“The Log Bunny,” Universal Studios Hollywood, 2011.
The cast of Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights have evolved their own unique set of traditions, recurring characters and inside jokes. One such joke, “The Log Bunny,” has become legendary amongst the event’s fans.
Here’s the story of “The Log Bunny,” as explained to us by HHN Hollywood’s Creative Director, John Murdy:
The backlot where we do Terror Tram has a lot of areas that are pure wilderness. I park my car up in that area during the event. We noticed all these wood piles up there from the groundskeepers. We found this log that looked like it had legs and pulled it out of the pile. People lose stuff during Terror Tram when they get scared. One year we kept finding bunny ears so one of my guys put the bunny ears on the log and voila … Log Bunny was born.
Murdy continues:
He [has] kind of become our unofficial mascot for Terror Tram. When the event ended we didn’t want him getting chopped up for mulch, so I took him home. His legend kind of grew from there. Nowadays, I bring him out for the event every year and we place him randomly in different scenes on Terror Tram every night. [It’s] kind of became a “Where’s Waldo?” game with the uber fans.There’s a Facebook fan page, people post pics of him, he’s been kidnapped and ransomed. It’s gotten pretty silly.
So, the next time you’re enjoying Hollywood’s “Terror Tram,” keep an eye out for everyone’s favorite Halloween Horror Nights inside joke, The Log Bunny.
Photos by Matt Nelson.