rewrite this title Universal Horror Unleashed: I Tried It (And Survived) – NerdWallet

Las Vegas already has slot machines in the airport, 24-hour wedding chapels, indoor canals and a half-size Eiffel Tower. And now, as of August 2025, it has a permanent haunted house complex from the same folks who built the famous Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios.

Now, a confession: I don’t like horror. I don’t watch scary movies, I don’t do haunted corn mazes and I have never braved one of the Universal Halloween Horror Nights.

For the uninitiated: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights is an after-hours, separately ticketed event that happens on select nights for about two months ahead of Halloween at Universal’s theme parks in Orlando, Hollywood, Japan and Singapore. Some rides are open during the event, but the real appeal is getting to experience haunted houses and scare zones.

Still, when I learned that Universal was opening a year-round haunt experience in Las Vegas, I knew I had to go. Tickets start at $69 and — though there are no rides — there are four permanent haunted houses plus unique food and beverage options, as well as entertainment.

For work, for my curiosity and for the sheer fun of doing something I’d normally never do, I went.

Getting there (without the Strip headache)

Like most Vegas visitors, I love Strip hotels. The Bellagio fountains? Chef’s kiss. But unless you’re planning to exclusively walk up and down Las Vegas Boulevard, the Strip is a logistical nightmare. Traffic is molasses, Ubers are slow and the pickup zones make you question humanity.

If you’re visiting Universal Horror Unleashed, I recommend staying off-Strip near the Area15 district, where the attraction is located.

Area15 is something of a mall-turned-EDM festival filled with mushroom sculptures, rotating art exhibits and ticketed activities. Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart put it on the map, but the space has gotten so popular it’s expanded across the street. Universal Horror Unleashed anchors that secondary complex, which you can get to via a shuttle or, if you’re me, a short walk.

For this trip, I stayed at the Courtyard Las Vegas Stadium Area (which covered the cost of my room and Horror Unleashed tickets as part of this review). It’s just a 10-minute drive from Area15, the entertainment megaplex where Universal Horror Unleashed is located. It meant no Strip gridlock, no overpriced rideshares and the satisfaction of outsmarting every tourist trapped in a casino porte-cochere.

You can purchase tickets online directly through Universal’s website, where you’ll select your date and timed entry time.

For a $69 starting price (actual prices vary by day), you get one-time access to each of the four houses at Universal Horror Unleashed. That’s plenty if you’re a casual fan. If you’re a true horror devotee who wants repeat runs, the $99 unlimited ticket is the way to go.

There’s even a VIP version package that costs $2,750 and covers admission for up to six people (that’s about $450 per person) as well as souvenirs, dining credits and a private scare actor meet-and-greet.

Lockers, pockets and the unexpected villain: My camera

Security at Universal Horror Unleashed was tight. They scanned bags, wanded guests and delivered a crushing blow to my evening: no “professional cameras.” I had brought my compact Sony for recording better-quality video and audio for my Instagram and NerdWallet’s Smart Travel podcast, yet it got banished to a locker.

The locker cost $8. A mild annoyance, but luckily my dress had pockets. My phone survived the cut, which mattered since you scan its QR code to enter every maze.

But I left my camera bag, including my wallet, credit cards and ID in the locker. And later, I realized I should’ve taken the wallet with me.

Once you enter, scare actors roam free, though sometimes people mob them for photos. Picture a Disney character meet-and-greet, if Mickey had a machete and questionable dental hygiene.

In one portion of the floor, a central stage featured mini-performances. At one point, a woman glided overhead on what looked like a zipline (I think she was supposed to be a ghost). This all felt more campy than terrifying, but that was before the mazes.

The first maze I tried was Scarecrow: The Reaping.

Every corner revealed a hay-stuffed monster or killer pig lunging out. By the finale, I was literally sprinting out. Universal suggests you’ll spend two hours working through all four mazes. I was in and out of my first maze in three minutes flat.

The scarecrow maze didn’t have a long line, but this next maze, called Blumhouse’s The Exorcist: Believer, had a roughly 15-minute wait. For me, this was a welcome breather. As a solo traveler, this was a chance to make new friends (and ideally some critical allies so I wouldn’t have to enter by myself).

According to plan, I befriended Edward and Jason, two Las Vegas locals who let me wedge between them as we entered the maze.

Inside, it was all about dim corridors, knife-wielding possessed girls and many screams. I made it out, parting ways with Edward and Jason. I spent closer to 10 minutes in this one.

At this point, I thought I would call it quits — but I wanted to make sure I at least had enough audio to put together for an upcoming episode of the Smart Travel podcast (and enough videos for my Instagram account). I couldn’t even stand on the main floor without some sort of scare actor coming up behind me. So I did what any logical adult travel writer and podcaster would do: I hid in the bathroom stall.

There, I furiously typed notes, prayed that the audio from my iPhone would be high enough quality, texted my podcast co-host and Googled “why does fear cause stomach cramps.” (Turns out, that’s a real thing — and it was happening to me.)

Eventually, I braved the Universal Monsters maze. I loved the Dark Universe-themed area of Epic Universe when I visited this spring so much that I rode its signature ride, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, four times.

Perhaps because I’d already survived two mazes, or because this maze (inspired by Frankenstein and Dracula) leaned more theatrical, but this one felt less terrifying. In one standout moment, Frankenstein’s lab lit up as the monster came alive. This one was more horror-adjacent, but not nightmare-inducing.

That left the final house, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but I couldn’t bring myself to attempt it.

My body had already staged a rebellion. At that point, I tapped out. There were three mazes down and one to potentially go, but the (dare I say relaxing?) Strip was calling my name instead. I cabbed it to the Wynn Las Vegas so I could indulge in some happy via their flower carousel and calmed my nerves by window-shopping Prada bags.

If anything, I learned that I can tolerate the horrifying prices of Saffiano leather far easier than Leatherface from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

The food and drink I didn’t eat

I found this out the hard way when I attempted to waltz into the bar to browse the menu. I had heard there was themed food and drinks, but — as it turns out — no ID means you can’t even stand at the bar and order a mocktail (security is very strict here, might I remind you!).

Ultimately, this was a blessing because drinking before entering a haunted house is absolutely not what my body would have wanted anyway.

I wasn’t able to try any of the weird entrees, either — although they did sound intriguing. Universal tells me that the menu featured dishes like Broiler Bread (a hunk of cheese garlic bread that literally arrives on fire) and Ears (relax, it’s just corn, aioli, cheese and crushed Hot Cheetos).

Was Universal Horror Unleashed worth it?

For me? Universal Horror Unleashed was absolutely worth doing once (even if I ducked out early). The production is slick, the scares are effective and the whole setup feels distinctly “Vegas.” It’s over-the-top, theatrical and a little bit unhinged.