We’re getting closer and closer to Halloween Horror Nights, and Universal Orlando has continued to announce new scarezones; this week, a new toxic-waste and mutation themed scarezone was announced, along with the return of the fictional company Buzzcon that made its debut a few years ago, at HHN32.
The 2025 Scarezone
On Thursday morning, Universal Orlando Resort announced one of the newest Scarezones for HHN34. One of the most recent entries in a long string of scarezone announcements, this new concept would feel right at home in the streets of New York, and follows other heavy-hitter concepts like Origins of Horror and Masquerade: Dance with Death. The new scarezone, titled Mutations: Toxic Twenties, plunges guests into a toxic wasteland created by Buzzcon after a failed waste disposal job.
“In a 1920s neighborhood, a BuzzCon truck with radioactive cargo crashes into a mobster getaway car sending the city into toxic pandemonium.”
This new scarezone, which already holds a lot of potential, promises a lot of gory mutation effects and excellent scares – especially if coupled with heavy fog effect, considering the inclusion of the Buzzcon name; but for those unfamiliar with previous years’ events or who may not deep-dive into the lore of HHN like some of us (guilty as charged) this announcement bugs the question: What is Buzzcon, and why is its involvement in this scarezone such a big deal?
The Buzzcon Background
In 2022, Halloween Horror Nights featured ten haunted houses – one of which was Bugs: Eaten Alive; a comedy house for that year that took guests through an apocalyptic 1950s nightmare of overgrown bugs that have mutated into monsters that you’re not going to be able to swat with a newspaper.
“While touring a 1950s home of the future, you’ll be swarmed by hordes of revolting insects as they worm their way into your deepest fears, growing and mutating into unimaginable horrors.”
The hook of this house was that the Extermin-Air AC unit that Buzzcon was selling as the centralized air unit of the future; the house you toured was fitted with proprietary Buzzcon technology, which was supposed to act as a pesticide and keep your home bug-free; instead, something went catastrophically wrong, and the faulty Buzzcon system mutated the bugs instead, leading to a manic infestation that claimed lives.
Universal Discover Podcast even released a Haunted Tales for this house in the run-up to the 2022 event, which those interested in the official lore of Buzzcon and Bugs: Eaten Alive can listen to below:
Why Does Any Of This Matter?
For fans of Halloween Horror Nights – or really, anyone who has attended the event more than a few years in a row – may be aware that some houses, characters, and concepts have become enshrines in Halloween Horror Nights lore. Recurring concepts like Carey, Ohio, or house franchises like the Nightingales can feel like distant, almost forgotten spooks and specters with the whirlwind of new concepts that are constantly coming out of Halloween Horror Nights. Anyone here remember H.R. Bloodengutz?
But those with a keen eye in recent years may have been able to spot a new generation of lore that is cementing itself in the mythos of Halloween Horror Nights, and the stories that this event tells. We have been given characters like Major Sweets, who made his debut in a 2022 scarezone Sweet Revenge and then went on to command his own haunted house in 2024 with Major Sweets: Candy Factory; or fictitious companies like Buzzcon, who seems to be coming back full-force this year with this toxic terror.
While no one out there is going to forget about Carey, Ohio anytime soon, it’s exciting to see this new generation of mythos take shape as Universal’s creative team concentrates on select horror concepts that can then be expanded upon. It’s this kind of attention to detail that makes the mythos and the world of Halloween Horror Nights as rich and engaging as it is.
Check Back Soon with Theme Park Shark
Check back soon, as Theme Park Shark will continue to report on all the details released on this year’s Halloween Horror Nights event, including food, merch, scarezones, and house rankings. 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!
