Halloween Horror Nights is one of the largest Halloween events in the U.S., presented annually at Universal Orlando Resort, and off-and-on at Universal Studios Hollywood.
It began at Universal Orlando in 1991 under the title "Fright Nights" but was re-christened Halloween Horror Nights the following year, advertising it as the "second annual."
The Universal Studios Hollywood event took place between 1997 and 2000, then went on hiatus for several years and returned for 2006.
1997: Hollywood
editThis was the debut year for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood (although a Halloween event also took place at the park in 1992).[1]
Haunted Houses
- Monsterquarium (WaterWorld theater) - Weird animatronics and actors in water.
- Classic Monster Maze - Short but fun maze of classic Universal monsters.
- Cryptkeeper Film Vault - Modern film monsters.
- Area 51 - Aliens in cold storage and running amok.
Shows
- Beetlejuice's Rockin' Graveyard Revue - Camp-laden musical show -- same as the daytime version.
- Creepy Animals - A live animal show with cockroaches, snakes, spiders, etc.
- Circus of Freaks
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure - Current events satire and a fight with the Cyberspace Witch.
1998: Hollywood
editHaunted Houses[2]
- Clive Barker's FREAKZ maze - Human curiosities, unusual oddities, and freaks of nature.
- Classic Creatures Features - Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, the Phantom of the Opera, and the Creature From the Black Lagoon.
- The Cryptkeeper's Screaming Room - The monsters and slashers that have taunted you through the years from the big screen.
- Alien Assault - You'll be abducted by the extraterrestrials and travel deep inside a spaceship to experience inhuman terror that would make Mulder and Scully weep!
Shows[2]
- The Ultimate Tribute to KISS - Cover band Black Diamond.
- Chucky's Wedding Chapel - Chucky and his bride Tiffany host nightly weddings and audience participation is mandatory.
- SlaughterWorld - All the death defying stunts of WaterWorld plus all new visions of horror.
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure II - SPOOF is the word. The boys from San Dimas are back in an all new action-packed laugh-filled adventure.
- Carnival of Carnage - Sword swallowers, glass eaters, and human pincushions put their battered bodies through acts of brutality for your viewing pleasure.
1999: Hollywood
editHaunted Houses
- Clive Barker's Hell - Dare to enter the putrid put of infernal damnation from the Wizard of Wickedness.
- The Thrilling Chilling World of Rob Zombie - Tunnel deep inside the most depraved realm of all -- Rob Zombie's brain -- where the living dead reign supreme!
- The Mummy - Encounter the actual terrors that traumatized you in Universal Pictures' smash hit movie!
- Creature Features - Step through the movie screen to rub elbows and other body parts with classic Universal Monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, and Wolfman.
- Cleaver's Meat Locker - Blood-thirsty butchers hack their way through various cuts of meat, including human flesh!
Shows
- Chucky's Insult Emporium - Petrifying put-downs to offend everyone!
- Animal House of Horrors - Wild, man-eating beasts unleashed to run amok!
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure III - The boys are back trashing media celebs in a most excellent, all new adventure.
- Carnival of Carnage - Freak out at the sight of this gory collection of sword swallower, glass eaters, and human pincushions torturing themselves into a tizzy!
2000: Hollywood
editThis was the last year of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood until its return in 2006. It is unclear what caused Universal to discontinue the event, although one Usenet poster at the time claimed it was because Halloween Horror Nights was not making them any money [1].
- The Undertaker: No Mercy - A raw, in-your-face, horror experience based on the WWE Superstar The Undertaker.
- Buffy & Angel: Hellmouth Haunt - An attraction created by the creators of the WB Network's series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel".
- Rob Zombie's The House of 1000 Corpses Maze - Based on Zombie's upcoming debut as a director and screenwriter.
- Clive Barker's Harvest - You'll walk through a hole in the wall of a mausoleum leading into the ground where something is reclaiming the dead to incubate its young.
- Theatre of Blood - A vault of Universal's classic horror films, where you'll find yourself prey to the most merciless celluloid slashers and fiends.
- Chucky's Insult Emporium - The infamous doll from hell's insults feast on the feeble, the ill-at-ease, and the socially inept.
- Carnival of Carnage - Medieval torture... sword swallowers, fire and glass eaters, and human pincushions toast their unusual talents with stomach churning chasers of cockroaches, worms, and maggots.
- Animal House of Horrors - Featuring pythons, cockroaches, bats, and rats.
2006: Hollywood
editHalloween Horror Nights returns to Universal Studios Hollywood for the first time since 2000. The event begins Friday, October 13 and continues for select days until Halloween. Because it is not the 16th year at Hollywood, the theme is different from that in Orlando. The Director has taken over the studio and is directing his next film. For the first time in the history of the park, guests can walk through the studio's backlot area, and some of the scariest sets in Universal Studios history.
Because the event started on Friday the 13th, Universal was able to re-use the logo design from Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights 13 (where the Director character was born) that overlays a backwards "13" on the "E" and "N" of "HALLOWEEN".
Haunted Houses
- The Asylum (Shrek 4-D queue area) - Travel through a maze of dark corridors in a high-security hospital for the criminally insane.
- Universal's House of Horrors (Van Helsing: Fortress Dracula) - Take a journey into Universal Studios' horror filled past. Come face-to-face with some of the most terrifying characters ever created at this ultimate slaughter house party.
- Terror Tram: The Director's Cut (Psycho and War of the Worlds sets on back lot) - For the first time step foot onto the famous backlot. But beware: the Director will be lurking nearby to cast for fresh talent.
Scarezones
- Dawn of the Dead (New York Street) - New York Street is a scene of chaos and carnage where the dead have been feasting on the living.
- Old London (London Street) - Fog filled streets of Old London populated by a host of frightening characters from horror films past and present.
- Black Death (Parisian Courtyard) - Smoldering medieval town of Black Death crawling with plague infected villagers.
- Deadwood (Western Street) - Ghost town where skeletal inhabitants of the town's most notorious still roam the smoldering streets.
- Studio Center (the lower lot) - A bizarre assortment of Universal ScareActors including Mummies, The Flasher, Zombie Scarface, and more.
Shows
- SlaughterWorld (WaterWorld theater) - A spectacular tidal wave of death-defying stunts, awesome explosions, and an ocean of thrills. A naughtier version than the day show.
- Carnival of Carnage (Flintstones area) - Feed your morbid curiosity with freaks of nature and human oddities when you are exposed to a variety of bizarre and sickening acts of self torture.
- The Mutaytor (Back to the Future Plaza) - Dance till you drop dead as The Mutaytor perform 5 shows nightly.
- Chucky's Insult Emporium - Be insulted by everyone's favorite possessed psychotic doll.
- Fear Factor Live: Dead Celebrity Edition (Castle Theatre) - Cringe and squirm as pop-culture celebrities compete in a live "Death Match".
Other
- Chainsaw Brigade
- Zombie Go-Go Dancers
- Jurassic Park: In the Dark
Notes
edit- ^ "Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood". 1997. Retrieved 2006-10-25.
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(help) - ^ a b "Halloween Horror Nights II: Entertainment". 1998. Retrieved 2006-10-25.
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(help) - ^ "WWE Entertainment & Universal Studios Create "The Undertaker: No Mercy" for Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights IV". 2000. Retrieved 2006-10-25.
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(help) - ^ a b "Halloween News - Halloween Entertainment Update". 2000. Retrieved 2006-10-25.
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(help) - ^ a b "(Daily Bruin Online article)". 2000. Retrieved 2006-10-25.
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