Halloween is the season of fright, and nothing is more fun than your veins pumping with adrenaline as you go through terrifying haunted houses in October. Local houses are always fun, and I’ve been to a few good ones. Nothing, though, will live up to Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights. It’s the park’s 26th year doing the horror nights, so you could say they’re quite seasoned when it comes to scaring the hell out of people.
This year I went with my father, cousin, and a friend of my father’s. Being women, my cousin and I were automatically targeted a little more than the men we were with, but nothing was funnier than the moments where my dad and his friend were seriously scared by the park’s talented scareactors. Shout out to the actress who portrayed Lady Gaga's Hotel character that jumped out at them and made them scream and run away. Thanks, girl!
Each year, there are pop culture themed houses that get the crowds excited and coming back for more. After my terrifying experience at Universal, I began comparing each of the houses to each other and to the actual shows and movies they’re based off of. Below is what I concluded.
1. American Horror Story
Absolutely the best house of the season. Yeah, I’m a bit biased. This is one of my favorite television shows ever, so I was really excited to walk through and experience three of the show’s seasons. At the same time, because of my love of the show, I was expecting to be critiquing the house as I walked through. It was perfect, though – which made since after I found out that the god himself, Ryan Murphy, collaborated with Universal to make it perfect. It was, indeed, perfect.
Pepper, you’re beautiful. I told you that five times so you’d leave me alone. I meant it. Dandy, chill.
2. The Walking Dead
I’m not the biggest fan of the Walking Dead, but my entire family is. Zombies are a staple for haunted houses, and of course, Universal knocked it out the park. Other than my poor cousin’s bracelet getting caught on some netting, we had a great time. After we gathered all of the parts from her bracelet, we pushed our friend through the last room. Strobe lights don’t make me happy, but they make for a great room full of zombies that you don’t know if they’re moving or not.
3. The Exorcist
This was the first scary movie I ever watched, so I was terrified to relive it. This house was great and very scary. At one point, the possessed little girl was chasing my cousin around, which meant that I was being yanked around as well. This house was pretty cool because it told the story of Regan MacNeil, and it didn’t help when my dad whispered, “You know this is based off a true story,” as we walked into the brick house. It was a great house, don’t be fooled. It had us on our toes.
4. Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield
Michael Myers is one of the best horror movie characters to date. His face is iconic and was everywhere in this house. It was terrifying, but there wasn’t much to be surprised about. True, his face makes your heart stop and your skin spring goosebumps. This is well worth going through, but it’s pretty equal to your local Michael Myers house anyways.
5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I hate chainsaws. No.
If you have the opportunity to experience Universal's Universal Studios, I highly recommend it. It's the best trip for the adrenaline-loving, blood-pumping, gore-obsessed haunted house groupies. Can't wait to see what next year's houses are going to be! I hope AHS Roanoke will make an appearance.
