ORLANDO, Fla. — The sound of the collective screams of a terrified humanity yet again signals the return of one of the more anticipated autumn events in central Florida over the past three decades.
Traditions of Universal Orlando Resort’s “Halloween Horror Nights” continue for its 34th year, promising that bloodcurdling blend of pop culture running straight into scares concocted by the innovative minds of a talented team of imagineers.
“It truly takes a village to bring Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando to life. From scenic designers, show directors, character designers, tech designers and more, we all work together to make sure we have the best event for our HHN fans,” says Lora Sauls, assistant director of Creative Development, Entertainment Art and Design at Universal Orlando Resort.
“This year, our teams are especially proud of the work and have created a few new experiences for the event, so our guests feel fully immersed throughout the theme park … and nowhere is safe.”
Not to be overshadowed by the gargantuan grand opening of Universal Orlando’s newest theme park, Universal Epic Universe, Halloween Horror Nights aggressively delivers 10 haunted house mazes, five scare zones and a pair of live shows with the origins of monsters as the theme.
“Our fans have let us know that they are loving not only the scares, but also the diversity in content and the cohesive nature of the event. We’re utilizing lighting and special effects in places that we have never before inside Universal Studios Florida and scare actors in places we have never put scare actors,” says Ms. Sauls.
So, let’s embrace the horror and explore the haunted house mazes (scored for narrative clarity and gory scares); gain occasional insight from the crew and creators and appreciate the best scare zone; learn a final tip for guests; and get a look at a new world built just for monsters.
Before beginning, and on a promising note, the house mazes were actually slightly longer this year (verging on six to seven minutes), which can be a good or bad thing, especially depending on how much you enjoy the antics of Art the Clown.
Grave of Flesh: This original horror maze explores what might happen after a human dies. A possible scenario is he gets stuck in a middle world and feasted upon by creatures that eat flesh while he is being physically and mentally tortured in a never-ending cycle.
That visual translates into entering Halmouth Cemetery and walking underneath a twisting grave to encounter a mix of jump scares delivered by a mishmash of creatures.
Some creatures are sharp-toothed and mole-like, perhaps conjured from writer H.P. Lovecraft’s imagination, and some simply wear suits with decaying flesh that relive the days when a lunge and loud sound effect could deliver an effective fright.
I lost a bit of interest in the hard-to-follow story that culminated with a monster that looked like an extraterrestrial standing at an altar, roaring and cackling, but it sure looked cool.
Story: 5 out of 10; Gory: 4 out of 10.
WWE Presents: The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks: Professional wrestling has had its share of creepy characters over its history, including the Undertaker and Mankind.
A celebration of its latest group can now be found in a haunted maze spotlighting late wrestler and fear maestro Bray Wyatt’s twisted transformation of puppets found in his demented children’s vignettes “Firefly Fun House” into full-blown, live-action wrestlers.
Specifically, Mercy the Buzzard (Dexter Lumis), Abby the Witch (Nikki Cross), Ramblin’ Rabbit (Erick Rowan), Huskus the Pig Boy (Joe Gacy) are joined by Uncle Howdy (Bo Dallas) to create the Wyatt Sicks.
These personas pop up around concrete corridors of a back stage WWE event area speckled with the most video content ever used in a house before devolving into a scene from the “Firefly Fun House” (with appearances by the puppets and Wyatt’s scariest persona The Fiend) and stops by Abby the Witch’s hut, Huskus the Pig Boy’s domain and Mercy the Buzzard’s realm.
What would have impressed was watching any of the six in action, in a ring, and quickly mangling an opponent.
More of a museum and tribute to Bray’s legacy than a horror house (except for the pigs eating humans), fans will find the devotion to the characters detailed and impressive, while those not aware of the mythos will still find enough frights to make the journey.
Story: 6 out of 10; Gory: 5 out of 10.
Behind the magic: “I’m a massive professional wrestling fan. I absolutely adore WWE with my very soul. So, the opportunity really kind of started in 2019 when Bray Wyatt debuted as the Fiend. And I literally just posted it on social media. I was so excited about this character. And Wyndham replied, ’When are we doing the maze?’ So, this is a passion project, a labor of love, and I could not be happier with the house.” – Mike Aiello, senior director of Entertainment Creative Development at Universal Destinations and Experiences
Gálkn: Monsters of the North – The second best original house of the evening puts visitors in a remote northern Norse village under attack by a resurrected female shaman controlling creatures from the fjord and taking vengeance on those who killed her.
The female, nicknamed the Beast, even absorbs some of her minions and transforms four times throughout until she becomes a towering, three-eyed monster that literally requires visitors to enter her belly to escape.
Highlights include a wolf-like entity with white fur and glowing red eyes on the attack, a silhouette of the Beast tearing the head off of an unlucky villager and a giant straw man in a fire sacrifice.
The monsters have a very pagan vibe, often adorned with tree, horns and bone and all within a narrative one might find in a period Robert Eggers’ film, aka “The Witch.”
Story: 9 out of 10; Gory: 6.5 out of 10.
Jason Universe: By far the most jump scares per square foot than any of the haunted houses this year, this homage to the legacy of serial-killing slasher Jason Voorhees beckons fear seekers to take a nasty, nostalgic gantlet through eight of his films.
A return to Camp Crystal Lake — including walk-throughs of cabins, barns, his shack and a graveyard — presents the various iterations of the maniac wielding machetes, hammers, knives and axs and looking for his next victim as he explodes from hidden areas while that familiar musical score plays nonstop.
Besides getting to walk through a large version of Jason’s cracked mask and seeing the killer’s face, a nice touch toward the middle of the maze is a meeting with his crazy mother, Pamela, as she walks along a porch, wildly swinging her arms while ranting about the mistreatment of her poor son.
Story: 7 out of 10; Gory: 6 out of 10.
Behind the magic: “Our role was really how do we re-represent this character in a way that feels unique and new? When we wrote on the whiteboard one of the visions for the house, the word that was written was ’relentless’ and that Jason is a freight train. At a distance, you think he’s not going to be right next to you and suddenly boom. He’s right there. That was the ideology you wanted to take for this experience.” — Mr. Aiello
Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters: Based on a faux trailer introduced as part of a B-movie lineup in last year’s house “Slaughter Sinema 2,” this Old West-themed horror maze reintroduces heroic demon Hatchet and his acerbic human partner Chains as the cowboys attempt to stop a demon invasion in a small town in the 1800s.
Old, bitter Granny Haggerty causes the infestation after she summons lava creatures from Hell’s Well to sabotage the building of a new train station ushering in industrial age evils.
In a nice touch, the front face of the house features the woman in action (kudos to the scare actor for her nonstop dedication to the character); threatening (“the demons are comin’”); rambling; and stalking back and forth with the glowing-red well near the front of the line before visitors ever get inside.
The main journey works through a fully decorated, period depot and then saloon, undertaker’s parlor and cemetery. The multimedia mixed with practical effects shine to offer moments such as a demon hiding in a fireplace, Hatchet swinging his favorite weapon while riding a skinned horse, Chains wielding whip chains to hold off a creature, encounters with horned demons streaked with fluorescent flesh and a video wall of a moving train.
The house delivers for spaghetti western horror lovers and, actually, would make a really great premise for a film.
Story: 8 out of 10; Gory: 7 out of 10.
Dolls: Let’s Play Dead: The best haunted house maze of the evening offers a nightmare-inducing odyssey that finds a sadistic little girl named Lyla torturing and dismembering her dolls and turning them into grotesque creatures. Visitors are shrunk down to doll size and must now navigate and survive a house full of her horrors.
Giant-sized props such as a mouse trap (with bloodied tail laying in it), electrical outlet, crayons, batteries and Christmas lights set the dimensional tone for the victims.
They enter the dollhouse (with even a guest-activated doorbell) to be greeted by a collection of humanoid creatures jumping out, often holding their bulbous, dead-eyed doll heads while groaning in muffled pain.
Also, amid witnessing the burnt and melted plastic faces, electrified bodies, headless entities and a slasher clown, rats even propagate the area, ready to strike.
The creep quotient is cemented by Lyla wearing parts of her toys in a disturbing muzzle while holding a match, looking through the dollhouse windows and upon the progress of her new victims.
A creative story decidedly propels the haunted house maze into icon status and is sure to leave a lasting impression on those who dare venture inside.
Story: 10 out of 10; Gory: 7 out of 10.
Behind the magic: “Our Senior Show Director Charles Gray was inspired by his daughters and their love of their toys and decided to twist their story into an HHN tale. He also included a lot of our favorite style of dolls in this experience and as well as ‘G.A.T.S.,’ guest-activated triggers, that make this house unique to all others for this year’s event.” — Ms. Sauls
El Artista: A Spanish Haunting: One of the most hyped haunted houses of the night never peaked the horror meter for me as visitors meet fictional tortured and possessed artist Sergio Navarro and explore the remote 19th‑century, wisteria-dripping Spanish colonial manor, La Casa Creación, where cursed works of art come alive.
First, listen to Navarro’s internal dialogue as his madness takes hold while walking through fog and up to an impressive exterior facade complete with glowing stained-glass windows.
The structurally rich, large-scale set design was the best witnessed from any house all night with immersions into the artist’s studio, a library and conservatory and punctuated by a fountain with running water, balconies, carved stone columns and ornate metal gates.
Despite watching a live gargoyle flying between towers, I felt less impressed with the routine garbed creatures popping out (even a few in white cheesecloth with skull masks). Supposedly, paintings come to life and a ghost walks through walls, but I never really saw those effects to make that connection.
Maybe because it was towards the end of a very long night, but I was never consumed by Navarro’s horror, and the house never matched the scares or big effects scenes from last year’s mega-popular, internationally themed house “Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America.”
Story: 5 out of 10; Gory: 3 out of 10.
Behind the magic: “This year, the team decided they wanted to create a unique haunted house set in the woods in Spain. From there, show directors Ramon Paradoa and Dylan Kollath crafted the “El Artista” story and brought a beautifully haunted experience to life that has more technical effects in one house than we have ever done.” — Ms. Sauls
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Potential victims take part in a harrowing journey in the role of security guards as they walk through the perfectly recreated storefront and interior of the abandoned Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria as seen in the 2023 movie and adapted from the original survival horror video game from 2014.
Specifically, they meet the large anthropomorphic animatronic creatures Freddy (a teddy bear); Bonnie (a rabbit); Chica. (chicken); Foxy (a Terminator-looking fox);, and Mr. Cupcake (a basketball-sized cupcake) lurking about to the soothing sounds of The Romantics’ 1983 hit “Talking in Your Sleep.”
While maneuvering through the dining area, back corridors and security monitor office, guards learn a bit about the story from training videos as the full bodies of the moving creatures, their occasional appendages, and some child ghosts pop into startling view.
Worth noting is the lore tied to the movie, not really explored during the visit, (including an appearance by a disheveled yellow rabbit wielding a knife) is a bit unclear. Unknowing victims might appreciate that the homicidal mascots are possessed by the ghosts of children killed by a serial killer.
Although the jump scares are way less aggressive than other houses, the real focus for fans will be the life-sized animatronics, all impeccably designed to match the movie.
Story: 7 out of 10; Gory: 5 out of 10.
Behind the magic: “We had the privilege to work closely with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop [the same design house used for the movie’s characters] to build the most advanced puppets our event has ever seen. Each of the animatronics has multiple moving parts and stands over 8 feet tall. The eyes move, the eyebrows move, the mouths move, it’s just absolutely incredible. — Ms. Sauls
Fallout — Survive the Wasteland: Amazon Prime Video’s live-action adaptation of Bethesda Softworks post‑apocalyptic role-playing game comes to life with a haunted house maze loaded with memories from the show and some underwhelming scares.
Survivors explore Vault 32 and 33 containing distressed dwellers and the Los Angeles wasteland with stores Ma June’s Sundries and Super Duper Mart (a mysterious robot named Snip Snip lurks), the New California Republic Headquarters and even the trading town of Filly.
Familiar character encounters include the stars of the show, such as vault dweller Lucy MacLean, Brotherhood of Steel warrior (out of and in his breathtaking T‑60 power armor) Maximus and Old West-loving Ghoul complete with cowboy hat, as well as hostile mutant raiders and a monstrous Gulper.
All the fun branding from the game is in place within the densely designed sets to examine a Nuka Cola machine, numerous images of Vault Boy (the corporate mascot for Vault-Tec), RAD Roaches and the creepy 1950s crooning music playing throughout.
Unfortunately, Fallout was the most average house of the evening. It never gave us enough scares or appearances by Ghoul (only seen once) and never felt like an experience, more flashes of three character narratives. It never felt like visitors were part of an adventure. It certainly did not live up to the immersive, big-budgeted excellence of the “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire house” from last year.
Story: 4 out of 10; Gory: 5 out of 10.
Behind the magic: “It’s really been a great relationship between us and Amazon and Bethesda to really bring this franchise to life. We definitely took a montage kind of style narrative so that we could really span all three storylines that exist with Lucy, Maximus, the Ghoul. So, you’re getting all three of those narratives as you go through this experience. — Ms. Saul
Terrifier: Never in all the years that I have walked through Halloween Horror Nights have I seen a more disturbing, disgusting and gore-filled house that too painstakingly plunges visitors into the trio of Damien Leone’s nauseating films.
The movies star a terrifyingly creepy, cannibalistic serial killer named Art the Clown, and his rampage comes to life at Universal Studios Florida through recreations of some of his most famous cinematic kills and tortures of humans.
Victims walk through Art’s mouth as represented by a colorfully illustrated and ominous entrance to at Miles County’s circus haunted house and witness such horrors as Art cutting into a bloodied and disfigured girl’s leg; a human stuck to a door that splits in half when opened by a laughing Art; a hallway with hanging entrails; and Art hacksawing a woman down the middle of her body in silhouette and then showing the graphic results.
The set pieces offer detailed and authentic moments from the film, spotlighted by the fantasy Clown Café sequence and its insidious theme song; and what is maybe a first for Halloween Horror Nights, victims get to make a decision on what their final path will be, either “Dry Path” or “Blood Bath.”
However, let’s get serious, either choice will only lead to more urping scares in the Terrifier house, a shocking choice for creators but executed to perfection.
Worth noting, according to RIP Tour guide Bobbi Jean, the house has the most bodies of any house of the event this year at 35, the most fake blood at more than 6 gallons alone and possibly the most disgusting smells.
Story: 5 out of 10; Gory: 11 out of 10.
Behind the magic: “We wanted to be sure to stay true to the gore fest Damien created with all three ‘Terrifier’ films. We even partnered with Damien to create gory moments that were not seen in the films but were inspired by some of Art’s most brutal kills.” — Ms. Sauls
Getting to the haunted houses will require walking through and around the scare zones strategically placed around the park that this year include encounters with gothic vampires, zombies, mutated humans and living gargoyles but, by far, one zone stands out above all of the others.
With its origins tied to a movie poster in the 2024 house Slaughter Sinema 2, The Cat Lady of Crooked Lane shines for its traditional trick-or-treating trail of black cats, jack-o-lanterns, pumpkins hanging in trees, masked children and feline humanoids as well as a final, live-action dioramic payoff.
Visitors finally encounter, after walking through the area and reading about her exploits in pieces of a poem displayed in fairy-tale book signage, the very pale old woman.
She is walking back and forth on the porch of her disheveled cottage and plotting out loud about all of the naughty children that will arrive at her abode.
She does get a trick or treater and feeds her a potion from a bubbling cauldron and well, those feline minions hanging around her house came from somewhere (follow with sinister laugh).
Multiple presentations play out, one even more gruesome, in a tale beautifully embellished with cat costuming and detail that is about twice as long as any house visit and just as satisfying.
For those on a schedule and have only one night to conquer Halloween Horror Nights I hate to even mention the roughly 25-minute-long live show Nightmare Fuel: Circus of Decay, but it really is worth taking the time to stop.
Picking up from last year’s show, our male, shirtless hero — the Dreamer — continues to try and save a damsel in serious distress while trapped in an evil, festering circus.
Think a ribald German cabaret of the 1930s mixed in with a vaudevillian freak show and featuring scantily clad performers, an extensive pyrotechnic display, juggling, sword play, acrobatics, a contortionist, pounding music and horror effects. One might call it an edition of Cirque Du Soleil in Hell.
Attending Halloween Horror Nights
Out-of-town visitors willing to stand and sweat in horrifyingly long lines can buy a ticket (starting at $89.99), but with wait times sometimes exceeding two hours, they may never be able to get through all 10 houses and certainly not also Nightmare Fuel: Circus of Decay.
An option, but not necessarily the best one, is to add an express pass (starting at $189.99, but prices get near $300, and they sell out). Visitors still need a Horror Nights ticket and still wait in lines (about half the time of the posted waits). However, now we have a fairly good chance of getting through all of the houses by the 2 a.m. close, especially if attending on an off-night and not Saturday.
Or, and certainly recommended for the first time family that covets the time to walk around the park and not spending all night in lines, they can find the cash to buy an RIP Tour (starting at $439.99 per person plus HHN ticket purchase).
An informative guide walks everyone to the houses for a one-time, almost immediate visit and, of course, leaves plenty of time for the live shows and enjoying the scare zones and atmosphere of the evening.
One caveat, the RIP Tours sell out quickly, so families need to plan way ahead to make the commitment of a visit but getting through the enormous crowds, especially after having run the gantlet of the other parks during the vacation week could be the best and least frustrating strategy.
The RIP Tour also includes valet parking for one vehicle (one of the better features considering the large crowds); reserved seating for shows; a pre-tour buffet; and express passes to any of the rides opened during Halloween Horror Nights. They include the Revenge of the Mummy coaster; Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts; and Men in Black: Alien Attack and Transformers: The Ride 3D.
More horrors at Universal Orlando Resort?
Monster-loving families making a vacation of their pilgrimage to Halloween Horror Nights cannot leave Universal Orlando Resorts without venturing over to its new theme park, Universal Epic Universe.
Contained within the sprawling canvas is the celebration of Universal Classic Monsters fittingly called the Dark Universe.
Sure, it will cost buying a one-day ticket ($149), but the focus for fearists would be three haunting spots before the day is over.
First, walk through the restaurant Das Stakehaus to find an ode to all that is vampire, including tombs embedded in the wall, paintings and murals of some of its famed visitors; the encased corpse of a young female vampire holding her favorite stuffed animal; multiple staked vampires hung above; and even ornate seats with an iron bat on the top of each.
Next, before entering The Burning Blade Tavern, sit outside and wait for the event of the evening. Just as in the 1931 film “Frankenstein,” the windmill atop the bar starts on fire with all of the blades in full flaming glory. The scorching happens every 15 minutes, so check the times. Better yet, fans should try and catch this experience right after a thunderstorm and marvel at its overwhelming, moody impact on a visit.
And, best of all, visit Darkmoor Village and enter the castle of Victoria Frankenstein to ride Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, without a doubt, the best attraction in all of Universal Epic Universe.
The story finds Victoria trying to harness the energy of Dracula while guests ride a slick vehicle and come face to face with Ygor, The Wolf Man, The Creature from the Black Lagoon (Gill-man), The Mummy, Brides of Dracula, The Phantom of the Opera, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and, of course, Frankenstein’s Monster.
That is a beastly buffet for fans of the classic monsters genre.
IF YOU DARE GO
What: Halloween Horror Nights
Where: Universal Studios Florida, Kirkman Road and Interstate 4, Orlando, Florida.
Fear factor (out of 5): 4.5 for adults; parental discretion is highly advised for children younger than 13.
Hours: Open select nights through Nov. 2, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. depending upon the night and date.
Price range: Single-night general admission ticket is $89.99. Look to the website to find other combo deals tied to park admissions and multiple-day access.
Special pricing packages can help with the pain of the excruciatingly long lines. First, look for an HHN Express Pass (starting from $189.99) for shorter wait times or the aforementioned RIP Tour (starting from $439.99 per person).
Website: https://www.universalorlando.com/hhn/
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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