Universal's Halloween Horror Nights

Universal's Halloween Horror Nights is an annual Halloween-themed event at Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, Hollywood, Japan and Singapore. The longest-running and most successful iteration of the event, in Orlando, Florida, began as Universal Studios Fright Nights in 1991 as a 3-night event at Universal Studios Florida. The following year, it was re-branded as Halloween Horror Nights, advertised as the "second annual event". Since then, it has evolved into a scare-a-thon event filled with themed haunted houses, scare zones and shows that runs over the course of select nights from late August/early September until late October/early November, inspiring offshoots at other Universal Studios locations across the globe.

The Orlando event was held at Universal Studios Florida from 1991 until 2001, after which Halloween Horror Nights moved to neighboring Universal Islands of Adventure for 2002 and 2003. In 2004, a dual-park format was tested, which opened parts of both parks, before returning exclusively to Islands of Adventure in 2005. Making its return to Universal Studios Florida in 2006, the event has been held yearly with the exception of 2020, when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making it the first year that Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights was not held since its inception. The event later resumed with its 30th year in 2021.

Universal Studios Hollywood first featured an event titled Halloween Horror Nights in 1986. Bearing little resemblance to the modern event, the 1986 effort was actually a haunted tram tour, and was marred by the accidental death of a retail employee who, like many employees at the time, had volunteered to perform in the event. This event would be discontinued thereafter.

A year after the opening of Universal Studios Florida in 1990, Universal set out to create a Halloween event for its new east coast park. Universal Studios Fright Nights began as a 3-night event held at Universal Studios Florida on October 25, 26, and 31, 1991, featuring one haunted house, The Dungeon of Terror, and a collection of shows.

The event was renamed in 1992 and advertised as the second annual Halloween Horror Nights. There were two haunted houses, with The Dungeon of Terror returning and The People Under The Stairs making its debut in Soundstage 23. The event ran five nights, October 23–24, 29–31. In its third year, the event saw an increase to seven nights and the number of haunted houses increased to three, with the third at the Bates Motel film set.

Also in 1992, Halloween Horror Nights was relaunched at the Hollywood park as a direct result of the success of Fright Nights in Florida the year before, but was unsuccessful and discontinued for a second time.

For its fourth year, in 1994, Halloween Horror Nights in Florida expanded to an eight-night run with the return of a newly designed Dungeon of Terror haunted house, along with three more haunted houses. In addition to Nazarman's and the Bates Motel film set, the new locations were in the Earthquake overflow queue and the Boneyard. This year also marked the first use of the term "Scaracters", as well as the first official "Ghoul School" for actors participating in the event. Ticket prices increased to $36 this year.

Halloween Horror Nights V featured a 12-night run and three haunted houses, one of which was a dual-path house. It was also the first time Universal themed the event around a character, in this case Tales from the Crypt's Crypt Keeper. The event was subtitled "The Curse of the Crypt Keeper".