I doubt there’s anyone who’s a bigger Halloween fan than me. I celebrate it year-round. I’m constantly in a casual witch costume. Every year, I can’t wait to bust out the pumpkins, candies, and spooky movies.
However, there is one tradition of mine I love more than most, and that’s going to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando. I’ve been going since I was about 12, and my love for the artistry, craftsmanship, and storytelling throughout the event grows more and more every year.
This year was no different, and I went earlier than usual because I couldn’t contain my excitement.
Since October is right around the corner, I decided to rank the houses from my least to most favorite! With that being said, here is my honest review and ranking of every Halloween Horror Nights ’24 house:
- Triplets of terror
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Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to this house for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that this house was meant to be a different story and was cobbled together at the last minute. Secondly, I had two friends tell me it was an absolute skip, both story and scare-wise. Lastly, it depicts harm to an animal, which is a severe dealbreaker for me.
- The Museum: Deadly Exhibit
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The only reason this house isn’t dead last is because, unlike the previous one, I actually went through it. I just felt that everything about this house, from the facade to the scares to the sound mixing, was just blah. I also found that the house itself was confusing. Was the “evil” a monster, a disease, or a deity? Why not make the items and exhibits in the museum become twisted versions of themselves? I feel like they could have done much more with this house.
I only recommend going through this house to kill some time or if you’ve already done the rest of the houses.
- A Quiet Place
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While I am a fan of the animatronics and puppets that went into this house, I would have loved to have seen the HHN team incorporate sound into this house. It’s a complaint I also had during last year’s house, “The Last of Us.” If the intellectual property you’re adapting a house for relies on silence for tension, why not make the scares so horrifying that they force the groups walking through to have to scream? I expected a lot more innovation from this house and felt it was just meh compared to the movie.
- Goblins Feast
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With a name like that, I wasn’t surprised to find out that this was one of the “silly” houses of the year. While the sets and Goblin King puppet at the end were cool to look at, there wasn’t anything all that scary about invading a goblin Thanksgiving, and the “blood-thirsty” goblins were more funny than terrifying with their over-the-top masks and jump-scares.
- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
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Here is where the houses start to get good. While no doubt on the sillier side, Ghostbusters gains more points on its set design and the inclusion of classic and new ghosts from the series, like Slimer and the adorable Mini Stay-Puft Marshmallow men. However, this is definitely the house for people who enjoy a good laugh over a good scare.
- Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines
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This house felt like a scarier, grown-up Monster High with its “daughter of Universal Monsters” storyline. And boy, is there a storyline. I actually had to look it up for this piece as I genuinely struggled to follow along with the narration amongst the screaming, jump-scares, and (although beautiful) soundtrack playing in the back.
However, the sets, costuming, and makeup were freaky fierce and made up for the difficulty in understanding the story by having cool she-wolves, vampiresses, and mummy princesses.
- Major Sweets Candy Factory
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This one strikes high on my list for two main reasons: it’s a prequel to one of my favorite scare zones in HHN history, and it is incredibly interactive. There are multiple ways to set off effects and scares in the house, so be on the lookout for bright red buttons that, yes, you can push.
Being a prequel to HHN 31’s Sweet Revenge scare zone, this house shows off how the factory gave kids more than just a sugar rush. It features multiple scare actors skillfully interacting with the environment to add to the scary experience.
- Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America
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This was the first house of the night, and it definitely set the bar. The story is big in this house, so I recommend paying attention to the paintings between sets as they set up the “monster” featured in the next couple of rooms. Speaking of which, the titular Monstrous had incredible makeup, props, and prosthetics that made them not only scary but cool to look at.
- Slaughter Sinema 2
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While not particularly scary and even a bit silly at times, you can tell the team behind it had a lot of fun. Every “movie” that you walk through is not only so creative but also a great homage to the drive-in era the house is inspired by.
Again, the house isn’t terrifying, but it is more environmental and creative with its scares, using fog, water, and hidden spaces to startle rather than straight-up terrorize—special shoutout to the mummy strippers who broke character and laughed when we started dancing instead of screaming.
- Insidious: The Further
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This house has the unique honor of really scaring me, along with only two others in the history of my time attending HHN. I got scared multiple times in this house, and if I could only do one house the next time I visit, it would be this one. The sets innovatively use space and scale to make you feel like you’re in an entirely different realm, with innovative scares and sound usage that makes your skin crawl before you jump.
I highly recommend attending Halloween Horror Nights ’24 and experiencing each house yourself! While this was how I chose to rank every house, others may rank them entirely differently.
There is only one way to find out, though: by going into each house and seeing how scary they truly are.