Universal’s upcoming Horror Unleashed attraction in Las Vegas represents the company’s first foray into a permanent, year-round horror experience. Set to open on August 14, 2024, at the AREA15 District, this 100,000-square-foot warehouse promises four immersive haunted houses, themed bars, food venues, and entertainment spaces under one roof. But can Universal translate its successful seasonal Halloween Horror Nights formula into a sustainable year-round business?
On Wednesday, March 12, during the TEA Stories from the Fringes series, a panel of Universal Destinations & Experiences creatives gave us an in-depth look at Horror Unleashed. The discussion featured:
- Shelby Honea (Executive Producer, Universal Creative)
- Sean Chung (Show Producer, Universal Creative)
- Abbye Finnan (Show Producer, Universal Creative)
- Corey Schurr (Architect & Senior Design Manager, Universal Creative)
From rotating IPs to “never breaking the immersion,” the team outlined their plan to transform this permanent haunted attraction into something beyond a typical Halloween-only event. But will it capture—and keep—the attention of Vegas locals and tourists 12 months a year? Let’s dig into what they revealed.
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About Horror Unleashed
Before we discuss the experience’s unique value proposition, let’s establish some background on the experience. According to the official press release, guests will brave a 100,000-square-foot warehouse featuring four haunted houses tied to iconic and original horror IPs, including Universal Monsters, The Exorcist: Believer, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Scarecrow: The Reaping. Beyond the haunts themselves, the experience promises themed bars, food stalls, and a dedicated retail space, aiming to create a one-stop shop for terror-seekers.
But the press release only scratched the surface. During the panel, the creative team shared new details that emphasize just how different (and ambitious) Horror Unleashed aims to be:
- Over 40 individual sets anchor each haunted house. “We have over 40 individual rooms and sets,” said Show Producer Sean Chung, who stressed that every environment feels unique.
- Some bars double as scare zones, while others are “safe” spaces. Abbye Finnan noted, “If I need a break, I can go chill,” suggesting a flexible, choose-your-own-horror format.
- An overarching storyline weaves the houses together, with “interactive moments” beyond typical conga-line scares. “It’s one continuous immersive experience,” Sean declared.
- Frequent IP rotations and seasonal overlays are part of the plan. Finnan called the interiors “black box” spaces that can be changed out for festivals or holiday twists, extending well beyond a short-lived Halloween run.
By combining high-profile horror brands, multiple themed environments, and a flexible framework for quick updates, the team behind Horror Unleashed hopes to create a permanent fright-filled “playground” in a city that thrives on year-round spectacle.
Why Las Vegas?
When asked about choosing Las Vegas as the location, Finnan explained: “Vegas is America’s playground… More of an adult community … than what we typically get at our theme parks. So we were able to push some boundaries a little bit more than we can standardly.”
She added, “Sex sells in Vegas. There’s lots of things to see. So it was also keeping in mind we have to pull people away from the Strip. How are we gonna do that?”
Their answer: leveraging Universal’s horror intellectual properties and creating a compelling alternative to the typical Vegas offerings. The team is positioning Horror Unleashed to compete not with other haunted attractions but with entertainment venues like Cirque du Soleil, incorporating show elements to match Vegas entertainment expectations.
The numbers suggest Las Vegas could be fertile ground for this concept. The city attracts approximately 40 million visitors annually, with a substantial portion seeking adult-oriented entertainment beyond gambling. According to Placer.ai data, AREA15, where Horror Unleashed will be located, reportedly drew 3.23 million visitors in 2022 alone.
If Horror Unleashed could achieve a 7% conversion rate of AREA15 visitors (like what Halloween Horror Nights achieves in Florida), it would generate approximately 226,000 annual attendees. With ticket prices ranging from $59 to $99, this could translate to roughly $15.8 million in annual ticket revenue, not including food, beverage, and merchandise sales.
However, the question remains whether a horror-focused attraction can maintain consistent year-round appeal in a market known for constantly evolving entertainment options. While Vegas visitors are accustomed to spending on immersive, non-gaming entertainment, the seasonal nature of haunted attractions presents a unique challenge that Horror Unleashed must overcome.
The "Continuous Immersion" Claim
The team repeatedly emphasized what they believe sets Horror Unleashed apart from other haunted attractions: a continuous immersive experience without breaking character.
“Never break the immersion,” said Chung. “ What happens when you walk into this space and from the moment you walk into the moment you walk out, you are completely immersed in that world of horror? One overarching storyline that connects all of the houses as well as the space in between.”
Chung positioned this as solving a problem in the haunt industry: “You spend time standing on the sidewalk in the cold… You get kicked out and you’re just in the parking lot with your friend. ‘Well, that was kind of fun. Can we get a drink and talk about this?’ No.”
The team also hinted at a potentially “conga line free experience” at times, suggesting more controlled guest flows than what’s typical at Halloween Horror Nights.
However, this narrative overlooks the reality that many of the country’s most successful haunted attractions already integrate bars, themed spaces, and entertainment venues that allow guests to decompress and socialize. The notion that Horror Unleashed is pioneering this approach doesn’t align with industry trends, where entertainment zones have become increasingly common.
An Evolving Experience
The panel’s most promising aspect was the team’s acknowledgment that Horror Unleashed must evolve.
“When those doors open, that’s day one,” Chung emphasized. “It’s not going to look the same a year from that point… Universal Horror Unleashed is a completely new product… and nobody knows exactly how it’s gonna work.”
The team revealed plans for seasonal overlays, rotating IPs, and refreshed sets to keep the experience fresh. Abbye Finnan noted that the haunted houses were designed as “black boxes” to facilitate easy changeovers.
“We are building this facility [where] the individual mazes are kind of niche areas are more like black boxes so that we can continuously change our IPs as needed,” Finnan explained. “There’s been different talks about festival like moments, changing out shows… “
This flexibility will be crucial for addressing one of the project’s biggest questions: how will a horror attraction maintain appeal during non-Halloween seasons?
Analysis: Will Horror Unleashed Survive Off the Strip?
As a horror fan and industry observer, I genuinely root for Horror Unleashed to succeed. Universal has consistently pushed the boundaries of horror entertainment with Halloween Horror Nights, and a year-round venue could further elevate the entire haunted attraction industry. However, my analysis of the panel reveals some concerning misconceptions about the haunted attraction industry that could impact the project’s success:
The Entertainment vs. Fear Balance
The haunted attraction industry isn’t primarily about fear—it’s about entertainment. The panel’s repeated emphasis on scaring guests misses this crucial distinction. As Chung noted, “when you’re talking about horror, you want them to feel afraid, and that fear feels good.” However, the most successful haunted attractions balance scares with theatrical elements, humor, and spectacle to create well-rounded entertainment experiences.
For Horror Unleashed to succeed year-round, it will need to position itself more as an immersive horror entertainment destination rather than just a collection of traditional haunted houses. The team’s focus on continuous immersion suggests they understand this distinction conceptually, but their emphasis on fear rather than entertainment raises questions about their approach.
Year-Round Viability Challenges
While year-round horror attractions exist, they rarely achieve the throughput necessary to support a venture of Universal’s scale. Americans generally don’t associate haunted houses with non-Halloween periods, making consistent attendance a significant hurdle.
Successful year-round horror experiences tend to be lower-throughput, highly immersive offerings (like the Official IT Escape Experience in Las Vegas), or time locked and tied to pop culture (horror conventions; the Five Nights at Freddy’s Haunted House in Saudi Arabia) rather than traditional haunted houses—a model that may not align with Universal’s typical business requirements as a public company.
IP Selection Concerns
Despite the team’s enthusiasm, the selected IPs (Universal Monsters, The Exorcist: Believer, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Scarecrow: The Reaping) appear chosen primarily because Universal already owns or has relationships with them. Early guest feedback on these selections hasn’t been robust, raising questions about whether they’ll be compelling enough to draw tourists away from the Strip.
Moreover, the panel’s suggestion that these IP experiences are unique to Universal is incorrect. Other haunted attractions and escape rooms have successfully incorporated recognizable IPs, including the John Wick Experience, the Escape IT Experience, Five Nights at Freddy’s Haunted House in Saudi Arabia, and of course, the myriad of haunts that parody popular Ips.
The FOMO Factor
Both theme park events and haunted attractions rely heavily on FOMO (fear of missing out) to drive attendance. Halloween Horror Nights benefits enormously from its limited seasonal run, creating urgency for fans to visit before the event ends. Converting this urgency to a year-round model is inherently challenging.
Universal could create FOMO through rotating IPs, limited-time events, and exclusive experiences, but maintaining that sense of urgency throughout the year will require constant innovation and aggressive marketing—both of which add to the operational costs.
Seasonal Overlay Limitations
The team’s plan to implement seasonal overlays throughout the year has some precedent in the industry. In recent years, we’ve tracked over 100 Christmas-themed haunts and 95 Valentine’s Day haunts across the country. However, that number drops dramatically to just 18 for St. Patrick’s Day as attractions shift focus toward Halloween preparations.
Moreover, these seasonal haunts typically operate only on weekends, primarily Saturdays. For Valentine’s Day events in 2025, the peak operational days showed:
- February 14th (Friday): 70.5% of haunts operating
- February 15th (Saturday): 74.7% of haunts operating
- February 16th (Sunday): Only 20% of haunts operating
It’s difficult to imagine Horror Unleashed maintaining strong attendance for a Valentine’s-themed event on a Wednesday afternoon. The seasonal overlay strategy might boost weekend attendance during holiday periods, but filling the venue consistently on weekdays remains a significant challenge.
Industry Misconceptions
Sean Chung’s statement that “haunted houses are the original immersive experience” reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of immersive entertainment. Theatre is the original immersive experience, and haunted attractions are essentially theatre you walk through. Haunts have been around roughly 60 years, while storytelling and theatre are over 30,000 years old. This distinction isn’t just semantic—it’s crucial to understanding what makes haunted attractions successful.
Less than 5% of haunted attractions achieve sustainable profitability (enough to maintain year-round teams and buildings), and the notion that they’re inherently good business is simply incorrect. Halloween Horror Nights succeeds largely because it leverages existing theme park infrastructure and operates during a peak seasonal window when demand for horror experiences is naturally high.
The panel’s comments suggest they believe they’re solving problems that don’t exist, particularly regarding the “continuous immersion” claim. Sean’s assertion that integrated hangout spaces, bars, and stage shows aren’t something haunts typically offer is demonstrably false. Many of the country’s largest haunted attractions already feature bars, themed spaces, and entertainment venues that allow guests to decompress and socialize between scares.
While some members of Universal’s creative team (such as TJ Mannarino, who has decades of haunt industry experience) clearly understand the business, the panelists’ comments revealed significant gaps in their knowledge of how successful year-round haunted attractions operate.
Conclusion: A Promising Experiment with Uncertain Odds
Horror Unleashed represents an ambitious experiment in extending Universal’s horror expertise beyond the seasonal Halloween period. Perhaps the most encouraging takeaway from the panel is the acknowledgment that the experience will evolve and adapt based on guest feedback.
From a pure numbers perspective, the project could potentially work. Industry analysis suggest that with approximately 226,000 annual visitors (about 550 per day), Horror Unleashed could generate around $15.8 million in ticket revenue. After accounting for operating costs (estimated at 75% of revenue) and amortizing capital expenditures, the attraction might produce a net operating profit of roughly $3 million annually.
For Comcast/NBCUniversal, this represents a potentially attractive return on investment—possibly in the 25-30% range on an estimated $10-12 million capital investment. However, this assumes the attraction performs in the top 1% of all haunted attractions nationally, as less than 4% of haunted attractions generate over $2 million in revenue annually.
These financial projections highlight both the opportunity and the challenge. Horror Unleashed must maintain consistent attendance throughout the year, not just during the traditional Halloween season when demand for horror experiences peaks. The proximity to AREA15, which already draws over 3 million visitors annually, provides a solid base of potential customers, but converting them at the necessary rate will be crucial.
Moreover, the fundamental challenges I outlined earlier remain significant hurdles:
- The year-round haunted attraction model has rarely succeeded at scale
- The focus on fear rather than entertainment might limit broader appeal
- The selected IPs may not prove compelling enough to draw visitors away from the Strip
- The claimed competitive advantages (like continuous immersion) are less unique than portrayed
While I remain skeptical about the long-term viability of this model, Universal’s willingness to adapt the experience could prove to be the deciding factor. The team’s flexibility and commitment to refreshing content seasonally address one of the primary concerns with year-round horror attractions—maintaining relevance beyond October.
The real test will come in January and February when tourism typically declines and audience interest in horror experiences naturally wanes. For Horror Unleashed to succeed where other year-round haunted attractions have struggled, Universal must leverage its entertainment expertise to create an experience that transcends traditional haunted house expectations—focusing less on fear for fear’s sake and more on creating a compelling, theatrical experience regardless of the season.
Will Comcast achieve the 15-20% IRR typically required for major entertainment investments? That remains to be seen, but Horror Unleashed certainly represents one of the most ambitious attempts yet to reimagine the haunted attraction model for year-round operation. We’ll begin to find out when Horror Unleashed opens its doors on August 14, 2024.
