The Attractions Magazine crew was invited by Universal Orlando to attend a special media night experience and see as much as possible of the haunted houses, scare zones and more at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights 2023: Never Go Alone (HHN). After several years of heavy COVID restrictions on the event, we were excited to see how this year would stack up. Read on to see our opinions of each house and scare zone, our rankings and recommendations, and a few tips and tricks we learned along the way to help you get the most out of your HHN experience.

Haunted Houses

There were an impressive 10 houses this year, including four partnered houses based around intellectual properties (IP), and six other houses that were all original. The original houses this year were a mix of all-new concepts and ideas, as well as a sequel house, an icon house, a house about an old Islands of Adventure attraction, and a house featuring classic Universal Monsters. Let’s see some of the highlights and lowlights and how they stacked up against each other.

Here are descriptions, my reviews and tips for each Halloween Horror Nights haunted houses and scare zones, in no particular order. Below each set, you’d find my rankings, so you know which houses to be sure to visit first at Universal Studios Florida. We’ve also included our video highlights of each haunted house and scare zone.

Stranger Things 4

“You’ll need your squad to resist Vecna’s gruesome curse. Like Eleven, now’s your chance to stop him once and for all as you take on latest season of “Stranger Things” from Netflix.”

Of the houses based on intellectual properties, this one required the most knowledge about the show to fully understand and appreciate. Having not watched the latest couple of seasons of “Stranger Things”, I was often at a loss as to who everyone was, what the situation was, and why some of the big marquee moments in the house existed at all. I realize that is mostly on me and fans of the show will clearly get more from this house than I did, but judging the house purely from its scenery and scare value, minus any context that wasn’t immediately obvious from the house itself, this one scores lower on my list. This show and therefore house has a lot of lore and story behind it, and had a harder time standing on its own without fully understanding what’s going on.

The Exorcist: Believer

“Two missing girls have been found with no memory of what happened to them. But wherever they went, the ultimate evil has returned with them. Enter the most terrifying scenes from the new Blumhouse film.”

Billing itself as a full-on trailer for the unreleased movie, The Exorcist: Believer didn’t have too many iconic sets or scenery, owning partly to the film not being out yet, and partly due to the film taking place in modern time in unremarkable locations. There were scary girls in a house, scary girls in the woods, and scary girls in hell!? One thing this house does, is take full advantage of some scent machines to pump out foul scents matching the foul imagery of, shall we say, bodily excrement. Without the real psychological horror of the original movie, the house relied heavily on the gross out factor, or at least that was my biggest takeaway which maybe says something right there.

The Last of Us

“You will encounter the haunting and overgrown world of the video game in a brand-new, terrifying way. Stay silent if you want to survive a multitude of Clickers, Hunters and more.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Last of Us haunted house, but was excited to see what they accomplished. The house was located in the smaller and more cramped of the two parade buildings leading to many of the close quarters and tense encounters one would expect from the video game. There were also times in which the house expanded to take advantage of the larger space, providing some cool two-level scenes. I really enjoyed the variety of monsters coming straight from the game, including hunters, clickers, and one particularly aggressive boomer. The original voice actors even provided the voice for the characters in the house. Whatever reasons they chose to follow the game over the television series aside, the decision really allowed the house to take advantage of the constant action-packed scenes and tense confrontations more common in game setting. It’s my favorite of the IP houses and not one to miss for fans of the game, but also one that stands alone perfectly. 

TIP: Those familiar with the game, of which I have a passing familiarity, though I know the TV show much better, should be on the lookout for easter eggs scattered throughout. In the game supplies that are picked up to upgrade equipment (and a workstation), bricks and bottles you would throw to distract infected and survivors alike, are all present and scattered through out the house for eagle-eyed guests to spot. Just don’t try to collect them!

Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count

“Chucky, the serial killer doll, is back for a new gorefest! He’s hijacked his own haunted house with all kinds of bloody hijinks. You and your friends must try to survive his ultimate kill count.”

This is one of the two major comedy houses and it found it cute and funny throughout. I also enjoyed the meta nature of the house with the idea being that Chucky himself showed up to the haunted house after it had been made and decided to kill people for real. I also appreciated the choice to use puppets to represent Chucky over small humans dressed, which often looked awkward and out of scale in previous HHN years. There are lots of little details to see and enjoy throughout, from little bloody footprints and small legs disappearing under things to murder victims that seem to be killed from low angles. A criticism for me in this house was the poor volume in situations where Chucky appeared on screens, causing any story or moments on those screens to be lost on me. I’m not sure if it was too low or just bad audio quality. Hopefully that is worked out during the run. 

TIP: Be on the lookout for an interactive part of the house: a large red button that causes something to happen. It’s not a major effect, but a decent touch, and hopefully a sign that such interactive elements may be returning to the houses in a post-COVID world. Our RIP tour guide told us this is the only interactive element in all the houses.

Universal Monsters: Unmasked

“Descend into the Paris Catacombs, where you will face a new horde of Monsters: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Phantom of the Opera, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Invisible Man.”

It’s hard not to think of these monsters as a bit of the “B Tier” of the classic Universal Monsters after the previous house featuring Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, and the Wolfman. The Hunchback was allowed at least one cool moment, taking full advantage of the multiple level space, and the Mr. Hyde monster has a very cool design, emphasizing the de-evolution of Jekyll. Each monster was given a long section dedicated to them individually, though I felt like much of the house focused on Phantom. They had several good scares throughout, though the consistent storyline of the house was a bit lacking. Also, for my money, the wettest house, which isn’t really a criticism or compliment, just an observation between the simulated rain, blood sprays, and other water sources. 

Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins

“You won’t be able to resist going inside Dr. Oddfellow’s menacing menagerie of twisted oddities. But the price is steep: the cost of your soul to feed his immortal power.”

This house benefits the most from knowing the story of Dr. Oddfellow and his history with Jack The Clown (former HHN icon). Understanding this house represents both of their origin stories (hence the “s” at the end of “origins” in the house’s name) helps to appreciate a few key scenes. This house contained one of my favorite scares (no spoilers, but it involved the aftermath of someone’s head being removed), and at least one of my favorite large scale moments, I think this house ultimately suffered a bit from its reliance on the long standing lore surrounding Dr. Oddfellow and Jack the Clown that average Horror Nights attendees will be unfamiliar with. This house stands alone just fine, and made sense after a brief setup given by our RIP tour guide, though I think the full impact of the house will be lost on most guests.

Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate

“Two warlocks of great power were turned into dragons after trying to take Merlyn’s spellbook. Now you are caught in their epic battle. You must choose a path and a victor.”

Dueling Dragons was super nostalgia for me from start to finish. I’ve mentioned several haunted houses that would benefit from familiarity with the source material, and this one is no different based on how well one remembers the queue for Islands of Adventures’ old roller coaster, Dueling Dragons. Having grown up in the area and visiting that particular queue line extensively over many years, the references and nods all tickled me to no end. Though, it would be unfair of me to not mention that as a criticism just because I did happen to be familiar with the references. Beyond the callbacks, the house featured some incredible set design, using the large indoor soundstage to construct towering castles and such that added to the grandiose nature of the attraction. The paths themselves felt very wide for a typical house and much of the costume design was bright, so I experienced fewer than average scares here. I did like the multiple endings offered in which guests are allowed to choose a final path determining which of the battling warlocks reached Merlin’s book and subsequently whether they or Merlin succeeded. Those wishing for a second hit of the nostalgia have a great reason to revisit.

Yeti: Campground Kills

“You are about to venture into a 1950s campground overrun by huge, menacing yetis who rip apart anyone who gets in their way. You must flee to the ranger tower to escape.”

This was my favorite haunted house of the night. Scary and “campy” (in more ways than one), this house featured all the things I’ve come to love about a good HHN house. It did a good job setting much of the scenery “outdoors”, while still making it feel cramped and claustrophobic. Tight turns and close quarters allowed the massive Yeti creatures plenty of opportunities to come at you from all directions. As a tall guy, I’m particularly susceptible to scares which come from odd angles (above, below, behind) and this house offered several of those moments. I also appreciated the simple premise and storyline which put you right in the action, but still left room for storytelling. Storylines were set up early in the house that paid off later and multiple times. One particular scare I enjoyed had me staring at something just long enough to wonder if it was going to try and scare me or not, and then when it did try to scare me, still succeeding. This is a house not to miss!

The Darkest Deal

“Blues musician Pinestraw Spruce will have to face the music after meeting with The Collector and trading his soul for musical glory. You learn the terrible price of fame.”

At first I was excited about this house due to the fact that it’s obviously based on the real life legend of Robert Johnson. Unfortunately, that premise didn’t really translate to a full house storyline for me and came across a bit muddled in parts. After making a deal with a character named The Collector, (who is definitely not the devil, though he had a contract prop which might have been my favorite prop of the night), Pinestraw Spruce enjoys fame and fortune, although apparently he’s still plagued by devils everywhere he goes. I wasn’t really sure why demons continuously showed up, except that the house has to keep having scares. The house was a little forgettable if I’m being honest, as I’m having a hard time recalling specific set pieces and moments that would have made this house standout.

Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings

“In a Colonial-era village, moon-worshippers witness a blood moon at their fall festival. They take it as a sign to hunt down any non-followers, including you.”

Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings made the best use of its soundstage location offering some of the coolest looking scenery of the whole event. What felt like massive sets and plenty of “outdoor” locations gave the house a lot of openness (which I typically don’t love), but utilized the open sections as basically giant distractions for upcoming scares. The house structure and conceit followed a familiar one for horror nights, in which there really isn’t too much “supernatural” happening, just humans acting insane and doing terrible things, which can be even scarier than things going bump in the night. I particularly enjoyed the storytelling path of the house where even a simple story and setup wrapped back around to conclude itself.

House Rankings:

1. Yeti: Campground Kills
2. The Last of Us
3. Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings
4. Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count
5. Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate
6. Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins
7. Universal Monsters: Unmasked
8. The Exorcist: Believer
9. Stranger Things 4
10. The Darkest Deal

Street Scare Zones

This year, the scare zones as a whole tried something they haven’t done in a while, tying them all together around the main figure of Dr. Oddfellow. I will say, I enjoyed the idea of having Dr. Oddfellow involved in each of them, but it came across a little forced. It felt like the zones were created first, and later they figured out how to put Dr. Oddfellow into them and if he had been removed from them, they’d have worked like any other scare zone from previous events. Heavy humidity also caused fog to sit and not dissipate, which is to be expected for rainy nights and can add and detract to the event. Heavy fog means spookier areas, but too much fog and you literally can’t see anything, defeating the whole purpose. 

TIP: Since he’s involved in each zone, look for Dr. Oddfellow in each. You can recognize him by his trademark outfit and glowing skull cane, but he is also a shapeshifter. So in some zones, the only way to recognize which of the creepies is him is by looking for claw marks on his face, given to him by Jack the Clown during the events of the Dr. Oddfellow house.

Dr. Oddfellow’s Collection of Horror

“Dr. Oddfellow will lure you into Halloween Horror Nights with a promise of immortality. As he lifts the veil on all the horrors to come, you’ll soon realize you may not even survive the night.”

This area is right at the first corner you pass upon entering the park and felt really small and contained. The characters floating about were certainly creepy, but I wondered how much I may have missed not being deeply familiar with the lore of Dr. Oddfellow. Several times I saw a figure and just wondered what was going on with it more than being spooked or startled.

Dark Zodiac

“Dr. Oddfellow has entered a dark dimension to harness the power of the Zodiac and live forever. He twists the signs into malevolent beings who foretell your doom. As his star rises, yours falls.”

Dark Zodiac sits along Hollywood Boulevard, and as such, features wide-open streets, lots of fog, and large set pieces. The characters in the area are dark and twisted interpretations of the classic Zodiac signs. Each character had their zodiac sign glowing on their body, but I will say that even knowing a bit about the Zodiac signs, identifying which was which quickly and in the dark was a little tricky (with the exception of Scorpio who looked amazing!).

TIP: Look up the symbol for your Zodiac sign ahead of time so when you come to the area you can find the character representing your birth month and snag a photo.

Jungle of Doom: Expedition Horror

“In the 1920s, Dr. Oddfellow ventured deep into the darkest jungle, performing horrific experiments on nature. Now his monstrous creations are running amok and are coming after you.”

My favorite part of Jungle of Doom: Expedition Horror was the use of creepy bat eyes filling the trees. This street zone area typically covers the trees in pumpkins, which is a neat effect. While I will miss the pumpkins, the bats were super effective and caused me to look up far too often for someone walking through a street with people trying to scare him.

Vamp ’69: Summer of Blood

“At a ’60s music festival in a small New York town, you’ll jam to popular bands with fellow concert-goers until Dr. Oddfellow unleashes vicious vampires on the audience. They’re out for your blood.”

Vamp ’69: Summer of Blood was my favorite zone due to its amount of scenery, overall length, and variety of spots and situations. Vamp ’69 is the next scare zone in the Vamp series following previous ones set in the ’50s and the ’80s. 

TIP: Since the vampires are of course immortal, there are a couple of specific vamps who come directly from the ’50’s and the ’80s areas. We noticed a distinctly ’80s style mohawk and a ’50s style greaser among the group.

Shipyard 32: Horrors Unhinged

“Enter a 1940s San Francisco shipping yard full of mysterious crates and cages bearing Dr. Oddfellow’s symbol. Beware, his nightmarish oddities have now escaped, spreading fear and chaos in their wake.”

There was a lot to like in Shipyard 32: Horrors Unhinged with many spooky creatures from Halloween Horror Nights past, although knowledge of the previous years wasn’t directly necessary for this zone. If you just understand the monsters you are seeing as strange oddities being shipped in from the world, which had broken loose, the zone is still effective.

Scare Zone Rankings

1. Vamp ’69: Summer of Blood
2. Jungle of Doom: Expedition Horror
3. Shipyard 32: Horrors Unhinged
4. Dark Zodiac
5. Dr. Oddfellow’s Collection of Horror

Food and Drink

Be on the lookout for a review coming later of the food and drinks available at the event, but I wanted to give a special shoutout to my favorites of those I tried: The Left Behind Ravioli, themed creatively around The Last of Us and the Tinseltown Torment bourbon cocktail. Both very tasty and both had me going back for seconds (and maybe thirds).

Everything Else

Based on time and availability this year we weren’t able to experience everything on our media tour. We missed the Nightmare Fuel show, the Death Eaters in Diagon Alley, the roving band of M3gans, and all of the popup experiences located at the hotels. I also didn’t get a chance to check out the Dead Coconut Club in Citywalk this year. Several rides and other attractions are also available during the event, weather and capacity allowing. While I won’t review those specifically, I love that there is so much more that we didn’t even get to experience, meaning there are plenty of reasons to journey back again and again.

Conclusion

This is a  strong year for Halloween Horror Nights delivering the high production values and constant scares that has defined the event in years past. This year really feels like a return to the pre-COVID events I had almost forgotten, but which can definitely still be accomplished. This is a can’t miss year for horror fans, though to get the most out of the event I would suggest familiarizing yourself with some of the intellectual properties and the lore of Halloween Horror Nights itself. I can say for myself, I will definitely be back for more and hopefully will see you in the fog.

Editor’s Note: For a great detailed backstory on many of the houses, check out the Haunted Tales episodes of the Official Discover Universal podcast.

Halloween Horror Nights 2023 runs select nights through Nov. 4 at Universal Orlando. Ticket options range from single night, frequent fear, guided tours, and more. To purchase tickets or for more information visit UniversalOrlando.com. Note: this event may be too intense for some, and is not recommended for children under the age of 13. 

You can also find this review, along with all of our escape room reviews and other haunted attractions on the Morty App. Find it at Morty.app or on your favorite app store.