Stranger Things Returns to Halloween Horror Nights 2023

We finally got some more house announcement information about Halloween Horror Nights 2023. The speculation of “Stranger Things” coming to Halloween Horror Nights has filled many people’s minds over the last two years. However, the day of the official “Stranger Things” announcement arrived for Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) 2023 at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood.

HHN fans have been waiting impatiently for information. Universal announced “Chucky” and “The Last of Us” houses for both coasts. Yet, that left eight houses to announce. Since five are expected to be intellectual properties like Universal Classic Monsters or The Exorcist, that leave several announcements left to occur. Also, since we now know that HHN in Orlando will run until November 4, anticipation is growing. With the event starting September 1 with team member previews before that, marketing needs to happen.

Based on the recent official announcement, guests may be running up that hill. Perhaps guests in the Stranger Things season four themed Halloween Horror Nights house will go separate ways.

Past Stranger Things Houses

With the disappointment of the “Stranger Things” HHN house in 2019, HHN fans wondered if they would see that franchise again at HHN. Also, with talks about a lack of cooperation between Netflix and Universal, the return of “Stranger Things” looked unlikely.

However, the fourth season of “Stranger Things” involved many aspects that would make a great HHN house.  For example, the main antagonist in season four, Vecna, would be the ideal HHN character. Combining the other new elements introduced in season four, that plotline and characters could be transformed into an excellent HHN house.

However, HHN fans have been down this road before. Many people speculated that “Stranger Things” would be an HHN house last year. Some of us had entire articles written to prepare for that in 2022. In those never published articles, we describe how Vecna would scare us in new ways for HHN. Yet, that never came to fruition in 2022. The rumors ramped up again in late April 2023 about Stranger Things making another HHN appearance. They intensified in early June 2023.

Speculation

This year, some HHN speculation sources created symbols for houses that some interpreted as indicating a “Stranger Things“ HHN house was happening in 2023. However, those skilled speculation experts stated that at least at that point, the symbol did not mean “Stranger Things” but a possible music-based house like The Weeknd last year.

Nevertheless, the speculation about a “Stranger Things” HHN house for 2023 increased when Halloween Horror Nights published the cryptic “dO NOt WaTcH” video on its Youtube channel. Some HHN fans watched all ten minutes of this video and felt they saw spores and Vecna taking over the podcaster in this video. We will let you watch and decide if that is true or not.

With Horror Night Nightmares speculation map version three for 2023 that came out in early July, signs literally pointed to Stranger Things coming to HHN 2023.

Uh oh! #HHN #HHN32 pic.twitter.com/rgqJEc71qy

— Horror Night Nightmares (@HNNightmares) July 13, 2023

A “leaked” TV ad for “Stranger Things” coming to HHN appeared online in mid-July. This showed the Netflix show being featured.

However, this “Top Secret” intellectual property became official with the announcement by Universal Orlando Resort. With this, rumors indicate that this year might involve a formerly planned Halloween Horror Nights Icon, Cindy Caine, Also, the Dr. Oddfellow connection o HHN 2023 looks more likely. Still, this is Universal, so things change quickly.

HHN Food and Beverage

Also, the HHN-themed food and beverages associated with the Netflix series house have been extravagant in previous years. In 2019, HHN fans got cuisine based on Starcourt Mall. Will this year’s food involve a trip to Surfer Boy Pizza? We will need to wait and see.

Regarding merchandise, what type will we get for this house? We know it will be popular. Will it just be mugs and shirts like for “The Last of Us” announcement?

For that, we received an answer today. Photos from Alicia Stella of OrlandoParkStop.

Stranger Things HHN House

This year’s petrifying haunted house will once again transport guests to Hawkins, Indiana, where they will encounter the newest supernatural villain, Vecna, who is hell-bent on obliterating the volatile barrier between the eerie Upside Down and the real world in an attempt to reign supreme.

Stranger Things Season Four

The “Stranger Things” haunted house mirrors the mind-bending twists and supernatural terror of Season 4, immersing guests in a heart-pounding experience alongside valiant characters from the series, including Eleven, Max, Eddie and more. Guests will find themselves on the front line of Vecna’s deadly attacks on the citizens of Hawkins while traveling through iconic scenes, including the notorious Hawkins Lab, the enigmatic Creel House and Vecna’s chilling mindscape. Along the way, guests will confront their deepest fears and come face to face with otherworldly creatures like demobats and even Vecna himself. In a race against the clock, guests find themselves in the ultimate showdown within Vecna’s blood-red Mind Lair, striving to escape and save mankind from his deadly curse.

“From the opening shots of ‘Stranger Things 4,’ episode one, we knew this was meant to be an experience at Halloween Horror Nights,” said John Murdy, Executive Producer of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. “We’re excited for our fans to live Vecna’s curse as we recreate the iconic and terrifying moments from the show,” added Lora Sauls, Assistant Director, Creative Development and Show Direction at Universal Orlando Resort

Now we have an announcement video…

Will you visit Halloween Horror Nights in 2023 to see the “Stranger Things” house? Let us know in the comments below.