For 2021 Universal has 10 haunted houses to enjoy. Due to Covid there are some modifications in the houses which include plexiglass and all the scare actors must wear face masks. I have heard many people say that the plexiglass might take away some of the scare factor but it didn’t for us. Some places it was only a small portion that was covered so the actors could still reach out and move around. Also not all locations with plexiglass had actors jumping out. As far as the masks this was well incorporated into the characters and was sometimes in the form or latex or full face mask as well as decorated cloth ones. We heard plenty of people still being scared and the girls had a few scares too.
The bride of Frankenstein lives
This house was also open in 2020 for the modified HHN season. Like the house name says the house centers around the bride of Frankenstein. After Frankenstein dies the bride tries to bring him back by rebuilding him. You get to see some of the other monsters as you walk through like the swamp thing. None of our group cared for this house as it was loud with high pitched noise.
Revenge of the tooth fairy
This was the other house that was open during 2020 but like BoF they tweaked it this year making it better. The story line asks the question of what happens when a child does not want to give up a lost tooth. As you walk through the beginning its like being in a pop-up story book. My older girls really liked this house last year but I had to miss out since I had the little one so I was excited to finally go through this year and I enjoyed it. This house is a little on the loud side but there is so much to look at its easy to ignore.
The Texas chainsaw massacre
If you are familiar with the movie of the same title you already know the plot of this house. You are taking down to Texas into the house of the Sawyer family. If you don’t like chainsaws then best skip this house as its full of them. I had to do this house alone as the kids were nervous knowing many of the scare actors would be wielding chainsaws which my oldest doesn’t care for.
HHN Icons captured
This house has some of the past HHN icons including Jack the clown from this year. The dead characters area themed to each room including a casino night and movie theater complete with concessions. I am not sure how I feel about this one, I want to like it but it was missing something. The girls didn’t care for it because it was dark and foggy.
Case files unearthed legendary truth
This house has a 1950’s detective vibe as he investigates a possible alien invasion. The house is narrated throughout by the private investigator and the music and ambience is perfect for theme. We liked this house but had to do it twice to really get the whole story as it can get dark in some spots.
Beetlejuice
Inspired by the cult favorite this house was our 1st stop since we missed getting to go through the few days it was around last year. Our family loves Beetlejuice both the movie and the Broadway musical version. This is about the most mild house out of the 10 but still had a few jump scares thrown in. It was like being in the scenes of the film but since this was such a popular house we were rushed through so it was hard to take it all in. For those to nervous to go through the house but still like the film be sure to stop in the store near the entrance of the park to see some props from the movie.
The haunting of Hill house
This house was inspired by the Netflix series of the same name. While we had never watched the show I knew of it and this was one of the houses we made sure to do first. If you have watched the series you will enjoy this as the scenes from the show are brought to life. For those, like us that had not seen the show you will still enjoy the house regardless. This was for sure one of our favorites this year and inspired me to go and watch the show. For fans you should make plans to visit this one more than once because there are details I missed the 1st run through.
Puppet theater captive audience
This abandoned theater is home to a puppeteer and ballet troupe. When Universal finally shared all the house themes for this year the description of this one caught our attention and this was one of the houses we were excited for. Unfortunately it did not live up to the hype. The house was so dark and full of fog you couldn’t see anything and it was so loud with ambient music/screams you couldn’t hear what the actors were saying.
The wicked growth realm of the pumpkin
This house centers around revenge of the pumpkins and is the perfect story for Halloween. This was probably the scariest house we went through as other guest were getting scared from the plain clothed staff in addition to the scare actors. The setting reminds me of an old farm house. The scares come from all directions so be sure to look up and down while strolling through and look for the pumpkin lord you wont be disappointed.
Welcome to Scarey horror in the heartland
Our last house takes place in Carey a small town in Ohio. I think this was my least favorite house this year. This had such a fun name and Universal could have done something amazing but the theming here was disappointing. The whole time we walked through I wasn’t sure if what was hiding was supposed to be aliens, mutants or generic monsters. The girls didn’t care for this house just because it was dark and hard to navigate but the scares were subpar. I will say the only positive was the sets looked cool.