As Halloween creeps around the corner, a deathly chill falls across Universal Orlando Resort with the return of Halloween Horror Nights (HHN), which thrusts the theme park into its thirty-third year of screams and terror.
Being a massive fan who eagerly awaits the event every year, I was ready to throw myself into this world of screams and terror. Right when the gates opened, this year’s icons, Sinister and Surreal, welcomed me into their distorted event filled with surreal demons and twisted torment.
Having grown up on the “Ghostbusters” movies, I absolutely had to experience the “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” haunted house first. The siren of the famous Ecto-1 blared as I dodged past Slimer and other ghosts from the “Ghostbusters” films, like the Scoleri brothers and library ghost. In an outstanding finale to the house, I faced off against Garraka, the main villain of the latest movie, inside of the iconic firehouse. On the way out of the house, I exclaimed to those around me how accurately the house portrayed the franchise by including the full spectrum of specters from the movies. With one of the best houses survived, I was ready to take on the next one.
After defeating Garraka alongside the Ghostbusters, I decided to brave the “Triplets of Terror.” The house, reminiscent of the “Longlegs” movie, takes place across the span of thirty years as guests follow the Barmy Triplets recreating their 9th birthday every year, during which they murdered their family. Charles Gray, creative director of Halloween Horror Nights, has stated that, “we want you to feel depressed [with] the score, everything.”
However, as I went through the house, I couldn’t help but smile at how energetic and enthusiastic the scare actors were. Whenever I would wave at them (my way of thanking the actors for what they do), they would smile and wave back at me. The scare actors in “Triplets of Terror” did such a great job of not only scaring me but also leaving me with a smile on my face as I left the house.
After waving goodbye to the triplets, I ventured to the other side of the theme park to experience “Goblin’s Feast,” a haunted house in which I entered a fantasy world where goblins, orcs, and other mythological creatures hunt humans for their meals. I was really impressed with how detailed this haunted house was. As I walked through Goblin’s feast, I marveled at the to- scale watermill and castle moat that had been built inside of the tent structure that Halloween Horror Nights uses for their haunted houses. Every year, I am blown away with what Universal Orlando Resort can come up with.
As I made my way to the next haunted house, I walked through the “Blumhouse” scare zone which features iconic horror movies such as “The Purge,” “The Black Phone,” and “M3GAN”. I was less-than-impressed with this scare zone as most of the characters stand on stages. This scare zone acts as a photo-op zone so that people can stop and take photos with the iconic characters. However, it isn’t as scary as the other scare zones.
“Major Sweets’ Candy Factory” was the last haunted house for the night. Major Sweets is a recurring Halloween Horror Nights character who last appeared in 2022 in the “Sweet Revenge” scare zone; however, this is the first time that he has appeared in a haunted house at the event.
Entering “Major Sweets’ Candy Factory,” I was hit with a blast of candy-scented air while seeing the grim and gray colors of the factory stained with blood. I jumped out of my skin as Taffy, a mutated worker at the factory, clawed at me through a ripped projector. As I went further and further into the house, more and more workers and possessed children started to pop out of their hiding places to scare me while a jovial tune blared in the antique speakers overhead. Exhaling a sigh of relief, I successfully escaped the demented candy factory.
Although I did not experience all 10 houses on my first night at the event, I know I will be back to reexperience the haunted houses and scare zones. I love what Universal Orlando Resort has created this year, and I am especially impressed with the talent of all the actors who are working the event (especially those of the casts of “Triplets of Terror,” “Ghostbusters,” and “Major Sweets’”). The “Blumhouse” scare zone could be scarier, but it was still fun to see all the iconic characters in the flesh. Ultimately, I really loved experiencing Halloween Horror Nights and look forward to seeing more of it throughout the Halloween season.
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