Universal Studios Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) 34 is now open, and with it, the world gets to experience 10 all-new haunted houses. This year, there's not only a handful of fantastic IP (Fallout, Five Nights at Freddy's, Terrifier, and more) but five intriguing original concepts made to bring shivers down your spine.
Universal Studios invited The Direct to Halloween Horror Nights' opening night to experience all of the haunted houses, and it's easily one of the best lineups the event has had in years.
Now, for your reading pleasure, we've ranked all 10 of these new houses. It's important to note that these rankings will not be based on how scary the haunted houses were but instead focus on creativity, design, execution, and overall atmosphere.
Last year, we also wrote up rankings for Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights, which had Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the top spot.
Universal Studios Orlando Halloween Horror Nights 2025 Houses Ranked
10.) Jason Universe
If You Simply Want to See Jason, This Is Where You Should Go.
The Jason Universe maze was one that I was excited to experience. After all, I enjoy seeing the iconic horror legend, who has been absent from pop culture for a while. However, this haunted house is full of missed opportunities and lacks creativity.
If you want to see Jason Voorhees pop out at you, this is the perfect haunted house because that's all it has to offer, including a final hallway that will be sensory overload for some. Sadly, the overall set is relatively dull. There are also no actual kills on display or set pieces to admire. There was so much HHN could have done with this, but it was a fumble through and through.
In fact, the best example of what this experience should have been can be seen by going through the Terrifier haunted house, but we'll get to that in a second.
9.) Grave of Flesh
Welcome to the Afterlife—Things Could Be Better
Upon hearing the idea of Grave of Flesh, I was immediately intrigued. I had assumed it would be among the highest on this list.
The idea of the maze is that you, the maze-goer, have just died. You were buried at your funeral, and now it's time for what comes next: a dangerous underworld where flesh-eaters will feed on your dead body and hunt you for all of eternity. That story sounds incredible. However, the execution leaves much to be desired, despite some undeniably cool cave designs to appreciate.
The concept is never fully realized, and the maze design feels confused about what it wants to be. Add to this the mediocre creature designs and the lack of exciting set pieces, and you have a solid contender for spot nine.
8.) Fallout
Fans of the Show Will Appreciate Their Vault Experience
Fallout was another HHN maze I was anticipating, so it was sad to walk out of it, offering a mere shoulder shrug in response. Following the hit show, participants will walk through key moments and places in Amazon Studios' popular series, so fans will find plenty to appreciate here.
The sets themselves are the strongest element of the house; it'll never not be cool to walk through a recreation of a Fallout Vault. However, nothing too interesting happens throughout the environments that you go through, and none of the chosen punchy moments are ever too exciting.
There's nothing notably bad about Fallout; it's decidedly average and filled with missed opportunities. When it's handling one of the biggest IPs out there and coming off the incredible series, that's just kind of a bummer.
7.) Galkn: Monsters of the North
Can You Escape the Belly of the Beast?
Galkn: Monsters of the North takes place in a remote northern village as a wicked being rises from the dead, bringing with him horses of monsters and demons to terrify the local townspeople. The overall theming is fun, and there are some great set pieces throughout, including a massive animatronic monster at the end of the experience.
The main thing that could be improved with this maze is the presentation of its story, as it was frustratingly unclear what was happening, even up until the end. While we enjoyed the experience, we were left scratching our heads as to what we were looking at the entire time.
6.) Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters
The Wild West But With Demons
In Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters, maze-goers are at danger of being possessed by red-hot lava demons around every turn, saved only thanks to Hatch and Chains, two demon bounty hunters sporting mystical weapons that can save your life.
This haunted house has a wonderful atmosphere that never lets up. It also has several creative scare gags, including one of my favorites, which involves a coffin. The set design is also neat, featuring a mid-house transition that I appreciated.
5.) Dolls: Let's Play Dead
She Just Wants to Play
What's neat about Dolls: Let's Play Dead is how it plays around with scale, since the maze goers are, thematically, shrunken down to the size of dolls. The concept of having to avoid a twisted little girl who just wants to play is a fun one, and it's utilized to its fullest throughout the experience.
The creatives behind the maze clearly had tons of fun going all out with some of the twisted and demented set pieces, and the creativity was a joy to witness. After finishing the maze, someone in our group looked at us and sternly proclaimed: "Dang, that's messed up."
4.) The Horrors of The Wyatt Sicks
From the Ring Into a Terrifying Shadowy Realm.
The Horrors of The Wyatt Sicks is a surprise hit here. While the WWE-branded theme might not interest everyone, the execution of the entire house is well done, so you should be sure to give it a shot.
The haunted house begins with maze goers seeing the Wyatt Sicks in the WWE ring and then quickly entering a much scarier place: the Firefly Funhouse. What follows is many creative setups and well-timed scares, all while not relying on simply being nonsensical mumbo jumbo (like The Weeknd's mazes).
It all comes from the mind of modern wrestling legend Windham Rotunda, also known as Bray Wyatt.
3.) El Artista: A Spanish Haunting
A Tortured Artist Brings to Life A Haunting House
This is easily the best original haunted house in Universal Studios Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights lineup, and one of the key elements that skyrockets it to the top is its engaging story.
The story of El Artista: A Spanish Haunting follows a tortured artist in 19th-century Spain who moves to an isolated country manor to seek inspiration. As he creates his art, it starts to come alive, though, increasingly tainted by evil darkness. As one might expect, things don't work out.
The most impressive element of this house is its scale. The facade that greets guests the moment the experience starts is jaw-dropping, and the overall scale of the house is never lost throughout the entire experience. There are also tons of creative monster designs and fun gags throughout.
2.) Terrifier
Spending Time With Art Has Never Been So Fun
At this point, most will know who Art the Clown is, even if you haven't seen any of the Terrifier movies. The franchise is known to be over the top, gory, and insane, and this HHN maze has that in spades.
This maze is the one that Jason wishes he had—a constant trail of memorable and stunning set pieces showcasing Art's carnage throughout his films (mainly the first two). There is endless creativity and love put into the entire setup, and it shows.
I expected HHN to abuse the smell feature, as early rumors suggested, but thankfully, it did not, and this maze would be far lower on this list if it had.
Halloween Horror Nights' secret weapon seems to be Art the Clown, and it's clear as day here. Having such an energetic, fun, and personality-filled character throughout the house provides a unique experience that not many others have.
The one element that keeps this maze from being at the top of the list is the wet path element. This is not because you get wet but because it's overhyped. It all amounts to a leaky ceiling, and there aren't even any interesting set pieces to look at (such as the supposed carnage you're walking under).
1.) Five Nights at Freddy's
Universal Really Nailed the Animatronics and Environment Here
Five Nights at Freddy's has been the perfect franchise for a haunted house at Halloween Horror Nights, and it's absolutely shocking it took so long for it to actually happen. Thankfully, it's finally here, and it's a homerun.
The first thing to note is the incredible animatronics (which some fans saw at HHN in 2023). They look like they were ripped right out of the films and feel like the real deal. There are many instances throughout the maze where the animatronics are puppeted by actors. Still, even those look amazing, and the performers are so well hidden that most will probably never know that people are behind their movement.
As great as the animatronics are, the environment is also perfectly realized. It feels like you are stepping into Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria and watching it go downhill in real time.
