mystiquephreeq

I think I'd have to disagree, and it is one of the reasons I feel the asylum trope is important. Historical asylums had really dark realities. There are really dark realities still occurring. These dark realities aren't and weren't being perpetuated by patients, but by the doctors. Asylum tropes usually depict the historical horrors that were done to patients. Laypeople need to be confronted with these horrors. We are doomed to repeat the past if we ignore it. Horror has always been a medium used to broach uncomfortable and taboo topics. If we don't talk about it, we can't learn from it. Instead of banning or boycotting asylum tropes, they need to be used as a platform to hold us accountable for our collective history. We cannot remove the stigma related to mental health issues, if we ignore how poorly we have treated them in the past.

I'm currently struggling with my brain, but I'll answer this the best I can: Interstellar Terror had a crew that was infected and driven mad by a alien artifact. The scares were the infected crew. The Hallow had several traditional Halloween themes. There was a headless horseman room. The pumpkinheads were in a room. Witches and trick or treaters. And there was the ram-headed god "Samhain". Other past houses that paid homage: Run - The Running Man Run:Hostile Territory - Hostel The Forsaken - The Fog Ship of Screams - Ghost Ship I know we discuss original vs. IP and the "nothing new under the sun concept" every year, but using IPs to formulate spec is one of the best routes to go. No creator, any kind of creator, can truly shake the imprints of the works that inspired them. Tropes come in handy this way. It's the twists that make the work its own that set it apart. Even the works that attempt to deconstruct those tropes, rely heavily on those tropes. If one can look for the tropes in a specific sub genre (like vampires), one can use those tropes to start formulating the way things could be created. Look for the potential inspiration, then start shifting it. This year's vamp house will probably have scenes that we can trace back to its inspiration. Same goes for the Dust Bowl/Scarecrow house, Bayou, and Gothicombs (I'm sticking with that name until we have something definitive to call it). Same goes for any original SZs. It's just that nature of creating. There's always a spark.

Demon Cantina was in 2005. I wouldn't really call it a redneck bar. It was a part of Terra Cruentas. It was designed to pay homage to FDtD, but there have been many houses that have done that. IT, in 08, paid homage to Event Horizon. The Hallow paid homage to The Halloween Tree. There are others, but my brain isn't cooperating at the moment.

FDtD replaced an original in 2014. Ritual was the codename for that original. It was always going to be based on the TV show. I'm not sure what HHNU is talking about on that one.

Picturing a 7 style zone, if this IP zone happens. The Sins were the distractions. The minions were the scares. Add in the potential for barker abilities for those on the stage, they better have a really good Ash. Wasn't there a casting call for speaking roles that wasn't for B&T?

We have a fan made map. We have a map based solely on speculation. The map isn't a real map. The only people who know things are those employed with the event. Yes, other posters will attempt to squash things if an individual is at risk of losing his/her job or at risk of hurting future employment. They built The Conjuring house and the Scream house and still lost the rights. The Shining announcement was delayed due to rights issues. Let's say Saw was today's announcement (I don't know if it was or not). Saw's trailer hasn't dropped yet to my knowledge. If there were issues with the trailer drop, the IP holder could have easily told Universal to delay the announcement. Even if things are worked out, issues can still appear. Publicity and Marketing may make the internal calls regarding releases, but Publicity and Marketing are beholden to the rights holders. Since you you mentioned the survey previously, C&Ds have been issued in the past to sites regarding survey leaks. I have taken past confidential surveys. Those who take them are agreeing to not disclose the information. To take the survey, you agree to an NDA. As for the code names, they won't help spec at all. The two we have Checkmate and Brains didn't help spec. Well, Checkmate helped create spec for The Shining, but from what I've gathered, Checkmate is not The Shining. Brains was later linked to Scarecrow after other clues. The zone code names are useless for spec. They give nothing to spec on. I'm tiptoeing and being careful, but the only thing the zone codenames would give us is something we already know.

Having read the post on IU, Legacy stated that Festival of the Dead is happening it just isn't a day of the Dead zone as everyone suspected. Having respect for the company you are trying to get employment at and not disclosing code names (it's not the names of the houses or zones) isn't a surprising thing. Sorry that an individual is unwilling to risk potential future employment to cater to your desire for immediate gratification. As for this site, Universal has sent out C&Ds to other sites who felt a need to release information or allowed images or information to be shared that wasn't announced. Beside the fact that this site (as well as others) respects Universal, this site must protect itself. Since I, personally, know many scareactors, I can say with confidence that the majority aren't "unemployed 19yr olds or teenagers". You, obviously, don't know the entertainment industry. Universal doesn't set the timeline. The IP rights holders do. They, the rights holders, are the ones that determine how and when an announcement is made. The right holders must approve everything. I wasn't being condescending.

Universal does care who knows. There's a reason we warn people and there's a reason no one comes out (usually) and says what everything is: Scareactors (I find your degradation of those who physically place themselves in harms way to create this event offensive) have to sign NDAs. They talk, they get fired. Everyone tiptoes and specs and gives hints and riddles to protect the people who create the event. And that includes the non scareactors who create this event. As for Uni not releasing info: It's a business. When dealing with other people's Intellectual Properties, you don't get to create the timeline for information releases. You move at a pace that is best for marketing the material. Honestly, the biggest complaint I'm seeing isn't a lack of spec, but a lack of concrete knowledge. Speculation isn't concrete knowledge. Speculation is forming an educated guess. Specs are hypotheses. I'm no longer sure what it is that everyone wants? Build? You can't achieve build by just giving the answer. When someone puts forth the effort to try to create spec and build (like The Ifrit), the person is mocked or ignored. The middle ground is what I want. I understand that there needs to be timelines for information releases. I know there will never be another NO SIGNAL moment. There will never be another moment where we all log in refreshing the site waiting to see if our specs are right. Too much impatience. Too many leaks. Too many in need of "FIRST!!" claims. There are ways to achieve suspense and build while following the timeline. Those ways could be achieved by social media, if Marketing were willing to put in the effort, and if we were willing to be patient and put in effort of our own.

Um, while I suggested black-eyed children as a potential inspiration for the look of the vampires, and the Ifrit referenced blank eyes, I think we are jumping the gun again. Since I'm a King fan (surprising, I know), I'm going to use one of his novels and his vamps to explain how we may be jumping the gun. Salem's Lot has a "big bad vamp", Kurt Barlow. Barlow is referenced as a Type One. While Nosferatuesque in the '79 adaption, he is taken back to his human-like image of the novel in the '04 series. And this is where things get complicated. Most Type Ones in King's works are "hairy, grotesque monsters". They can also be winged (like Popsy, who is probably the Night Flier). Now, the Lot is an early work, so King may have yet to set hard fast rules for his vamps. In Salem's Lot, Danny Glick is the first resident turned. He is a child. Turned vamps of this nature are Type Twos and lack free will. They are baser. More animalistic. Both sets, I believe, need to be invited in. There are Type Threes (basically daywalkers) and psychic vampires in King's works as well. Then there are the Little Sisters and The Doctors. That's 6 types in one body of work (all roads lead to the Tower and so do all of King's books). We have no idea what the "vamp house" is using as inspiration (besides that quick vid clip). Looks vampy (blood around mouth), and has obviously black eyes. Going from Vamps to UL: Black-eyed children is premature.

Thematically, many of the IPs revolve around collecting souls whether metaphorical or literal. Deadites, Sinster, Insidious, The Shining, Saw, even the 3 AHS seasons have Soul collecting aspects. You work with what you have. As for Roddy, his only addition to HHN was Jack. His only addition to HOS was that clown (I can't remember his name because he was so Jack + Joker). As for his leaving, I don't believe he had a choice. The themes (overarching) weren't created by Roddy. Mary (one of your favorite icons, I believe) was created by Aiello.

Glyphs are a form of pictograph. You're not far off on the comparison. You're, also, the second person I've had compare emojis to hieroglyphs tonight. I've been working. I'll need to catchup on spec.

Two reasons: 1 - The stage is hard for other acts to use. 2 - People simply walk past it and ignore it, even when there is a show in it. Bushwood was in there for 1-2 years. They had to chase people down (barkers and TMs continually announcing the show) to get people to come into the show. It's like AA and KZ cease to exist in the minds of the GP. The only thing they see is the queues for the Parade Bldg and tents. Personally, I think AA should hold something, and they just need better advertisement. I'd, also, love to see a special HMU, but I know it tends to hold media and special events. (And part of me wants our cookies back)

Something that is interesting about the tweets being used to support the no icon belief: The "ding, ding" was in response to two contradictory questions. The 23, 24, 27 tweet focuses on only 2 years without an icon. Actual years without an icon: 1-9, 14, 22, 23, & 24. So, why just those two years? To simplify things for newer fans? Or is there something particular about those two years?

Late night insomniac musings cause there really is spec potential still: See, we have a rough outline of the event. This outline is a potential (nothing is set in stone until it is announced). But, we appear to have gone off on tangents when we really don't know what some houses will be. For instances, Scarecrow/Dust Bowl: How's it going to work? What will be the monster we face? Is it a fungal related concept as suggested by the Ifrit? Will it be the Soul Collectors' house? The image of the "soldier" is probably linked to this house. Why? The sepia tones that match the photography and videography of the Dust Bowl era. Then there's that dog tag. I know someone mentioned something about notches and designs of dog tags, but from what I've been able to research, notchless dog tags are pre-WWII tags. The notches were added after WWI. This, of course, adds a whole new speculation element. If WWI soldier, or more aptly a soldier who served in WWI, will that war in some way play into the elements of the house? I can say, the mask does resemble WWI gas masks. The first war that involved modern chemical warfare. Now, add in the very obvious foreground face that is in front of the soldier, and the spec grows even further. The face appears desiccated, but appears to have a similar apparatus fused to it. The spec can can now go many routes. Soldiers assisted during the Dust Bowl. Retired soldiers could have simply moved to the areas preceding the Dust Bowl. What has caused the damage we see? Fungal infection? Some form of demonic infection/entity? The Soul Collectors are having us join them by sacrificing our souls. We become Elite Soul Collectors by making the ultimate sacrifice. Is that what we are seeing? Is the damage caused by sacrificing one's soul? There's always room for spec, and while some spec catches our eye more than others depending on our tastes, good speculation is had when ideas are bounced off each other and substance for the spec exists. What appears to be happening is instead of challenging a spec or improving upon it, we are latching on to the first thing we hear. This is is why riddles are good (especially for originals). They can poke and prod us out of a preconceived notions and comfort zone. Maybe not by the solving or initial solving, but by simply picking apart word usage and building off it. Let's not be stagnant. Let's challenge one another.

It's somewhere in this thread, but basically: The leak of the travel site info caught King's attention. Things had to be worked out.

I just wanted to clarify. My post isn't speculation this time. I've heard my spec on why the announcement was delayed is correct.

Just to clarify, I'm not pretending to know things when I say King is unhappy with this turn of events. They can't use his name in association with the event. I think that says all we need to know about his feelings regarding this.

Have you noticed that it's called Stanley Kubrick's The Shining and that King isn't mentioned at all? King disowned Kubrick's The Shining. Kubrick's estate owns the rights to the version we are getting. It is Kubrick's estate that would have finally given permission, not King. There's probably rights owned by a studio somewhere in there as well. Even if King didn't own the rights to the movie, someone does own those rights. They are the ones who finally gave permission. King has repeatedly stated he does not like haunted houses and will not approve his works for use in them. King hates Kubrick's version of The Shining. Working around him using a legal loophole (that's what they did) to gain access to his creations will not ingratiate him towards them. Universal just burnt a bridge. King will dig in his heals. Any works that he has any type of pull with will not end up as haunted houses. I may seem pessimistic, but I have always felt pursuing and doing a house in this fashion was a hope killer. I would rather be wrong, but this killed all optimism (even delusional optimism) I had. By the way, there won't be a second It movie unless the first is a success. I'm not sure why people seem to feel a second movie is guaranteed. (I've been following the It movie since it was originally optioned in 09. There are several articles explaining that the second movie isn't guaranteed.) EDIT: "So, even though the second movie is still planned, if the first one bombs at the box office, you can expect the second one to quietly shuffle off into the land of movies that never were. What that means is IT won't likely end on a cliffhanger." https://www.google.com/amp/movieweb.com/amp/it-movie-rated-r-it-2-still-happening/

I have no idea if UO went the "let me in" route, I'm just trying to figure out how we went from "remember you have to invite them in" to vampire clowns. There are tons of film representations of needing to "let them in" in the horror genre: Buffy (original movie), Let the Right One In, and The Lost Boys, the one my brain leaps to first are some examples.

I missed all the King spec. We have Kubrick's Shining. Never expect a King approved house. Full stop. All spec is dead. The bridge is burnt. It will never happen. Tabitha, and his children will most likely be willed the rights. They will not disobey his wishes. It's not going to happen in our life time, folks. Now for the vampire clowns spec: How? How in the world did we jump to this conclusion? That image doesn't look like a clown. There are far more likely "let me in" scenarios. You know what the image looks like? A black-eyed child. That's an urban legend turned creepypasta with serious "let me in" vampire potential.

So, the pic of the soldier isn't a still. Watch closely, the hand moves like he is lifting a hood.

And what no one is mentioning: If the third is the full reveal, I think that's the earliest full reveal ever. The last week in august is traditional.

I had more thoughts and was editing. See above. Everyone here is so quick, and I'm soul number 1,587 and still playing catch up.

I've made several guesses. Which one is it? Iniquitus? Soul Harvesters (that would be my guess based on the clue)? Voodoo queen (made that one a while back)? Mary (because I can't help myself)? As to the whole icon or no icon thing. Marketing could be playing coy. They may be using "mascots" instead of "icons". With the four images that appear to be stemming from four houses, these "soul collectors" may be thematically linked to each of the originals. Think the Iniquitus mixed with the soul harvesters. While the soul harvesters had a set look, the Iniquitus varied in look based on the legion they tied to.

They may have heard many things. As I stated, the rumors of shaved heads existed before the vamp house was confirmed. Quite possibly before it was known that Conjuring was loss.