Stranger Things Happen at Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights

June 17, 2026

If your idea of a good time involves screaming at complete strangers, questioning your life choices and accidentally grabbing the arm of someone you’ve never met, Universal Studios has good news.

The Upside Down is back.

Universal Studios Hollywood announced that this year’s Halloween Horror Nights will feature an all-new haunted house based on the fifth and final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, giving fans one last chance to run for their lives from creatures that should have stayed on television.

Beginning Sept. 3 in Hollywood, guests will be transported to Hawkins, Indiana, where reality is falling apart, monsters are everywhere and apparently nobody thought moving away was a viable option.

According to Universal, visitors will walk through iconic locations from the show’s final season, including the Wheeler House, Hawkins National Laboratory and the mysterious Upside Down. Along the way they’ll encounter Demogorgons, supernatural horrors and the villain Vecna, who continues his quest to become the world’s least popular neighbor.

Universal promises an immersive experience that places guests in the center of the final battle for Hawkins. Translation: you’ll spend 20 minutes wondering why you paid money to be chased by monsters in the dark.

Fans of the series can also purchase exclusive merchandise, including T-shirts, mugs and collectible figures. Because nothing says “I survived a supernatural nightmare” quite like a souvenir coffee mug.

For those who have never attended Halloween Horror Nights, the event is famous for causing otherwise rational adults to scream, sprint and occasionally invent entirely new dance moves while trying to escape actors dressed as horrifying creatures.

The attraction arrives as Stranger Things prepares to conclude its wildly successful run on Netflix. Since debuting in 2016, the series has become a global phenomenon, inspiring countless Halloween costumes, endless Eggo waffle sales and enough 1980s nostalgia to power a DeLorean.

Halloween Horror Nights runs select nights through Nov. 1 at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Just remember: if a creepy portal to another dimension opens in your neighborhood, maybe skip the investigation and head directly to the nearest exit.