My Overall HHN Rankings!
House Rankings:
10). Jason Universe - what can I say? I’m deeply upset that this house is at the very bottom for me. This was my most hyped house and after opening weekend . . . it just couldn’t deliver. I think what ruined it for me was when the creative team lead to believe that this house is 10x more scarier that Insidious from HHN 33. Every run I had throughout this season was a dud. It was either that the group in front of me got the scares, or it was the group behind me.
9). Fallout - I never watched the show, except for a few bits people have posted on TikTok or YouTube. But I do remember playing the video games when I was younger and I was a little excited. But this house was your typical book report of a popular IP. But I still enjoyed this house and the cast did a great job trying different things.
8). Five Nights at Freddy’s - I was skeptical of this house. I already had an idea that this house wouldn’t be scary and would cater more to its younger audiences. However, this house did have a few surprises for me. Every few times I would get a good jump scare, and I was surprised that the animatronic puppets did have some good motions. I thought it was really cool how the second I stepped inside, it smelled like a Chuck E Cheese from my childhood. My only complaint is that I thought it would’ve been better if they had more scare actors that weren’t the Ghost Children.
7). Dolls: Let’s Play Dead - at first this house was ranked in my top five, but as this season went on, the further it went down. When they announced this, it reminded of Dollhouse of the Damned from HHN 24 and I was really excited. I still think this house is creepy in a disturbing way, don’t get me wrong. I loved how as you walked through the house you get to see the poor rat’s fate, each room gets more disturbing, and the poor mutilated toys. As the event continued, each walk through felt more and more less staffed.
6). Grave of Flesh - probably one of the most interesting concepts for a house. It’s the never ending question of “what happens after we die?” Not what I was expecting, that’s for sure. I think where this house suffered the most was the lack of a clear story. Some scenes were confusing and didn’t really make any sense. Their costumes were very creepy, disturbing and scary! it wasn’t until after I heard the deeper backstory of the house how it somewhat made more sense.
5). Galkin: Monsters of the North - I loved the costumes and set design, reminded me a lot of Goblin’s Feast and Dueling Dragons! The scares in this house are very vicious, loud and intense. Almost every scare I’ve gotten I’ve been swiped at or they would get right in my face. Very impressed with this house.
4). Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters - This house was very intense, very dark, and very scary. I haven’t been through a house that has given me many jumps, screams and scares since ScareCrow back in 2017! This house also reminded me a lot of In The Between from HHN 21/ 2011 with the demons having the glow in the dark costumes that glow in the fluorescent light when exposing themselves to scare us!
3). WWE: The Horrors of The Wyatt Sicks - I have no knowledge of WWE and I have little interest in it. But what I believe that made this house really cool for me was that in my friend group I have friends that are huge WWE fans that explained to me the backstory of who are the Wyatt Sicks. Cool scares and these guys were huge!
2). El Artista: A Spanish Haunting - This house is like if you took Disneyland’s/ WDW’s Haunted Mansion, The Haunting of Hill House, a classic Halloween haunted house, and Spanish seasonings and ended up with El Artista. The scares are pretty good and I loved the special effects. I really loved how when you first walk into the house, you feel a dark presence and it follows you throughout the house. I still believe that the artist, Sergio Navarro, is the icon for this year’s event!
1). Terrifier - Wow! Just wow! HHN delivered! We’ve begged them to bring this killer funny clown to life and they did! A blend of scares, laughs, blood and poop, this house was really a vibe! Loved all the scare actors that played every character! I really loved at the end how if you chose the “wet” path, Art cheered and laughed at us in pleasure, and seemed angry or sad for those that played it safe with the dry path.
Scare Zones and Street Experiences:
6). Mel’s Die-In Zombies - I did like the scare actors commitment into their roles as zombies, but this area felt very last minute. I didn’t like how I think per cast only 2 actually were on roller skates. Although I understand with crowding from people it could’ve been way worse, but I would think more would’ve been on skates.
5). Masquerade: Dance With Death - this scare zone was very cool, but I couldn’t really enjoy it. I was always walking through this zone and not really stopping to enjoy it. I thought the music was a bit too slow, too masquerade forward, just boring. I wish though they could’ve explored with using different vampires from different eras rather than all of them being the same.
4). Mutations: Toxic Twenties - this zone was way better than the renaissance one from last year. I really enjoyed the sets and the many different characters we could bump into here, from the normal people, to the infected, to the hideously mutated. But for some weird reason, this zone to me also felt empty with scare actors.
3). Club Horror - didn’t think I was going to like this experience, but I was proven wrong! Really fun and it was cool to unwind and relax in this area before going to the next wave of houses. I did wish that maybe they could switch up the dancers by incorporating male dancers or maybe having a few roaming actors with the same weapons just walking around the zone seeking out victims. But I hope they bring this back next year!
2). The Origins of Horror - I know this is just your typical table of contents for what’s to come, but I very much enjoyed walking through this zone. Thank god they finally extended the zone all throughout the “Minions Land” area again! Felt like old HHN again. I did love how it felt like you were walking through a crypt or graveyard with the statues and cemetery architecture. I also liked how they kept adding different characters into the zone, the crows were the best in my opinion.
1). The Cat Lady of Crooked Lane - it’s no brainer as to why this zone was zone of the year! It’s a perfect blend of creepy and Halloween. The pumpkins in the trees returned to glory and made this zone just more awesome! For someone who hates cats, I always felt uncomfortable in a good way walking through this zone. The cats reminded me of the Werecats from Scooby Doo on Zombie Island!
Shows:
2). Nightmare Fuel - was skeptical when they announced the circus theme was coming back. And I wasn’t too pleased with the show. Not saying that what the performers do was boring or lackluster, they’re amazing at what they do, I just didn’t care for it this year. I’m still bitter that they still didn’t think to do Circus by Britney Spears, but other than that I just felt that the music choice this year wasn’t that good.
1). Haunt-O-Phonic: A Ghoulish Journey- the water show returns to HHN! Finally!!! I was very happy and excited to see this show return! My only complaint is that it felt very similar to the version we had back in 2023 and I wish they would’ve used some of the iconic music from each of the IP’s this year.