Credit: NetflixSpring is just around the corner, and you know what that means – it’s time for Halloween Horror Night speculation.
Alright, sure, maybe some people prefer to garden, clean, and greet the Easter Bunny during this time of year, but those yearning for pumpkins and haunted houses know this is the prime season for information on Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights to be released. Fanmade speculation maps were released as early as January, with predictions morphing as the months have gone by.
This morning, the popular fan account @Hallowed_Horror released their third speculation map of the season so far for the event at Universal Orlando, and while some ideas have stayed constant since January, there are some BIG changes. There are also some key differences between this map and the map from @HNNightmares, one of the more popular maps on Twitter. Let’s break down these predictions.
Starting off with what has stayed the same, the Chucky house (based on the SyFy television series of the same name) is the only confirmed house, having been announced shortly after the closing of last year’s event. With it being announced so quickly, Chucky is rumored to serve as the icon of this year’s event. However, a few other big IPs are also potentially joining the ranks, including The Last of Us, based on the smash hit HBO show (which is, in turn, based on the video game of the same name).
Guests can potentially expect the return of the “Horrors of Blumhouse” house series, this time featuring M3gan (2022) and the Insidious series (perhaps based on the upcoming 2023 film). Additionally, the house may feature the yet untitled Blumhouse sequel to The Exorcist (1971), which is set to be released this year. Some original house concepts have also stayed constant on the map, including Lair of the Banshees, which first served as a scarezone in 2016, and Krampus, which took over the All Hallows Eve Boutique at Islands of Adventure this holiday season. Rumors of a Universal Classic Monsters house starring Dracula and the Phantom of the Opera were already prevalent, but this new map also highlights the possible inclusion of The Invisible Man and the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Let’s get to the newer additions on the map. A big change is the potential of an Evil Dead house, which could be based on the original Sam Raimi horror franchise or the upcoming 2023 spinoff. Other unnamed IPs were also included in the new map, including a Slasher IP and a Mystery IP. The slasher IP has many possibilities; the newest installment in the Scream franchise was just released, although Universal has had trouble securing the rights to the franchise in the past.
As for the “Mystery IP,” many fans speculated a house surrounding the smash hits It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), although this map specifically points to it as NOT being Pennywise. The previously rumored house based on Season 4 of Stranger Things is nowhere to be found on this map, signaling that the concept may have gone to the Upside Down.
As for original concepts, two new ones are included on the map, “Aliens” and “Sweet,” which are new additions. Many speculate that the “Aliens” house will be based on the Invasion! scarezone from 2017, which featured 50s-style aliens. The “Sweet” house is likely pointing towards a house based on the fan-favorite Sweet Revenge scarezone from 2022, which took place at a small town Halloween parade overrun by homicidal trick-or-treaters, fueled by poisoned candy. The zone had a lot of backstory that could be extended in a full house.
What do you think of this speculation map?