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HAUNTED. Gift shops at Halloween Horror Nights feed horror junkies thirst for evil. photo/LIZZY GORDON

By LIZZY GORDON

As one enters the gates to Halloween Horror Nights, a zombie covered in blood, wearing tattered clothes, greets him. The stench of dead bodies fills foggy streets that are crawling with zombies.

Universal Studios streets resemble the set of  The Walking Dead. Zombies roam the streets freely, earning the name “walkers.” They’ve spared no expense ensuring that zombies come across blood-thirsty and horrific. Unlike years past, there are no safe zones.

Walkers aren’t the only things that haunt the streets of Universal. A chainsaw drill team marches down streets, covered in blood and ready to scare unsuspecting guests.

Universal litters the streets with most iconic scenes from The Walking Dead. One can spot the survivor camp in the midst of all the horror. Fumes that resemble the smell of rotting flesh fill the select streets bring prominent scenes to life.

In celebrating their 23rd year, HHN brings evil to life in eight haunted houses. According to Mike Aiello, the Assistant Director of Creative Development for Art in Design,  Cabin In the Woods is the scariest house. The house resembles the movie set down to the tee. Aiello takes pride in this house because it is an enlarged replica of the actual cabin in the woods.

Other houses include Resident Evil: Escape form Raccoon City, An American Werewolf in London, Evil Dead, Havoc 2: Detailed, Afterlife: Death’s Vengeance, La Llorana and The Walking Dead: No Save Haven.

Resident Evil is one of the most successful video gaming franchises of all time. This house submerges guests into a haunted story line of no return. While walking through the house, one is met by Resident Evil and must fight to make it through each scene alive. Guests become the “scareactors” target as they enter open rooms; this increases the scare factor of the house.

The houses are based on movies, urban legends, television shows and original Universal ideas. Each house is comprised of about 50 actors.

HHN runs on select nights until Nov. 2. To find the schedule click here. General admission for a single night is $91.99. Horror junkies can invest in Frequent Fear passes for $83.99; these passes warrant  admission to 15 nights of horror on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday event nights. To buy tickets click here.

 

The 411

Event: Halloween Horror Nights

Dates: Thursday-Sunday until Nov. 2

Cost: Frequent Fear Pass $83.99 , General Admission $91.99

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Note: No safe zones

 

By Elizabeth Gordon

I am the Editor-in-Chief of hilights and will be attending University of Central Florida in the fall.

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