[Nightmaze]

My first impression of this scarezone was "meh". As the weekend progressed (I was there from Oct. 6-9), I found myself enjoying it more and more, and it eventually found its way near the top of my list. The scareactors here make or break it, and if you encounter some aggressive/playful ones, you're in for a good time. I still love the scareactor who chased me through the maze twice... he was so cute <3 I spent my last few minutes on Sunday just running back and forth between this scarezone and 7. It was so much fun!

edit: Jonny, are you referring to Sunday the 9th? Almost every time I came through Nightmaze that night, it had scareactors, so I don't understand why you never saw them. I do know that around 10 PM, it started raining harder and they pulled all the street people. They pulled them all around 12:30 too, despite the rain being a drizzle... maybe things got too "wet" (I saw them drying the stages off in 7). I'm sorry you missed out

[Acid Assault]

This was a BIG scarezone, and very well done. So much detail was put into the scenery and props, and the crumbling buildings were amazing to see in person! It really did feel like you were in a city suffering the effects of acid rain. Loved the costumes on the scareactors too. Fair warning... there are a LOT of scareactors, and many of them blend in well with the crowd, so watch your back!

If you need a break during the night, there's a lot of benches here. Park yourself on one and watch them scare people. It's great.

[Your Luck Has Run Out]

(oh no, here comes the wall of text! Run for your liiiiives!)

This is the scarezone I was looking forward to the most, so I have a lot to say. I don't know what I expected from this, but I know it's not what we ended up getting. I was so excited for this scarezone when it was first revealed... then I saw the pictures and videos and thought "are they serious? I know it's Sting Alley, but that's the best they could do? Poor Lady Luck." After experiencing it in person, my feelings are still mixed, but it's not as terrible as I thought it would be.

The decorations, lighting and music in here are appropriate for Lady Luck's "lair", and there's a lot of detail in the victims scattered about the alley. Some of them actually look like real people! You can see Luck in both of her forms, and she is in abundance, with at least two Lady Lucks and several Demon Lucks. I liked that there were so many of them. It felt like everywhere I looked, there she was, driving home the point that by coming here, my luck really had run out and there was no escaping her.

On the subject of Lady Luck, I've heard a lot of people complain that the Ladies looked bored, and well, they did... but put yourself in their shoes. They signed on as scareactors, yet all they get to do for the entire run is stand there and beckon people into the alley? Wouldn't you be bored too? I know I would. As for the Demon Lucks, yes, that mask is awful, and I'm shocked that the higher-ups at Universal looked at it and said "this is okay, we can use this!" It would've been fine in a house, where it's dark anyway, but in the streets- where everyone can see her- they should've gone with something more detailed. Of course, this isn't the fault of the scareactors, and I felt the Demon Lucks did the best they could with what they were given. Those recorded screams might sound stupid, but they are LOUD and I saw them scare several people with well timed screams and movements. They also weren't shy about getting up in your face. I've told the story in the Appreciation thread, but I got a really good scare from one who saw I was distracted and took advantage.

Then we have the Spade Gang: what I call Lady Luck's spade faced, chainsaw wielding guards. In the early hours of the event, they'd be at the front of the park, but as the night wore on they moved to YLHRO. These guys really freaked me out, with their expressionless faces and empty black eyes, so I didn't come through often when they were there. But I can't deny that they improved the scarezone. They were vicious with those chainsaws, and every time I walked by, they had people running and screaming. Needless to say I scooted for that sidewalk as soon as I left the alley- and even that didn't save me in the end!

BTW, this is the one scarezone that made me break my "no sidewalks" rule for this year Minions! *shakes fist*

[Canyon of Dark Souls]

This was not a good place to be if you were a short person. lol! Everything in here was BIG and intimidating, from the "dark souls" that lined the path, to the big skulls on stilts, to the creatures roaming on the ground. I'm barely over 5 feet tall and I felt so tiny in here. I didn't get many scares, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere in this scarezone. The music was perfect for creating tension, and I couldn't get over how thick the fog was! There were times when I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. Not to mention it was pretty scary inching your way through the fog and having one of the big, staff wielding creatures suddenly loom up in front of you. D:

BTW, does anyone else think the stilt skulls look really funny without their stilts? There's something hilarious about having a big, goofy skull come running at you. One of them did scare me, but I couldn't help but giggle afterward

[Grown Evil]

By day, this wasn't much to look at. By night, it transformed into a very beautiful, eerie garden taken over by night creatures. Ravens, owls and bats abound here. This was another one where I didn't get scared much, but I could appreciate the atmosphere. Like Canyon, the fog was really thick, and the scareactors made good use of it, unexpectedly "flying" out at people. I really liked the music, and the costumes on the scareactors were nice. The bats were sooo cute!

[Winter's Night: Haunting of Hawthorn Cemetery]

This was my favorite house! And the funny thing is, the storyline and sets had little to do with it. Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful house, and I thought its facade was the best of all the houses. But what really put it at the top of my list was the abundance of great scares. I went through this house 18 times and almost every time, someone got me good, even if I knew they were there (hi Weeping Angels!). Saw both casts in action, loved them both. To all who work in this house, well done! There are many good contenders for House of the Year, but I hope it goes to you. You were great!

[Saws N' Steam: Into the Machine]

If I recall correctly, this one was near the bottom of my list going into the event. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised when I actually experienced it! It was great from start to finish. I was impressed by how gruesome it was... it was made very clear that the Horizon was not something you wanted to join If you're squeamish, you might want to skip this one. The scareactors were always on their A-game whenever I came through and I was scared multiple times, every time. Great interaction in here too. I got a kick out of one scareactor (not sure which cast) who repeatedly scared me and kept asking "Why ya screamin'?" I'm screaming because you keep sticking your hand in my face! lol!

[Nightingales: Blood Prey]

As far as atmosphere goes, this house was terrifying. Amazing sets and sound effects made it feel like you were really in the trenches, and the music was perfect for instilling that sense of panic. If you got the scares, that made it even better. Speaking of which, and I know I risk being flamed by saying this, the cast you got made a big difference in this house. One of them was really good, one of them... I hate to say this, but I felt like they weren't trying as hard. I'm not saying which one.

Most people know about this, but if you haven't gone yet: make sure you look up in this house! There's a cool scene near the end and I couldn't believe how many people completely ignored it. BTW, I am SO jealous of everyone who got to see

the guy getting ripped in half!

I came through 12 times and never saw it. Sounds like it was really disturbing, and the kind of thing that would stick with you.

Oh, and Funny Moment of the Weekend went to this house when a Nightingale scared the Hispanic guy behind me so badly he yelled something rude in Spanish. I won't be repeating it, but it had me laughing for the rest of the night! You just had to be there.

[The Forsaken]

This house was really good, and if there weren't already so many great houses this year, I'd rank it higher on my list. Lots of scares here, and I loved the hurricane scene. I was even lucky enough to catch a scare from the bungee scareactor. I usually miss out on these things, so that was nice. Going in, I was worried that the glowing green eyes would detract from the scares, but then I remembered: just because you can see them doesn't mean you know what they're going to do. Are they going to go after you, or target someone else? That's where the tension is, and that's how they're still able to get you, even if you know they're there (and besides, those bright eyes make a great distraction). Another thing I liked about this house is that the scareactors weren't shy about getting up in your face. I had one Forsaken follow me through their scene and get really close to my face with a knife. For some reason, that stuck with me.

[H.R. Bloodengutz: Holidays of Horror]

This was one of those houses that was just a pleasure to walk through, even if you didn't get scared. There was so much to see in each room, and they were all hilarious. I loved that they used scents in a lot of the rooms. (though I didn't care for that firework smell... yuck) Some of the characters here were disturbing. I was particularly freaked out by Lincoln (didn't help that he got up in my face), and that Feaster Bunny... wow. People FREAKED when that thing showed up. The only thing I didn't really care for in this house was the finale, didn't think it was scary at all. But I enjoy the funny, campy houses and I had a good time in here.

[The Thing]

Wow! I wasn't expecting much going in, but I was pleasantly surprised by this house. If you get the scares, it's very intense. Do this one more than once so you can catch all the scenes, as it's easy to miss them if your timing is bad. Oh, and make sure you look up!

There's a scareactor up high in one scene and many people don't notice him. I didn't realize he was there until my third night at the event.

I actually got lucky and was able to go through this completely alone my first time. Sadly, I couldn't fully appreciate it because I'd come in from the daylight and was blind as a bat. But it was still kinda cool, and I had no idea what to expect so I got scared plenty.

[Nevermore: The Madness of Poe]

Oh, Poe... I wanted to like you. It's with a heavy heart that I place this house near the bottom of my list. My first impression of it was amazing, lots of scares and interaction going on. But for the rest of my run, I just felt really "meh" about it. I think it's because it was the only house I had trouble getting scares in. There's a lot to see in here, and the house had some cool effects. (I didn't even notice the

changing portrait

until a friend pointed it out- that was neat!) But with a few exceptions, I tend to rank houses based on how much they scared me, and compared to the rest, this one was just too hit or miss.

[The In Between]

This house is at the bottom of my list, and I really, really hate to put it there because I got some GREAT scares in here, and the scareactors did such a good job. The demons (in particular, the Winged ones) were SO aggressive! I just didn't care for the whole 3D thing much... it was my first ever experience with a 3D house, and I've concluded that they just aren't for me. With the glasses on, I found myself concentrating more on trying to make sense of the rooms, rather than the scareactors. People weren't kidding when they said this house was disorienting. I tried it a couple of times sans glasses, and it was better because I could actually focus on the scares. If anyone else here is having the same problem, try it without the glasses.

Oh, and make sure you look up in this house.

[House of the Year]

Went from Oct. 6-9, four nights. Here's my list:

1. Winter's Night

2. Saws 'n Steam

3. Nightingales

4. The Forsaken

5. Bloodengutz

6. The Thing

7. Nevermore

8. The In Between

[HHN 21: Event Photos and Videos]

I have a few scarezone videos up on my Youtube channel, bigscarydoggie. They aren't the best, but I get a Nightmares shout out in the Canyon one

[HHN 21 House Counts]

Total nights: 4

Winter's Night: 18 <3

The Thing: 8

The Forsaken: 8

The In Between: 6

Nevermore: 8

Saws 'n Steam: 9

Bloodengutz: 8

Nightingales: 12

[HHN 21 Merchandise]

I got the 2 main shirts and a pin.....and forgot the pin in the bag and left it at my hotel by Universal (at Disney now). FML! I may or may not spend another $10 if they have them at the airport Universal store.

I can confirm that they do have the pins at the airport store.

[2011 Scareactor Appreciation Thread]

These are all from last night. Again, incoming wall of text, sorry in advance!

Houses:

Saws 'n Steam: Came through at 7:21 and in one of the scenes, some guy got ALL up in my face and I'm pretty sure it was about my shirt. Kept asking me if I thought I was better than him and stuff. lol! Thanks for the shout out.

This is belated, but I want to acknowledge the ladies in the Arbor Day scene of Bloodengutz. You two rocked that scene and I enjoyed slowing down a bit to watch you (though that came with wet consequences!). I played with one of you in my favorite scarezone last year... you know who you are, and it was good to see you again.

Scarezones:

To start with, I want to thank everyone in the streets for sticking it out through the windy, chilly and drizzly weather so we could have scarezones again. You were all awesome. There was so much energy out there, it was insane. Well done!

Nightmaze: At 8:08, someone at the beginning of the maze ran up to me and said "I'll give you a Nightmare!" Thanks for the shout-out. I actually got trapped in here later when a scareactor completely closed off the path behind me. There was a way out up ahead, but I had two scareactors in there giving me grief and it made me panic a little bit. I can't believe they cut me off like that!

Acid Assault: Came through at 8:11, made it as far as the Rat Lady and thought I was in the clear until a LOUD snarl in my ear got a really good scare out of me. I turned around and saw a big scareactor lurking nearby, they had one of the bloody masks with a cloth wrapped around their head and they were carrying a pipe. Well, that could describe more than one character in the zone... but if that person's on here, you got me good! I had no idea I was being followed.

7: I think I've said before that this one is my favorite, and I played in here a lot. Thank you all for being so tolerant of me coming through so much in the last 10 minutes or so of the event. Every time I came through I got multiple scares and I loved it. Extra love goes to those creepy Vanities. Earlier in the night at 8:49 both of them caught me at the end of the street. I kept walking around, trying not to look at them and they kept blocking my path. One of them said "I like this one!" and I was like "No! No you don't!" I had to run to get past them! Also, a Sloth minion did something neat to scare me: he dropped to the ground and did this creepy scuttling motion through the crowd, eventually jumping up in my face. That was creative.

Canyon of Dark Souls: I came through taking video and a grounded stilt scareactor came at me going "Nightmarenightmare!" Thanks for the shout out, but man... you killed my shot! I came through later and got a good scare from the same guy when he came charging at me out of the fog, and again mentioned Nightmares.

Grown Evil: 11:05, the fog was really thick and you could barely see. A bird came snarling out of nowhere and got me SO good, I screamed and jumped about a foot in the air.

Your Luck Has Run Out: Oh my god. Luck and her minions had it OUT for me that night. Normally I could get away with avoiding the Spade Gang on the sidewalk, but not this time. I got a minor scare from one the first time I passed by, and the second time, one of them scared a couple of teen girls onto the sidewalk, then immediately abandoned them to follow me instead. That really should have warned me not to come through the Alley, buuut... I like Lady Luck and wanted to see her again before my HHN run was over. So I stopped by a little after midnight and as Luck would have it, I was pretty much alone in there. Ended up with one Demon Luck in my face and two more double teamed me. The really scary part was when I stepped out of the Alley, and there was a minion just waiting up ahead. I hesitated a second too long before going for the sidewalk- he charged. I dodged him and ended up with another one on my tail. Oh yes, there was screaming.

Now you would think I wouldn't come back after that little experience... well, I never said I was smart. I came back later, and other than a minion scare at the end of the Alley, I was fine... and then I stepped out of the Alley. And that was as far as I got before three minions came charging at me from the side with chainsaws roaring. Oh man did I freak out, scrambling into the little side alley and cowering there while they lurked nearby. Then one of them decided to park himself next to the sidewalk, and I was basically trapped because every time I tried to sneak away, he would look back to make sure I was still there. I had no escape route left that wasn't full of scareactors. Eventually, I decided he was the lesser evil and headed in his direction. Of course he came after me, and of course I ran screaming out of there. If he reads this, that was a smart (and EVIL) move! Kudos to all you spade minions, I've never screamed as much as I did last night.

[HHN 21 Discussion]

So again... if any of you skipped last night due to the weather, you missed out big time. As far as the weather goes, Lady Luck smiled on us. It was a little cool, but it barely rained and it was managable when it did. Scareactors in the streets were tearing it UP! You could tell they were ready to scare again after being forced off the streets for a night. I got SO much attention out there. Thank you, scareactors, for making my last night absolutely fantastic. <3

[HHN 21 Discussion]

So if any of you didn't slog it out through the rain last night, you missed out. In the last two hours of the event at least four houses (Forsaken and all the Soundstages) were walk-ons. I did Winter's Night and Nightingales at least six times each, running back and forth between them, and even got to do Winter's Night with only two people in front of me. It was great! The only thing that sucked was not having the scarezones, though at one point they were firing off Lady Luck's screams in Your Luck Has Run Out. Tonight is my last night , but I'm still going to enjoy it as much as possible.

[2011 Scareactor Appreciation Thread]

From last night:

Nevermore, Cast A: I am intrigued by a Poe on this cast, I think he's the second one in the house. For the last two nights when I've come through on the opening set, he's made a point of coming over to wave at me. I don't know if he's from here, but I'm happy to see you too Mr. Poe. <3 If you see a short female Nightmare wearing a blue backpack, that is me.

Winter's Night: This is my favorite house right now, and I have to give you all more kudos because no matter what cast I come through on, I get at least one GOOD scare every time. I did this house 7 times last night and enjoyed every time. I do want to give a little extra love to the Weeping Angel at the beginning who was on the closing cast last night. I came through two times within the last 10-15 minutes and you got me BOTH times, despite me knowing full well that you were there. Well done!

Your Luck Has Run Out: Scare of the night, and possibly the whole weekend when it's said and done, goes to you guys. This was the only street I hadn't done yet, and I was dreading it because I'd passed by earlier and saw the Spade Gang out and about. But at 9:08 I gathered my courage, and in I went. I made it through most of the alley without anything happening until I noticed a guard watching me. I hesitated, fearful, but when he didn't move, I turned around to move on.

With a horrific scream, a perfectly concealed Demon Luck came lurching out of the fog and was RIGHT in my face. Oh she got me GOOD, I screamed and yelled "Oh SHIT!" Now, I love a good scare, so I clapped and laughed it off... well, I sure as hell wasn't laughing when I tried to leave the alley and one of the guards suddenly kicked on his chainsaw and charged at me! Oh man I screamed and screamed and scrambled butt over elbow to get out of there. If any of those scareactors are reading this, that was fantastic! I thought about that scare all night!

7: I had another really good run through here at 1:25, had at least one of everything come after me. Vanities, I have to give you credit because you scare me the most. I had one of you come up behind me and growl "Look at me." in a really creepy voice, and that just stuck with me for some reason. Guess who had a bad dream about you last night? This girl. D:

[2011 Scareactor Appreciation Thread]

Last night was my first night this year and I had a wonderful time! Some kudos are in order. Warning: wall of text ahoy!

Houses:

I'll start this off by saying that I can see why people hold the houses this year in such high regard. You were all on fire! I got scared silly and walked out of every house grinning and clapping... I don't think I've ever yelled so many profanities in one night! Bravo to ALL of you!

Winter's Night, Cast A: I came through three times and got you guys twice. You were fantastic! When I came through during S&S, the first boo door got me so good I screamed super loud and yelled "Shit!" Best scare of the night!

Nevermore, Cast A: WOW. Thank you for making my first experience in this house a great one. Scares galore. A couple of the Poes tried talking to me, unfortunately it was too loud and I couldn't understand them.

Saws 'n Steam: Not sure which cast, maybe the first one... I got this cast both times and each time, there was a Nightmare at the end of the house who got up in my face and at one point sneered "I'll give you Nightmares!" Your name eludes me, but I pointed at you the first time because I recognized you. Thanks for the shout out. Also, when I saw you the first time, another guy in your room took advantage of the distraction and got me when I turned around. Nice.

Scarezones:

7: This scarezone. Omg. I had a feeling I was gonna get it bad in here when I first walked up... I had no idea just how bad. I got hit with at least one of everything, sometimes two, and it was just insane. There were so many of them and they were SO AGGRESSIVE. I came through a few more times because I wanted to see the ladies in their various forms, but I could only get a glimpse for a second or two before one or two of the men would spot me and pounce. The Gluttonies, Wraths and Vanities (and one long haired Envy) in particular seemed to delight in my torment. That said, I really enjoyed it and look forward to coming through here some more throughout the weekend. Btw, Vanity is cute... she caught me watching her and blew me a kiss. Awwww.

(and then I got attacked by one of her men a split second later. LOL)

Grown Evil: I have to give kudos to one of the ground bats in here who was on the opening cast. I was powerwalking through on my way to The Forsaken and thought I was moving fast enough that none of the scareactors could get me... but this one popped out of nowhere and got me to yell and jump (much to the amusement of the folks in front of me). First scarezone scare of the night.

The Spade Gang (whoever coined this term, I love it): I'll confess, these guys creep me the **** out. Their masks make them look kinda like dolls/mannequins and that does not sit well with me. You can imagine how happy I was when I went exploring near the front of the park and ended up smack dab in the middle of them... I clung to my lanyard for dear life! That said, I was walking down a side street at 8:12 and they were passing me in a line. One of them was watching me, then pointed, and I pointed back, figuring he was from here. Whoever that was, thanks for the acknowledgment. I actually mustered up the courage to come through your street a few times, but you either weren't around or didn't want to make yourself known. 'tis cool.

Nightmaze: I had a funny moment in here at 8:30 when one of the scareactors decided he was going to follow me the whole way through. He was so cute about it too. If he's on here, I got a big kick out of that, thanks

All right, I gotta go get ready. I'm going to try to take some video tonight... if I make it through 7 without dropping the camera it will be a miracle. lol! See some of you in a few hours.

[Ops Discussion/Grievances]

Not sure if this is the right place for this, or if she'll even read it, but I want to extend my thanks to an op in The Thing who helped me out last night. I came through during Stay and Scream and ended up doing the house completely alone. It was still daylight out and I was practically blind, so I had some trouble getting around and eventually reached a point where I didn't know where to go. She was very patient in guiding me through. She had longish (shoulder length) hair and glasses, so if anyone knows her, please pass this along.

[HHN XXI Website Updates]

The final game is now up, click the Blue card.

My luck just ran out... I'd beaten all the other multiplayer games on the first go, but lost this one. Darn it!

[HHN XXI Website Updates]

The Take a Chance page has been updated, but it seems to be glitchy. The Green Card now has a multiplayer game "Poster Child", but I can't get the backstory for the house to load for some reason. The Pink Card had nothing new and the Blue Card keeps logging me out for some reason, so I can't check it.

EDIT: Pink Card now has a game too- "Baby It's Cold Outside"