How your favorite horror movies and TV shows invaded theme park haunted mazes

Horror is cinema's great equalizer. No one is safe. Whether a parable for troubled times or a scream-filled escape, film's masters of scare bring us tales that frighten us silly, explore the unspeakable and remind us that, unlike the unlucky souls onscreen, we are the ones still left alive. Though the form is often maligned, horror has never been more robust in ideas -- and popularity. With horror's highest-grossing film still in theaters, we take a look at the monster we love to fear. For American horror stories are not only having a moment, they might, in fact, turn out to be the signature genre of the present moment.

Oct. 13, 2017, 6:00 a.m.

How your favorite horror movies and TV shows invaded theme park haunted mazes

Sonaiya Kelley

SIX YEARS AGO, director Eli Roth pulled on a costume from his film "Hostel" and staged an impromptu performance inside the film's maze at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights.

"He showed up, he had the costume from the movie, and he acted in every single scene in the maze for over an hour," recalled John Murdy, creative director at Universal Studios Hollywood and executive producer of Halloween Horror Nights. "When I came down, he had gone backstage afterwards and hung out with the cast, took a million selfies, thanked everybody and as he was coming out he gave me a big bro hug."

Of course, Roth was still drenched in fake blood from the performance.

"I've never been able to get [the blood] off so now it's just the Eli Roth memorial jacket," Murdy said with a laugh.

Horror fans and filmmakers alike flock to Universal Studios for the Halloween-themed seasonal attractions, which compete with the longer-running Knott’s Scary Farm by taking full advantage of licensing opportunities to bring thrill seekers’ favorite movies and TV shows to frightening life.

"Because we're in the most competitive market in the world for this, I focus specifically on branded horror," Murdy said. "It's a lot like doing movies except we're doing multiple movies at the same time."

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