Mark your calendars, folks! Halloween Horror Nights is fast approaching with HHN34, and there’s no sign of the times better than their presence at this year’s Spooky Empire convention – where horror creators from across the region gather to celebrate all that goes bump in the night, from huge names in the industry like Universal Orlando Resort to local artists who just love all the guts and gore of the genre! Today, at an exclusive panel held by Universal Orlando Resort featuring industry names like Michael Aiello and Lora Sauls, Halloween Horror Nights got another big announcement: the newest reveal in this year’s lineup.
While Slaughter Sinema 2 was revealed to the public at Spooky Empire this time last year, things have been much quieter where the house announcements for HHN34 have been concerned, and fans have been chomping at the bit for even scraps of information about this year’s event. With recent announcements like HHN’s reveal of Fallout, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and Jason Universe coming to the event, it’s looking more and more like this year’s haunt season is in full swing.
Taking the stage, seven different panelists from Universal Creative’s Halloween Horror Nights team took questions, explained the creative process of building a world-class haunt like Halloween Horror Nights, and even gave guests a sneak peek into what we can expect for this year’s event, with one of the most prominent showings being the reveal of a new house that has officially been added to this year’s house list: El Artista: A Spanish Haunting.
“In 19th Century Spain, a tortured artists moves into an isolated country manor for inspiration, but the art comes alive and possesses him.”
With the visual direction for El Artista coming from the creative mind behind the visual and art direction of famous houses like Dead Man’s Pier: Winter’s Wake and Blood Moon: Dark Offering, El Artista: A Spanish Haunting promises to be a beautiful but haunting house that sucks guests into its story through strong design elements.
Halloween Horror Nights also revealed that the theme of this year’s event will be rooted in gothic horror and visuals as guests are ushered into The Conservatory. Traditionally gothic elements like gargoyles, stained glass murals, and creeping vines in an overgrown and under-cared-for garden will be prevalent themes in the visual design of the HHN34 event. Creatives have gone as far to say that guests “will be hit with these gothic tones and textures as you as you walk into” the event, hinting at another strong year of core design and storytelling that Halloween Horror Nights has become famous for. This theme will be felt all in all scare zones according to Lora Sauls, who stated that the “word of the years is ‘immersive.’ We are immersing you in Horror Nights everywhere you go.”
Check back soon, as we will continue to report on all the details released on this year’s Halloween Horror Nights event. In the meantime, check out Theme Park Shark on your favorite social media platform, like Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and expect to see plenty of scares this season, as well as theme park news from Disney, Universal, and theme parks from all across the world!
