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Spooky season is almost upon us – for some it’s already here – and that means the doors to Universal's Halloween Horror Nights will soon re-open. America’s premier Halloween celebration, HHN has been running for 32 years now, transforming Universal theme parks into a terrifying playground by night, filled with haunted houses and areas called 'scare zones' that guests must navigate through.
This year Universal Orlando will feature their biggest celebration ever with 10 houses, five scare zones, a live show, specially-themed food, stores, and pop-up activations across the entire resort. SFX dared to spend an evening with Lora Sauls, a member of the creative development team at Universal Orlando Resort, to find out what lurks behind the corners at Halloween Horror Nights this year.
The Exorcist
The Exorcist: Believer haunted house marks the first time Halloween Horror Nights has featured a film so far in advance, with it being seven weeks before theatrical release. Described as “a living trailer”, it will also feature new variations of demons inspired by the movie as well as “disgusting moments and smells”…
The Last Of Us
The haunted house based on The Last Of Us: Part One was inspired by the Pittsburgh scenes from the game at the request of creators Neil Druckmann and Naughty Dog. One scene has moments where guests “could be attacked by any of the infected, the runners, the clickers, the stalkers, the bloaters, and hunters.” As previously reported on GamesRadar+, original voice actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson have returned to voice all-new dialogue for the attraction.
Universal Monsters: Unmasked
Universal Monsters: Unmasked opens with a view of old Paris over a bridge – guests enter the sewers beneath the Paris Opera House below this bridge, where they’ll encounter The Phantom of the Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Invisible Man, as well as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. A new giant-size version of Mr Hyde, standing at around 7ft, has been created especially for the haunted house. The Phantom of the Opera is seeking to skin the faces of guests to cover his own scars.
Chucky
Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count, features 250 life-size Chucky dolls, a fully animatronic version, and an eight-foot possessed Chucky. All-new material has been recorded by original Chucky actor Brad Douriff. While the house is inspired by the TV series, it will also feature kills inspired by the whole Child’s Play franchise. There will also be a pop-up experience, Chucky’s Twisted Playground, for Universal hotel guests at Cabana Bay. There are various different Halloween-themed activations at seven hotel resorts this year – more than ever before.
Original houses
There are also five original content houses, created by the team at Universal. Duelling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate is based on the popular Islands of Adventure roller coaster (1999-2010) and more specifically the queue line for the attraction – guests will experience one of four different endings to this haunted house.
The Darkest Deal – about a musician making a pact with the devil – features an original blues score by Charles Gray, VP of Art & Design at Universal Orlando, as he’s a big music fan.
Yeti: Campground Kills, which features a family of yeti including a baby, is this year’s ‘dark humour’ haunted house. Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings will be the haunted house that features a lot of veteran ‘scare actors’ this year. This is also a house that offers a ‘scenic’ experience like last year’s critically acclaimed Dead Man’s Pier: Winter’s Wake.
Podcast
This year's series of HHN “Haunted Tales” podcast stories – original audio dramas giving background to various houses and scare zones – are their longest yet.
Dr. Oddfellow
Although he’s previously never been seen before, Dr. Oddfellow is officially the icon for Halloween Horror Nights 2023 – his story is also tied to another famous HHN icon, Jack The Clown. It’s revealed in Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origin that Jack received immortality by scratching Oddfellow’s eye (before being placed in a box, presumed dead). Dr. Oddfellow uses zodiac signs to suck power from humans, fueling his immortality. The five original scare zones throughout the park are all linked to Dr. Oddfellow and his house.
Stranger Things
The Stranger Things haunted house is based on season four and guests can expect to see Vecna “around every corner”, with the villain showing up over 10 times throughout the experience. The Duffer Brothers, who worked closely with Universal on the attraction, were really happy that the team leaned into Vecna’s curse, writing: “This is perfect. Thank you for understanding what we did.”
The Universal Orlando special effects makeup designers were part of the Emmy award-winning team that created Vecna for the TV series, so HHN were able to lean into their expertise to create full masks and bodysuits.
Guests will walk through Eddie’s trailer and see him and Dustin fight off Demobats, as well as visit the Hawkins lab, see One created, and enter the Upside Down.
Organisers are keeping tight-lipped about whether fans will hear Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush. They said: “We hope to give the fans everything they want to see and hear…”
Breaking records
This year’s run is the longest in the history of the event – a record-breaking 48 nights where the park will be open until 2am.
Next year...
Planning for Halloween Horror Nights 2024 started on 5 July this year – an entire original house has already been planned out.
Halloween Horror Nights is at Universal Orlando from 1 September and Universal Hollywood from 7 October. Visit their site for details.
