Hey all I know I haven't been on in... well years. But that's mostly as I didn't go to HHN.
It was cost prohibitive, my podcast, and I had a small child. Such is life. I wasn't even planning on going after I saw the express pass prices this year. But I changed my mind and am glad I did.
My daughter is seven now, so we decided to go as a family and it was a complete blast.
First a little background to anyone asking who this joker is:
Well, I was a die hard HHN fan for the first 25 years. (26 th was kind of shaky and my last year)
I was a moderator on this site, HHN rumors, and the vault back in the day. (I even designed the shirt for HNN at one point.)
Yeah I was there for the 2005 scavager hunt, the 2008 LT craziness, the 21 tweet up. In fact I went to Fright Nights and every year religiously (mins 2004 because of the hurricane).
So, I don't need a witch's broom to tell which way the wind is blowing.
I'll be honest. Burn out hit me hard. Crowds, rising prices, TWD, being a new dad, and just life. I was way too obsessed with the event and the break was a welcomed respite.
Long story short I was a whiny fanboy, now I'm not, and I went into this year's event nearly blind. I haven't followed it with any interest since 2015. SO in this review I will refer to houses how I remember them. I know they have like 18 word titles with tag lines and yeah... I don't care. I didn't even look at a map other than to figure out where the next house was.
Well let's begin.
I went Saturday 9/11
We did the Stay and Scream in NY. I'd Say Finnigan's but, well, its so much bigger than that now. I haven't gone since the years of the AP party and I honestly think the Stay and Scream was a better option.
Our first stop was
Texas Chainsaw
10 min wait - no posted time
Decent house. Done to Death but still very detailed and good scares.
7 out of 10
Next was
Bride
15 min wait - no posted time.
Meh... My least anticipated and it was exactly what I thought. Nicely detailed but the story was confusing. The entoruage had a good time so that's all I can ask for.
6 out of 10
The park was starting to open at this point an we headed straight for the only other open house
ICONS
15 min wait - Posted 25 min wait
Top notch. Great scares. Great scenes. Just an all around great house. My daughter says it was her favorite house.
9 out of 10
Left the queue and immediatly went to
Toothfairy
20 min wait - 25 min posted
Really neat sets and story. Good solid house .
That smell at the end smelled like a giant catbox. really putrid.
9 out of 10
Headed through Seek and Destory and the scareactors were on point. Some great interactions with everyone. Didn't really get the theme.
Picked up a drink, bathroom and then Crypt TV
Nice set pieces. Pretty low on scares but got some good photo ops. I don't know the show (I know, sacrilege being a horror podcast) but the creatures looked cool. It was still light so not counting that against it.
Next house was
Scarey
20 min wait - Posted 35 min wait
Oh the scares! Oh the Nostalgia! such a good house. one of the best!
10 out of 10
Another bathroom and drink break right into
Wicked Growth
35 min wait - 35 min posted wait
THE HOUSE OF THE YEAR. Just the most amazing house. Fantastic scares. I would wear every smell it that house! The set pieces were really cool. The whole house exudes Halloween and the ending is perfect.
10 out of 10
Bathroom (Hey it was a large group) Drink and into
Puppets
60 min wait - 35 min posted
Oof brutal wait! Beautiful facade. House was really good. BABY POWDER! Had a Hello puppets meets Dead Silence kinda vibe I really digged. Good solid house.
9 out of 10
We did the routine and headed to
Beetlejuice
30 min wait - 55 min posted
Great detailed house. Not scary but didn't expect it to be. I was really nice to go through the movie. The face masks were distracting in this house.
8 out of 10
Twisted taters (premade... very disapointing. No napkins. No condimants. No salt an vinegar), bathroom drink. Rinse wash repeat.
Right to
Hill House
15 min wait - 45 min posted
Again top notch house. Really great scares. Great ambience.
9 out of 10
You know the drill... (not the drill!) then through HHN 15 scarezone.
So very disapointed. It looked amazing but zero attempts to scare. Was my most highly anticipated scarezone. Really just wasn't happening when we went through though.
Also, Why is worm tounge hanging? I thought it would be a scarifice live show.
Straight to Hacktion
Finally some scareactors in the streets again! Funny. Scary. Good sets. Good times!
LT
20 min wait - 15 min posted
I really didn't know what to expect with this. Turned out a great house. Love the pulpy noir (nocturne) vibe. Wasn't even expecting to hit this house but it turned out to be a really great walk through.
9 out of 10
At this we were done. Went back through NY. (Still no idea what the theme was but the scares were even better)
Tribute store. Picked up some stuff. Saw the line and promptly it all back.
Headed through the HHN 30 scare zone. Seemed to be winding down but some nice photo ops.
Gift store and out the gate by 1:30. Closed at 2:00.
My entire party of 7 had a fantastic time with no express pass. Which completely shocked me. I dare say the best year I've been to since.... 2008? I dunno but such a great time. My daughter is hooked and wants to go next year. We are doing both Howl o Screams as wels but (maybe petrified forest), if we end up going to HHN next year we will probably forgo the others and do rush of fear or something. Relly no bad houses and I can probably chock up the scarezones to covid and just bad timing.
Well back to the shadows to work on the podcast. Now I've seen what HHN is like now, who knows, maybe I'll be more active in the future. Yeah no promises
As always: Be creative, stay Spooky, and spook on!
