I Ranked All 10 Of Universal Orlando Resort's Haunted Houses — Here's Which Ones You *Need* To Check Out
If you're one of those people who's been in the Halloween spirit since August, I'm so thrilled to tell you that spooky time is officially here!!!! And to celebrate, Halloween Horror Nights has made its triumphant return to Universal Orlando Resort. And as a horror fan myself, I jumped at the chance to head to Florida when BuzzFeed was invited to get a sneak peek at all the houses."
For the record, it took me about three and a half hours to get through all 10 haunted houses and see the five scare zones with the guided R.I.P. walking tour. Also, on opening night, it absolutely downpoured, but hey! We made it through! 🤪🤪
Editor's Note: BuzzFeed was provided this experience free of charge but was under no obligation to give a positive review.
So, without further ado, here's what I thought about all the houses this year...
10.Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count
What it's about: Based on the classic films and hit TV show, this haunted house places everyone's favorite killer doll front and center. After growing tired of the disrespect he feels from his peers, Chucky has taken matters into his own hands by turning this maze into a slaughterhouse and killing everyone who enters.
General thoughts: Personally, I've just never fully embraced the Chucky hype and I think that's why this house ranked so low for me. (And yes I do understand how funny that is when the concept of the house is that Chucky literally wants people to take him seriously!!!) There aren't too many jump scares (thankfully), but if you're someone who enjoys a fright out of bloody Chucky dolls, then def check it out! This house is also located inside the Fast & Furious — Supercharged ride, so just that fact makes this the wildest crossover ever.
Scare rating: 4/10
Creativity rating: 5/10
9.The Darkest Deal
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What it's about: Down in the Mississippi Delta, blues musician Pinestraw Spruce finds himself at a crossroads with an evil entity, known as The Collector, who provides him with an offer he can't refuse: his soul for musical glory.
General thoughts: This one was SO cool to walk through, the swampy aesthetic just added to the whole creepy vibe of this house. This one was another really dark one (literally), so there were a few moments where I actually jumped when a scary masked man suddenly appeared two inches away from my face. Because of the storyline for this one, we got to catch a few glimpses of Pinestraw onstage, which for me, felt like mini breaks in between the scary bits.
Scare rating: 6/10
Creativity rating: 8/10
8.Dr. Oddfellow's Twisted Origins
What it's about: Set in the 1930s Dust Bowl era, this house lets you experience all of Dr. Oddfellow's twisted oddities firsthand, and teaches you just how many souls it takes to feed his immortal power. Basically, this one serves as an origin story for HHN's very own creepy character Dr. Oddfellow.
General thoughts: Immediately upon walking into this creepy carnival, I got the heebie jeebies. And I'm gonna tell you this right now, there are so, so, SO many scary clowns (including Jack the Clown) inside this house — this place was crawling with them. However, there weren't actually that many jump scares and I very much appreciated that.
Scare rating: 7/10
Creativity rating: 7/10
7.Universal Monsters: Unmasked
What it's about: This haunted house takes you all through the Catacombs of Paris where Universal's most infamous monsters — The Phantom of the Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dr. Jekyll and his alternate personality Mr. Hyde, and The Invisible Man — are finally ready to seek vengeance on anyone who enters.
General thoughts: This one was definitely pretty scary, because for a majority of the walkthrough, you're in total darkness. And with the strobe lights constantly going off, there's no way to anticipate which monsters are about to jump out at you. This one definitely had a bunch of jump scares and even a few tricks where I thought someone was gonna jump out at me, only to turn around and come face to face with a monster. Also, before going in I was told this house smelled like roses (it def does), and that's literally all I could think about while trying not to get murdered by the monsters. I have to give major shoutout to everyone behind the creation of this maze too, because the props (namely the Phantom of the Opera's human skin masks) were SO cool — I'd kill (pun intended 😏) to take another look at this one with the lights on.
Scare rating: 8/10
Creativity rating: 8/10
6.Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate
What it's about: The great wizard Merlyn has been transformed into the Enchanted Oak, leaving a power vacuum in his wake. When two powerful warlocks attempt to steal his spellbook, they get transformed into menacing dragons of fire and ice. Now, you've been granted with a choice: choose a winner.
General thoughts: The actual haunted house set for this one was absolutely phenomenal, and I loved catching glimpses of all the details as the lights came on sporadically. This is def another one I'd love to walk through again with the lights on. These monsters reminded me so much of the Night King from Game of Thrones, so just imagine that jumping out at you every single time you turn a corner. Also, choosing my ending was so fun, but in the moment very stressful!!
Scare rating: 6/10
Creativity rating: 10/10
5.Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings
What it's about: The house centers around a group of colonial-era villagers who begin to obsessively worship the moon. When a Blood Moon rises at their fall festival, they take that as a sign to hunt down any non-followers in their village.
General thoughts: I'm a big fan of cult-y things so I was very, very excited for this one, and I was not disappointed. One scene that I literally can't stop thinking about was being chased down the aisle of this creepy church, with several people sitting in the pews beside me and just being terrified to see which one was gonna jump out at me. Also, this one is not for the faint of heart, it's basically blood and gore central.
Scare rating: 8/10
Creativity rating: 10/10
4.YETI: Campground Kills
What it's about: Set in a 1950s campground, a group of yetis are running free, brutally murdering campers, rangers, and literally anyone that crosses their path. In this haunted house, you have to make it past the yetis and to the ranger tower before it's too late.
General thoughts: This was such a fun one, and so creative. I truly didn't realize how big a yeti was until one came up right behind me and scared the living crap out of me. I was definitely on edge the entire walk through this one, especially with the constant growling and screaming in the air.
Scare rating: 8/10
Creativity rating: 10/10
3.Stranger Things 4
Lauren Garafano / BuzzFeed
What it's about: This house transports you straight into Hawkins, Indiana for a thrilling adventure through the most iconic moments of Season 4. You'll encounter everything from the chaos of the Upside Down, Dr. Brenner's lab, and will even get the chance to meet Vecna himself.
General thoughts: As a fan of Stranger Things, I absolutely LOVED this one! It was so true to Season 4 and TBH, I got so emotional seeing all the Eddie Munson scenes. And as someone who isn't scared while watching the show, I got too overconfident that no one in this house would ever be able to scare me, and then Vecna humbled me so badly.
Scare rating: 8/10
Creativity rating: 10/10
2.The Exorcist: Believer
What it's about: This haunted house serves as a trailer for the movie The Exorcist: Believer, which comes to theaters Oct. 6. In this new chapter of the iconic franchise, you're thrown into a busy street market in Haiti, where the purchase of a strange three-eyed doll opens a demonic portal and unleashes a gaggle of sinister spirits which results in the disappearance of two 12-year-old girls in the US. Three days later, the girls are found but have no memory of what happened to them and start exhibiting some very, very strange behavior. You know, the kind of behavior that only an exorcism can cure.
General thoughts: I absolutely loved this maze. Similarly to the others, I tried to go in anticipating everything, but the jump scares seriously got me here. Like, one of the scare actors (a demon-possessed little girl holding a giant pair of scissors, of course) got so close to me that I thought I, too, was gonna die. I literally couldn't wait to get far, far away from there.
Scare rating: 9/10
Creativity rating: 9/10
1.The Last of Us
What it's about: The iconic video game comes to life for the first time ever with this The Last of Us haunted house. As you journey through the carnage, expect to come face to face with some of the gnarliest fungal-growing creatures, known as the Infected. Also, Joel and Ellie appear throughout this maze with all new dialogue recorded by TLOU voice actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson.
General thoughts: I was so pumped for this house and it absolutely exceeded expectations. It felt like I was truly inside the game and I now know that is definitely not a place where I need to be!! The jump scares were fast and frequent, I could barely recover from one before another came along. Like, getting up close and personal with a bloater?! That's gonna be a big ol' nope from me!!!
Scare rating: 10/10
Creativity rating: 10/10
Dare to check them out for yourself? Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort runs now through Nov. 4.
And if you can't make the trip down to Orlando, check out tickets for Universal Hollywood here.
