Year-Round Haunted House Opening Near Michigan

Halloween as a kid is one of the highlights of the year. Kids get to dress up in costumes and get enough candy to give any dentist a heart attack. Alternatively, a heart attack can occur from getting scared at a haunted house, which is where adults can truly enjoy the holiday. Going to haunted houses and corn mazes is my sister’s and my favorite fall activity. We've been to The Haunt, Abandoned Haunted Acres, and more.

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However, these haunted houses are usually limited to the fall, but what if they didn't have to be? One of the best horror experiences in the country takes place more than 1,000 miles away from Michigan at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL, during Halloween Horror Nights.

 While this is usually an enormous commitment for any of us here in the Great Lakes State to attend, Universal has just announced it's bringing the scares to the Midwest, and it's only a few hours' drive.

Universal, The Masters of Horror

Halloween Horror Nights transforms the entire Universal Studios theme park into a massive haunted attraction featuring over 10 individual haunted houses. These tend to feature houses designed around film and pop culture phenomena, such as HBO's The Last of Us in 2023 and Amazon Prime's Fallout in 2024.

Universal Horror Unleashed in Chicago

Universal has since expanded on this idea to deliver spine-tingling, film-quality SFX scares all year long with its new horror experience, Universal Horror Unleashed, available soon in Las Vegas and eventually in Chicago. The surprise announcement came last week, and while details are scarce for now, it's expected to follow the similar structure of the Las Vegas building.

The current Universal Horror Unleashed lineup features haunted houses inspired by "The Exorcist", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "The Scarecrow: The Reaping", and Universal's classic monsters, including Frankenstein and The Mummy.

READ MORE: Can You Sell a Haunted House in Michigan?

Construction on the project is expected to begin in 2026 and is scheduled to open in 2027. It's pretty impressive to have such a high-caliber experience located so close to Michigan. There isn't anything like this in the region, so once more details are announced, I know my sister and I will be in line.