‘Poltergeist' Returns Rounding Out Halloween Horror Nights 2025

Forbes

a day ago

They're here again as Poltergeist returns to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. The announcement, along with details of this year's Terror Tram, rounds out the offering for this year's event.
The haunted house, inspired by the iconic 80s horror film of the same name, first featured at the annual mecca for horror fans in 2018. It became an instant favorite among guests. Once again, the supernatural cult horror classic will take fear-loving ticket holders "into the light," transporting guests into nightmarish scenes with terrifying characters from the movie, including the iconic Freeling family home, famously built on top of a cemetery.
The previous version of the immersive attraction brought guests face to face with the terrifying flickering TV screen, the menacing beast from beyond, and the pool filled with floating corpses. Guests were surrounded by a surreal landscape of vanishing walls, floating furniture, and a creepy clown with a menacing smile. Guests will once again find themselves in a race against time to make it back to the world of the living or risk being trapped in the beyond forever. Expect tweaks and upgrades to the original experience as technological advancements (and experience) have enabled the houses at Halloween Horror Nights to elevate the scares considerably since Poltergeist's last visitation.
Poltergeist was considered to be one of the "scariest films of all time" when it debuted in 1982. For a lot of people, it's still up there. Directed by the late Tobe Hooper and produced by Steven Spielberg, it was both a critical and consumer success when it came out. Made for $10.7 million, it grossed $76.6 million at the domestic box office, unadjusted for inflation ($241.54 million adjusted), spawning two sequels. There was also a terrible reboot.
Blumhouse Rules At Halloween Horror Nights At Universal Studios Hollywood
Elsewhere in the theme park, this year's Terror Tram: Enter the Blumhouse will allow gutsy guests to take the Studio Tour tram to the backlot, where they will be able to disembark and set off on foot to encounter some of the most iconic villains from Blumhouse's popular horror franchises over the past 15 years. Among those waiting in the darkness will be The Grabber from The Black Phone and the upcoming sequel, the possessed from The Exorcist: Believer, slaytastic scream queen M3GAN, multiple killers from The Purge franchise, Blissfield Butcher from Freaky, and Babyface Killer from Happy Death Day, to name just a few.
For those who want to get closer to the titans of terror, there is the option to upgrade and purchase the R.I.P. Tour, which also includes an exclusive opportunity to meet and scream with select characters featured on Terror Tram.
When the time comes to take a load off, the Waterworld space will deliver entertainment once again with The Purge: Dangerous Waters. It's the third year the exhilarating and bloody show has wowed crowds packed into the arena that has become a must-see part of the festivities at Universal Studios Hollywood.
In case you missed any of the previous announcements, here's a brief rundown of the other main attractions at this year's event.
Five Nights at Freddy's will see guests venture through an all-new haunted house inspired by the 2023 hit film. They will follow in the footsteps of Mike after he takes on a job as the night security guard in the abandoned themed entertainment center, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria.
As they move through the building, they will "encounter the supernatural and become lured into the black heart of an unspeakable nightmare," coming face-to-face with full-scale replicas of the eerie characters from the film - Freddy Fazbear, Chica, Bonnie, Foxy, and Mr. Cupcake.
Wrestling comes to Halloween Horror Nights for the first time as WWE Presents: The Horrors of The Wyatt Sicks. The house will have ticket holders "go head-to-head with Uncle Howdy in an experience that not only features The Wyatt Sicks, but honors the legacy of Bray Wyatt."
According to a release, "horror fans brave enough to travel through the light of the lantern will find themselves transported into the maniacal minds of The Wyatt Sicks, where each member reigns supreme within their horrific domains." Fans will already be aware of this, but for those who aren't, with its portrayal of dark and twisted characters
Including Uncle Howdy, Ramblin' Rabbit, Mercy the Buzzard, Abby the Witch, and Huskus the Pig, the five-strong crew has quickly emerged as one of the most disturbing and disruptive groups in WWE history. Those nightmarish figures are going to manifest in this terrifying new space.
Universal Studios Hollywood Delivers IPs Scares And Original Nightmares This Halloween
And that's not all. A blood-soaked haunted house inspired by the hugely popular and extremely gory Terrifier film franchise will draw massive crowds of scare seekers. It'll feature supernatural entity Art the Clown terrorizing the fictional town of Miles County, New York, and torturing his victims in creative but cruel and "sickeningly sinister ways." Promising "an unfathomable level of gore," guests can expect "a grisly haunted house oozing with a new sense of terror."
Legendary slasher icon Jason Voorhees is the star of Jason Universe, which sees the seemingly indestructible killer from the Friday the 13th franchise get his own haunted house at both Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood. The all-original experience will take guests back on "a vengeance tour through the summer camp to see where it all began, from the creaking floorboards of Jason's ramshackle cabin to the decaying main lodge and the eerie forest that offers no refuge for his victims."
Also featuring at this year's Halloween Horror Nights is a house inspired by Fallout, Prime Video's acclaimed smash hit show. It was the first one to be announced. Ahead of the series' second season premiere, the immersive Fallout attraction will transport fans into iconic scenes and put them face-to-face with their characters on a journey from Vault 33 to the Wasteland.
When it comes to original mazes, two fan-favorite mazes evolve this year. At Universal Studios Hollywood, 2022's Scarecrow: The Reaping gets a revamp and a new name, returning as Scarecrow: Music by Slash. Set to a soundtrack created by the rock icon, his seventh consecutive year providing a score for a Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights haunted house, Mother Nature "seeks vengeance on the homesteaders for their sins of the past that will be carried out by farmland scarecrows, mute witnesses who have become the guardians of destruction for anyone who crosses their path."
Meanwhile, La Llorona headlines the final entry in a trilogy of terror, Monstruos 3: The Ghosts of Latin America, a haunted house with a narrative based on Latin American folklore. In addition to the legendary Weeping Woman, the Colombian female boogeyman, the sharp-toothed La Muelona, and the horse-headed La Siguanaba will also feature to scare the bejesus out of visitors.
Halloween Horror Nights kicks off at Universal Studios Hollywood on Thursday, September 4, 2025. However, the twisted sister event at Universal Orlando Resort gets the ball rolling a little earlier on Friday, August 29, 2025. Tickets are now on sale.