Our Rating: A+

An annually anticipated attraction, Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) returned on Sept. 19 to Orlando, Florida. This year, however, HHN met its highest expectations. Be sure to attend, as terror will take hold of you in the most unexpected ways!

At the entrance of the park, there is usually a huge crowd of people waiting to enter this world of terror. After a long wait, characters dressed up in blood-drenched clothing, holding loud chainsaws and wearing terrifying costumes, await the announcer’s countdown and proceed to sprint towards the massive crowds, attempting to scare them.

After this exhilarating entrance, the rest of the park is divided into different sections. There are scare zones, safe zones and, of course, the haunted houses. This year, there were three new attractions: The Purge scare zone, Alien vs. Predators haunted house and The Walking Dead haunted house, which was the park’s biggest attraction.

As for the haunted houses, none of them were disappointing in terms of setting, costume designs and overall scares. However, the one that took the top spot was The Walking Dead haunted maze. Despite the two-hour wait, this haunted house was so incredibly put together that it did not matter how long the wait was. The part that stood out the most was towards the end of the maze when a series of strobe lights were added, creating a confusing, yet fascinating feeling. Everything including the costumes, visual effects and background music made the perfect haunted house for those adrenaline junkies that get a kick out of being scared. It encompassed all of the aspects of the actual show and executed them perfectly.

The four different scare zones this year at HHN were Maskerade: Unstitched, The Purge: Anarchy, Bayou of Blood and Face Off: In the Flesh. Scare zones consist of one whole street with horrifying characters running around or popping out to scare you. They will even creep up behind you and follow you until you notice them. Although they are not allowed to touch you, they do get extremely close to you and will often times scream at the top of their lungs. Unfortunately, this year the park had less scare zones and more safe zones, taking away the whole purpose and essence of the event.

“I honestly didn’t know what I was doing there in the first place because I get scared so easily, but I actually had so much fun since I went with my friends! I never thought being scared could be so exciting. I cannot wait for HHN 25,” freshman Natasha Landsberg said.

Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios has yet again proved to be the king of all Halloween festivities and haunted houses. These haunted houses are more than just mazes; they are a true labor of love from a theme park holistically dedicated to providing the most detailed, authentic and terrifying experiences imaginable. Newcomer or HHN veteran, no matter how scared you get, you’ll be coming back for more!