Universal Horror Unleashed Shares Opening Date and Satisfying Ticket Price

By Scott Roeben, on February 20 2025
3 min read 11 comments
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A new and financially risky year-round horror attraction, Universal Horror Unleashed, announced it will open at Area 15 on August 14, 2025.

The attraction will feature four haunted houses: Universal Monsters, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scarecrow: The Reaping and Blumhouse’s The Exorcist: Believer.

Tickets start at $69. Which is sort of the only reason we’re sharing this story, but we’ll fluff it up with further details just to cover our ass.

The real horror is the prospect of horror movie-inspired live music.

We first shared word of a Universal horror attraction back in 2022. The news was confirmed six months later.

Here’s what’s planned: “Surrounding the houses are four sinisterly themed and immersive areas, featuring unique live entertainment experiences. In select locations, guests can enjoy eerie eateries and bars featuring horror-centric food and drink offerings. Plus, guests can expect a continuously updated experience with must-see seasonal events and one-of-a-kind merchandise.”

“Immersive” has surpassed “the” as the most commonly used word in the English language, at least in Las Vegas.

Here’s a hype video.


Here are more words about the Universal Horror Unleashed coming to Area 15: “As soon as guests step into the darkened warehouse they will be surrounded by horror like never before, encountering unimaginable monstrous creatures lurking around every corner—from vampires to a supernatural collection of unsettling dolls—as they brave their way through four themed immersive areas featuring bloodcurdling original stories by the masterminds of horror at Universal. The terrifying journey continues in four haunted houses that will bring to life their worst nightmares: from encountering the most legendary monsters of all time at Universal Monsters; reliving every chilling demonic possession at Blumhouse’s The Exorcist: Believer; to attempting to escape Leatherface and his deranged family in Texas Chainsaw Massacre; and Scarecrow: The Reaping, an original story that will take guests to a desiccated farmland filled with horrifying scarecrows bent on revenge. The petrifying experience extends into the food and beverage offerings, with themed bars and food locations serving craft cocktails and spine-tingling bites in select areas, and a retail location with unique collectible merchandise and more.”

If you think we didn’t extract a name for a band we were in during high school from that, you do not know this blog at all.

Kevin and Brian refused to wear costumes. Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Universal Horror Unleashed was presumably inspired by the success of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. While that offering is Halloween-related, Universal Horror Unleashed is not limited to one season. That’s the risky part.

As Universal’s announcement says, “This is the company’s first-ever permanent horror experience.”

Vegas loves a good gamble.

Year-round horror attractions don’t tend to be successful. That’s why there aren’t more of them, as we learned at the now-closed Fear the Walking Dead attraction on Fremont Street. We worked in social marketing at Fremont Street Experience when Fear opened (and closed). As a fan of “Walking Dead,” we loved the idea. Visitors, not so much.

The “Fear” attraction wasn’t particularly well-executed (it didn’t really hit the mark as a haunted house, an escape room or an “immersive experience”), and the cost of licensing played into the demise of that walk-through attraction, but Fremont Street Experience lost a boatload on the endeavor.

The best bet for the financial success of Universal Horror Unleashed is likely to be the aforementioned food, beverages and merchandise.

The real horror is the prospect of going on a date with someone who clearly does not want to be there. So, every date we’ve ever been on.

Area 15 is about five minutes west of The Strip, and is full of fun diversions, including the best non-gambling attraction in Las Vegas, Omega Mart.

We are not a horror attraction or movie person, so we have no idea how Universal Horror Unleashed is going to far. What have you heard about Illuminarium, another expensive Area 15 attraction, recently?

Will Las Vegas visitors find haunted houses a compelling reason to leave The Strip?

Can Universal Horror Unleashed surf the challenges of seasonal fluctuations, a limited, niche appeal and potentially high operational costs? We’ll find out soon enough.

Universal Studios tried House of Horrors, a year-round maze, but it closed after a 15-year run. Here’s a good read about why year-round horror attractions are a challenging business.

The real horror is the prospect of someone at Universal thinking these renderings are going to make people want to visit this attraction.

Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum in Las Vegas is still going strong, and that “paranormal” bullshit is shoveled to gullible saps year-round. Bonus: Zak Bagans openly saying he has a foot fetish. Which is probably something you didn’t need to know, but it’s a slow news day.

Eli Roth blew $10 million on Goretorium at Harmon Corner on The Strip.

Did we mention tickets to Universal Horror Unleashed start at $69? We’ll grow up when you grow up!