Universal Studios Orlando Halloween Horror Nights: How show directors put the event together

Universal Orlando Resort’s annual Halloween Horror Nights event draws thousands of thrill-seekers each year — but few know the masterminds behind the cinematic scenes and what goes into making the creepy attractions come to life.

In celebration of its 32nd year, the Florida theme park is employing 1,300 scare actors to spook guests throughout 10 haunted houses, five scare zones and several live shows.

FOX Business got a preview of what visitors should expect as well as insights into the behind-the-scenes production work that the seasonal event requires.

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Four show directors shared how they stumbled into the niche career of developing "Halloween horror" — and what their jobs entail.

'Inspiration comes from nightmares'

Charles Gray, a senior show director who oversees creative development, art, design and entertainment at Universal Orlando Resort, has been with the company for 30 years.

"I started off as a performer and then worked my way into show direction," he told FOX Business. He's been a show director for 10 years.

While working as an entertainer, Gray earned college degrees in organizational and interpersonal communication.

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Gray made his first move into show directing as a performance coordinator for Universal’s holiday "Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular" show.

Today, Gray serves as a creative consultant on Halloween-themed live entertainment, runs cast rehearsals, leads the operational team and communicates the creative vision to other divisions at the theme park as well as third-party global partners.

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"A lot of the inspiration comes from nightmares," said Gray, "these kernels of ideas that will come to me. And then collaboration really is another part [of it]." 

Show directors and scenic designers discuss storylines and the effects that are needed to make the haunted houses feel realistic, according to Gray.

"[We ask] how do we tell this story very quickly because when you're walking through a haunted house, it's almost like these quick snapshots of moments," said Gray.

During the Halloween Horror Nights event, Gray likes to walk through haunted houses to gauge the guests' reactions firsthand.

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He’ll also station himself at haunted house exits to read the expressions on guests’ faces, watch their interactions with companions and listen for screams or comments.

"Feedback is very, very valuable," said Gray.

In Gray’s line of work, he believes Halloween celebrators enjoy haunted houses because they get to experience thrills in a "controlled" and "safe" environment where terrifying moments can be turned into humor.

"For example, you're walking through a haunted house with your friends. You all scream, and then when you exit the house, you're all laughing with each other about how much you screamed or what you saw, pointing at each other and laughing," said Gray. 

"So really, we're creating joy [at] the end of it. But it starts with the scream."

‘Just blossomed into this great career’

Kelly Malik, a show director in the creative development, art, design and entertainment space at Universal, has been with the company since 1996. For over two decades she’s worked on the theme park’s Halloween event.

"I started off as a performer, and then I started to ask the questions: How can you get into something as creative as Halloween Horror Nights," Malik told FOX Business.

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"I was given the opportunity to become a performance coordinator, which then helps our performers learn the choreography and/or learn the blocking and different moves that they would perform out in the streets, in our scare zones or in our haunted houses," she said.

"I learned a lot from there and then [it] just blossomed into this great career."

Over 1,000 actors auditioned to take part in the Halloween Horror Nights 2023, according to Malik.

Each night, roughly 500 to 600 scare actors put their terrifying skills to the test in the Orlando theme park’s varied attractions and settings.

"We love personality. Personality is key," said Malik. "And definitely when we get into the auditions, having somebody just feel comfortable just letting go and having a good time, that's most important."

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Universal Orlando Resort typically starts building Halloween sets in February.

"Collaboration is one of our key components," Malik said, noting that the creative development team looks into what scares and entertains the public.

"We build off that," she continued. "We have an incredible team across the board, actually, with our decor teams, our prop team, our makeup and costuming team. And they are so skilled in bringing all these horrific creatures to life."

Malik said it can take creative teams "hours amongst hours" to create masks, detailed sets and ghoulish creatures.

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While not everyone may like being scared on purpose, Malik thinks guests are attracted to Halloween Horror Nights because the event engages all the senses.

"It's definitely not for everyone. Some people just really enjoy that adrenaline rush that you get from being scared," she said. "Different things scare different people, so it's definitely fun to look at those and cater to every individual who comes into our event."

‘Get to lead the team that creates this amazing content’ 

Lora Sauls, an assistant director of creative development who works on show and art direction, design and entertainment at Universal, has been with the company for roughly 27 years.

"I started here as a singing and dancing bride of Frankenstein," Sauls told FOX Business.

During her tenure at Universal, Sauls has had a hand in creating haunted houses and scare zones, as well as directing live shows.

An assistant director, Sauls helps develop concepts. She often works with attractions that focus on Universal Monsters, the iconic home video franchise that Universal Pictures distributed from the 1930s to 1950s.

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This year, Sauls worked on "Universal Monsters: Unmasked," a haunted house that features four antagonists from the 20th-century film franchise, including "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1913), "The Invisible Man" (1913), "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1923) and "The Phantom of the Opera" (1943).

"Now I get to lead the team that creates all this amazing content," said Sauls. 

"I love every minute of it."

Sauls said the Universal Halloween Horror Nights team "truly loves" guest interaction.

"There's some kind of endorphin that runs through your body that when you get that good jump scare — you just fall into laughter," she said.

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"We get to see the guests interact [with] all the amazing content that we get to create," Sauls said. 

‘A lot of training goes into this’

Matthew Flood, a senior show director for entertainment, creative development, art and design at Universal, has been able to meld his two loves — theater and writing — while working on Halloween Horror Nights.

"I've been with Universal for nearly 21 years now, and this place, as I've been here has become more and more immersive," Flood told FOX Business. 

"We say, ‘See you in the fog,’ and it really feels like the entire place has come to life and is immersing you in this horror vibe for the Halloween season."

Thousands of people bring Universal Orlando Resort’s Halloween Horror Nights event to life each year, according to Flood.

Performance coordinators and show directors work with scare actors to make sure they understand their character and sell the stories that they’re in, he said.

"It's alarming and it's terrifying."

"What makes [Halloween Horror Nights] scary is that you know where you are, you understand, you hear it in the sounds, you see it in the lighting, and then these characters come out, and you recognize them or you don't," said Flood. 

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"And it's alarming and it's terrifying," he added. "Whatever it is, we need those performers to understand that, and so there's a lot of training that goes into this."

The creative development team at Universal pays attention to park guests, horror movie fans and pop culture trends to produce this multi-week Halloween event.

"We are always looking for the best properties, the best original houses, the best scare zones, so that everybody who comes will have the thing that terrifies them that they're a fan of, that they can't wait to see, that they're showing up just invested," said Flood.

"That's what makes this fun."

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