Halloween Horror Nights returns to Universal Orlando Resort next week, running from September 15 through November 4. After initially announcing big themed houses, The Shining, American Horror Story, Saw, and Ash vs. Evil Dead earlier this year, they added one more mega house branded to five IPs.
The house is themed to Blumhouse Productions, but it will be slightly different than the the Hollywood version. The Orlando house will also feature Sinister and The Purge, but the third franchise featured is Insidious instead of Happy Death Day.
Just last week Universal rolled out the final four houses for this year’s event, and there’s one big exclusion that has been present the last five years — there will be no Walking Dead presence in Orlando this year.
The final four houses will all be original stories created by Universal. First is Scarecrow: The Reaping, set at an abandoned farm house in Nebraska. Scarecrow “guardians” have risen from the ground to take revenge on the people who have ravaged the land.
Next up is Dead Waters, the first HHN house inspired by a scare zone from a previous year. It will be based on the Bayou of Blood zone from Halloween Horror Nights 24, three years ago. You’ll travel to the Voodoo Queen’s realm and see a half sunken riverboat and the remains of her victims.
The next house is called Hive and will feature vampires, but ones that are vicious and nasty, not the youthful and shimmery vampires that have been so popular the last several years. Details are scarce for this one.
And lastly there is The Fallen, a house featuring an ancient battle between good and evil. Creatures have come up from the darkness and will destroy anything that gets in their way. The house promises some creatures that fly which could make this a scary fun house.
In addition to the final list of houses, the other big news is that this will be the last year for the long-running Bill & Ted’s Halloween Adventure stage show. The Academy of Villains stage show is also back this year with a new show called Afterlife.
Last but certainly not least, there will be five scare zones throughout Universal Studios this year. The Purge is back this year, so look out for folks unleashing their inner darkness in the streets. The Trick ‘r Treat zone is based on the 2007 anthology film and will feature characters from each of the four stories, specifically Sam.
The Altars of Horror zone will feature encounters with some of the well-known characters found throughout this year’s houses. The Invasion! zone will feature exactly that, aliens who have invaded and are determined to learn as much about humans as they can by whatever means necessary. And then there will be roaming hordes, so expect scary clowns and plenty of chainsaws.
So are you excited to get scared at HHN, or is Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party more you speed?
