The spookiest event of the year has finally begun. A few weeks have passed since the opening of Halloween Horror Nights. The frightening event takes place at Universal Studios in Orlando. It starts at 6:30 p.m., but some attractions, such as the Stranger Things House, open earlier at 5:15 p.m.. I was fortunate enough to have attended the experience to die for with some of my friends, experiencing seven of the ten featured houses. Now, I am here to tell you all the tale of my escapade and give honest reviews of all the haunted houses I experienced.
We decided to begin our terrifying trip by going to our first haunted house of the night, The Darkest Deal. In The Darkest Deal, you are told the story of an up-and-coming Blues musician. This musician meets The Collector, a strange entity that offers him fame in exchange for his soul. This house, in particular, has quite dark lighting, meaning you can only see what is happening about half the time. My group and I were constantly running into walls, the dialogue was hard to hear, and if you did not research the houses ahead of time, the storyline was unintelligible. Due to this rocky experience, this is my worst-rated house.
Our next stop on our trip was Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins. This haunted house follows the dark backstory of Dr. Rich Oddfellow, the ringmaster at the Carnival of Thrills. Dr. Oddfellow believes the Zodiac, an ancient relic, will grant him great power and immortality. He refuses to let anyone get in his way, sacrificing many individuals attempting to acquire these things. This house is filled with great detail. It accurately portrays the intended plotline as well as the backstory of the lead character. The eerie vibe it creates, the terrifying clowns and creatures jumping out at you, and the visual displays are pleasant. This is a great haunted house to start your visit, as it is not too scary and will easily excite you. It will also prepare you for the other haunted houses you plan on doing, again, as it is not horribly scary. I highly recommend this house.
The third house of the night was Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count. This house was actually based off of a meta-story. Universal built a haunted house based on the Chucky television series and invited Chucky himself to see it. Chucky ended up hating it, killing all of the designers. He then made a new house and possessed all of the Good Guy dolls included in the one Universal built. This house is a fantastic experience if seeking fun and excitement instead of a scare. While it is not too scary, multiple jumpscares will give you a shock and a good laugh. It is also a great source of adrenaline and can lighten the mood of an exhausted group. I highly recommend doing this house with friends, as my friends and I had a great time doing it, and it was our second favorite house of the night.
For our fourth house of the night, we went to YETI: Campground Kills. This haunted house follows the story of a 1950s campground overrun by terrifying yetis who are unafraid to rip apart anyone who gets in their way. The goal of the house is to flee to the grounds ranger tower and escape the blood-thirsty yetis. This house is quite dark and menacing as you walk through an eerie and mysterious forest setting with fog everywhere and yetis lurking around every corner. This house, in particular, was a favorite among many. Sophomore Robyn Pickard said it was “By far one of the scariest houses I have been in all my years of attending.” It is filled with great jumpscares that will leave you shaking and anxious about what is coming next. This house is one you must try if you are considering attending.
The next haunted house on our trip was my favorite and many others’ favorite, Stranger Things 4. This house follows the story of the gang and their fight against a new villain in Hawkins, the menacing Vecna. It includes new favorites like Eddie Munson and the original characters and favorites like Max Mayfield. The amount of detail that went into this haunted house is mind-blowing. The visual displays are breathtaking. My group and I felt this house had the best jumpscares out of all the ones we experienced that night, as you never had any idea when they were happening. With Vecna popping out at you and breathtaking visual displays of the upside down, this house was truly sublime. Many individuals, such as Sophomores Cannon Walton, Addison Kramer, and Brandon Sapone, said that this house was the one they were looking forward to the most, ending up being their favorite by the end of their trips. This house always has a high wait time, but I consider the wait worth it and highly recommend it as one you should make sure to hit.
The Exorcist: Believer was the next haunted house we experienced. This house follows the story of a little girl, Regan, and her developing strange behavior ever since she received an unusual folk doll. While this house has impressive jumpscares, I felt it was weird and boring. The intended plot is unclear when walking it, the visuals are creepy but not in a good way, and it does not make any sense without having seen the movie, which has not come out yet. Many others, such as Cannon Walton, agree, feeling that the house was “strange” and “made no sense.” While this house gave me a good scare and jump occasionally, I do not recommend this house if you are low on time on your trip.
Our last house of the night, was the Last of Us. This haunted house follows the story of a 14-year old girl who is the world’s last hope after a global pandemic wreaks havoc on civilization with a fungus that turns individuals into zombie-like creatures. This house has mind-blowing visual displays and well depicts a post-apocalyptic world while creating an unsettling feel, as you don’t know what could be lurking. It also gave me my worst jumpscare of the night, leaving me trembling. Although the house is bewildering, I was confused a great deal of the time because I have never played the video game it’s based on and never seen the show. I recommend this house as it is aesthetically pleasing, but playing the game or watching the show before your trip will create a better experience.
The tale of my escapade has come to a conclusion. I hope my honest review is helpful for anyone interested in attending the horrifying event of Halloween Horror Nights. Now that you know which houses are good and bad, be sure to plan your trip out wisely and make the most of your time. Be aware of the creepy creatures lurking around every corner, and of course, Never Go Alone.
Final Rankings, Best to Worst:
- Stranger Things 4
- Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count
- YETI: Campground Kills
- The Last Of Us
- Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins
- The Exorcist: Believer
- The Darkest Deal
