This past Sunday, both Kathleen Martinez ’23 and I attended Universal Studios annual Halloween Horror Nights.

Despite attending the event with different groups, we were both in for a night of scares, laughs, and oh so much gore.

Kathleen and I took the time to debrief on our respective experiences at the seasonal attraction…

First Impressions…

D.A: I was incredibly nervous as we got there 30 minutes before the monsters began to disperse. We listened to a soundtrack of earie music and clock ticking sounds, anxiously waiting for the freakish creatures to jump scare us. Once the monsters came out, it was go time. Come 7 p.m., ghouls and creatures of the night began pervading the theme park streets, and the arms of my group linked in a matter of seconds.

K.M: I wasn’t too scared because when I went to other scary places, I wasn’t easily scared. But, when I heard there were chainsaws and monsters on stilts, I got a pounding in my heart. My friends started to scare me by saying that the monsters can touch you (which isn’t true), they also said they were going to put me in the front of every maze. Now, I can handle mazes, but only if I can duck and hide in the middle of the group.

Of course, our thoughts on the mazes…

D.A: My group went in six out of the eight mazes offered at HHN’s. The mazes we did included The Horrors of Blumhouse, “Halloween,” Universal Horror Hotel, The Weeknd: “After Hours” Nightmare, Scarecrow: The Reaping, and “Killer Klowns from Outer Space.”

Out of all of them, The Weeknd maze was definitely my favorite. It wasn’t my favorite because of the scare factor—because in all honestly, it wasn’t that scary—but, the design and ambience of the maze was what got me. The entirety of the maze was designed as a trippy, psychedelic walk through the narrative of The Weeknd’s “After Hours” album. I caught myself dancing whilst walking in the maze as the “After Hours” album was constantly radiating in the background.

As for my least favorite, I was not too phased by the Universal Horror Hotel. The haunted hotel trope just seemed far too generic for my liking.

K.M:  I was able to go on all eight mazes in just a few hours. Unlike Daniela, I had a bad experience with The Weeknd maze as it was the first maze I went on, so the line was incredibly long. I should have forced my friends to try a different maze from the moment I heard “Blinded by the Lights” playing on a loop. At first, waiting wasn’t too bad because I am a Weeknd fan but listening to one song on repeat for an hour drove me insane. It’s been a week since I was there, and I believe the song is cemented into my brain— it will not go away. Despite that, the maze wasn’t scary enough for me, I understand that they were trying to remake the scary music video, but the upbeat song kind of defeats the purpose. I got scared a few times, but it was pretty mid to me.

My favorite maze would be “Halloween” because it feels like you are in a horror movie with Michael Myers popping out with a knife in the most unexpected places. It was so scary that my friend, Angelina Sances 23′, screamed and fell on the floor!

Other fun things that happened whilst at the park….

D.A: Prior to going through any mazes, we started our HHN’s adventure with the iconic Terror Tram experience. My group and I fidgeted as we sat in the tram, weaving our way through the hills of Universal. Finally, we arrived at a set where we were greeted by the homicidal Halloween Harry clown. After walking through a backlot filled with clowns equipped with chainsaws, we made our way back onto the tram to the part of the walk through that was inspired by Jordan Peele’s “Us” and “Nope.” The sets were insane, and the scares were a good way to kick off the night.

Aside from the mazes and the Terror Tram, we also went on rides which include Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Jurassic World-The Ride, and Revenge of the Mummy-The Ride. Obviously, “The Mummy” ride NEVER disappoints, and it definitely did not this time as we went on not once but twice! And, I will say the “Jurassic World” ride was also a blast, and the dinosaurs looked far too realistic for my comfort.

Also, it’s not a Universal trip without running into a celebrity. As we were walking, I caught “It” and “Shazam!” star, Jack Dylan Grazer, and his girlfriend Morgan Cohen wandering through “The Simpsons” area of the park. They were both incredibly lovely and hilarious individuals and meeting them really enhanced my HHN’s experience.

K.M: I liked seeing the monsters scare people outside of mazes, it really immerses the guests with the experience. The one thing that I don’t recommend is waiting in line when you need to use the bathroom. I made that rookie mistake and almost peed myself in the maze not only from being scared but also due to my weak bladder.

Another thing I disliked was how big Universal is. There are multiple lots. By the end of the night, I was wandering everywhere looking for a seat, but I got yelled at twice for sitting in the wrong places. Other than that, I felt bad for my friends because anyone who I held on to lost feeling in their arms after me grabbing onto them anytime I saw something remotely scary. Surprisingly, I realized that I like being scared, and I am glad that I got to share those moments with my friends.

Was it really scary/worth it?

DA: I can’t emphasize enough that this trip was SO worth it and also very spooky. I found myself laughing at times rather than shaking with fear, but nonetheless, it was such a fun thing to experience for the first time with my best gal pals.

K.M: Honestly, this was worth it to me. I actually screamed multiple times. It was great because I was able to take a few of my friends and share in the joy and screams together.

Universal or Knotts Scary?

DA: Universal. They’re known for movies, and it shows through the maze design and plots. So, Universal all. The. Way.

K.M: Universal. The mazes are cooler and there are so many different types of mazes. The park does scary in a way I’ve never experienced before.

Although Kathleen and I did not experience HHN’s together, we can collectively agree on the fact that this night was one for the books! HHN’s is going until Oct. 30, 2022, and as we said before, we both highly recommend kicking off or ending the spooky season with a trip out to the horror experience. Tickets and additional info for the experience can be found at www.universalstudioshollywood.com.