HHN 31 is in full swing. This year they have a total of 10 houses. There are 4 houses that are based off well know movies and music and the other 6 are all original houses.
This house is themed after the movie franchise Halloween featuring bad guy Michael Myers. Part of your walk is through the house and Michael jumps out at you countless times. If you like the movies you will enjoy this house otherwise it’s not the greatest. The scares were minimal and was hard to see especially towards the end.
Descendants of Destruction takes place in an abandoned NY subway station. Filled with mutants waiting to dine on humans who wonder through. Not sure if we just went through at an off time but there were not too many scares in this house. The latter half was filled with really cool illuminated mushrooms giving you the illusion of a toxic chemical spill. Make sure to take in all the scenery including above you.
Spirits of the Coven house you enter into a 1920 speakeasy full of flapper witches. This was one of the original houses that I though was going to be really cool based on the description but it fell short. This house was really crowded and the line kept stopping so we had a chance to really look around and the sets were ok, but the scares could have been better.
The horrors of Blumhouse is actually 2 separate houses in in 1. Both are based off of Blumhouse horror films. First is Freaky, the movie is like a twisted take on Freaky Friday where a teen girl changes bodies with a serial killer. Having seen the film makes your walk through this house better because there really aren’t many scares in this half but there are fun scenes from the movie. The 2nd half is Black phone a film about a kidnapper named the grabber who has a ton of jump scares in this house and the black phone from the kidnapper’s basement is found multiple times throughout.
The Fiesta de Chupacabra’s was the house that we all agreed we really wanted to do this year. The sweet abuela welcoming you into the house is not the normal scares we’ve come to expect. In the house you walk through a small village in Latin America, the buildings have graffiti in Spanish warning visitors of the beast. This house was really fun, they used a lot of furry puppets for the Chupacabra that would pop out to scare guest but were almost more cute than scary to my girls.
Dead man’s pier: winters wake is hands down my favorite house this year. The scenery inside this house is gorgeous, meant to appear like a New England fishing village. This house is said to be a prequel to the Dead man’s wharf scare zone from HHN26. In addition to the set the other reason I love this house is how immersive it is. The temperature inside is kept chilly and there is a light mist as you walk through giving the feeling of being near the water. The house is filled with undead fishermen and if you listen closely, you might hear the siren playing the violin.
Bugs eaten alive is one that could either be very scary or just cheesy fun depending on how you feel about bugs. The setting takes place in a 1950s home of the future where they feature a new bug repellent, but things have gone awry. We loved this house, for us it was like a b-rated horror movie. The great thing about this house comes from scares other than actors jumping. Beware you may get a little wet walking through. For those who are terrified of bugs rest easy there are no actual live bugs in the house, but you will have the sounds and sensations that you are surrounded by them.
The Weekend: After house nightmare is based on the singers After hours videos. This house was getting a lot of negative opinions when Universal first shared this was one of the main houses but changed their tune once actually experiencing the house. The girls had this on their must do list because they enjoy the Weekends music. The house itself was fun and drew from the music videos. The queue for this house was also fun because they played the album while waiting and we were all singing along. For those wondering if there is a mirror maze like his super bowl show there is a small section, but it was easy to navigate.
The Hellblock Horror house takes place inside of a prison, but the prisoners are monsters. The scenery here is subpar and the scares were predictable. We were very disappointed in this house and agreed it was the worst this year. But don’t let that deter you from going through.
Universal Monsters: Legends collide is the feature house this year. The house takes 3 famous monsters Dracula, Wolfman and the Mummy and places them in a house for the ultimate battle. When Universal released the descriptions of this year’s houses, I had placed this one low on my list but I was wrong. The storyline of the house is only so-so but this house is great due to the scenery alone. There are giant Egyptian statues, and the sets are movie screen quality. I have heard there are different winners at the end but we only saw the same 1 monster.