Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights officially kicked off its haunting season on Friday, Sept. 14 with a blood red carpet and plenty of familiar faces from some of the scariest feature films and TV shows.
Cast members from TV shows like “Stranger Things,” “The Purge” and “The Walking Dead” as well as stars from “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers” and “Unfriended: Dark Web” walked the carpet and did interviews before they scurried off into the night and into the latest horrifying attractions inside the theme park. This year’s line-up of terror features “Stranger Things,” “Trick ‘r Treat,” “The First Purge,” “Poltergeist,” “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers,” “The Horrors of Blumhouse: Chapter Two,” “Universal Monsters” with music by Slash and “Terror Tram: Hollywood Harry’s Deadtime Storiez.” Halloween Horror Nights continues on select evenings through Saturday, Nov. 3.
Here’s what some of Hollywood’s horror stars said scared them the most.
Gaten Matarazzo
His biggest fear/phobia: “I don’t get scared easily. I really don’t, but literally my biggest fear would be waking up and having nobody be anywhere. Just pure solitude and loneliness. Like Rick from ‘The Walking Dead.’ That would freak me out.”
You may know him from: Playing the lovable Dustin Henderson on Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”
Horror credits: At 16 years old Gaten Matarazzo has had multiple roles on Broadway including stints with “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” and “Les Misérables.” He doesn’t have much under his belt in the horror genre, but he certainly doesn’t scare easily, he said, so he’s ready for more.
Chandler Riggs
His biggest fear/phobia: “I know I have some irrational fears, but insects in general freak me out. Wasps are a big no for me. It was always terrifying when we’d be filming ‘The Walking Dead’ in Georgia and there would be a wasp buzzing by my ear and I couldn’t react or do anything about it.”
You may know him from: Playing little Carl Grimes on AMC’s “The Walking Dead” series.
Horror credit: Basically Chandler Riggs grew up on a zombie farm in Georgia as he took on the role of lead character Rick Grimes’ son, Carl on “The Walking Dead.” He had a rough run. Poor kid had to kill his own mother to keep her from becoming a walker, he got shot and he lost an eyeball. Riggs won several Saturn and Young Artist awards for his portrayal of Carl Grimes, but like almost all of the characters on that show, he finally met his maker and died a traumatizing death during season eight. He also starred in a horror film called “Keep Watching” and will appear in a new crime drama “Inherit the Viper,” which will be out next year.
Caleb McLaughlin
His biggest fear/phobia: “I have this fear of drowning or being like pushed underwater. But like in the corner of a bathtub, not the middle, but being pushed under and seeing the light but not being able to do anything. I know, it’s weird. I take showers, not baths.”
You know him from: His role as Lucas Sinclair in the Netflix series “Stranger Things.”
Horror credits: At the tender age of 16, Caleb McLaughlin hasn’t done much horror though he has done his share of crime drama having taken roles on shows like “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Unforgettable” and “Blue Bloods.”
Sadie Sink
Her biggest far/phobia: “Just everything. There’s always something to be scared of. Dark places and spiders those are like my stupid fears. Of course there are way bigger things to be scared of. I don’t like airplanes, which is a recent fear of mine. I hate turbulence. Dolphins are also scary. I know that sounds weird, but they are just too smart.”
You may know her from: Portraying Maxine “Max” Mayfield in Netflix’s series “Stranger Things.”
Horror credits: Sadie Sink is just 16 years old so she doesn’t really have a background in terror (yet), however she has appeared in both “The Americans” and “Blue Bloods” television series. She is going to be in the forthcoming Ciaran Foy (“Sinister 2”)-directed horror film, “Eli,” which is set to be released in early 2019.
Danielle Harris
Her biggest fear/phobia: “Elevators are always a thing for me. Even now, we parked on the roof of the parking structure and my husband was like ‘We’re going to have to take the elevator.’ I always try to take stairs or escalators. It’s because I’ve been stuck in them a few times so I just do not like them.”
You may know her from: Playing Jamie Lloyd in 1988’s “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers” and Annie Brackett in Rob Zombie’s reimagining of the original “Halloween” films, 2007’s “Halloween” and 2009’s “Halloween II.”
Horror credits: Danielle Harris is a horror veteran and survivor, if you will. She has been cast in dozens of horror films and TV shows. She also lent her voice to characters on animated shows such as “The Wild Thornberrys” and “Father of the Pride.”
Pollyanna McIntosh
Her biggest fear/phobia: “I’m afraid of snakes. I got strangled by a python once and after that I was really afraid. I’m trying now to expose myself to them a little more so I’ll be less afraid. I did go through ‘The Walking Dead’ maze before with Ezekiel and Jesus from the show and I was the least scared so I was really proud of myself for that.”
You may know her from: Playing Jadis on AMC’s hit TV series, “The Walking Dead.”
Horror credits: McIntosh has actually starred in several horror films including 2009’s “Offspring” and its sequel, 2011’s “The Woman.” She was also the lead in the British-Irish horror flick, “Let Us Prey” and she appeared in a segment of the horror-comedy anthology, “Tales of Halloween.”
John Murdy
His biggest fear/phobia: “Cotton balls. I hate cotton balls and I hate wooden spoons. My daughters recently figured it out about the cotton balls, so they attack me now. There’s something particularly horrifying about being attacked with cotton balls by 5- and 3-year olds.”
You may know him from: Being the executive producer of Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights.
Horror credits: He’s been leading the Halloween Horror Nights team at Universal Studios for 13 terrifying seasons and has even immersed himself into some of the attractions throughout the years, whether he’s playing a mad scientist on a television screen somewhere in a maze or using himself to cast the shadow of Jack Torrance hammering away at his typewriter in an attraction based on “The Shining.”
Stephanie Nogueras
Her biggest fear/phobia: “Visual things like blood, decapitation, I can’t stand that. I can’t watch that stuff in horror movies because then I’ll have bad dreams! I don’t scare easily though. People may try to take advantage of a deaf person and try to scare them, but no, I don’t get scared too easily.”
You may know her from: Portraying Amaya in Blumhouse Productions’ “Unfriended: Dark Web.”
Horror credits: Stephanie Nogueras is a deaf actress with a deep appreciation for horror, however she hasn’t done much in the genre aside from “Unfriended: Dark Web.” She played Natalie Pierce on the ABC’s Family drama “Switched at Birth” and has had smaller roles on shows such as “Grimm,” “The Magicians” and “Criminal Minds.”
Chelsea Alden
Her biggest fear/phobia: “I’m terrified of spiders and sharks. I think those are pretty normal things to be afraid of. If I’m alone and it’s dark, I’ll turn on all the lights. If i’m home alone and it’s too quiet, I get nervous. I also never watch horror movies by myself.”
You know her from: The role of Kelly in “Unfriended: Dark Web.”
Horror credits: Chelsea Alden knows her way around a horror set since she also had a small role on “American Horror Story: Roanoke.” She’s also known for her role as Mackenzie in the controversial Netflix series, “13 Reasons Why.”
Jessica Garza
Her biggest fear/phobia: “I have this dream where all of my teeth fall out. It freaks me out. I wake up and have to check. I start feeling around like ‘OK, one, two, three …’ they’re all there!”
You may know her from: “The Purge” TV series on the USA Network
Horror credits: Though Jessica Garza has had small roles on shows such as “Modern Family” and “NCIS,” she’s mostly known for portraying Anabel Ortiz on the crime drama series, “Six.” She’s ready for more horror roles, she said, and if/when the purge does happen in real life, she’ll be ready.
Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights
When: 7 p.m. on select nights now through Saturday, Nov. 3.
Where: 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City
Tickets: General admission passes are $67-$97. The Universal Express tickets, which allows one-time express access to each maze, ride and show are $149-$229; The after 2 p.m. day/night ticket combo grants access to all daytime attractions plus Halloween Horror Nights for $99-$139 (and can be upgraded to a Universal Express ticket for $179-$269). Two-night Fear Passes are $109; The Frequent Fear Pass with up to 21 available visits is $169; The Ultimate Fear Pass, which includes up to 29 evenings of scares, is $350. The R.I.P. Tour exclusive behind-the-scenes experience for groups of up to 12 is $279-$399 per person. All passes are available at HalloweenHorrorNights.com.