Every year, as the Halloween season approaches, Universal Orlando transforms into a theme park filled with spine-tingling frights with an eerie ambiance. Halloween Horror Nights, also known as HHN, is an annual tradition at Universal that takes place from September to November. The audience, made of both thrill seekers and horror movie fanatics, come to see the streets light up with terrifying decorations and scare actors that will make anyone scream.
One of the most attractive features of Halloween Horror Nights are the houses. This year, those included Stranger Things 4, The Exorcist: Believer, The Last of Us, Chucky, and Universal Monsters: Unmasked. The houses vary every year and are typically the most popular horror films or games of that time.
Senior Colette Finley said, “My favorite house was Universal Monsters: Unmasked. It was scary and very well designed.”
The main attraction for me going into Horror Nights was The Last of Us. Although it came out in 2013, the live-action HBO adaptation emerged in 2023 with resounding success.
The Last of Us house did not disappoint. As a fan of the game, I did not originally expect it to be scary, or at least as scary as the other houses like The Exorcist. However, I found myself clinging onto my friend and screaming at every jump-scare that came towards me. The most fascinating aspects of the house were the costumes and scenery. The designers captured the essence and horror of the game without making it seem too fake.
Going through the house and hearing the dialogue between Joel and Ellie, the two main characters of TLOU, I felt more immersed in the setting than in any other house. The house also had very impressive costumes that emphasized how genuinely terrifying the infected are supposed to be. Since it is a video game and not a movie, I was not able to fully see how scary they are, but seeing them human-size brought it to life.
By far, the most well-made and detailed house was Stranger Things Season 4. Since it was also the longest house, it had more opportunities to jump-scare you and bring you into the ST universe. I had never watched Stranger Things before going into the house, but I understood many of the references which made the experience more enjoyable. I found myself laughing at some points during the walk-through, and the talented scare actors kept me on my toes.
When asked if she thought the experience was worth it, senior Ines Unda said, “Absolutely. I’d do it again.” She then jokingly remarked: “I liked seeing my friends get scared. I’m super desensitized to horror so I was enjoying it while my friends were suffering.”
The merchandise was amazing, not to mention definitely worth the money. However, I did wish that there was a bigger variety of TLOU merchandise as well as The Exorcist. Most of the images spread around for advertising and merchandise were Chucky-themed since it is the most popular of the group.
Talking about the ambiance of the park streets, senior Leandra Obando recalled, “The highlight of my experience was interacting with the scare actors.”
All in all, HHN ‘23 was a big success. Personally, it was the best experience at a theme park I have ever had and I would definitely recommend it for any adventure-seeking horror fans. Between the terrifying street scares, the detailed houses, and the classic rides that attract people from all over the world, it will be one of the best Halloween experiences of the year.
