Fully agreed across the board, I'm very happy to see the rankings all over the place. From the lil bits of info given, it really sounds like we've got a diverse bunch of houses. This is always something I love to hear, since for an event with ten houses, you don't want things coming off as same-same. There's also that saying, "If you try pleasing everyone, you end up pleasing no one." When you have a diverse lineup of houses, there's gonna' be houses that folks will gel with more than others, and that's perfectly fine! I'd rather have that over a clear frontrunner, since that can be a sign that they did one house really well, but not so much for the rest. Funny how that works.
I wouldn't say so, in retrospect 30 had a tinge of rose-colored glasses in the form of we were just happy to have the event back. But looking back on it and comparing it to previous years, 30's house lineup is a tad weaker compared to previous years. I can firmly say Beetlejuice and Icons have NOT held up well. They've done better "Fun" houses with ones like Killer Klowns from Outer Space, and besides the throne gimmick and Storytellers glow-up, Icons suffered everywhere else. Revenge of the Tooth Fairy lacked the creepy punch it had in 2020, S(C)arey was just kinda' there...the list goes on.
When you have a truly diverse lineup of houses, you're not gonna' find everyone agreeing on the same things. I saw some folks didn't think much about Hellblock, but at the same time I see it was #1 for someone else. I also see certain houses in the top for others, but then mid or lower for someone else and vis versa. This is a much better sign than if everyone had the exact same houses up top.