Universal Reveals New Halloween Horror Nights Characters

After an active few months of Universal Studios dropping teasers and trailers hinting at the arrival of something big, the wait is finally over! With today’s latest announcement, Universal fans finally get their first good look at the newest hosts of Halloween Horror Nights. This year has officially introduced SINIST3R and SURR3AL as the hosts for the 2024 season, marking the 33rd year of the event and continuing to build upon the intricate and often mysterious lore of monsters and maniacs that have presided over the event in years of HHN past.

SINIST3R and SURR3AL were heralded into the public awareness over the month of May with a series of short teasers and a longer story-driven trailer depicting the discovery of something unholy incubating under the grounds of the iconic Orlando theme park – all culminating in the arrival of this ancient evil as the gates opened, unleashing this Horror into the streets of Universal Orlando Resort.

With the 2024 scarezone announcements, guests were given their first glimpse of the hosts of this year’s event – two dominating forces presiding over the realm of horror that has been unearthed beneath Universal Studios Florida; one ruling over the domain of visceral, physical horror. The other, ruling over the horror of the supernatural. In this initial scarezone set at the front of the park, guests will be forced to choose their path as they venture deeper into the realm of horrors that SINIST3R and SURR3AL have unleashed upon the park.

From the moment that Universal revealed the presence of these two new characters in the announcement of their scarezone, Duality of Fear, guests have been clamoring for more information, desperate for further announcements on houses and scarezones to see how the introduction of SINIST3R and SURR3AL would tie into the offerings of this year’s event. Now, with the official introduction of these chilling new characters through the park’s official social media accounts, the introduction of SINIST3R and SURR3AL and their domain over Horror – and considering the tagline of the 2024 year, claiming that “This is Where Horror Lives,” – the story of this year’s event and the intense atmosphere brought to life by these two horrific forces, including its presence in any houses or scarezones, has the potential to make this one of the most impactful years since HHN20 with the introduction of Adaru, the God of Fear Itself.

Universal’s official Halloween Horror Nights twitter account has, in a surprising lore drop, given us more information than ever before about these two sinister sisters:

“For 33 years, the screams of thousands of eager Halloween Horror Nights guests have been collected within the shadowy depths of Universal Orlando Resort. With each year that went by came a new set of frights for our guests to indulge,” the official Universal Halloween Horror Nights twitter explained in a 4-tweet thread. “All the while, their wails of terror festered beneath the billow[ing] fog up on the surface, forming a monstrous manifestation of the horror that lives within their hearts. An evil overgrowth that would spread its hellish grasp throughout every crevice of the park’s underbelly. / As the overgrowth expanded in size, its beating heart ripped a tear between our world and the vast universe of horrors that exists beyond our own; the never-ending void in which fear derives from. / Within that universe are two distinct realms – One fueled by physical pain while the other is plagued by psychological torment. At the helm of these worlds are two entities, SINIST3R and SURR3AL, who each embody the hellscapes they stand guard for.”

Fans can view the original tweets for themselves [here].

Theme Park Shark will continue to report on any additional announcements made by Universal Orlando resort at we draw closer to the event, which is starting earlier than ever on August 30th. With only a few days until the start of the event, announcements on major attractions have already been made, with all 10 houses and all 5 scarezones having been announced over the last few months as Universal Orlando Resort has drawn us in to the mystery of SINIST3R and SURR3AL. Now, as house portals go up and Universal makes its last adjustments to the facades and devilish details adorning every last scrap of theming they’ve lovingly placed into the park, fans wait eagerly to see the intense labor of Universal Orlando Resort’s creative team come to fruition in another killer year of Halloween Horror Nights.

For now, though, fans of the event will be left to wonder what kind of horrors will be waiting for them when the gates open to them on August 30th, exposing them to a whole new generation of horror – and with an icon as hungry for your terror as these two are, this year is no doubt going to be absolutely horrible, in the best possible way!