It’s spooky season! And while there’s a whole host of homegrown horrors for Irish LGBTQ+ folk to feast on, some ghouls like to travel for their terror fix. A magnet for those interested in the macabre is the unmissable Universal Halloween Horror Nights in California – but are you brave enough?!

Universal Studios Hollywood is transformed into a twisted home to a jaw-dropping collection of horror mazes, with creeps and creatures stalking shrieking attendees and screams echoing in the night, it’s the place to be for fans of fear.

This year’s Halloween Horror Nights presents a brand new collection of fear experiences, pulling from both the latest and greatest horror films and TV shows to hit the big and small screens, and other mazes which dive deep into Universal’s history as a creator of monsters.

Recent horror arrival Exorcist: Believer has a deeply disturbing walk-through, while the Evil Dead Rise walkthrough is a greatest hits tour of the new classic. Stranger Things and The Last of Us in no surprise, both proved to be huge draws for terrified attendees.

For this horror fanatic, particular favourites were Universal Monsters: Unmasked, which combined the classic chillers Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Phantom of the Opera, Invisible Man AND the Hunchback of Notre Dame in one huge megamix of monstrosity, and the Chucky maze, which provided more JPM (Jumps Per Minute) than you’d think for a character who’s more funny than fearsome.

The beloved Universal Tram that takes riders behind the scenes to see how film magic is made transforms after dark into something altogether more fearsome (but just as, if not more, fun) – the insects have taken over! Mutated bugs chased tourists throughout the sets of Psycho, Nope and War of the Worlds, and tourists loved it.

For LGBTQ+ holidaymakers looking for a welcome in the US, California is the place to be. Los Angeles, in particular, is crammed full of queer entertainment and Halloween-themed experiences for those hoping to taste that particularly American brand of Halloween.