Orlando, FL — Universal Orlando Resort announced a new original haunted house, “Madlands: Caged Cannibals,” for Halloween Horror Nights 2026. This original haunted house is exclusive to the Orlando event and is the fifth of ten houses Universal has revealed for HHN 2026.
“In this haunted house, a defunct zoo is now the deadly domain of warring cannibal factions that have taken their animal instincts to extremes. They’re territorial. They’re hungry. And you’re lunch,” Universal said in its announcement on the @HorrorNightsORL social channels.
About the House
Madlands drops guests into a post-apocalyptic zoo long after the animals have gone extinct. Rival tribes of cannibals occupy the abandoned grounds and have adopted the apex-predator behaviors of the species that once lived there, learning those traits from the zoo’s old signage and exhibit remnants. Guests pass through the cannibals’ territory as prey caught between the warring factions.
Lora Sauls, Universal Orlando’s assistant director of entertainment creative development, told CinemaBlend the concept came from “one of our newer scenic designers” during a brainstorm week in April 2025. Sauls described the result as “a bloody house” and “one of our bloodiest this year,” and “one of the most aggressive in the event, very bloody, very in your face, very intense attacking.” She also teased that the house will have “interesting” smells.
Universal Creative show director Ramon Paradoa, who also wrote and directed HHN 35’s H.R. Bloodengutz house, praised the design publicly. “I cannot overstate how excited I am for everyone to experience this house,” Paradoa wrote. “It’s intense, in your face, and old-school HHN presented in an elevated way that pushes boundaries.” Paradoa credited the design to “Cam,” the scenic designer Sauls referenced in her CinemaBlend interview. Universal has not publicly identified the designer beyond the first-name credit.
Comparable HHN houses
Universal has not announced any narrative or thematic connection between Madlands and previous HHN attractions. Fans and journalists writing about the announcement have drawn unofficial comparisons to HHN 19’s outdoor scare zone “Apocalypse: City of Cannibals” (2009), HHN III’s “The Slaughterhouse” (1993), and the recurring Leatherface and Texas Chainsaw Massacre houses on the licensed-IP cannibal lineage. Several outlets have also noted the Carey, Ohio overlap with HHN 18’s “Leave It to Cleaver” (2008), which set its butcher-shop slasher in the same fictional town that anchors the new H.R. Bloodengutz house. None of these are confirmed connections.
Halloween Horror Nights 2026
Halloween Horror Nights 2026 marks the event’s 35th anniversary under the theme “Infernal Carnival of Nightmares,” with Jack the Clown and Dr. Oddfellow returning as co-icons. The 10-house lineup splits roughly between original concept houses and IP-licensed houses. So far Universal has announced “Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control” as the icon house, the recently revealed H.R. Bloodengutz Presents: A Halloween Fright-Tacular! as a second original, and IP houses based on the Ryan Coogler film Sinners and Netflix’s Stranger Things drawing from the show’s fifth and final season. Five houses remain to be announced.
Event details
Halloween Horror Nights 2026 at Universal Studios Florida runs 48 select nights from Aug. 28 through Nov. 1, the earliest start date in the event’s 35-year history. The separate Hollywood event runs Sept. 3 through Nov. 1. Madlands: Caged Cannibals is exclusive to the Orlando event. Tickets are on sale now, including single-night tickets starting at $87.99, Express Passes starting at $169.99, the new Scream Early 2 p.m. early-entry add-on starting at $70, and two Premium Scream Nights at $399 on Aug. 27 and Oct. 19. For more information, visit UniversalOrlando.com/HHN.
