Universal Halloween Horror Nights’ Prince of Darkness haunted house includes a wild scene flipping the script on a notable Osbourne occurrence.

Giant bat turns tables, bites Ozzy Osbourne’s head off in horror-filled tribute experience

Universal Halloween Horror Nights’ Prince of Darkness haunted house includes a wild scene flipping the script on a notable Osbourne occurrence.

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August 28, 2026 7:56 p.m. ET

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Ozzy Osbourne; Bat. Credit:

Paul Natkin/Getty; Moment RF/Getty

- Universal Halloween Horror Nights includes a scene in its Prince of Darkness haunted house that turned the tables on an iconic Ozzy Osbourne moment from 1982.

- After Osbourne famously bit the head off a real bat on stage, the HHN Hollywood house included a scene where a giant bat bit the head off of the late rocker.

- Osbourne’s family, including widow Sharon, worked closely with Universal to bring the icon’s music “at the heart of it all,” she exclusively told **.

A new tribute to late rock icon Ozzy Osbourne has flown out of Universal Halloween Horror nights like... well... a bat out of hell.

As part of the Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness haunted house at Universal Studios Hollywood (beginning Sept. 3), the experience on the West Coast contains a scene that remixes a legendary part of Osbourne’s legacy, when he unknowingly bit the head off a live bat on stage in 1982. (** has confirmed that the Universal Studios Florida version of the house— now open to the public — does not include the moment.)

HHN creative force John Murdy revealed the scene to *The Hollywood Reporter*, which described it as “a tribute” to Osbourne’s discography, with fans experiencing a “‘Crazy Train’ and giant bat that bites the head off the Black Sabbath frontman.”

Ozzy Osbourne Sharon Osbourne; Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights key art.

Michael Kovac/WireImage; Universal

Before his death in July 2025, Osbourne had long spoken about the incident in numerous interviews over the years. He even once admitted that the one questions he hates more than any other is, “What do bats taste like?” Still, he revealed years earlier that the bat he bit had an extremely salty taste.

“I get a lot of weird people at my concerts,” Osbourne told David Letterman during a talk show interview after the ordeal. “Somebody threw a bat on stage. I thought it was only a toy bat, so I picked it up, bit the thing’s head off, and suddenly everybody’s freaking out because it’s a real bat.”

He also opened up about the painful aftermath of the incident, adding, “I can assure you the rabies shots I went through afterwards aren’t funny,” calling them “very painful.”

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In an exclusive preview of the Prince of Darkness HHN house, Osbourne’s widow, Sharon Osbourne, told ** that the maze dutifully paid tribute to her late husband, with whom she shared three children, fellow *Osbournes* reality TV stars, Jack and Kelly Osbourne, as well as eldest daughter Aimee, who chose not to participate in the family’s MTV reality series.

“His music throughout every room is at the heart of it all,” Osbourne told EW. “Fans will also see scenes inspired by Ozzy’s journey, from his early days as a little boy growing up in Birmingham, England, riding the train to and from London, to the iconic imagery and characters from across his career.”

Music from Osbourne’s solo albums *The Blizzard of Ozz* (1980), *Diary of a Madman* (1981), *Bark at the Moon* (1983), *No More Tears* (1991), *Scream* (2010), and *Ordinary Man* (2020) will play throughout the houses on both coasts, though slight differences in narrative appear in both versions.

HHN’s Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness haunted house.

“He’d absolutely love it. He’d be laughing his head off,” Sharon told EW. “Ozzy adored horror movies and Halloween. He used to joke that every day was Halloween in our house, so this couldn’t be more fitting.”

The Osbourne house joined several other previously announced haunted houses on this year’s HHN slate, which marks the annual Halloween event’s 35th overall edition since it first debuted over three decades ago.

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Other houses this year include one based on Ryan Coogler’s Oscar-winning horror hit *Sinners*, another themed to the *Hellraiser* film series, as well as a *Stranger Things 5* house and accompanying live show.

Halloween Horror Nights is now running through the first week of November in Orlando, with Hollywood’s edition kicking off Sept. 3.

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