Halloween Horror Nights 25 Wishful Thinking

[mystiquephreeq]

Oh when people confuse rumor and spec...

25th anniversary house is obvious.

Insideous, based on current Hollywood spec, is obvious.

AHS will continue to be rumored until it happens.

The slasher possibilities are ALWAYS discussed.

Krampus/Dark Christmas is rumored for Hollywood, so of course it's rumored for us.

And 31? That's a perfect example that just because something exists, doesn't mean it's possible.

I would say the majority of Screamscape's article fits the definition of speculation.

"a. Reasoning based on inconclusive evidence; conjecture or supposition.

b. A conclusion, opinion, or theory reached by conjecture."

And that's all it is. Conjecture and opinion. It's what most of us do, unless we do hear rumors from sources, or we have clues to try to figure out.

Some speculation has a firmer foundation than others, but usually there is no hard evidence.

I agree with your list. And 31, should fall into a wishful thinking instead of the speculation category since I believe there is evidence to support it not appearing at the event.

[Legacy]

I would say the majority of Screamscape's article fits the definition of speculation.

"a. Reasoning based on inconclusive evidence; conjecture or supposition.

b. A conclusion, opinion, or theory reached by conjecture."

And that's all it is. Conjecture and opinion. It's what most of us do, unless we do hear rumors from sources, or we have clues to try to figure out.

Some speculation has a firmer foundation than others, but usually there is no hard evidence.

I agree with your list. And 31, should fall into a wishful thinking instead of the speculation category since I believe there is evidence to support it not appearing at the event.

Holy $#!+ we agree.

This is always the hard part about this time of year. There aren't any actual rumors, because everything isn't really locked in yet. But now that HHN has gotten fairly formulaic, smart people can speculate to the point where it sounds like rumor. Then, people who aren't paying attention can't tell the difference.

[Tich0las]

These are all reasons why I found the post amusing. Thought it would be something you guys would shake your head and laugh at. I was slightly off on that one.

Another part I found laughable:

[quot]Another thing to keep in mind is that after the successful American Werewolf in London in 2013 followed by the incredible Halloween house in 2014, I've got a feeling that the HHN staff may be ready to bring another classic to life in grand scale once again... but the question is, which one?
I'd love to see one based on the new Krampus film, but as that movie wont even hit theaters until the end of 2015, we may have to wait another year. and finally, I've got one that may be a long shot... lets talk about "31". This is Rob Zombie's latest project, and it hasn't been shot yet, but if it moves ahead fast enough, the theme sounds like something that would warm Jack's cold heart. The plot is said to be about a group of 5 people kidnapped and rushed away to a place called Murder World just before Halloween, where they have to play a deadly game... survive in Murder World for 12 hours while being stalked by an gang of murderous Clown themed characters. Talk about a great theme for an HHN maze...

[IheartNARWHALS]

I think that everyone would agree (if not everyone, let me know) but if Universal can get AHS, I think it would replace the walking dead. the walking dead again would be beating the skeleton of a horse. Maybe a scarezone to give it a good send-off, that's being generous. AHS has enough of a variety to become a house that comes back every year. Instead of half assed zombies (quantity is no quality Universal) and brown color schemes. I will give the house some credit, I did enjoy the environments that it had to offer. Though Universal didn't have any control over that so that's like going to the drive thru and saying you cooked dinner...

But I digress. I believe the walking dead era of HHN is over if not this year, next year for sure... *knocks on wood*

These are all reasons why I found the post amusing. Thought it would be something you guys would shake your head and laugh at. I was slightly off on that one.

Another part I found laughable:

[quot]Another thing to keep in mind is that after the successful American Werewolf in London in 2013 followed by the incredible Halloween house in 2014, I've got a feeling that the HHN staff may be ready to bring another classic to life in grand scale once again... but the question is, which one?
I'd love to see one based on the new Krampus film, but as that movie wont even hit theaters until the end of 2015, we may have to wait another year. and finally, I've got one that may be a long shot... lets talk about "31". This is Rob Zombie's latest project, and it hasn't been shot yet, but if it moves ahead fast enough, the theme sounds like something that would warm Jack's cold heart. The plot is said to be about a group of 5 people kidnapped and rushed away to a place called Murder World just before Halloween, where they have to play a deadly game... survive in Murder World for 12 hours while being stalked by an gang of murderous Clown themed characters. Talk about a great theme for an HHN maze...

So remember gang, according to Screamscape, Krampus and 31 are on the same level as Halloween and AWiL. What a joke.

[JDW]

Holy $#!+ we agree.

This is always the hard part about this time of year. There aren't any actual rumors, because everything isn't really locked in yet. But now that HHN has gotten fairly formulaic, smart people can speculate to the point where it sounds like rumor. Then, people who aren't paying attention can't tell the difference.

True, apart from inside info, All we can do is analyze history and the trends that have already come to pass and look forward to the IPs coming out around the time.

Surprisingly it works fairly well when objectively analyzed with the formulas they themselves have created.

On the opposite side of that is this is the 25th. So this WOULD be the year to see an extreme house, two parks, return to the icons and stories, yadda yadda... IF that is what they wanted.

My honest thought on it is this (all things being equal to a typical year):

TWD - maybe. Really depends on their deals.

IPs - you bet your bippy. Following previous trends would be a classic and at least one new shared. My thought on the classic would be one of the NLC big three. If possible. Otherwise Poltergeist. My hope would be SWTWC or Wonka... It won't happen. throw is some deal they work with netflix... el ray (gotta have the Spanish market)... or some other obscure network I don't follow.

New IP could be Also Poltergeist (new movie), Sinister, Insidious, Paranormal activity, AHS, or Krampus (maybe falling into the original house area).

Returning house: Of course it's the 25th. Catacombs or Nightingales (or both) are safe bets.

Blood Bayou got robbed. Would make a great house.

An urban legends house of some sort. Be it a transplant like El Cu Cuy or some new one (again could tie Krampus to the urban legend houses)

New houses - yep at least two. My guess Ritual rears it's head again. The other.. probably another best of house. As stated before Krampus but as an original.

Icon. Jack. I think bc he is a fan favorite he may even get a house Or host the best of in some way.

Streets... whatever. The have been random and inconsistent for years. Maybe our Japanese nixed idea last year.

Shows... Same BS as every year.

[Tich0las]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Twin Peaks would make an incredible IP house.

[ThNdIzNiR]

Oh when people confuse rumor and spec...

25th anniversary house is obvious.

Insideous, based on current Hollywood spec, is obvious.

AHS will continue to be rumored until it happens.

The slasher possibilities are ALWAYS discussed.

Krampus/Dark Christmas is rumored for Hollywood, so of course it's rumored for us.

And 31? That's a perfect example that just because something exists, doesn't mean it's possible.

Check

Check

True... But it's chances of happening sooner, rather than later, are looking pretty good in my opinion.

Obviously Check... Naturally the general public wants to see a heavy hitter and Universal must oblige.

True... However, why is it only rumored at Hollywood? I don't think it's only rumored for Hollywood just because they had it as a scare zone last year. For one, the film is being released later this year by one of their partners Legendary Pictures (same one as Dracula Untold) after HHN. They obviously could use HHN as a live trailer of sorts (which I don't like very much) to help promote their movie. Furthermore, I also think that as early as it is, Dr. Jimmy may have already possibly dropped several clues to support the Krampus rumor. Also, unless you have inside info, how do you know that the Boogeyman house we were supposed to get last year wasn't actually the Krampus house that they decided to possibly postpone for this movies release. Krampus also took children away in a sack. So... I don't think it's too fair to just say it's rumored in Hollywood so it's rumored here.

True... I know I mentioned 31 earlier, but it was more out of curiosity and wishful thinking. I had heard of the film before a few times, but it wasn't until that day that I actually read a significant amount about it and saw spec drawings. But the more I thought about it, I realized that there is more than likely no chance that this particular film would be used at HHN. For one, it is more than likely going to be very gory and vulgar, but more importantly (and keep in mind this is my opinion), I believe this film goes against what the big name film studios want. That being the idea that films can be funded and possibly succeed using any type of fan funding system.

Edited February 3, 2015 by ThNdIzNiR

[JDW]

.Also, unless you have inside info, how do know that the Boogeyman house we were supposed to get last year wasn't actually the Krampus house that they decided to possibly postpone for this movies release. Krampus also took children away in a sack. So... I don't think it's too fair to just say it's rumored in Hollywood so it's rumored here.

It wasn't. But there is a lot of credence to Krampus popping up. It's popular, it's been done in Hollywood, and it is a new movie.

[ThNdIzNiR]

If (I refuse to say when) we get TWD this year, what will be the hook, the gimmick? Laser tag? Extreme house? Will it be an up-charge house? How do you bring back those crowds who came for TWD? Has the event sold itself well enough to turn the TWD fans into HHN fans?

There are several haunted attractions that have zombie paintball Sept-Oct up here. One in particular had us riding on the back of a an army truck shooting at zombie scare actors coming out of the woods all over the place. I've got to be honest, there was something very enjoyable about blasting a zombie in the head. Too bad I don't see any way HHN could realistically pull that off.

[Tich0las]

Anyone know if there was a connection between The Boogeyman at Singapore and the one we were suppose to get? Hope it eventually comes to fruition

[mystiquephreeq]

Holy $#!+ we agree.

This is always the hard part about this time of year. There aren't any actual rumors, because everything isn't really locked in yet. But now that HHN has gotten fairly formulaic, smart people can speculate to the point where it sounds like rumor. Then, people who aren't paying attention can't tell the difference.

Odd, isn't it? Us agreeing. Prepare for me to blow your mind... I agree with this, as well!

All of these seem plausible. I would prefer Krampus being original and tied the the UL franchise. Unless, we can get cryptids and Krampus.

I think Ritual is a strong possibility. A best of house seems very likely.

Streets... Beyond wanting to see what we lost last year, I'm not sure what I'd like to see. I still have a desire for pirates of some kind at some point.

If Jack is hosting the event, I would hope we could get a CoC or Arrival style show. Although, Bayou may have shown us this won't happen. A cirque style "freak show" would also be nice.

[BSC]

I'm surprised that a Hitchcock house wasn't mentioned in the Screamscape rumors. It seems like its been mentioned in every other article or website I've seen.

Also, I'm curious to see if the Urban Legends franchise pops back up again this year. I'd love to see a Sasquatch house.

I was also expecting another TWD house this year, but after hearing the doubts some of you have, a lot of it makes sense. Hopefully last year was its send off and they finally wash their hands of it.

[ThNdIzNiR]

I know many of you are tired of TWD, but I think it could be much worse. Almost no matter what, there would be some type of zombie-like monster present at HHN due to popularity over the past years. So why not run with the top of the line show that has a ton of fans and will help bring them in? I honestly don't have a real problem with them milking it for all its worth as long as the houses are not exactly the same year after year, which they haven't been. I especially won't care if they add another house. Maybe instead of the house they add something like what was mentioned earlier for an additional fee such as laser tag, paintball, a foot race with obstacles or some sort of real life survival simulator game (like the Purge did last year). The bottom line really is about making $. I have no doubt at all that if they added a Walking Dead paintball area where tickets were sold in advance, they would almost certainly sell out. Like I said earlier, shooting zombies in the head is fun.

Oh yeah... and I was reading about previous characters used for HHN and came across something that caught my eye. I think there was a reference to Jack the Ripper on Dr. Jimmy's tumblr earlier (I know, I know, not everything is a clue) and I read that in HHN fiction that the characters called the Body Collectors were actually responsible for the Whitechapel murders credited to Jack the Ripper. I guess they had 2 houses and made several scare zone appearances throughout HHN history. Could they be returning in some fashion?

These guys...

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/17/images/xlarge/FLO_3_exbody_225387_1017.jpg

Edited February 3, 2015 by ThNdIzNiR

[JackTheREAPER]

I really honestly think we will get Krampus in some way, shape, or form. Considering, Hollywood did it and it was a huge hit, and the fact that several movies are coming out based on the Krampus legend. I actually think it'll be a house, to be quite honest. We did get our Urban Legends house: La Llorona in 2013. Therefore, I feel we'll get a brand new Urban Legends house based on Krampus. In all honesty, it works way better as a house than as a scarezone. After reading every aspect and variation of the Krampus legend, there's SO MANY things A&D can do with it, and I really hope this house happens.

As for the slasher thing that was brought up on ScreamScape... Come on guys, Slashers have come up on speculation for the past what... 4 years? It's nothing new. However, something tells me we will get a classic slasher house. Because of a few reasons. These are very simple reasons. For starters, there's a new Friday The 13th remake coming out this year, which doesn't mean too much. It's being produced by Paramount Pictures, which if I'm correct, is associated with Universal. Also, a Freddy Vs Jason house has been brought up a few times, and that could also happen, as one of our major fan IPs. Another idea I had, was something related to Carnival of Carnage, with Freddy, Jason, and Leatherface. A show possibly, since Jack is back, but that's just throwing an idea out there. Doubt it though. We'll see..

For Jack, yes he is our icon from what we currently know, but here are some things I have thought of. We could get 1 of 2 mazes featuring him:

1. He is the "host" of our 25th anniversary "past HHN best of" house.

2. OR we get a basic Jack clown house. I would think it would be 3D.

Anyways, I think we'll see him on the streets as well. We could get a generic clowns scarezone, "Jack's Carnival", basically. We could also get a scarezone based on all the icons. I honestly think we will get multiple icon/ HHN "past" scarezones. Probably even something similar to 20 Years of Fear. I even think we'll get a Jack show, instead of Rocky Horror, but not sure. Finally, like I said, I think we will get more Originals than IPs this year, to introduce this stuff to the newer HHN attendees. So basically, for houses, I think we'll get:

-Urban Legends Krampus House

-Jack 3D OR "Best of" House (maybe both. But idk.)

-Nightengales 2

-H.R. Bloodengutz? (Many people have suggested it to Mike on twitter. Really hoping for Bloodengutz to come back)

-Legendary Truth house

-Some brand new original...

-Slasher House (MAYBE)

-AHS (MAYBE)

-Insidious/Paranormal house? (Just since Insidious is being speculated for Hollywood)

As for scarezones, just to hard to make a list without clues. It'll all just come out as wishful thinking. I do think we'll get some HHN Past stuff on the streets. Maybe something like an old maze converted to a scarezone. That's a cool idea someone had.

Once again, ladies and genttlemen, pure speculation. Just ideas, which is all we can do as of now. This list is just based on guesses.

[ThNdIzNiR]

As for the slasher thing that was brought up on ScreamScape... Come on guys, Slashers have come up on speculation for the past what... 4 years? It's nothing new. However, something tells me we will get a classic slasher house. Because of a few reasons. These are very simple reasons. For starters, there's a new Friday The 13th remake coming out this year, which doesn't mean too much. It's being produced by Paramount Pictures, which if I'm correct, is associated with Universal.

Friday the 13th got postponed until next year. But who knows???

http://www.thewrap.com/paranormal-activity-6-friday-the-13th-pushed-back-the-ring-reboot-gets-release-date/

[JackTheREAPER]

I have no doubt at all that if they added a Walking Dead paintball area where tickets were sold in advance, they would almost certainly sell out. Like I said earlier, shooting zombies in the head is fun.

Where the hell would Universal add a paintball arena into their park...? XD

But no, I see what you mean. Thing is... I don't think it'll be paintball. If anything, I see it being laser tag, which is much more efficient for Universal, to save money from buying paintballs, masks, and equipment. I think they could even put a laser tag experience inside one of the soundstages, as an extra attraction for those who purchase FF or something. In fact, maybe this interactive shooting game will be tied in with Legendary Truth, since they brought it back last year to test it out as a new tech for the event. Hmmmm. A Legendary Truth interactive laser tag/survival game. Cool.

[thewordwisper]

A little birdie told me jack is not coming back:p

[Legacy]

A little birdie told me jack is not coming back:p

That would be high-larious. Seriously, absolutely priceless. A better troll than Sony announcing FF7 on PS4 and Evil Takes Root.

[JackTheREAPER]

That would be high-larious. Seriously, absolutely priceless. A better troll than Sony announcing FF7 on PS4 and Evil Takes Root.

lmao Evil Takes Root. I still laugh at that name. More like "The Walking Dead Takes Root"

[ThNdIzNiR]

I think the name fit the Bill & Ted Show at least. ; )

You wouldn't really need an arena for zombie paintball. A cheap alternative would be to just set up a smaller area like a shooting range with obstacles and have the zombies shamble out.

[JackTheREAPER]

I think the name fit the Bill & Ted Show at least. ; )

You wouldn't really need an arena for zombie paintball. A cheap alternative would be to just set up a smaller area like a shooting range with obstacles and have the zombies shamble out.

True. But I don't think the arena is the main issue. My only thought would be that laser tag would be cheaper, with less needed supplies, and darkness wouldn't be a danger. My other thought would be maybe as an added "purchase-required" attraction would be something like the legendary truth preview they gave us for HHN24. Where, you take the role of some paranormal investigator, with the pad tech. Maybe even a ghost buster.....

[timbo8]

i hope we get the japanese scarezone that was scraped last year for this year or a house of japanese legeds of monsters

[Arsik_22]

Knotts Scary Farm did the laser tag zombie attraction last year and it was executed very well. The only issue they had was the capacity. They gave you a card to come back at a certain time and within the first 30 minutes of event opening, they were all out. So as you can imagine, there was a lot of complaining. They didn't even charge extra for this attraction. With Universal's budget and the creative team's talent, I could see a Walking Dead themed laser tag experience being out of this world.

[foREVer56]

I'm iffy on TWD. It's absolutely played out and a LOT of people don't want it back, but I'm willing to bet there's even more that DO want it back, so it's still a possibility. I'm leaning towards no, but it's still in the mix. And if it doesn't come back, I think AHS is the property taking it's place. It's nowhere near as popular viewership wise, but it's very well known (especially among the younger 16-25 crowd, HHN's target audience) and would draw a lot of people in. And if they were to bill it as something a lot more extreme than a normal house without it being an actual extreme house, it'd be a great sell.

Insidious is probably the most likely IP for this year IMO. One of Hollywood's highest rated mazes of all time, franchise is still wildly popular (and actually good, imo), and the 3rd movie's out this year. No reason to ignore it if they want to go the IP heavy route again.

I think they will continue to use 70s/80s classic horror IPs because clearly they love using them, and AWiL and Halloween were both the most successful houses of their respective years. I'd be willing to bet on NoES coming this year as that was the most popular of the NLC houses in 07 and is probably more known than Leatherface, then save F13 for 2016, if at all.

And that's it for IPs, imo. 3 is all they need to pull in the casual crowd, then do sequels, originals, and a best of house to round it off.

My problem with a "best of" house is that it's very hard to recreate the atmosphere and feeling of a previous house with just 1 or 2 scenes. That's why Hollow'd Past was just a giant waste of potential for me. Dead Exposure is one of the most universally praised houses from pre-2010, and the 2 scenes absolutely butchered that.

My guesses:

Headliners:

AHS/TWD

Insidious

Nightmare on Elm Street

Hollow'd-er Past

Catacombs 2

Nightingales 2

Dark Christmas style original

original

original

*original* (Wishful thinking, but it'd be a better marketing strategy to bill 10 houses instead of 9. Double digits and going up 2 more houses in one year for an anniversary just sounds better to me.)

[mystiquephreeq]

A little birdie told me jack is not coming back:p

Wait! Wait!!! I've made the British connection Doc's been hinting at!!!

Jack isn't coming back. We are getting his British cousin Union Jack!!!!!

*ggls maniacally*