October 7, 2025, 2:57 PM ·
Universal Beijing Resort is doubling down on Halloween, offering its largest spooky event to date. Branded “Scares @ Universal,” ostensibly to sidestep any potential sensitivities and make expectations clear to an audience not necessarily familiar with American Halloween culture, this year continues to experiment with blending established horror IP with China-specific offerings.Hosting duties this year are shared three ways and is maybe the best way of looking at Universal’s take on what Halloween means to Chinese audiences. First, HamiKuma, a partially dismembered teddy bear complete with a stomach spilling entrails, has made his way over from Universal Japan. He embodies the “scary cute” aesthetic popular in Asian markets (see: Labubu) and is the only imported host.Home-grown design Emo Tu (literally “Emo Rabbit,”) also joins as mascot, a faintly maniacal-looking bunny with a dual nature returning from 2024, this year rocking a leather jacket. New character Foxy Lady also makes her debut, who in Universal’s words is a “confident stage queen” with an “undefined unique charm.” For me, the design is a bit uncomfortably sexy-furry-coded, but hey, I don’t judge.
‘Foxy Lady’ and companyThe three co-host the HamiKuma Hallow-Palooza stage show, in which they compete in a team dance-off, encouraging the audience to choose an allegiance with whichever character’s identity most resonates. The uniting message is safely edgy, advocating to “Kill Cute” and “dare to” define yourself – Chinese audiences historically LOVE a villain, and Hallow-Palooza is an opportunity to align with whatever kind of rebel you want to be.Scares @ Universal 2025 hosts a record four scare mazes. Two mazes are repeats from last year: Jack’s Circus, in which HHN’s Jack and Chance return to taunt audiences with their twisted Carn-Evil. House NO. 81 also makes return, in which a film is being shot in the infamous House NO. 81. It’s a reference to the real Chaonei No. 81 in downtown Beijing, a historic building with a local urban legend for being haunted.Two new mazes have also been built for this year, both more elaborately themed than their predecessors, one heavily Chinese and one heavily Universal IP.
House of Hua PiThe first is the “House of Hua Pi” (House of Painted Skin), inspired by a well-known short story from the 18th century Liao Zhai Zhi Yi (Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio). In it, a man named Wang is seduced into adultery (and is subsequently murdered) by a demon disguised as a beautiful woman by wearing painted human skin. Universal’s version names the demon as a “yaoguai,” a broad class of supernatural creature featured across Chinese folklore.
Demon in disguiseThe maze itself is a beautiful labyrinth of alleys, courtyard, shops and homes built in a re-creation of Beijing’s href=” architecture. As you wander the narrow alleys, beautiful painted women beckon and smile unsettlingly, charming you deeper into the maze. As you round corners, the women reappear with an increasingly sinister and twisted appearance. The maze culminates in Wang’s home for you to witness his demise, the woman now fully revealed as a hellish, canine-like creature.The second of the new mazes takes an entirely different tact – Universal Monsters Crypt introduces the primetime of the company’s horror classics to a Chinese audience. (Testing the waters for a Dark Universe expansion? A man can dream.)
Universal Monsters Crypt entranceRelying more heavily on elaborate effects and ambitious show scenes than just jump scares, audiences tour the underworld, making your way through five realms of five horror icons – Dracula, Frankenstein, The Phantom, Wolfman and The Mummy. Highlights include a priest of Anubis levitating the mummy’s corpse, the Phantom conducting his show in a gilded baroque theater and Frankenstein’s monster reanimating as electricity courses through the room.
Frankenstein’s monsterAside from the mazes, a record three scare zones are also featured. Frenzy Street takes over the Hollywood entrance, where “demonic devotees” of mascots HamiKuma, Emo Tu and Foxy Lady are wandering. Between the blaring Skrillex and flashing techno lighting, this one feels closer to a rave than a horror experience. Creepy Crawlies takes over another section of Hollywood, where ravenous insect swarms and human-arthropod hybrids crawl through the streets, all while the unsettling sound of writhing, squelching insects plays over the speakers. Decidedly creepier. The last, while not formally designated a “scare zone,” are the hugely popular Death Eaters making their Chinese debut in Hogsmeade. This includes an hourly performance of dark magic, with most of their time spent stalking the streets, challenging guests to duels and searching for allies with Dark Marks.
Death EaterNow in its third year, continued expansion of the event shows an appetite for Universal horror here while it finds its footing that is uniquely “Chinese Halloween.” Scares @ Universal runs on select nights through November 2 and is included with regular park admission. * * *
For tickets and combo passes, please visit the Universal Studios Beijing tickets page from Theme Park Insider’s international tickets partner.To read our reviews for Universal’s Halloween events in the United States, please visit: Original houses lead the pack at Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights and Art the Clown reigns at Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights.
Replies (1)
