Las Vegas. Sin City. Located just a short drive away from Death Valley. What better place to house Universal Horror Unleashed, a brand-new, relentless spectacle of fear brought to you by the horror masterminds at Universal? Opening August 14, 2025, this year-round, fully immersive horror experience will bring your greatest fears to bone-chilling life. You read that right: spooky season is now year-round.
Dying to learn more? I was, too — which is why I sat down with TJ Mannarino, vice president of art and design for Universal’s Entertainment Division, and Nate Stevenson, show director for Universal’s Creative Development Group, to get all of the terrifying details. Let’s dig in!
What is Universal Horror Unleashed?
Universal Horror Unleashed is a horror experience unlike any other, featuring a combination of haunted houses, live entertainment areas, and frighteningly themed food and beverage experiences in select areas. “It’s going to appeal to the die-hard horror fan, it’s going to appeal to somebody completely new to the genre, and everybody in between,” says Nate. “The second you walk in, you’re immersed in the environment. Every single thing — from floor to ceiling — is horror.”
Step inside of Universal Horror Unleashed and you’ll find yourself in Warehouse 25, an abandoned production warehouse filled with cursed and haunted set pieces, film props, and other mysterious paraphernalia from Universal’s legacy of horror.
As guests explore this immaculately themed environment, they’ll be able to venture into four thrillingly immersive haunted houses inspired by:
- Universal Monsters
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- Scarecrow: The Reaping
- Blumhouse’s The Exorcist: Believer
Surrounding the haunted houses will be four fully themed, live entertainment areas, each with its own horror experiences. You’ll wander through a classic Hollywood horror set inhabited by gothic vampires, a film vault populated by all manner of serial killers and slashers, a graveyard of possessed props, and a storage yard morphed into the home of a twisted carnival.
And, of course, there will be plenty of drinks and delicacies to sink your teeth into as you explore Warehouse 25.
While Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) — our scream-worthy, seasonal event at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood — is focused on the high-octane, jump-gasp-scream-for-your-life moments, Universal Horror Unleashed has provided the creative team with an opportunity to focus more on world-building and diving into the deeper narrative behind the scares. “Universal Horror Unleashed gives us the opportunity to give our guests more time to really enjoy the characters and learn their stories,” TJ explains. Unlike HHN, where guests pass through each haunted house at a steady pace, Universal Horror Unleashed will let you soak in the scares throughout the whole experience.
Speaking of Vegas, it’s no secret that Sin City is home to a wide array of entertainment offerings — and few things are scarier than losing all of your money at the craps table. But Universal Horror Unleashed is setting the bar for scares: “[Las Vegas] does have some different horror offerings, but nothing to this magnitude, nothing that provides year-round horror, nothing with this intricate of a story,” says Nate. “What really sets us apart is the immersive nature of what we do. We’re offering a way more intimate type of show and story that people can really get involved in.”
In other words, Universal Horror Unleashed is the place to be in Las Vegas for next-level scares and immersion, offering an unbelievable experience that only Universal can provide.
How did Universal Horror Unleashed come to life?
For decades, Universal has been creating the most frightening films and events; it’s safe to say that we’re the beating (undead) heart of the horror genre. And it’s fitting that the creative team approached Universal Horror Unleashed with the goal of continuing that century-plus legacy.
“When you think of horror, you think of Universal,” sums up TJ. “We established ourselves with the Universal Monsters, and horror has continued to grow with this company. How do we provide that in a year-round experience?”
With that legacy and framework in mind, Nate and other members of the Creative Development Group have been meticulously crafting the look and feel of Universal Horror Unleashed. “There really is a science to how we build these rooms and how we scare people,” he says. “It goes far beyond a haunted experience and into a really logistical, almost scientific idea of how we scare people.”
A fun part of that science? Figuring out how to scare all different kinds of people. For example, if you’re like me, you can handle all manner of demons, goblins, ghosts, and ghoulies — but a single bone-breaking sound effect and it’s over for me. (You will never hear me cracking my knuckles.)
“When I say it includes something for everyone, it really includes every kind of fear you can think of, and it’s going to touch people on those levels — but it also includes every kind of experience,” explains Nate. “If you’re the kind of person who wants to come and just really immerse yourself in the characters and delve into the world that we’ve created, it’s gonna be there for you.”
Universal Horror Unleashed opens August 14, 2025, and tickets are on sale now! Click here to secure yours.
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