Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) fans anxiously await any information about the yearly event. As I usually say, speculation for next year’s version of Halloween Horror Nights starts before the current one ends. Fans have been known to make predictions for the event more than 12 months away based on very little details. I suspect for some that the speculation brings more joy than the actual Halloween Horror Night event itself.

In most years, some house themes “leak” to the public way before official announcement by Universal Orlando. This year, we have several examples of this. We can turn to a classic 1978 horror movie and the Universal Classic Monsters as examples. Based on recent history, Universal Orlando likes to include some music-based scare zones and/or houses each year. A prominent example shines with Rob Zombie’s legacy with Halloween Horror Nights. For 2020, Halloween Horror Night fans were supposed to get a Billie Eilish themed house.  That “house” will go down in the Halloween Horror Nights legends with “Scream” as houses designed but never used.

For HHN 2022, all signs pointed to a “Weeknd” themed house. Even The Weeknd’s own social media proclaimed the rumor as essentially fact. During numerous tweets from his account on April 3^rd, 2022, we got this beauty: “i just noticed the “too late” and “in your eyes” videos are restricted on YouTube. lol i guess i pushed it a little 😂. I know Halloween horror nights loved them though.”

Yes, HHN appreciated it enough to create a house designed around the musical styling of The Weeknd. Apparently, we will need to wait to find out if we are to see blinding lights, put through some wicked games, or tackle some hills in this musically inspired house. Mr. Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, also known as The Weeknd, functions as no stranger to horror.  His music video production team consistently dances with the genre of horror. His production team steadily uses classic images of horror genre conveying twisted tales in collaboration with his unsettling lyrics.

If you have been following @theweeknd on twitter, hints have been dropping even more intensely as we entered July 2022. Some fan sites started suggesting that The Weeknd would drop a large hint and/or an actual announcement during a “weekend” concert Saturday July 16^th. Many of these functions as rumors and trying to read the “tea leaves” as they say. In fact, all that happened at The Weeknd concert at MetLife Stadium was a trailer for “The Idol” project. So HHN fans waited longer for anything to officially announce anything for HHN 2022.

On this same night, I started hearing that Universal Parks intended The Weeknd to be the last house announcement on both coasts. On Friday July 22^nd Halloween Horror Nights put out a teaser video. Almost as soon as the teaser post went up on social media, people started speculating that this was The Weeknd house announcement.

On July 26^th, Entertainment posted an interview saying The Weeknd would have a house at HHN this year. The article reads: “EW can exclusively reveal that both Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort will open The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare walk-through attractions later this year as part of the annual Halloween Horror Nights celebration. There, guests will travel into the mind of the Canadian singer-songwriter to visit the twisted fantasies that inspired his hit album.

“I always wanted my own Halloween Horror Nights haunted house, as Halloween has always been significant to my music, so this is a total dream come to life,” Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye said in an exclusive statement to EW. “I feel like my music videos have served as a launching pad for a collaboration like this, and I cannot wait for people to experience this madness!”

We also found out in this article that this house would be themed to the 2020 Album “After Hours.” Leading up to this official announcement, HHN fans sounded fairly divided about the potential quality of this house. We must wait until September to find out if The Weeknd works as a quality HHN house.

After Entertainment reported this, Universal followed up with more information. They said for first time ever, multi award-winning artist The Weeknd joins forces with Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights to inspire all-new, terrifying haunted houses based on his record-breaking “After Hours” album. Beginning September 2 at Universal Orlando Resort and on September 8 at Universal Studios Hollywood, guests will spiral into the twisted mind of this mysterious artist to experience “The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare.”

Global phenomenon, The Weeknd, is renowned for his groundbreaking music that blends daring, provocative lyrics with innovative sounds and ominous undertones. “After Hours” is The Weeknd’s fourth consecutive number one album and has spawned multiple chart-topping hits, including “Too Late,” “Heartless,” “In Your Eyes” and the wildly popular single “Blinding Lights” – which is ranked as the #1 Greatest Hot 100 Hit of All Time by Billboard. This fall, select tracks from the riveting album are being reimagined as a horror movie soundtrack for the outrageously haunting experience at Halloween Horror Nights.

The dark undercurrent behind The Weeknd’s enigmatic persona will permeate the all-new Halloween Horror Nights haunted houses on both coasts. With the eerie sounds of “After Hours” reverberating throughout the experience, guests will step into a surreal living nightmare filled with grotesque characters and themes inspired by The Weeknd’s music and short films. As they’re stalked by slashers, bandaged maniacs, gruesome toad-like creatures and other unfathomable horrors from the mind of the artist, guests will be challenged to survive the night while trapped within the terrifying, unexpected world of “The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare” – a place that only exists in The Weeknd’s vivid imagination and from which one may never escape.

“We are thrilled to take guests inside of the mind of The Weeknd, who is a Halloween Horror Nights fan himself,” said John Murdy, Executive Producer of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood.  “This is an unprecedented haunted house that is going to shatter the expectations of our guests and immerse them in an unforgettable experience that is equally unexpected and terrifying,” added Charles Gray, Senior Show Director for Entertainment Creative Development at Universal Orlando Resort.

All tickets are on sale now for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort, which begins Friday, September 2 – including online savings on single-night tickets and a variety of Frequent Fear Pass options that allow guests to experience the horror on multiple nights. Guests can also stay close to the screams with vacation packages that include hotel accommodations, one-night admission to the event, tickets to all three Universal Orlando theme parks, and benefits exclusive to Universal Orlando hotel guests, such as Early Park Admission to the theme parks during the day and access to a dedicated Halloween Horror Nights entry gate at night. Plus, guests can take their visit to the next level with upgrades such as the guided R.I.P. Tour, Express Pass, the daytime, lights-on Behind the Screams: Unmasking the Horror Tour and Scareactor Dining – where guests can fuel up for the fear with a themed dinner buffet and special photo ops with scareactors on select nights.

Hooray for The Weeknd!