I’m writing this less than 48 hours removed from having survived yet another round of Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights. I say survived because I am the fraidy cat of my annual Horror Nights crew. While everyone else is happily volunteering to be chased through a dark building by a guy with a chainsaw, I’m cursing the people in front of me for not giving me enough room to set a new land speed record for Fastest Man Through A Haunted House.I say all this as a press release announces that for Halloween Horror Nights 2026, Universal Studios Japan will host a new attraction rated R18, meaning it’s exclusively for adults. It’s called “Afterimage,” and it’s being billed as an experience so intense it will make guests question whether what they’re experiencing is actually real. As the reading suggests, it’s for adults 18 and up, and anyone who goes must sign a waiver first.This Universal Haunted Attraction Involves Isolation, Confinement, and a Signed WaiverThe press release’s description of Afterimage gets more comically absurd as it goes, promising that the attraction “explores the psychological terror that arises in extreme situations” as guests are led through “a facility that studies nightmares” and placed in scenarios “with no escape, such as isolation and confinement.” The attraction promises “an unprecedented experience of despair’ and guests will “face a psychological terror like an unending nightmare.”Universal Studios Japan’s copywriters put some work into that press release.Even as a fraidy cat, who is startled by every masked scare actor who pops around the corner in a classic “boo!” pose, I couldn’t help but navigate this year’s houses wondering what an even more extreme version of this experience would look like if they didn’t have to play to general audiences. The press release doesn’t get into any more detail other than speaking in rather dramatic generalities, but even if you only walk through a few of Universal’s houses during horror nights, you can likely fill in the gaps of how much more frightening these things could potentially be.The press release also details some of the other attractions the Japanese location is lucky enough to get, like “Resident Evil Requiem: The Dive,” which sets visitors in levels from the most recent Resident Evil game.The Dive is included with admission, but Afterimage will cost ¥1,900, which is only about $12.30 US. Universal Studios Japan’s Halloween Horror Nights runs from Sept. 11 through Nov. 8, 2026.The post Universal Studios Japan Is Launching an R18 Haunted Attraction That Requires a Waiver appeared first on VICE.