Six months before the time of witches, ghouls, and goblins rolls around, Universal Studios starts to rev up anticipation for the haunting season. For its annual Halloween Horror Nights celebration, the theatrical theme park turns its playful stomping grounds into a horrifying vision, bringing in the scariest villains and monsters from cinematic and televised history. So far for the 2018 Halloween season, Universal has confirmed that one of its mazes would recreate the 80’s nostalgia of Netflix’s Stranger Things.
According to the Stranger Things maze reveal, Universal aims to transport guests into “the show’s most iconic scenes” with a heavy emphasis on the series’ characters and 80’s setting. Guests will trek through the Upside Down, evading Demogorgons set loose on Hawkins, IN and the Hawkins National Laboratory. The retro maze isn’t the first time Universal Studios turned to television for Halloween-themed attractions. Since the growing popularity of The Walking Dead, the Orlando, FL. Hollywood, CA, and Singapore theme parks have featured several mazes and walking tours set in Robert Kirkman’s post-apocalyptic undead world.
Little else is known about the maze and the same goes for any other attractions that will fill the roster of Halloween Horror Nights. Typically, however, the theme park tends to stick to popular franchises of the year while mixing in some of its own unique creations. With a new The Purge movie releasing on July 4, 2018, it’s highly likely that the chaotic night will be featured in some way. During Halloween Horror Nights 27 in 2017, The Purge made up one of the scare zones that guests walked through to get to other attractions.
The return of Jamie Lee Curtis and the Halloween franchise in October 2018 also makes it very possible that Universal Studios will once again bring back Michael Myers and the blood-soaked town of Haddonfield. Michael Myers last haunted Halloween Horror Nights in 2016 with “Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield.”
Other possible theatrical inspirations for Halloween Horror Nights' mazes and scare zones include The Nun, the spin-off movie from The Conjuring series; Slender Man, who makes his theatrical debut in August 2018; and, considering the park featured an Alien vs. Predator maze in 2014, Shane Black’s The Predator. Halloween Horror Nights opens on Sept. 14 and runs on select nights through Nov. 2. Tickets are currently on sale for the Singapore and Orlando theme park.
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