Bloodthirsty clowns. Gigantic radioactive bears. Nightmarish professional wrestlers. Murderous animatronics. Artificial intelligence gone very, very wrong. Put ‘em all together, and you get one of the goriest, most terrifying events in the history of Halloween. I’m of course speaking of Halloween Horror Nights 2025 at Universal Studios Hollywood!
In this three-part podcast, we’re going behind-the-scenes to give HHN fans and horror-lovers a sneak peak at this year’s event. Join HHN creative director and executive producer John Murdy, along with a rotating selection of guests from the Universal Studios Hollywood Entertainment team, as they dig into the nitty-gritty details of all that awaits in the fog. Whether this is your 20th year at HHN or you simply need to know what that freaky-looking clown with the black mouth is all about, there’s something in this podcast series for you.
We’ll post each episode on this page as it’s published, so check back in for more soon!
EPISODE ONE: “Our BIGGEST Sets This Year”
Take a listen to John, Brandi Creason (manager, art and design), Chris Williams (director, art and design) and Pat Quinn (art director, scare zones and street decor), as they dig into the post-apocalyptic world of the Fallout haunted house. From there, the creative hivemind chats about the enduring fan-favorite Poltergeist house, and the enduring terror/appeal (all in the same to an HHN fan) of Jason Voorhees and the Jason Universe house. The episode caps off with a dive into the four scare zones sprinkled throughout the theme park, with Maddie Felgentreff-Kramer (production manager for HHN scare zones) joining the conversation.
EPISODE TWO: “We Built REAL Animatronics”
John, Bobby Tilley (manager of costume design and production), Maddie Felgentreff-Kramer (production manager for HHN scare zones) and Christie Newby (assistant manager, show quality) discuss the excitement and pressure of bringing the beloved film “Five Nights at Freddy’s” to life as an HHN house, then dig into all the scares that await in WWE Presents: The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks. From there, they pivot to the Blumhouse presence at HHN 2025: Terror Tram: Enter the Blumhouse, and The Purge: Dangerous Waters.
EPISODE THREE: “Our Goriest House EVER”
In this episode, John is joined by Stacey Quinealty (creative director, audio and visual design), Christie Newby (assistant manager, show quality) and Bobby Tilley (manager of costume design and production). The group talks about the much-anticipated Terrifier house, based on Damien Leone’s films of the same title. Then, they dig into original houses from the Universal Studios Hollywood creative team, including Monstruos 3: The Ghosts of Latin America and Scarecrow: Music by Slash. John and team cap off the episode by digging into the new show, Chainsaw Man: The Chaos, which comes directly from Universal Studios Japan.
Want more? Check out the complete Halloween Horror Nights 2025 lineup right here, and get prepped for your night in the fog by with our HHN packing essentials.
Want to keep listening to the Discover Universal Podcast? You can listen and subscribe to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
