Halloween Horror Nights XVIII
Events / 9/29/2008 11:18:49 PM
Welcome our newest guest writer, Lisa McDonald! Lisa lives in Florida and works in television news. She writes fantasy, horror, and erotica and she knows a thing or two about haunted houses. She's been turning her own home into a spectacle of fright for over a decade! Now she brings us details about one of the worlds biggest Haunted Halloween events that has been scaring the crap out of hundreds of thousands of people every year for almost 20 years. Nothing like starting the Halloween month with a big bang!
Halloween
Horror Nights 18 is now entertaining the masses at
Universal Studios Orlando, Florida and if you haven't been, it's worth a trip.
The theme is urban legends, with the centerpiece character of Bloody Mary. The
story is that of Dr. Mary Agana and the torture she inflicts upon her patients
to rid them of their childhood fears. She faces her own fear, death, by watching
life leave the eyes of her terrified victims. This premise sets up all the scare
zones and horror houses in the park.
Universal Studios definitely knows how to set the mood of a haunted park using
fog, strobes, lighting effects, and exterior facades built to meet the standards
of fright. Hearing legitimate screams of unsuspecting guests throughout the park
adds to the atmosphere as zombies, creatures, and chainsaw wielding maniacs jump
out from behind every corner. There are six different Scare Zones in the park.
The Path of the Wicked is clearly the best. Flying monkeys zip
from building to building overhead. While trying to catch a glimpse of the
daredevil creatures the rest of the Oz creatures catch you off guard. Twisted
Tin Men, Beastly Lions (that are hardly cowardly), and strange beasts on stilts.
Another Zone, The Skoolhouse, mesmerizes you with hundreds of
dimly lit pumpkins, hung from the trees and bushes, mixed with 'skoolchildren'
who demand candy; loudly. Asylum in Wonderland is a great play
on Alice in Wonderland and American Gothic has legendary
American killers that mingle with the crowds. The Streets of Blood
has vampires and creatures of the night with perfect makeup and costumes. The
last Scare Zone, Fractured Tales has a group of zombies in
orange jumpsuits outside of the horror house Dead Exposure that put on a great
show with disorganized grunts and marches. The chainsaw gang is always a treat
as they stay hidden behind buildings and lampposts, and jump out to chase
unsuspecting guests.
Each of the Scare Zones is home to different horror houses. Creatures
is a fun walk through hillbilly hell, playing on cheesy comic monsters and
drive-in movie memories. Denim clad rednecks abound (one with the loudest
shotgun you have ever heard!) Interstellar Terror takes you
through a spaceship with a crew that has been devastated by an alien artifact.
The decor is incredibly detailed; hanging air hoses, captains deck, a
catwalk with a floating worker, and a crew member sucked right out of the ship
into outer space!
Body Collectors is deliciously ghoulish. Bodies lay on gurneys
while murderous fiends rip out organs and cut open their victims, who are still
alive. One memorable scene is a girl reaching out and screaming for help while a
ghoul tears out her spine. The sound effects make it real enough to turn your
stomach. Doomsday, based on the post-apocalyptic movie, was one
of my favorites. It's a wonderful mix of sights and sounds. There are great
scares right at the beginning while the sounds of industrial noise snap your
attention away from the toxic decor. Mohawked barbarians warn of the plague and
a fiend carries on with his blow up doll girlfriend.
Reflection of Fear is the flagship house and shows the story of
Dr. Mary Agana and her conversion to Bloody Mary. The best part was watching the
transformation, but you have to pay attention to the 'Mary's' that are walking
around to catch it. The visual scares were more amusing then scary and, despite
the attention, it isn't the best of the bunch. Dead Exposure
tells the story of a paparazzi photographer during a zombie uprising. Visually,
this house was fantastic. It was very dark with low, pulsing lights that
randomly flashed to illuminate the zombie creatures in black light. One area is
filled with painted mannequins and the pulsing light, meant to be a camera
flashes, is disorienting enough to conceal what is mannequin and what is zombie.
The Hollow is the house of Samhaiin, who has trapped the souls
of the dead. There is a very spooky feeling as you wind your way through haunted
cornfields while pumpkin headed scarecrows lurk behind dead corn stalks. Watch
your back in this one as the creatures prefer to attack with a puff of breath
against the back of your neck. Very creepy indeed.
The last house is Scary Tales; basic fairy tales where the
princess's do not get saved and the children do not escape alive. The wicked
Queen knows how to torture the pretty princess and a cannibal Alice in
Wonderland feasts upon a corpse. The best visual of this house was a Bloody Mary
ghost behind a full length mirror down a hallway. Always a classic Halloween
effect!
If you want a break from the horror houses there are shows (Bill and Ted's
Halloween Adventure has the Dark Knight's Joker blow up Hannah Montana on
stage!), all the regular rides are still open, and the lines are short.
All in all, this is a wonderfully visual Halloween spectacle to experience that
will definitely get you in the mood for eerie October!
Lisa McDonald
Jill's p.s. If you can't make Florida for Halloween, maybe you can swing California? Universal runs the same Haunted set up out there as well. Hot and Haunted in October - maybe a new vacation trend for Canadians?!
p.p.s. You're not allowed to wear costumes to the Haunted Universal theme parks - but no one says you can't still be cool and creepy in our "Don't worry, it's not my blood" garb from our Cafepress store!!
