Halloween Horror Nights was THE main event of Midsummer Scream 2024. It was the panel that most attendees were looking forward to the entire weekend. They packed the main ballroom of the Long Beach Convention Center with as many people as the fire marshall would allow and closed out the entire weekend of horror, haunts, ghosts, ghouls, and whatever else goes bump in the night. The panel was led by John Murdy, the Creative Director and Executive Producer of Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood. He kicked off his panel with an absolutely massive announcement.

Yes, we’re getting an original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre house at Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood this year with The Legacy Of Leatherface. The new house follows all nine incarnations of Leatherface as guests are guided through the Sawyer Slaughterhouse. Leatherface isn’t the only family member showing up, though; we’ve got Chop-Top, The Old Man, Nubbins, and Drayton.

John Murdy went all-out with historical analysis of slaughterhouses and the history of why slaughterhouses moved from big cities like Chicago to rural areas in places like Texas. The entire thing was full of detail, but gory, bloody, and sometimes disgusting descriptions of how slaughterhouses worked. It was enough to make your skin crawl and gave an excellent introduction to what HHN guests can look forward to. He also apologized ahead of time for the smell in the house.

Here’s what the various versions of Leatherface and the Slaughterhouse looks like.

John went from The Legacy of Leatherface to something a bit more historic for Universal as a company. Universal is known for their monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf-Man, The Mummy, and more. To celebrate that legacy, they’ve been doing Universal Monters houses for six years now, with the latest on being Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines. It continues the storyline from the Bride of Frankenstein Lives! house in 2021. This time around the Bride is back to hunt Dracula’s daughter, with some unlikely help from Saskia Van Helsing. The two strike up an alliance against the unholy alliance of Dracula’s daughter, The She-Wolf, and Anck-Su-Namun.

John went on to talk about the history of this house, and that it’ll reside in the legendary soundstage 12 on the Universal backlot. Soundstage 12 is particularly important because it’s where Dracula, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, and other famous movies were filmed.

This new house will take guests through Europe including Transylvania and Dracula’s Castle to do battle with the forces of evil. It sounds absolutely awesome.

Here’s a look at the concept art for the house.

To go with the Universal Monsters, John also showed off what the vinyl record, that’s exclusive to Universal Studios Hollywood, of Slash’s music for the various houses he’s done at Universal looks like.

Finally, we got a look at a brand-new scare zone heading to Universal Studios Hollywood, Luchadores Monstruosos!

The new scare zone is attached to the ending of Monstruous 2 and is right when you walk out of the house. This scare zone features luchadores that are inspired by classic lucha wrestling when they would “borrow” characters from Universal Monster movies. Here’s a look at the characters in the scare zone.

Overall, Halloween Horror Nights brought the goods when it came to Midsummer Scream. This was the panel that most people were looking forward to, and it did not disappoint. The new Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Legacy Of Leatherface house looks like a perfect addition to this year’s slate. We’ll have to see how the rest of the lineup shakes out, but so far, it’s amazing.

A variety of Halloween Horror Nights ticket options for Universal Studios Hollywood are also now available; including General Admission, Universal Express, After 2 P.M. Day/Night, the Early Access Ticket, which provides access to select haunted houses beginning at 5:30 p.m. (subject to change), in advance of the scheduled 7:00 p.m. event opening time, the premium R.I.P. Tour and popular passes, Frequent Fear and Ultimate Fear, which enable guests to experience the scares again and again. Click here to purchase tickets and for Terms and Conditions.

Other Houses Announced For Horror Nights

So far we’ve had Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Monstruous 2: The Nightmares of Latin America, Dead Exposure: Death Valley, and A Quiet Place announced for Halloween Horror Nights 2024.

So, what do you think of what Halloween Horror Nights showed off at their panel?

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Halloween Horror Nights Teams Up Van Helsing And The Bride Of Frankenstein In New House