The ghoulish time of the year is quickly approaching and that means one of our favorite theme parks “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood is gearing up! Here’s the complete details from Universal.

Universal City, California, August 26, 2008-Issuing a dare to “Live Your Worst Nightmare,” Universal Studios Hollywood has ratcheted up the intensity level to present a new “Halloween Horror Nights” for 2008. This year’s event will pair Hollywood’s top entertainment scenic and special effects artists with a cast of thousands to create terrifying new experiences including a “Terror Tram” excursion that will feature a stopover inside the infamous Bates Motel, a new scare zone based on the hit movie, “The Strangers” and a bloodcurdling new “Nightmare on Elm Street” maze, all contributing to Southern California’s most intense Halloween experience.

“Halloween Horror Nights” begins on Friday, October 3 and will extend over an expanded 13-night run concluding Saturday, November 1. Tickets to “Halloween Horror Nights” are on sale now at www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com.

In line with the “Live Your Worst Nightmare” theme, “Halloween Horror Nights” will boast a new “Nightmare on Elm Street: Home Sweet Hell” maze, a painstakingly surreal recreation of the notorious house at 1428 Elm Street. The looming, sinister structure will incorporate live re-enactments of never-before-presented nightmare sequences from the classic film series and will follow a storyline that will be recognizable to fans of “The Nightmare on Elm Street” films but equally terrifying to anyone who enters. “Halloween Horror Nights” will also feature the return of two other notorious horror icons: “Friday the 13th’s” Jason Voorhees and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s” Leatherface, each featured in his own meticulously crafted maze of shock corridors.

The newly re-envisioned backlot horror experience will take guests aboard the “Terror Tram: The Nightmare Tour” — which expands to double the length of previous Halloween tram experiences — and for the first time, incorporates a series of spine-chilling mazes, treks through the timeless set from “Psycho,” and a walk through the tortured landscape of “War of the Worlds” set into a unique and unforgettable experience that will raise the bar of terror to a level that only an authentic Hollywood studio can equal.

In addition to the new “A Nightmare on Elm Street”-themed maze, “Friday the 13th: Camp Blood,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Back in Business” and the “Universal House of Horrors” mazes will return with significantly elevated fear quotients. New characters based upon the Rogue/ Universal Pictures hit movie, “The Strangers,” will hauntingly roam within a dedicated “scare zone.”

Universal Studios Hollywood’s favorite thrill-ride attractions will also remain open for “Halloween Horror Nights” nocturnal affair, many with menacing twists. “The Simpsons Ride,” “Jurassic Park – In the Dark,” the “Revenge of the Mummy” psychological thrill-ride roller coaster and “WaterWorld,” aptly transformed into “Slaughter World” for the occasion, will all seem like tranquil respites from the mayhem of Jason, Freddy and Leatherface. The standing sets and themed streets of the theme park will also be transformed into a bloodbath, as if scenes from horror films that were left on the cutting room floor had exploded to life.

An all-new “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure” show will make an encore performance along with the distasteful “Chucky’s Insult Emporium” show bringing guests face-to-face with the scathing sarcasm of the sociopathic doll from Universal’s “Child’s Play” movies.

“Halloween Horror Nights” will continue on consecutive weekends beginning on Friday, October 3 through Saturday, November 1. Event dates are: October 3-4, 10-11, 17-19, 24-26, 30-31 and November 1. The event will begin nightly at 7:00 p.m.; closing hours vary by night throughout the event. Tickets to “Halloween Horror Nights” are $54 and are available for purchase online at www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com or at the Universal Studios Hollywood ticket booths.

“Halloween Horror Nights” tickets will also be sold in advance at Ralphs, Food 4 Less and Hot Topic where consumers can save up to $20 off a ticket with the purchase of any Coca-Cola product. Guests can save up to $20 with any Coke can or special coupon from Jack in the Box restaurants.

Stay tuned to Toxic Shock TV for the latest Halloween Horror Nights news.