture from her home in America, then to the decaying and haunted Allerdale Hall mansion in a remote English countryside. With a foreboding “Beware of Crimson Peak” message that echos from Edith’s past, guests will navigate a labyrinth of paranormal tortured souls who have born witness to the estate’s dark history of unspeakable acts…and who continue to reside in vengeful, ghostly forms.

Bringing together the most sinister of scenes from all three films, “Insidious: Return to the Further,” investigates unexplained phenomena in the Lambert family’s eerie Victorian home as guests find themselves at a séance that unleashes chaos and horror. They’ll journey into “The Further” – a supernatural realm that houses tormented spirits – and face deadly ghosts and demons like the Woman in Black and Oxygen Mask Demon, that will stop at nothing to infiltrate the world of the living.

“The Walking Dead: Wolves Not Far,” inspired by season 5 of AMC’s critically-acclaimed, Emmy Award®-winning television series, this all-new maze will feature twice as many walkers in the longest and most gruesome maze ever built at Universal Studios Hollywood. Following in the footsteps of “The Walking Dead” cast, guests will begin their journey at the Terminus safe-haven compound, where an unspeakable hunger has consumed the demented souls of those dwelling within. As the chaos ensues, guests will encounter even greater atrocities as they stumble upon dismembered “W” walkers, witness the horror of victims besieged by the living dead, and step onto the loading dock of the Del Arno Food warehouse to face hordes of “W” walkers.

The hilarity of this genre-defying blockbuster movie, This is the End, will take a dark turn in this all-new maze experience, “This is the End 3D,” that will come to life in hypnotic 3D. The end of the world will begin as guests head to the ultimate A-list party at James Franco’s new Hollywood Hills home before the Apocalypse strikes, and they find themselves trapped in a life-or-death struggle against the demons of the underworld. With the fate of humanity at the crossroads of heaven and hell, “This is the End 3D” will offer defining moments for those guests brave enough to tempt the devil as their destiny hangs in the balance to be damned for eternity or raptured to heaven engulfed in a sea of blue light.

Halloween, hailed as one of the greatest horror films of all time and starring Jamie Lee Curtis in her acting debut, will come to life in the demented new experience, “Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home.” The haunted maze will take guests through the tormented town of Haddonfield, where on one fateful Halloween night in 1963, a six-year-old child by the name of Michael Myers inexplicably and brutally stabbed his sister to death with a kitchen knife. Guests will relive the terror that a maniacal Michael Myers inflicted upon the once quiet town after his escape from a psychiatric hospital to take bloody revenge on new and unsuspecting victims.

The visually stunning, yet terrifying “AVP: Alien vs. Predator” maze is back by popular demand to entangle guests in the middle of an epic and primal war between the universe’s most deadly species in a horrifying haunted attraction inspired by the Twentieth Century Fox cult sci-fi franchise. This menacing maze will bring to life the violent creatures cohabitating our world as it pits two rival alien species in a fight to the death with Earth as their battleground. “AVP: Alien vs Predator” will uncover a dangerous alien spaceship carrying a race of hunter aliens known as Predators and a threatening new alien life form that uses human hosts to propagate its species. After crash landing in a remote section of America and escaping to the countryside, the Alien and Predator become hunter and prey with guests caught in the crossfire.

The all-new “Terror Tram: Survive the Purge” experience, inspired by Universal Pictures’ blockbuster film series, invites guests to a disturbing “Purge Party,” luring them with exclusive access to the world-famous backlot and thrusting them into the film’s depraved world in which all crime is declared legal as part of the government’s annually sanctioned 12-hour Purge, and where citizens take to the streets to dispose of the country’s less desirable humans without fear of retribution. Recognizing that not all citizens choose to hunt during The Purge, the newly endorsed “Purge Party” welcomes guests to honor this proud national tradition by watching the night’s dramatic events unfold on large video screens set up around the famed Universal backlot – until the experience quickly turns into an unforgettable living nightmare.

Jabbawockeez, the highly-accomplished, award-winning hip hop dance group and universally recognized as America’s best dance crew, will bring their innovative choreography, intricate synchronized style and signature white masks to Universal Studios Hollywood in an electrifying all-new show created exclusively for “Halloween Horror Nights.” Currently starring in the acclaimed “PRiSM” show at the Luxor in Las Vegas, and following up with a newly reimagined performance at MGM Grand Las Vegas this fall, the Jabbawockeez are considered dance movement pioneers, having shattered the glass ceiling for dance groups worldwide as the first dance crew to ever headline their own show in Las Vegas.

Scare Zones:

“The Purge: Urban Nightmare,” inspired by Universal Pictures’ disturbing blockbuster films, will greet guests with pure unadulterated fear, bringing to life the turmoil and pandemonium that awaits those vulnerable to masked vigilantes in search of new victims during the government’s annually sanctioned killing spree.

“Exterminatorz” introduces hideous hybrid creatures—part pests, part human—spawned from years of dangerous chemicals recklessly dumped down the drains by irresponsible humans. These now persecuted pests arise from the cesspools to turn the tables and retaliate on their human oppressors.

“Corpz” features an army of decaying World War I soldiers known as “The Lost Generation,” who have risen from their dank, muddy graves to haunt the streets of old Paris.

Krampus, the demonic Christmas Devil, returns in “Dark Christmas,” a Pagan-themed scare zone where demonic creatures hunt disobedient children and drag them to hell.

As a complement to the nighttime event, Universal’s most popular rides and attractions will also be open to guests.

To learn more about “Halloween Horror Nights,” click here.

For more information about “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood visit www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com. Join the “Halloween Horror Nights” conversation using #UniversalHHN on Facebook at Halloween Horror Nights – Hollywood and Instagram; Twitter and Periscope @HorrorNights. Add username HorrorNights on Snapchat for nightly live content, and watch the terror come to life on Halloween Horror Nights YouTube.

Scare LA Brings Halloween to the Pasadena Convention Center

August 15, 2015 By Daniel Hale

As the third year of ScareLA comes to a close we are so excited for Halloween season 2015!

The two day convention switched venues this year moving from downtown Los Angeles to a much more spacious location at the Pasadena Convention Center which welcomed over 10,000 fans. There was something for everyone including panels from the largest haunts in the industry including Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Knott’s Scary Farm and Queen Mary Dark Harbor. In addition to the panels there were seminars, classes, recreated home haunts and over 200 vendors covering all aspects of horror and Halloween. There was so much to see and do that it couldn’t all be done in one day.

Highlights

Mini Haunts
Home haunts were spotlighted (blacklighted) in their own area this year which was a nice touch. Each maze gave you a small taste of what their full haunt would be like. Each mini maze was able to use lighting effects and the darkness to their advantage. Much spookier than last year when they were sprinkled around the brightly lit show floor. There were even monsters wandering around in the dark scaring people as they were queued in line. The mini mazes included Field of Screams Haunted Stadium Exorcism, Spooky Hollow’s “Legends of the Swamp”, The Curse of the Devil Swamp, Drunken Devil Production’s “Hells Bells”, Fear Station’s “The Birth of the Windigo” and Figment Foundry’s “Goblin Underground”.

Classes
A huge part of ScareLA are the Scare Student classes. There were over 50 classes and seminars that covered everything from creating your own haunt soundtrack, prosthetics making, costume making, tombstone design, how to turn your home haunt into a business and everything inbetween.

91 Reasons live podcast
If you are a fan of 80s and 90s pop culture then you should be listening to Jeff Tucker’s 91 Reasons podcast. Jeff, the Director of Entertainment at Knott’s Berry Farm, has taken his love of retro pop culture and walks down memory lane with each episode. His live panel was both entertaining and horrific as he reminisced about growing up in Southern California and told a spine chilling story about his brush with a serial killer. Then, of course, there’s Don Burg. That alone would scare anyone.

Hatbox Ghost Panel
For any true Disneyland fan, the hatbox ghost returning to the Haunted Mansion was a long overdue homecoming. Legendary imagineer Tony Baxter was present along with current imagineer Daniel Joseph to talk about the history of this iconic character. The panel was rounded out with popular Disney artists, Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily and moderated by the Season Pass Podcast, Doug Barnes. They took the audience on a rare tour of the history of the Hatbox Ghost, why it disappeared and how it made its long awaited return to the Haunted Mansion. Episode 105 of the DisGeek Podcast contains the audio from this panel.

Universal Halloween Horror Nights
Universal Halloween Horror Nights filled the 750 seat hall and treated the audience to news that Michael Myers will be returning for 2015 with a maze completely inspired by John Carpenter’s version of this terrifying tale. Read more about it here.

Knott’s Scary Farm
Knott’s Scary Farm teased the standing room only crowd with what they had in store for their 2015 season. They will be doing a first-of-its-kind bright maze that is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of the Snow Queen with a horrific twist. They were quick to say it had no connection to the ice princess that lives down the road. In addition, they will be launching new children’s themed entertainment with Knott’s Spooky Farm for the little ones. And then of course.. Elvira.

Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor
The dark horse in the SoCal haunting land had the crowd screaming in delight as they announced their plans for the 2015 season. The Ringmaster was back to walk would be victims through the concepts of new mazes and the bigger and better freakshow and circus. What better place to spend Halloween than a historic ship that is filled with scary stories based on real events and real guests who still roam the ship after meeting their demise on this haunted vessel.

There was so much to see that we could not cover every single thing but we were very impressed by what we experienced with ScareLA this year. The future for this convention will be anything but dark.

Full Photo Gallery

Universal Studios Hollywood Announces All New, “Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home” Maze for Halloween Horror Nights

August 12, 2015 By Daniel Hale

“Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home,” Based on the Cult-Classic Horror Film,Slashes through Universal Studios Hollywood in an All-New Terrifying “Halloween Horror Nights” Maze, Beginning Friday, September 18

Press Release:

Universal City, California, August 8, 2015 – Michael Myers, aka “The Boogeyman,” takes a stab at Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights” beginning Friday, September 18, 2015 in a startling and terrifying new maze, “Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home,” inspired by the unparalleled, original classic slasher film, Halloween, directed by renowned horror filmmaker John Carpenter.

Halloween, hailed as one of the greatest horror films of all time and starring Jamie Lee Curtis in her acting debut, will come to life in the demented new experience: “Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home.” The haunted maze will take guests through the tormented town of Haddonfield, Illinois, where on one fateful Halloween night in 1963, a six-year-old child by the name of Michael Myers inexplicably and brutally stabbed his sister to death with a kitchen knife. Guests will relive the terror that a maniacal Michael Myers inflicted upon the once quiet town after his escape from a psychiatric hospital to take bloody revenge on new and unsuspecting victims.

Guests will have the sensation of stepping through the silver screen directly into unsettling and shocking film scenes as they navigate their way through Haddonfield, adorned in classic Halloween décor on a similar Halloween night in 1963. Meyer’s abandoned family home and its blood-splattered walls, where the violent murder took place, will set the stage for a new crime scene as guests attempt to evade the relentless killer–armed with his signature bloodstained knife.

“Halloween is the ultimate classic slasher film that spawned an entire horror film genre,” said John Murdy, Creative Director at Universal Studios Hollywood and Executive Producer of “Halloween Horror Nights.” “Bringing John Carpenter’s disturbing, cutting-edge vision to life as part of ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ is the ideal complement to our maze lineup as we continue to break creative ground with outstanding horror icons that raise the intensity level of our experience.”

“We are extremely excited to team up with Universal Studios Hollywood’s fantastic event, ‘Halloween Horror Nights,” said Malek Akkad, President of Trancas International Films and Compass International Pictures. “The attention to detail that the creative team gives to the Halloween maze creates a realistic and terrifying experience for guests that is truly authentic to the film. This year’s maze will be the best yet.”

The popular event brings together the sickest minds in horror to immerse guests in a living, breathing, three-dimensional world of terror. Featuring an all-new slate of unrivaled film production quality mazes, frightful scare zones and a fully re-imagined “Terror Tram” experience uniquely themed to today’s most definitive horror properties, “Halloween Horror Nights” will taunt, terrorize and torment guests with spine-chilling haunted attractions during Southern California’s most extreme Halloween experience.

Recent maze announcements include, “Guillermo del Toro Presents Crimson Peak: Maze of Madness,” based on Legendary and Universal Pictures’ much-anticipated Crimson Peak film directed, co-written and produced by celebrated filmmaker Guillermo del Toro; “The Walking Dead: Wolves Not Far,” based on season 5 of the critically-acclaimed, Emmy Award®-winning television series, and “Insidious: Return to the Further,” based on the bone-chilling Insidious film trilogy. This year’s event will also feature the global phenomenon and multi-talented dance crew, Jabbawockeez, direct from Las Vegas in an all-new original show, performing multiple times per night throughout the run of “Halloween Horror Nights.”

Join the “Halloween Horror Nights” conversation using #UniversalHHN on Facebook at Halloween Horror Nights – Hollywood, Instagram @HorrorNights, Twitter and Periscope @HorrorNights. Add us on Snapchat, username HorrorNights for nightly live content and watch the terror come to life on Halloween Horror Nights YouTube.

About Trancas International Films/Compass International Pictures:
Trancas International Films is a motion picture production and distribution company based primarily in Los Angeles, California, but operating worldwide. In addition to numerous other films in its library, Trancas, along with its subsidiary, Compass International Pictures, has been involved with each film in the iconic Halloween franchise, and production deals with companies including The Weinstein Company, Anchor Bay Entertainment, and Dimension Films. Halloween Returns, the next installment of this iconic franchise is currently slated to head in to production for release next year.

About Universal Studios Hollywood: Universal Studios Hollywood, The Entertainment Capital of L.A.SM, includes a full-day, movie-based theme park and Studio Tour; the CityWalk entertainment, shopping and dining complex, the Universal CityWalk Cinemas and the “5 Towers” state-of-the-art outdoor concert venue. World-class rides and attractions include the renowned, behind-the-scenes Studio Tour featuring the all-new “Fast & Furious—Supercharged” thrill ride and intense “King Kong 360 3-D” attraction. Other popular rides include the 3D-HD adventure, “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem” and immersive “Super Silly Fun Land,” the critically-acclaimed mega-attraction, “Transformers™: The Ride-3D,” “Revenge of the MummySM—The Ride,” “Jurassic Park® —The Ride,” “Springfield,” hometown of America’s favorite TV family, adjacent to the award-winning “The Simpsons RideTM” and the “Nighttime Studio Tour,” offering evening tours of the iconic movie backlot.

Knotts, Universal, Six Flags, and Queen Mary Join Forces at ScareLA on Aug 8 – 9 at the Pasadena Convention Center

July 2, 2015 By Daniel Hale

Can you believe it? We are just 5 weeks away from ScareLA, the ultimate summer Halloween event. Set to open doors for its third year on Aug 8 – 9, 2015 at the Pasadena Convention Center, the summer hit con is expecting over 10,000 of the most passionate scare fans, pros, and press. Growing to over 100,000 sq. ft. the event boasts 200+ vendors and 100+ hours of programming including theme park announcements, haunted attraction reveals, classes, demos, workshops, screenings and one-of-a-kind interactive experiences.

Here are a few highlights for this years program:

All major SoCal theme parks, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood, Queen Mary, and Six Flags are gathering to reveal their Halloween plans.
Presentations from the masterminds behind American Horror Story, The Simpsons and Disney’s Hatbox Ghost.
World premiere of the first convention-wide zombie infection game designed in conjunction with leading horror cosplay community, Reel Guise and Gantom Lighting & Controls
Breaking a Guinness World Record with Sweet! and Sticky candy in Hollywood.

Scare LA’s full lineup can be found here:

Full Press Release:

Four Major Southern California Theme Parks Join Forces at ScareLA

Hit Summer Halloween Con First to Unite the Creative Masterminds Behind the Most Popular West Coast Scare Attractions; “Making Monsters: The Art of Terror” Presentation Coming to ScareLA this August

PASADENA / LOS ANGELES, CA — Following last year’s wildly successful “Making Monsters” stage panel, ScareLA, the first West Coast Halloween convention, is excited to announce its sequel presentation – “Making Monsters: The Art of Terror” to take place on August 8, 2015 at 1:30 pm at the Pasadena Convention Center. Hosted by Rick West, Programming Producer for ScareLA and Founder and Editor of Theme Park Adventure, the panel will bring together art directors from Southern California’s largest Halloween attractions: Knott’s Scary Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, and Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest to discuss the creative process behind each haunt.

This all-star lineup of haunt industry royalty is sure to be one of the highlights of ScareLA 2015, signifying only the second time anywhere that SoCal’s biggest Halloween attractions have come together on one stage in a show of support and unity, representing some of the the biggest Halloween events in the world.

Lara Hanneman will represent the granddaddy of all park haunts, Knott’s Scary Farm; JJ Wickham will reign from the fog of Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor; Mark Wing will creep out of the shadows of Valencia and represent Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest; and Chris Williams will shed some light on the gruesome underside of Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights.

“It is terribly exciting to see ‘Making Monsters’ expand and continue to grow from what we accomplished last year,” says Rick West. “Southern California is the birthplace of the theme park haunt industry, so having these big players come together once again to chat about their roles in the creative process with fans is something we are very proud of. It’s groundbreaking and at the very core of what ScareLA is all about.”

Haunted attraction art directors play a key role in designing and developing the look and feel of ‘scare zones’ entertaining millions in Southern California each fall. From facades to individual scenes and more – art directors guide and build large teams to ensure the utmost quality of every facet of the experience.

In addition to hosting representatives from each top attraction, ScareLA is pleased to announce that major presentations by Knott’s Scary Farm, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest, and Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights will be on tap throughout the weekend during ScareLA, giving fans non-stop thrills and excitement from morning till night.
For more information and tickets, visit www.scarela.com. Be sure to follow ScareLA on Twitter, Periscope, Facebook, and Instagram. Join the conversation on social media using #ScareLA.

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About ScareLA

ScareLA is the Southern California convention dedicated to Halloween. It celebrates the unique spirit of the American scare season traditions and the deep local heritage of the Greater Los Angeles region. Founded by Lora Ivanova and David Markland in 2013, ScareLA is produced in partnership with Theme Park Adventure. Featuring more than 150 specialty vendors, hands-on workshops, world-class industry panels and presentations, ScareLA is a large-scale summer festival of all things Halloween, a $10 billion industry worldwide.

Here is a gallery of images taken from Scare LA 2014.

Scare LA Brings Halloween Fun to Los Angeles

August 19, 2014 By Daniel Hale

As I woke up Saturday morning, I was overcome with excitement – as if I was a kid on Christmas morning. Except instead of opening presents I couldn’t wait to drive to Downtown Los Angeles and have the crap scared out of me. Let me explain… [Read more…]