Tis the season for Krampus as Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort bring the terrifying dark Christmas legend to life in an all-new "Halloween Horror Nights" maze beginning September 16, 2016.

The creative minds behind the nation's best and most extreme Halloween events unleash the wrath of Krampus, Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures' Christmas-themed horror film co-written and directed by Michael Dougherty, in a sinister new Halloween Horror Nights maze.

The dead of winter sets the stage for the terror that's about to unfold one cold, dank and dreary Christmas Eve as the fabled anthropomorphic "half-goat, half-demon" horned creature emerges to terrorize those devoid of holiday spirit. In scenes lifted from the film, guests will navigate the dysfunctional Engel family home to encounter the evil ancient spirit of Krampus - the dark shadow of Saint Nicholas - and his band of Dark Elves and sinister Gingerbread Men, who cause the family to fight to see the light of day.

In the movie, Krampus, when his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max (Emjay Anthony) is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers. All hell breaks loose as beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured family's home and forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive. A torn family come together for the holidays, but they're so busy fighting that they've lost the holiday spirit. When a boy writes a letter to Santa, but gets mad and rips it up, he summons something much worse. Now, they will have to make amends and stay together and fight for their lives. Their faith is at stake.

Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights is the ultimate Halloween event. For more than 25 years, guests from around the world have visited "Halloween Horror Nights" in Hollywood and Orlando to become victims inside their own horror film. The streets of each coast's event are transformed into highly-themed scare zones where menacing "scare-actors" lunge from every darkened corner. Multiple movie-quality haunted houses are erected throughout the event, based on anything from iconic slasher films to hit horror television series to haunting original stories.