I realized a little while back that I never actually posted my final experience at HHN33 here. I've wanted to fix that for a moment, so here we are.
I decided on Insidious for the final house of the event. It was one of the very few that year that really delivered for me. It felt long, had some really great sets, and some of the most intense scare performances I had ever seen. Definitely a highlight, and as the seeming headliner of the event, I thought it was the right call.
My sister had decided to close out Slaughter 2 with friends. They cheered for all of the performers as they went through, and watched them pour out of the tent at the end. That's always such a fun time when closing those Tent / Parade Building locations. They got out way before me. Most of the crowds had left by that part of the night. It was only about 10-15 minutes after park close that they were heading towards the exit of USF. Most houses had under a 20 minute wait, but in actuality, were much closer to 5-10 minutes.
I had counted while I was in line. I was one of the last 50 people to experience Insidious, and effectively, anything at HHN33. Insidious kept a decent wait into that final hour. It was probably about 40 minutes in total.
The exit to Insidious was adjacent to the exit of another house. Triplets of Terror wasn't well-recieved by the vast majority of eventgoers. In the lead-up, everyone thought of it as a legally distinct FNAF or a strange Rob Zombie-esque original that didn't really appeal. I wasn't a huge fan myself, admittedly. It had a very short wait-time at that part of the night. Maybe the shortest across the entire event.
I entered the line right at 1:59AM, and around the same time, I saw a notable group walk past in the queue next door. Not a huge group, but a solid number of people overall. Their passion was what I immediately clocked. It was a group of Triplets fans there to say goodbye. Numerous hand-made costumes and props, loud conversations and jokes, and just a palpable excitement to give their favorite house a proper send-off.
From my spot in the Insidious queue, I saw them walk all the way to the house entrance, do their thing, and once they've exited, they all huddle together and celebrate. They cheer and joke and hug. They take pictures. They visibly thank the Ops crew. They wrap up, and joyfully, maybe tearfully, begin to walk back to the front.
They did end up being the final guests in Triplets; and essentially the only ones there
for Triplets. If they hadn't shown, that house might've ended empty.
My run of Insidious was fine. Not an especially memorable run. I cheered for the performers as always. But the whole experience just felt .. bemused. There was a short burst of cheers when Cast A walked out for the last time while in line, but mostly, the crowds there were kinda just ... there. The final guests walked out of HHN33 with a vibe of "Cool! I'm ready to go now." and I think it does speak to a larger issue with that event, especially compared to the
much bigger reception given to both headliners and cult hits the following event year.
I met up with my sister again. They let me know Insidous was the last house to close, and that they'd been hanging out for a bit.
Despite that weariness from my Insidious run, I'll never forget the relentless passion that group had for a house that no one else seemed to resonate with. They had so much more energy and love for Triplets than I had seen given for
anything that event season. And honestly, I really love thinking back on that.
I start these threads with the idea that some of my favorite memories are from the closing nights of each event, and even if it wasn't one I was directly a part of, I appreciated seeing that passion a ton. I love that such a strange house resonated with a group so much; and I love that that love was made clear to the performers and Ops crew working tirelessly within it. It was a really sweet memory closing out a sour year.
Shoutout to
@HHN Maddux.
