Halloween Horror Nights 2025 has been a resounding success for both Universal Studios and for fans. It might be super busy, but that’s just because we had three main-event level haunted houses in Terrifier, Five Nights At Freddy’s, and Jason Universe. In any previous year, those houses would easily have been the headliner and the center of marketing. With that much buzz behind it, the event is bigger than ever. So, even though we haven’t closed the book on the 2025 event, it’s time to look forward to the future. What is coming next for the event? We’d had teases from Creative Director and Head Honcho, John Murdy about the Hollywood version of the event, but here’s what I would want to see in a 2026 event.

So remember, this is wishful thinking, a fantasy-level kind of stuff coming. In no way, shape, or form is this the gospel of what actually will be happening at Halloween Horror Nights in 2026. Some of these haunted houses and ideas are more plausible than others, so we’ll start off with what I can only describe as a dream haunted house for myself. We’ll go through nine haunted houses (plus the Terror Tram), so without further ado, let’s dive in.

1. Iron Maiden – Legacy Of The Beast

This would be an absolute dream of a Halloween Horror Nights haunted house for me. I am a gigantic Iron Maiden fan, they’re my favorite band in the world. It feels like it would be a match made in hell. Eddie is iconic and the event has had music-themed houses before from Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, and The Weeknd. All of those houses have done incredibly well and the best part? Iron Maiden is signed to Universal Music Group, so they could use their music in the house. Different rooms focusing on famous Iron Maiden album covers like Killers, The Number of the Beast, Somewhere In Time, and others would be a delight for fans.

Eddie is also terrifying at points. So the scares could be there. Iron Maiden are a huge band, so it could possibly drive even more people into the park to see a haunted house with them in it. If there’s one thing I can try to make a reality, it would be this.

2. It – Welcome To Derry

We had Art the Clown this year; it’s time for another clown to take over Halloween Horror Nights: Pennywise. The new series It – Welcome To Derry came out too late in the year to be featured at Halloween Horror NIghts 2025, but what better way to continue the main event clowning of the event, than a first-time-ever haunted house with It. This could feature the movies or just be about the show, but either way, this seems like it’s all too perfect. The Art the Clown roaming scare actors have been a resounding success and I think it would be pretty cool to see Pennywise going around the park as well.

It – Welcome To Derry features plenty of scary scenes to draw inspiration from, so this seems the most likely as a main event house next year, if WB and Universal can get on board with it.

Read our review of It – Welcome to Derry here.

3. Stranger Things 5

We’ve had plenty of haunted houses at Halloween Horror Nights based on Stranger Things in the past and this would make plenty of sense for them to do. The series caps off its run this holiday season with episodes on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve 2025. Stranger Things 4 was an incredibly hyped haunted house at the event in 2023 and was the main event of that year on both coasts. It’s only natural for Netflix and Universal Studios to continue this partnership to see the series go off with a bang at the 2026 event.

4. Exterminatorz – Larry Larva Strikes Back

Larry Larva and the Exterminatorz have had a scare zone and they’ve taken over the Terror Tram, now its time for them to graduate to a full blown haunted house at the event. I love the original story houses that Horror Nights puts on and this one features the only original Terror Tram theming they’ve had in recent memory. Bugs are gross, gigantic bugs are even more gross. This one strikes the right balance between comedy, scares, and an interesting theme. Add in the trademarked smells that only Universal Studios can provide in their haunted houses. This one has the potential to be something really special.

5. Scream/Scream 7

How long have we waited for an actual Scream haunted house at Horror NIghts? We’ve had teases, close calls, and even Ghostface on the Terror Tram, but never a full-blown haunted house. This year, that changes. Scream 7 releases in early 2026 and what better way to celebrate the new film than with a haunted house with Ghostface. Base it on the original film, the new film, or just the entire series, either way, fans will be stoked for this to make an appearance.

6. A Nightmare On Elm Street

Freddy hasn’t made an appearance at Horror Nights since 2016 as part of their Freddy Vs. Jason house. We had Jason return finally with the Jason Universe house this year, and it is glorious. If we can’t have a new movie with Freddy Krueger, can we at least get a new house? With more space in the park now, there’s plenty of room for a full-on Thompson house facade and different versions of Freddy coming from everywhere at guests. If you don’t want Pennywise running around the park, Freddy would also be a great option for a roaming character that fans can chase after.

7. A History Of Horror Nights With Jack The Clown

Knott’s Scary Farm has/had a maze at their event called The Chilling Chambers for their 50th Anniversary event that had an old icon return to show guests through the history of the event. It paid tribute to the haunted mazes of the past and was like stepping into a museum. It kind of blows my mind that Universal hasn’t done something similar for their event. They have the history, and they also have the icon: Jack The Clown. John Murdy whipped the crowd at Midsummer Scream into a frenzy when he asked if they wanted to see Jack come back to the west coast event, so go through the history of original Horror Nights stories, you can even have Slash do the music for this one to cement it as the be-all, end all haunted house.

8. Universal Monsters: The Bride Kills The Monsters Universe

The Bride of Frankenstein…Lives! is my favorite haunted house in the history of my time going to the event (2019-2025). It told an original story that brought together the oldest and best cinematic universe ever, the Universal Monsters. The monsters skipped the 2025 event, but that feels wrong to keep them shoutout for this long. Our story with Universal Monsters Eternal Bloodlines didn’t conclude the Bride’s story overall. What better way to bring back the badass creature hunter than to go after some of the biggest and most fearsome monsters in the history of film, Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, the possiblities are endless.

9/10. John Carpenter Presents The Terror Tram And John Carpenter’s House Of Horrors

We’ve had Eli Roth host the Terror Tram in previous years, why not the Master of Horror himself, John Carpenter? His film and music catalog is huge enough to support both a Terror Tram and a haunted house as a highlight reel of his career. Universal has had Halloween, The Thing, and other Carpenter films before, why not something to show off his movies to a younger generation of Horror Nights goers? The Blumhouse has taken up enough time on the Terror Tram, it’s time for some new blood and to showcase a true horror master.

That’s it for the wishlist for Halloween Horror Nights 2026, there are plenty of ideas here that are plausible for the event,m but as always, John Murdy and his team are always full of surprises when it comes to the event. I might not be super into Five Nights At Freddy’s, but that haunted house this year was among the most popular in the history of the event. So it would be natural to see Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 make an appearance after its release in December 2025.

What are some of your wishlist Halloween Horror Nights houses for future events? Let us know in the comments!

For more on Horror, make sure to check out Fright-A-Thon!

Keep Reading:

Halloween Horror Nights 2025 Review – Main Events, High Highs, And Clowns [Fright-A-Thon]