Is Halloween Horror Nights Appropriate for Kids? What to Know About the PG-13 Event at Universal Orlando

PEOPLE dives into the annual Halloween event, speaking with a park official, a mental health expert and a mom whose son started attending at 8 years old

Halloween Horror Nights has been chilling spooky-thrill lovers for more than three decades, but one essential question still plagues park goers: Is the event appropriate for kids?

Having kicked off in 1991 — first as Universal Studios Fright Nights — Halloween Horror Nights (or HHN) contains many scary elements that are generally considered more appropriate for an adult crowd. There are haunted houses representing a variety of original-concept horrors and creatures from well-known intellectual properties — this year, that includes The Exorcist: Believer, Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count, returning favorite Stranger Things and the Last of Us video game.

There are also Scare Zones that feature lots of fake blood, sinister set pieces and roaming "scareactors," who entertain guests in costumes and grotesque makeup.

It's a total transformation from the park's family friendly daytime offerings and has left many fans wondering at what age kids should attend.

PEOPLE spoke with Lora Sauls, Universal Orlando Resort's Senior Manager of the Creative Development Group and Show Direction; Jennifer Whitfield, a licensed mental-health counselor and registered play therapist; and Jessica Correa, an Orlando mom with a horror-loving tween, for their best insights about all the tricks and treats.

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Related: Is 'Haunted Mansion' Too Scary for Kids? What to Know Before Bringing Family to See PG-13 Disney Movie

"I will say, first off, that our event is labeled PG-13," says Sauls, reflecting the official language on the HHN website that reads, "WARNING: Event may be too intense for young children and is not recommended for children under the age of 13."

Sauls tells PEOPLE that rather than giving a one-size-fits-all recommendation for HHN, which also takes place at Universal Studios Hollywood in California, “I think it [just depends] on the kid,”

"The event overall is also really loud," she adds of another potential sensitivity for young visitors.

The haunted houses range in level of scariness, she notes.

There are "bloody and aggressive haunted houses" to be mindful of, but one that fits a "fantasy" genre this year is Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate, based on the "iconic" roller coaster (which has since closed) at Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park.

A different type of house is Blood Moon: Dark Offerings, which Sauls says is "probably not one for the kids." As she explains of the maze's synopsis, "It is a colonial kill cult, and they're just killing everyone that doesn't believe in what they believe in, and they're making a human sacrifice kind of totem to the blood moon."

"There's definitely a mix, but ultimately our haunted houses are built to scare. So I'd just be cautious. We are out to scare people. That's why we call them scareactors," she says.

PEOPLE also chatted with Orlando-based mom Jessica Correa about her experience with a child who's a fan of the event. Her son Michael, who turns 13 later this month, has been attending HHN since he was 8 and has already gone more than 10 times this year.

Asked how she knew Michael was ready to experience it, Correa says he requested to go after being "fine with" movies like The Shining, so she agreed — with the stipulation that "if he likes it, we'll hang out in the Scare Zones. If not, we can leave."

"He just ate up the Scare Zones, and the scareactors did the same," she recalls. "They just loved interacting with him, so it was fun."

As for which house Michael considers the scariest this year? The Darkest Deal, whose storyline synopsis reads, "Blues musician Pinestraw Spruce will have to face the music after meeting with The Collector and trading his soul for musical glory." (Least scary for the soon-to-be teenager? Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate.)

"My best advice is to take noise-canceling headphones or earplugs, because it's so loud in the houses," Correa says. "My son wore these bright-green headphones for three years, and then last year he moved to the earplugs. But that's my biggest advice, probably, to kind of dim down the stimulation that you're getting in the house."

Related: Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood: What Not to Miss from the Scariest Event Yet

Jennifer Whitfield, a licensed mental-health counselor and registered play therapist based in the Orlando area, tells PEOPLE that a parent's decision about whether to take their child to HHN "just comes down to knowing your kid," from what types of things regularly spook them to whether they get startled easily in general.

Whitfield suggests "checking in" with HHN-bound kids regularly, even if they previously said they wanted to attend — just to make sure that's still the case as their visit date approaches, as "they may have changed their mind" and not want to cause a fuss by voicing that fact.

If your child is "prone to anxiety already" HHN is "probably not the best place to go," she says.

Parents should keep an eye out after kids attend too. "It could be days or a week or two later, and you might start seeing these fears. Maybe they're not wanting to go to bed. It could be fears about something completely different — nothing even related to monsters or ghosts, but that reaction can come back in a different way," Whitfield says.

Related: How To Survive Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, Even If You're Afraid of Everything (Like Me)

Whitfield says she has an 8-year-old daughter, and having been to HHN herself before, she knows it would be "too scary" for her own child.

Addressing parents who do choose to take their children, she adds, "Does that mean you're a bad parent or you're ruining your kid? Of course not. You just have to know your child."

Correa has some advice she'd give parents who go and get a little bit more than they bargained for in terms of their kids being too scared for the houses and Scare Zones, but not enough to want to leave the park altogether.

"Since some of the rides are open, ride the rides. And then there's the food — obviously they're leveling up every year with that, so try some spooky food," she suggests.

Another standout part of the event is the HHN Tribute Store, a walk-through that's part shop and part museum, featuring merchandise from HHNs past and present. This area is free from jump scares.

As for the Scare Zones, which are present throughout different areas of the park, Correa tells PEOPLE, "A lot of times, you can walk on the sidewalk," rather than down the pedestrian street, which is something a lot of people do "so they can see what's going on" but have less of a chance of being approached by a scareactor.

Tickets for Halloween Horror Nights 32 — as well as upgrades like Express Pass, Frequent Fear Pass, Rush of Fear Pass and more — are on sale now at universalorlando.com/hhn.

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