It’s the 20th year for Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, a scarefest that routinely sells out the park on weekends in September and October.
Now in its 20th year of the horror-filled celebration, Universal is personifying fear:
Halloween Horror Nights XX is about Fear himself. He is the Master of everything Halloween Horror Nights has ever been and will become. His weapons: Chaos, Death, Sacrifice, Mythos, Vengeance. His pawns: a clown, a storyteller, an undertaker, a director, an usher…and you.
Ooooo. Scary.
Universal released all the Halloween Horror Nights XX details overnight. The special events will include eight haunted houses with names like “Hades: Gates of Ruin” and “Zombiegeddon.” There will also be six “scare zones” — street performances of sorts on the walkways throughout the theme park, and two live shows.
Fans of Halloween Horror Nights are heralding this year’s announcement as a move back to the roots of the event, when the theme park created original characters and plots for the haunted houses. In the past few years, many haunted houses have been based on characters and plots from horror movies. But this year, there doesn’t seem to be any movie promotion involved.
Halloween Horror Nights runs on 24 select nights between Sept. 24 and Oct. 31. Tickets are $74.99. There are discounts for Florida residents and package deals with area hotels. You can find those details at the event’s official Web site, www.halloweenhorrornights.com.
Since this is at a theme park typically visited by families, I should note here that Halloween Horror Nights is definitely not for kids. Universal Orlando says it is not meant for children under 13.
And now, a word from Fear himself: