Halloween Horror Nights

Yes, some of us are brave enough to go there. It's a more grown-up alternative to MNSSHP, but they don't give out candy. Instea, adult beverages are available for purchase, which can make up for the lack of sweets.

 

On my first visit to HHN in 2018, I took the Behind the Screams tour. The tour takes visitors through several of the haunted houses in the daytime when they are brightly lit and occupied by the occasional work crew. The tour guide showed us some of the special effects (most of which turned out to be pretty simple) and provides information on the story and characters. In the houses featuring no specific IP, we could take all the photos we wanted. In the houses based on specific TV shows or movies, photos were limited to certain parts of the house. For example, this shot is from a house based on a 2007 movie called Trick 'r Treat. If I had seen the movie, I would understand the significance of this scene.


The Real Pumpkin King

 

Another shot from the Behind the Screams tour. The theme of this house was the film Poltergeist, and you can't have that without the girl in front of the TV.


They're Heeeeeeere

 

Here's another shot from the tour. This house was called Seeds of Extinction. It is set in Arizona right after a meteor has hit the earth and wiped out all life. To make things worse, the meteor carried seeds for carnivorous plants which have taken over the planet. It was an original property developed for HHN, so we could take all the photos we wanted.

This scene was in a convenience store which, among other things, sells bedtime stories for the kids.


Bedtime Reading

 

Here's another shot from the Behind the Screams tour. Somewhere there is a junkyard full of used carnival equipment. The owner REALLY hates trespassers and treats them with extreme prejudice. This is a photo from one of the non-blood-stained areas of the Carnival Graveyard: Rust in Pieces house.


Props Galore

 

Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After was among my favorite houses at Halloween Horror Nights in 2018. The Behind the Screams tour gave us a good look at everything, including the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West. She has cast a spell in the land of fantasy and turned all of those familiar fairy tales on their heads. My only disappointment was that some of the scares that the guide pointed out during the tour were not functioning when I went through that night.

This is the opening scene, where the witch "welcomes" us with warnings of what is to come. She swung around the stage on the bungee cord that you can see coming down from the ceiing and curving towards the doorway on the left.


Twisted Tales

 

I recently watched Poltergeist for the first time ever, and this scene from the Politergeist house at HHN 2018 looks a lot like what happened in the movie. Later thatn night when it was in full spooky mode, it felt as scary as the movie.


Poltergeist Pool

 

Here's another scene from the Seeds of Extinction house. In 2018 nobody knew that two years later offices all over the country would look like this when people returned from the COVID lockdown.


Overgrown Office

 

This secret government research facility is so secret that not only did I not know it was here in Indiana, I can't even find the town on a map. Very strange.


Things Are Strange Here

This is from the Stranger Things house at HHN 2018. I haven't seen the TV show, but I was impressed with several of the scare techniques used here. Sadly, this was one of those "limited photography" houses so I don't have many photos.

 

One of the houses that was not on the Behind the Screams tour itinerary was Dead Exposure: Patient Zero. However, we were allowed to take photos of the outside entrance area. This medical tent was a place where Parisians could get an anti-zombie vaccine and, theoretically, rest until their vision returned. (Temporary blindness was a side effect of the vaccine.) During HHN, you got your "vaccine" and were sent into the house where complete darkness simulated blindness. There were occasional flashes of light to simulate temporary vision. That, of course, was when the zombies jumped out at you. Forewarned with that knowledge, I decided not to visit the place that evening during HHN.


Terror Tent

 

Universal announced that Stranger Things is returning to HHN in 2023. Let's hope that the portal to The Upside Down hasn't re-opened.


Mother's Day

 

This scene from Seeds of Extinction visits a Mexican restaurant where the floor has collapsed, probably due to the massive invasion of plants. Or maybe the restaurant exceeded the 269-person capacity when people were seeking cover from the asteroid that brough a deadly virus to earth.


Blame Occupant 270

 

Another innocuous shot from Carnival Graveyard: Rust in Pieces, a particularly gruesome house from HHN 2018.


One Thin Dime

 

This is the sign at the entrance to the Trick 'r Treat house. In 2018, I had never heard of the film, let alone seen it, so I couldn't really appreciate what I saw inside on the tour. I finally watched the film a few weeks ago, and now I can appreciate how well they re-created scenes from the movie. Lesson learned: watch the movies and films that the various houses are based on before you go to HHN.

The character on the sign has a name that is not mentioned in the movie. He's called Sam, which is short for Samhain. Samhain is an ancient celtic festival which is the origin of many Halloween traditions.

Add it to your Halloween playlist.


Meet Sam

 

One of the lovely decorations on the Wicked Witch of the West's castle in the Scary Tales house.


Grim Grinning Gargoyle

 

Here's another view of the Trick 'r Treat house shown in the first photo I posted in this thread. This is grumpy old Mr. Kreeg's house after Sam decorated it for him. Sam doesn't like people who don't decorate their houses for Halloween.


Over Decorated

 

Here's another shot from the 2018 Stranger Things house near the entrance to the Upside Down.


What A Mess!

 

Here's one of the fun Scare Zones from HHN 2018, Revenge of Chucky. Hollywood Boulevard was hosting a toy fair and the set pieces were all parodies of our favorite childhood games: Monkey Mayhem was like Barrel of Monkeys but with very angry real monkeys and the Safe-T-Bake oven had a charred body sticking out of it. My favorite was Bizarre O.R., which is a realistic version of Operation. Every once in a while a stream of warm liquid would squirt out of the patient onto an unsuspecting victim.


Let's Play Doctor

 

A day late for Halloween, but nice and ghoulish. From the Seeds of Extinction house at HHN 2018.


No Loitering!

 

A lovely jack-o-lantern tree sprouted in the Twisted Tradition scare zone in 2018.


Different Holiday Tree