From Terrifier to Five Nights at Freddy’s, We’ve Ranked the Universal Orlando’s 2025 Halloween Horror Nights Houses

ahsan65@gmail.comSeptember 1, 2025

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From Terrifier to Five Nights at Freddy’s, We’ve Ranked the Universal Orlando’s 2025 Halloween Horror Nights Houses

This year marks the 34th annual Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. Every year, Universal crafts the must-see event of the Halloween season, complete with ten haunted houses, four scare zones to explore, two live shows, and specialty food, drink, and merchandise. Basically, it’s a celebration of all things horror, and a great way to kick off the spooky season. Every year, Universal impresses with its set designs, splitting the ten houses between original concepts and beloved properties. Not only is it great to see what unique ideas Universal comes up with, but it’s also fascinating to see how they bring these horror universes that we’ve known from the screen into the real world.

Each year, Halloween Horror Nights outdoes itself, and this year is no different. From bringing the worlds of Terrifier, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and Fallout to some incredible original houses, 2025’s HHN is not to be missed. All ten of these houses are incredible in their own right, but we’re here to rank all ten from this year’s event, which gives us everything from the sick mind of Art the Clown to being buried alive.

10

WWE Presents: The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks

Image via Universal

In setting up the house WWE Presents: The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks, Michael Aiello, the Senior Director of Entertainment Creative Development for Universal Orlando Resort, described bringing these characters into Halloween Horror Nights as a labor of love. Before his passing in 2023, Bray Wyatt, a professional wrestler with a love for horror, created a group known as the Wyatt Sicks, and Aiello and Wyatt had discussed what bringing these characters to HHN would look like. It is very clear that The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks was created by those who love both professional wrestling and horror, and they have effectively melded the two for those who want to see these worlds collide.

The Wyatt Sicks certainly fit right in line with past groups of unnerving horror characters that have terrified HHN in the past, and their unsettling masks and personas do make for some effective scares. It’s also an opportunity for HHN to try out new things that feel unexpected in your usual horror house. For example, the house begins backstage at a wrestling event, complete with references to various wrestling superstars. Near the end, you’re also confronted with walls of TVs on both sides of you, blaring wrestling footage, and it’s a complete upending of the darkness you’re used to in horror houses.

Yet, while The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks is a fun combination of WWE and Halloween Horror Nights, it definitely seems like a house that will have more impact for those who know the backstory behind these characters. That doesn’t mean it’s not a well-crafted house that makes some cool choices, but it might not be as interesting without knowing the history of the Wyatt Sicks.

9

Jason Un1v3rse

Jason Un1v3rse isn’t the first time that Jason Voorhees has made an appearance at Orlando’s HHN, having appeared in Friday the 13th: Camp Blood in 2007 and Freddy vs. Jason in 2015. But Jason Un1v3rse is a clever take on the horror icon, as the house aims to highlight the unrelenting determination of the hockey-masked killer, and because of that, there is a Jason around almost every corner. Sure, it seems like it might be easy enough to just run away from the hulking monster in the movies, but this house proves it’s not as simple as you’d think.

Naturally, Jason Un1v3rse takes guests to Camp Crystal Lake, and you even get a visit from Jason’s mother, Pamela Voorhees. But the pièce de résistance takes you inside the mask of Jason, where you’re attacked by Jason from the first eight films. It’s an inspired way to pay homage to the history of this series, but c’mon, no Jason X representation? Take me into space, HHN! But also, your mileage may vary with this one, depending on how scared you are by the Friday the 13th series. If they don’t freak you out, you might be completely fine working your way through this house.

8

Fallout

Probably the most out-of-place house at this year’s HHN is Fallout, as neither the games nor the show is particularly known for its horror elements. It’s also an example of how the IP for these houses should be a jumping-off point, not something that the houses need to be beholden to. With the Fallout house, guests essentially go through the events of the first season of the Fallout TV series, from leaving the Vault, heading into Filly, experiencing a shootout with The Ghoul, escaping a grocery store full of ghouls, etc. The house is essentially a greatest hits of the first season, while also ending with a slight nod to where Season 2 is going.

Part of what makes the Fallout games so brilliant is the ability to tell your own story, and by using a story in this world that we’ve already heard undercuts the possibility of what this house could be. Maybe lean into the horror more as we escape the nuclear blast and head into the Vault, where things are actually horrific? Or take us to the radiated lands of the surface and what that experience is like. Granted, the Vault sets are really fun to explore, especially looking for Easter eggs, and when you enter Filly for the first time, the shacks you find there are impeccably detailed and full of remnants of what the world was once like. But considering the possibilities of what this house could’ve had in telling an original story in this massive world, Fallout can’t help but be a disappointment.

7

Grave of the Flesh

If you’ve ever wanted to see what happens to your body after you die, Grave of the Flesh has you covered. The house begins in a graveyard, where you can look up and see your tombstone above you, as you sink deeper and deeper into the dirt. Of course, down there you’ll find plenty of other deceased folks coming after you. Honestly, dying doesn’t seem that great!

Grave of the Flesh really tries to create the feeling of being buried alive, with claustrophobic walls surrounding you, and darkness permeating every inch of the house. The character designs here are also pretty fantastic, as decaying skeletons have morphed into hellish creatures that want to tear you apart and keep you in the dirt. Grave of the Flesh is an inventive way to bring the terror of being buried alive into a full-blown haunted house.

6

Dolls: Let’s Play Dead

Dolls: Let’s Play Dead basically asks what it would be like if you were one of the mutilated toys from Sid’s bedroom in Toy Story. The answer is it would be a living nightmare. This house shrinks you down to the size of a toy and asks you to survive amongst the melted plastic, torn-apart dolls, and avoid the little girl who likes to destroy her toys, ending in her dollhouse. There are even buttons you can activate that will set off different horrors in the house…if you dare.

Dolls: Let’s Play Dead might not be one of the grander, more bombastic houses at HHN, but a big part of its fun is just how sick and twisted the character designs are, the disturbing action figures that have been tortured, and the miniature scale that you find yourself in. It might not have the flash of some of the bigger houses, but it is a blast to go through this Toy Story of terror.

5

Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters

One of the best recurring house concepts at HHN is Slaughter Sinema, in which guests are taken through a movie theater where they see multiple quick bites of wild ideas. Last year, Slaughter Sinema 2, which featured ideas like Heavy Metal Hell in 3D and Mummy Strippers: Unwrapped, gave us a short glimpse of Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters, a pair of Old West demons coming to possess everyone. Now, these two bounty hunters get their own house, Hatchet and Chains certainly embraces the inherent goofiness of this idea.

Hatchet and Chains’ old-timey vibe, complete with a rickety old train running outside the windows, and creatures inside absolutely decimated by chains, makes for a hilariously strange house. It makes sense that this was birthed out of Slaughter Sinema, as there’s a B-movie quality to the entire house. Yes, it’s horrifying, but it’s also goofy-as hell (and even begins with Hell’s Well, where the demons are crawling out of). Apparently, it was also the first house finished, as it’s basically been ready to go since February. Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters is just as wild and weird as the title implies, and it’s a great example of what happens when HHN gets wacky.

4

Gálkn: Monsters of the North

Continuing the trend in recent years of having an icier house in the mix, as recent HHNs have had the likes of Yeti: Campground Kills and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Gálkn: Monsters of the North throws guests into the world of Nordic mythology. Inside, Gálkn is metal as hell, with all sorts of arctic creatures popping out, nightmarish beasts, a massive bonfire, and a truly gigantic monster to end the house. Its arctic landscape makes it pop, presenting a different vibe and feel than most of the other original houses. Like many of the great original houses at HHN, Gálkn: Monsters of the North takes a simple concept and runs with it, creating a captivating and jarring house with enough big shock moments to make it memorable.

3

Five Nights at Freddy’s

Every year, there are some houses that aren’t really scary, but are just an impressive feat of bringing an IP to life in stunning fashion. Recently, we’ve seen that with Insidious and Stranger Things, and after years of people asking for the house, Five Nights at Freddy’s gets incredible treatment.

Right away, the house puts you inside Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, and you’re greeted by the animatronics come to life, singing “Talking in Your Sleep” by The Romantics as they begin to shudder and malfunction. These beasts have been ingeniously brought to the real world by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, and it’s stunning how beautifully realized they are in this house. As you go through the back areas of the pizza restaurant, animatronic hands burst out of the walls, and monsters glow in the darkness, with Mr. Cupcake popping out unexpectedly throughout. More than maybe any other house, Five Nights at Freddy’s makes you want to take your time and recognize the artistry of what has been done with this house, and it is stunning to behold.

2

El Artista: A Spanish Haunting

El Artista: A Spanish Haunting has already become a favorite by many at this year’s HHN, with some saying it’s maybe one of the best houses the event has ever had. Those are big claims, but it’s easy to see why, as the house takes you through the mind of Sergio Navarro, an artist whose own work begins to haunt him in his Gothic home. Statues come to life, paintings reach out at you, and even the written word becomes a ghastly monster. The house itself is incredible, with towering creatures and great misdirects. With many facades having two stories, it allows for even more horrors — like monsters literally flying overhead.

But maybe what makes El Artista: A Spanish Haunting such an incredible house, and one of the best of the year, is how it tells an original story that’s actually easy to follow within the constraints of a haunted house. We can see how Sergio’s art is taking him over and overwhelming him, which leads to a surprisingly tragic conclusion. Even just on this list, we’ve seen how difficult it can be to bring a known property to life in these houses and tell a story through this medium, so it’s even more impressive that El Artista can do so with ease, and with some of the most remarkable designs we’ve ever seen in a haunted house.

1

Terrifier

Much like Five Nights at Freddy’s, Terrifier has been a house horror fans have wanted for years, and Art the Clown is a perfect fit for Halloween Horror Nights. Even if you don’t go to the Terrifier house, Art is roaming the park, and his face is everywhere. This is Art the Clown’s year, and after his incredible house, he deserves it.

It is abundantly clear from the moment you step into the Terrifier house that Universal has done everything to meet the lofty expectations fans had for this house — and they fully succeeded. Art the Clown, as well as his cronies like The Little Pale Girl and Victoria, are literally everywhere in the house, and the joyous fun that Art is having makes the awful things he’s doing absolutely petrifying. Terrifier manages to go through the three films and recreate their big kills chronologically, but not in a way that feels overwhelmed by narrative like the Fallout house does. Instead, this feels like an expansion of the horrors from the movie, done in its own way, instead of trying to cram an entire trilogy into a single house.

But what makes Terrifier such a great house is that it’s both one of the most unsettling in HHN history and also manages to be a lot of fun. Both the extreme violence and absurd humor are so over-the-top, you won’t believe what you’re seeing one moment, then you’ll be laughing the next. The ride ends with an option for visitors to go down either a dry or wet path, with Art obviously wanting everyone to go down the wet one, where you’ll be covered in victims’ blood. While it’s not nearly as drenching as it was originally reported, it is a clever way to end a house as ridiculous as this one.

One of the last places I’d ever want to be is in the world of Terrifier, but this house, with its incredible set design and ambitious scale (it feels like the longest house this year as well), makes me actually want to go back into the twisted mind of Art the Clown.

Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando is now running on select dates until November 2.