Universal's Teased Killer Klowns Scare Zone Now Has a Name, Downtown Clowntown, and Art the Clown Is Crashing the Party

Last week Universal would only say that Killer Klowns from Outer Space were coming back to "the streets" of Halloween Horror Nights 35, with no name and no other details. On July 24 it filled in the blanks, and then some. The scare zone is called Downtown Clowntown, and the campy alien Klowns are not the only clowns moving in.

Key art for Downtown Clowntown. Image: Universal Orlando Resort

Two very different clowns, one street

Downtown Clowntown turns the New York backlot of Universal Studios Florida into a clown-infested block party. On one side you get the Killer Klowns from Outer Space, the goofy, cotton-candy-cocooning invaders from the 1988 cult film. On the other you get Art the Clown, the silent and genuinely vicious killer from the Terrifier films. Universal describes the street as "overrun by Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Art the Clown, and other clownsfolk," with more characters it says are still to be revealed.

Photo: Universal Orlando Resort, via Laughing Place

Art the Clown is not new to the event

This is not Art's first time at Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights. He headlined his own haunted house at the event in 2025. What is new is the format. In 2025 he had a house to himself, and for Halloween Horror Nights 35 he is prowling a scare zone instead, sharing the block with the Klowns rather than lurking behind maze walls.

A very clownish year

Downtown Clowntown fits a carnival streak running through this year's event. Universal has already revealed the Infernal Carnival of Nightmares and Sideshow of Decay scare zones, so a clown takeover is right at home. The Killer Klowns have their own Universal Orlando history too: they first appeared here as a scare zone in 2018 before graduating to a full haunted house in 2019, then went quiet in Orlando for years before this return.

Dates

Halloween Horror Nights 35 runs select nights from August 28 through November 1, 2026, at Universal Studios Florida.

Sources

• Inside Universal, Downtown Clowntown Scare Zone Announced for Halloween Horror Nights 35
• Universal Parks Blog, Universal Reveals Downtown Clowntown
• The Main Street Mouse, Halloween Horror Nights Reveals Downtown Clowntown

Image credits: Downtown Clowntown key art by Universal Orlando Resort. Killer Klowns photo by Universal Orlando Resort, via Laughing Place.