Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights team used Hellraiser merchandise to help identify the property's rights holder, opening a path to Clive Barker after years of trying to build a house around the horror series.
Lora Sauls, Universal Orlando's assistant director of creative development and show direction, told The Hollywood Reporter that Hellraiser had been a target for much of her 28 years working on Halloween at Universal. The problem, she said, was figuring out who held the license.
According to the interview, the situation shifted after certain rights reverted to Barker. The team followed merchandise as a lead, identified the overall rights holder described by Sauls and was connected with Barker and three other people tied to the films.
That collaboration reached the house itself. Mike Aiello, Universal Orlando's senior director of entertainment creative development, said Barker stressed that the Lament Configuration had to work as an invitation and a threshold, rather than a loose prop. The house used the puzzle box as a direct part of its design.
Universal based the 2026 haunted house on the original Hellraiser trilogy. The Orlando edition of Halloween Horror Nights 35 ended November 1, making the new interview a look back at how the finished house came together.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter and Discover Universal.