Horror Icon Unveils Heartbreaking Reason Behind Daughter's Involvement in Spooky Theme Park Project - OK! Magazine

Killer clowns, malevolent maniacs and terrifying animatronics can only mean one thing - John Murdy has been up to his old tricks again, creating horror masterpieces over at Universal Studios Hollywood for the 2025 season.

The Creative Director and Executive Producer of Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) for the Los Angeles based park is the mastermind behind some of the best scares, concepts and theming that transforms the family-loved theme park into a horrifyingly haunted gore fest.

During my time in Hollywood for the opening night of the event, I caught up with talented and self-confessed ‘horror king’, John, to discuss the magic behind the fear.

This year, the park is welcoming back a fan-favourite haunted house, Poltergeist, that first appeared in the park in 2018. In a world of new slasher movies, John calls the movie the “great grand daddy of what is now today the paranormal genre of horror.”

“When you think back to 1982, when the movie came out, it was groundbreaking. It all takes place in a normal house. The house is still over in Simi Valley - it’s there and still looks pretty much the same as when they filmed it.”

The Poltergeist movie house is a private residence in California, located just a stone’s throw away from the studios. The two-storey suburban home was used as the Freeling family’s residence in the 1982 Stephen Spielberg classic horror. Despite overgrown trees nowadays, it still looks the same decades later, sitting on Roxbury Street, and although visitors can view the exterior, they can’t enter.

John admits it has returned this year for one simple good reason - “It was a fan favourite.” But the movie itself was struck with tragedy in real life. The actress who played Carol Anne, Heather O'Rourke, tragically died at 12 years old in 1988 from congenital stenosis of the intestine complicated by septic shock.

John found an ingenious way to honour the late actress. “When I was doing it originally I couldn’t use Carol Anne’s voice and I was thinking where am I going to find a five year old girl who can do this…Then I realised I had one.”

John continued to reveal a major insider secret that fans will love - his five year old daughter was the voice behind the house character. He took Isabella into a recording studio in Ireland, where the family live, and had an hour-long session bringing to life Carol Anne’s audio.

Laughing, John revealed he could “never” persuade her to do this now as a 12 year old, but that she was attending this year’s event because her voice is still used in this year’s house - amazingly, as is John’s as Carol Anne’s dad.

When asked if she’s getting residuals for her part, John joked, “You can read her 12 year old mind! I asked her if she’s going to come and see it and she said ‘Yeah, you’re going to have to pay me!’”

Intentionally a slow build that intensifies as you walk through the house, this one is sure to spook fans of the franchise and newbies alike. I enjoyed a unique daytime look inside the house while chatting with John, and was amazed to hear how much work goes into the houses, right up to the last minute.

“We wrapped up the Poltergeist house just two weeks before opening, and then we went into rehearsals. It’s pretty intense.”

He also showed us the finale scene inside, which, for fans familiar with the movie, will be instantly recognisable as the muddy, grave and body-filled swimming pool scene.

“Any coffin you see that’s empty will be filled with a live performer,” he warned.

The original movie follows the story of a middle-class family, called the Freelings, but their lives are soon upturned by a host of paranormal and vicious events that unfold inside their Californian home. A poignant moment is when the family’s five year old daughter, Carol Anne, is abducted through her bedroom cupboard by a group of ghosts under the control of a monster demon, the ‘Beast’.

The family brings in expert help to battle the monstrous entity before discovering the real reason for the hauntings.

For more information on Los Angeles, visit discoverlosangeles.com.

Buy a one day Universal Studios Hollywood ticket and get a second day free with AttractionTickets.com. Prices from £82 per adult and £78 per child based on autumn / winter 2025 arrivals. The second day can be used any time within a week of the first.

Tickets to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood cost from £62 per person. Tickets give one night admission and are date specific. Book at attractiontickets.com

Fly from London Gatwick to Los Angeles with Norse for £328 in September 2025, or £372 in October 2025. Visit flynose.com