Halloween was always one of the biggest social holidays as a kid. Not only was Trick-or-Treating a massive deal, there were pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and my small hometown Halloween parade was something you put out lawn chairs for saving your seat at least four days in advance. It was a huge deal. When I moved to central Florida, Halloween took a darker turn with my proximity to Halloween Horror Nights- the fall activity I never expected to love.
Now that I’ve moved away, I find myself still yearning for HHN and their haunted houses. My favorites were frequently Universal’s original houses and not based off IP’s. While Universal Orlando did at one time have a Marvel-themed scare zone when HHN was in Islands of Adventure, and several Walking Dead themed houses and scare zones, here are five comics that I think would make great Houses and Zones (and five Horror Night storylines that deserve comic books).
Needs a House: Nailbiter
What would make Nailbiter such a great fit for HHN? Much like how many of HHN’s houses are set in Cary, Ohio, Nailbiter features a list of serial killers all from the same town of Buckeroo, Oregon. Using each room of one of the tents to highlight one of the Buckeroo Butchers would be my option of choice, using Edward Charles “Nailbiter” Warren and FBI agent Nicolas Finch as narrators to tie the threads together.
Needs a Comic: Legendary Truth: The Collective
The Collective investigates the strange happenings at HHN and in Cary, Ohio. Besides the supernatural going ons, the collective also has a history of corruption and manipulation in the organization. A series focusing on their case files and spanning the history of HHN’s pasts would be a super fascinating way to expand the lore and engage guests between HHN seasons. Plus, sprinkling in hints about the plans for the next year’s event would ensure the die-hard HHN Feargoers keep a subscription.
Needs a House: Basketful of Heads
The concept of an axe that decapitates but doesn’t kill the victim and leaves behind sentient severed heads screams “Halloween Horror Nights”. Particularly with the very distinct visual of June’s yellow raincoat, basket and the “swing scare” potential for an axe, Basketful of Heads would fit right into the Fast and Furious location close to the lagoon to emulate the comic’s island setting.
Needs a Comic: Dead Man’s Pier
This year’s house sequel to 2016’s Dead Man’s Warf Scare Zone was a very welcome and exciting choice for this year’s HHN. Dead Man’s Warf was one of my favorite scare zones in 2016, with many of my friends involved in it. The response to the sequel and the return of this plot shows just how much more there is to explore. Using The Fisherman’s Sonata and Sophia as the starting point for story development would help tie in and flesh out the transition from Scare Zone to House.
Needs a House: Something is Killing the Children
Yes, we know. I love Something is Killing the Children. I’m the most excited for the Netflix adaptation (which still seems to be going ahead without Mike Flanagan, so a bit of a bummer to lose him, but it’s not shelved!!). But after seeing the passion involved in the Stranger Things houses, I think that another Netflix series tie-in with Something is Killing the Children would be an incredible fit for the tents near ET and the KidZone. Creepy forest and Creepy Kids.
Needs a Comic: The Lantern
HHN 20 introduced Fear as the entity pulling the strings. Besides being investigated by the Collective, Fear had imprisoned the Icons of Horror Nights past in his Lantern of Evil. While this story was a little convoluted and not as fleshed out as it could have been that season, it seems primed for a limited series that explains the origins of the lantern, how Universal got hands on it, and whether or not Icon Bloody Mary had anything to do with releasing the evil it contained in the park.
Needs a House: Ice Cream Man
The HHN style of house lends itself really nicely to connected anthology series like Ice Cream Man since the story telling takes place over multiple rooms. Often, the houses of Intellectual properties will feature multiple movies for one or two of the houses each year. This same practice could be used to tie in the different stories in any of the Ice Cream Man volumes. Changes in design and fear tactics from story to story, tied in with the looming eerie smile of the ice cream man would be great for a soundstage like Soundstage 24, setting up one last jumpscare from a boo hole by the titular character.
Needs a Comic: Vamp ’55
Hands down the best scare zone I ever had the chance to be chased through, Vamp ’55 has legions of fans and a multitude of story opportunities to be expanded on in the comics. You could even tie in the later Vamp scare zone, but I can picture Vamp ’55’s iconic teacher character on the cover of an issue that would fly off the shelves because it’s just a solid, compelling creepy story idea.
Needs a House: I Hate This Place
This new title in 2022 has a little of everything. There are aliens, monsters, ghosts, guns, and cows. There’s nothing more an HHN house needs. With so many different ways to cast and fill the house, plus great opportunities for light and sound effects, I Hate This Place has the potential to have guests leaving the Men in Black tent grinning or repeating the house and comic title.
Needs a Comic: Jack the Clown and Chance
Look, if we’re talking at all about HHN, Jack and Chance are going to be on the list. While there are Joker/ Harley/ Punchline similarities, Jack and Chance are both so wild and crazy that giving them the comic background and fleshing them out for the rest of pop culture could be one of the wisest choices Universal needs to do to take Halloween Horror Nights from a theme park tourist event to pop culture phenomena.
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