This year’s edition of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando is shaping up to be quite the freak fest.
New haunted house announcements bring news of the return of both horror television’s most notorious host and the Upside Down, with Stranger Things 5 and original house H.R. Bloodengutz Presents: A Halloween Fright-Tacular.
The H.R. Bloodengutz house, this year’s fourth announcement, brings a returning HHN character back from the grave.
It follows the story of Lawrence “Larry” Kurtzberg, a late-night horror reality-show host who was a star until he began playing his role a bit too seriously. After a disturbing Christmas special and the cancellation of his show, he kidnapped the producer and stage crew and tortured them for his final holiday spectacular. He was sent to Carey Penitentiary in his hometown of Carey, Ohio. Now, 15 years later, he has escaped from the penitentiary for one final broadcast.
H.R. Bloodengutz made its first appearance at HHN in 2011 and has yet to make a return, other than for special events at Universal Hollywood. For the first time in 15 years, Kurtzberg is back to show audiences what puts his horror specials above the rest.
Stranger Things 5 was the second franchise scare house to be announced, after Sinners. This house covers the conflicts and battles of Season 5 of the decade-long Netflix original series. Sets inside the house include the Wheeler residence, laboratory, military base, Upside Down and The Abyss, all featured in the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.
Universal Orlando has only just begun to paint a picture of this year’s event, the annual horror throwdown’s 35th year. So far, the theme park has announced two franchise houses, Stranger Things and Sinners, and one original house, Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control.
This year’s theme is “Infernal Carnival of Nightmares,” which should fit in very nicely here in Florida.
Halloween Horror Nights 2026 runs from Aug. 28 to Nov. 1 at Universal Studios Orlando. Tickets are now available and are not included with annual passes or regular ticketed entry.
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