Halloween Horror Nights is right around the corner. The annual haunt begins next Friday, September 16th at Universal Studios Hollywood, and fans are chomping at the bit to get a peek inside this year’s amazing lineup of mazes and scare zones.

Fortunately we’ve got just the thing to tide you over until then: this week I was lucky enough to participate in a guided tour of two of the new mazes at Halloween Horror Nights with Creative Director John Murdy, who clued us in about how each maze came about and what details went into the planning for the highly-anticipated “American Horror Story” and “Krampus.”

No video was allowed inside the mazes themselves, but in the clips below you can see Mr. Murdy discussing his creative process and get a peek at some still images from the interiors.

WATCH JOHN MURDY DISCUSS “AMERICAN HORROR STORY:”

WATCH JOHN MURDY DISCUSS “KRAMPUS:”

Be sure to visit the official Halloween Horror Nights website for more information and to purchase tickets, and stay tuned to Inside the Magic for more updates from HHN and plenty of other upcoming Halloween fun!