Halloween Horror Nights opened on Thursday at Universal Studios Hollywood, launching this year's line-up of haunted houses and roaming scare actors inspired by recent horror and pop-culture hits. Highlights included a Netflix "Stranger Things 5" maze recreating the Upside Down, a vampire-themed "Sinners" house based on Ryan Coogler's film, and a bloodied Nikki character from "Obsession" wandering the park unannounced to unsettle guests. The event underscores Universal's continued strategy of tying its seasonal horror attraction to major current film and television properties to draw crowds.

Within 30 minutes of opening, the "Sinners" house had a 60-minute wait, the longest of the night, while the debuting "Hellraiser" maze drew 50 minutes. Other attractions, including "Killer Klowns From Outer Space," "Evil Dead Burn" and "Killceañera: Music by Slash," each saw roughly 30-minute waits. A tribute area to Ozzy Osbourne, featuring a themed bar and haunted house, proved especially popular, alongside a "Stranger Things 5" maze and a Fortnite-themed zone that also attracted large crowds. Halloween Horror Nights continues on selected nights until 1 November.