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HHN 28: Most Anticipated House

Which house are you most looking forward to this year?

  • Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

  • Seeds of Extinction

  • Carnival Graveyard

  • Poltergeist

  • Stranger Things

  • Horrors of Blumhouse

  • Trick 'r Treat

  • Slaughter Sinema

  • Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After

  • Dead Exposure: Patient Zero


Results are only viewable after voting.
5. Stranger Things - This house would have been ranked higher if they were taking a different route in translating the content to their haunted house. It would have been ranked lower had they not decided to cast lookalikes in the main characters' roles. I'm a fan of the show (who isn't?) and I'm excited to see some of the settings from the show brought to life. However, the time waiting in line for this house may end up being scarier than the house.
:wave::lol:
 
1) Carnival Graveyard – Concept is great and it sounds like they’re trying something new with this. Very excited. Hopefully it’s longer than Dead Waters.

2) Poltergeist – My favorite houses have been the classic horror film ones. The Exorcist and Shining were stellar. Can’t wait to see what they do for this one.

3) Slaughter Sinema – Give me silly horror b-movie scares. GIVE THEM TO ME NOW!

4) Seeds of Extinction – If it’s anything like Scarecrow as others have hinted, I should just bring an extra pair of underpants. That one was intense.

5) Trick R Treat – One of the best Halloween movies of all time. Scare zone was flat out stunning. Love that they’re expanding into a house.

6) Scary Tales – I’ve never gone through a scary tales house. Always heard they were amazing.

7) Stranger Things – Love the show. I’ll just happy walking through the scenes honestly. Also interested in how they pull off the Demogorgon.

8) Dead Exposure – Cool concept and again, I never experienced the first one so I will be interested to hear from others if it lived up to that.

9) Halloween 4 – Wish it was the new Halloween film. Oh well. Should still be good. I did like the other Halloween houses quite a bit, but yeah…

10) Blumhouse – STAHHHHPPPPP with purge. Please!! Never saw happy death day, but concept sounds neat. Also never really got a real great run through of last year’s.


Overall there’s really only 1 house I’m not too excited for, so that really says something about how solid this year’s lineup is. Two more months for this guy!
 
1. Carnival Graveyard
2. Scary Tales
3. Seeds of Extinction
4. Trick r Treat
5. Stranger Things
6. Slaughter Sinema
7. Poltergeist
8. Dead Exposure
9. Halloween 4
10. Blumhouse
 
I’ve only been to HHN once, and it was at least 10 years ago. Not only that, but I don’t even think we did any houses... maaaaaybe we did 1. We just walked around scare zones and rode rides.

I keep reading how much better the original houses are than the IP houses, so I’m trying to keep my expectations for the IP houses in check. But 4 of the IPs are things I love (TrT, Poltergeist, Stranger Things, Michael Myers), so it is proving difficult!

1. Trick r Treat
2. Poltergeist
3. Carnival Graveyard
4. Slaughter Sinema
5. Stranger Things
6. Halloween 4
7. Scary Tales
8. Seeds of Extinction
9. Blumhouse
10. Dead Exposure
 
Dead Exposure! I have it as most anticipated because it still holds my favorite house spot from my first ever trip to HHN 10 years ago. Crowds were still next to nothing on a weeknight then. We did each house 3-5 times with no express. Wife and I fell in love with the event and have not turned back. I do not expect this house to be my favorite this year, but i cant wait for the memories to rush back.
 
I wanted to post my list like as soon as this thread was up but as I find out more about certain aspects of houses, Ive realized my list has almost completely flip flopped... so Im glad I waited haha. Okay I had to break it down between IPs and Originals -- and then make a top ten from there.

IPs:

#5 - Halloween:
I know this probably isn't anyone's #1 pick, but the more I think about it the less excited I get for it. I am afraid it will just feel like a house we have already experienced, twice, but in a smaller capacity. I think the limited space that Shrek offers will be both a blessing and a curse -- a blessing because the tight space will make it so that it feels like myers is RIGHT on top of you, very claustrophobic which will benefit the ambience. A curse because limited set space tends to mean more generic or easily forgettable set spaces. Im afraid it will pretty much be a 'knock-off' version of the original house.

#4 - Trick R Treat: Slightly unpopular opinion here.... but the only thing I am really excited about for this house is the multiple facades inside of it. I think its going to be gorgeous and impressive in the size of the rooms/ facades especially because I assume they can use all of b-79 now instead of half since the parade floats now live in b-108. So Im excited for it from a scenic point of view... but now from an overall perspective. I just don't think it will provide more (or better) scares than the street, and honestly I think it will feel just like the street but with out the intimacy and feeling of the "scenes" being spontaneous like the street did.

#3 - Horrors of Blumhouse 2: Really unpopular opinion here... Im really excited for Happy Death Day? I think the movie is fun and enjoyable, and Im excited to see the creative team translate the "groundhog day" effect of the movie. From what Ive heard, I think it'll be fun and possibly humorous house... HDD might actually be the comedy house haha. I can't really comment on the First Purge, its neither here nor there for me. I havent seen this movie yet so all I can really say is that I actually find the Purge more enjoyable in a house setting than in a street setting, so that leaves me feeling generally more optimistic about this house. I also like that it is only 2 movies this year instead of three, I think that will benefit the balance of the house as well. My gut says this will be a lot like HOB last year where (almost) everyone was pleasantly surprised and ended up enjoying it more than expected.

#2 - Poltergeist: This really should be a tie for #1. I can't believe that its not my number one lol. So coming in an EXTREMELY close second that I might change my mind about tomorrow, Poltergeist! Like many, this is one of my all time favorite horror movies. This is honestly one that I didn't ever expect to get to experience as a house at HHN and Im beyond excited that it is happening. I really hope that the sets are huge and fantastic, especially with using SS 25. My one thing that worries me is simply not knowing a lot about the scares or how they will "work". No matter what I am so excited to see creatives interpretation of it. Exorcist was one of my favorite houses, so Im hoping they bring the same 'energy' to designing this house.

#1 - Stranger Things: Im literally shocked this has become my #1. When more and more was being announced and speculated ST found itself in the middle of the pack for me purely based on how much I enjoy the show. As more and more was found out, I got steadily more and more excited. With what I have heard so far, I think this house is going to be stunning. Scary... probably not. But honestly none of the IPs feel scary to me this year, and most of the originals dont either. I dont think that makes a bad house though. I think some of the demogorgons will have great "startle" moments, enhanced by stellar costuming and the fact the guests will be so distracted by the look alikes and set pieces. Fingers crossed on that haha.

ORIGINALS:

#5 - Seeds of Extinction:
When I speak of a house that was previously the top of my list dropping to the bottom.... this is the one. I think the concept of the house is fairly solid, but the execution worries me. I think the sets will be cool, B-108 is a great space to use. But I think the "scariness" of this house will be from the general ambience of it, not from the actual scares. Which I find really disappointing actually lol. I think the scares might feel limited and static if the whispers Ive heard are true. This might be the "creepiest" house though, and the dark and creepy ambience may end up placing this one higher once everything is said and done. Overall though, its the original I forget about sometimes.

#4 - Slaughter Sinema: This is another that dropped from really high to really low for me. I think the guests will be confused by this one. It puts off such a campy vibes, and I dont think itll be campy at all. Which can leave guests just feeling confused as they experience it and leave. Im excited to see these original b-horror flicks theyve designed but thats about it.

#3 - ScaryTales: These top three are all really close for me. Scarytales I think will be visually stunning and theres some scenes in there that I cannot WAIT to see in person. Plus it has the benefit of being one of my favorite HHN "franchises". I even liked the zone in 25 :p Why this isnt 2 or 1 for me though is because Im afraid the story line of "wicked witch telling the stories" or whatever wont translate unless you already know thats what the story is. Granted, I dont think that means that the house will suffer from that though. Houses can be enjoyable even if you dont know all the tiny aspects of the backstory lol.

#2 - Dead Exposure: Patient Zero: Ive been hype about this since it was announced. Whenever people ask me about favorite houses, especially favorite original houses, the OG Dead Exposure ALWAYS comes up from me. That house was one of the most intense and unique houses I had experienced and its stuck with me since. It made my HHN buddy who has gone with me for YEARS cry, and shes not a crier. Purely based on my favorable bias towards the original, this is my #2.

#1 - Carnival Graveyard: Here it is. I know MANY people are looking forward to this house and anticipating it and I totally get why. The amount of effort that has gone into the lore of this house... it feels so "classically" HHN. Like the HHN us old people always talk about missing haha. Im excited for the design of it, the costumes, the uniqueness of the set up, the set pieces, the MUSIC, and literally everything. And I usually hate anything remotely "clown"y being used. So. Theres that too.

OVERALL:
#9 - Seeds of Extinction
#8 - Slaughter Sinema
#7 - Halloween
#6 - Trick R Treat
#5 - Horrors of Blumhouse 2
#4 - ScaryTales
#3 - Poltergeist
#2 - Dead Exposure
#1 - TIE: Stranger Things & Carnival Graveyard (Theyre too different, and on two opposite sides of what I love about HHN, I cant choose!)
 
1. Carnival Graveyard
2. Dead Exposure
3. ScaryTales
4. Trick 'r Treat
5. Slaughter Sinema
6. Stranger Things
7. Seeds of Extinction
8. Poltergeist
9. Halloween 4
10. Horrors of Blumhouse 2

A&D did a phenomenal job with the original concepts imo, now hopefully they shine when it counts. My top most anticipated houses are pretty much all originals. I have Stranger things in the middle of my list mostly because I think it's going to be like The Shining last year where it looks pretty, but isn't all that scary. Poltergeist, Halloween and the IPs in HoB don't really interest me much. I'm most looking forward to Trick 'r Treat on the IP side by quite a bit.
 
Man, I have back and forth on a number of these - and to be fair, I think I will love them all for different reasons. But as it stands right now, this is what I am looking at ...

1. Poltergeist
2. Scary Tales : Deadly Ever After
3. Carnival Graveyard
4. Slaughter Sinema
5. Trick R Treat
6. Dead Exposure
7. Seeds Of Extinction
8. Stranger Things
9. Halloween 4
10. Horrors Of Blumhouse
 
I wanted to post my list like as soon as this thread was up but as I find out more about certain aspects of houses, Ive realized my list has almost completely flip flopped... so Im glad I waited haha. Okay I had to break it down between IPs and Originals -- and then make a top ten from there.

IPs:

#5 - Halloween:
I know this probably isn't anyone's #1 pick, but the more I think about it the less excited I get for it. I am afraid it will just feel like a house we have already experienced, twice, but in a smaller capacity. I think the limited space that Shrek offers will be both a blessing and a curse -- a blessing because the tight space will make it so that it feels like myers is RIGHT on top of you, very claustrophobic which will benefit the ambience. A curse because limited set space tends to mean more generic or easily forgettable set spaces. Im afraid it will pretty much be a 'knock-off' version of the original house.

#4 - Trick R Treat: Slightly unpopular opinion here.... but the only thing I am really excited about for this house is the multiple facades inside of it. I think its going to be gorgeous and impressive in the size of the rooms/ facades especially because I assume they can use all of b-79 now instead of half since the parade floats now live in b-108. So Im excited for it from a scenic point of view... but now from an overall perspective. I just don't think it will provide more (or better) scares than the street, and honestly I think it will feel just like the street but with out the intimacy and feeling of the "scenes" being spontaneous like the street did.

#3 - Horrors of Blumhouse 2: Really unpopular opinion here... Im really excited for Happy Death Day? I think the movie is fun and enjoyable, and Im excited to see the creative team translate the "groundhog day" effect of the movie. From what Ive heard, I think it'll be fun and possibly humorous house... HDD might actually be the comedy house haha. I can't really comment on the First Purge, its neither here nor there for me. I havent seen this movie yet so all I can really say is that I actually find the Purge more enjoyable in a house setting than in a street setting, so that leaves me feeling generally more optimistic about this house. I also like that it is only 2 movies this year instead of three, I think that will benefit the balance of the house as well. My gut says this will be a lot like HOB last year where (almost) everyone was pleasantly surprised and ended up enjoying it more than expected.

#2 - Poltergeist: This really should be a tie for #1. I can't believe that its not my number one lol. So coming in an EXTREMELY close second that I might change my mind about tomorrow, Poltergeist! Like many, this is one of my all time favorite horror movies. This is honestly one that I didn't ever expect to get to experience as a house at HHN and Im beyond excited that it is happening. I really hope that the sets are huge and fantastic, especially with using SS 25. My one thing that worries me is simply not knowing a lot about the scares or how they will "work". No matter what I am so excited to see creatives interpretation of it. Exorcist was one of my favorite houses, so Im hoping they bring the same 'energy' to designing this house.

#1 - Stranger Things: Im literally shocked this has become my #1. When more and more was being announced and speculated ST found itself in the middle of the pack for me purely based on how much I enjoy the show. As more and more was found out, I got steadily more and more excited. With what I have heard so far, I think this house is going to be stunning. Scary... probably not. But honestly none of the IPs feel scary to me this year, and most of the originals dont either. I dont think that makes a bad house though. I think some of the demogorgons will have great "startle" moments, enhanced by stellar costuming and the fact the guests will be so distracted by the look alikes and set pieces. Fingers crossed on that haha.

ORIGINALS:

#5 - Seeds of Extinction:
When I speak of a house that was previously the top of my list dropping to the bottom.... this is the one. I think the concept of the house is fairly solid, but the execution worries me. I think the sets will be cool, B-108 is a great space to use. But I think the "scariness" of this house will be from the general ambience of it, not from the actual scares. Which I find really disappointing actually lol. I think the scares might feel limited and static if the whispers Ive heard are true. This might be the "creepiest" house though, and the dark and creepy ambience may end up placing this one higher once everything is said and done. Overall though, its the original I forget about sometimes.

#4 - Slaughter Sinema: This is another that dropped from really high to really low for me. I think the guests will be confused by this one. It puts off such a campy vibes, and I dont think itll be campy at all. Which can leave guests just feeling confused as they experience it and leave. Im excited to see these original b-horror flicks theyve designed but thats about it.

#3 - ScaryTales: These top three are all really close for me. Scarytales I think will be visually stunning and theres some scenes in there that I cannot WAIT to see in person. Plus it has the benefit of being one of my favorite HHN "franchises". I even liked the zone in 25 :p Why this isnt 2 or 1 for me though is because Im afraid the story line of "wicked witch telling the stories" or whatever wont translate unless you already know thats what the story is. Granted, I dont think that means that the house will suffer from that though. Houses can be enjoyable even if you dont know all the tiny aspects of the backstory lol.

#2 - Dead Exposure: Patient Zero: Ive been hype about this since it was announced. Whenever people ask me about favorite houses, especially favorite original houses, the OG Dead Exposure ALWAYS comes up from me. That house was one of the most intense and unique houses I had experienced and its stuck with me since. It made my HHN buddy who has gone with me for YEARS cry, and shes not a crier. Purely based on my favorable bias towards the original, this is my #2.

#1 - Carnival Graveyard: Here it is. I know MANY people are looking forward to this house and anticipating it and I totally get why. The amount of effort that has gone into the lore of this house... it feels so "classically" HHN. Like the HHN us old people always talk about missing haha. Im excited for the design of it, the costumes, the uniqueness of the set up, the set pieces, the MUSIC, and literally everything. And I usually hate anything remotely "clown"y being used. So. Theres that too.

OVERALL:
#9 - Seeds of Extinction
#8 - Slaughter Sinema
#7 - Halloween
#6 - Trick R Treat
#5 - Horrors of Blumhouse 2
#4 - ScaryTales
#3 - Poltergeist
#2 - Dead Exposure
#1 - TIE: Stranger Things & Carnival Graveyard (Theyre too different, and on two opposite sides of what I love about HHN, I cant choose!)

Hope you’re wrong about most houses not being scary. Your description of Seeds does make me think of Scarecrow, though.
 
Hope you’re wrong about most houses not being scary. Your description of Seeds does make me think of Scarecrow, though.

I guess I should clarify that there’s usually only one house per year that I would call “scary” maybe 2. Not trying to sound like a tough guy because also in full disclosure I am INCREDIBLY easy to startle. I could be walking through a house that I’ve worked before and be startled by a scare that I should absolutely know is there lol. I think there will be plenty of that, I just don’t think I’ll find a house scary except for maybe carnival? Of course what people find scary is totally subjective haha so don’t let me saying that make you think differently! Because in the end, I’m honestly excited for all 10, I think it’ll be a solid year.
 
I guess I should clarify that there’s usually only one house per year that I would call “scary” maybe 2. Not trying to sound like a tough guy because also in full disclosure I am INCREDIBLY easy to startle. I could be walking through a house that I’ve worked before and be startled by a scare that I should absolutely know is there lol. I think there will be plenty of that, I just don’t think I’ll find a house scary except for maybe carnival? Of course what people find scary is totally subjective haha so don’t let me saying that make you think differently! Because in the end, I’m honestly excited for all 10, I think it’ll be a solid year.

I’d think DE2 would be the scariest? Even more excited about Carnival now.
 
Poltergeist seems like it could be scariest if they go with a static/strobe effect.
Dead Exposure would be scariest if it's as dark as I think it could be
Seeds of Extinction can be the scariest if they pull off hidden actors amongst the plants
Blumhouse could be scariest if the Purge section decides to be very aggressive and strobe the hell out of it (like in Scream)
 
I’d think DE2 would be the scariest? Even more excited about Carnival now.

Oh yeah DE2 absolutely could be! I should of included that too haha.

Poltergeist seems like it could be scariest if they go with a static/strobe effect.
Dead Exposure would be scariest if it's as dark as I think it could be
Seeds of Extinction can be the scariest if they pull off hidden actors amongst the plants
Blumhouse could be scariest if the Purge section decides to be very aggressive and strobe the hell out of it (like in Scream)

I want poltergeist to be scary. I’m finding that one hard to read so far. I’m excited for it regardless!

I want DE to be as scary as I found the first one. Fingers crossed for that, I am feeling optimistic.

Seeds will depend on the actors adapting to the house and scares I think, it’s a 50/50 for me.

I would LOVE for Blumhouse to have the aggressiveness that the house had the one year. That was a house I wasn’t excited for, and then found myself wanting to go through multiple times a night. Great energy from that house
 
Oh yeah DE2 absolutely could be! I should of included that too haha.



I want poltergeist to be scary. I’m finding that one hard to read so far. I’m excited for it regardless!

I want DE to be as scary as I found the first one. Fingers crossed for that, I am feeling optimistic.

Seeds will depend on the actors adapting to the house and scares I think, it’s a 50/50 for me.

I would LOVE for Blumhouse to have the aggressiveness that the house had the one year. That was a house I wasn’t excited for, and then found myself wanting to go through multiple times a night. Great energy from that house

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't want to see a toned-down event, which is my only real concern about this year.
 
Felt like posting my list before attending in a couple weeks. Always fun to look at the rankings after experiencing the event.

Houses
10) Horrors of Blumhouse Vol. 2
09) Halloween 4
08) Stranger Things
07) Poltergeist
06) Dead Exposure
05) Slaughter Sinema
04) Scary Tales
03) Trick R Treat
02) Seeds of Extinction
01) Carnival Graveyard

Scarezones
05) Harvest
04) Chucky
03) Twisted Traditions
02) Killer Klownz
01) Vamp ‘85
 
I guess I should add some reasoning..

1. Dead Exposure - The 2008 house is in my all time top-10. I'm hoping they're able to re-create the tone of that house with this year's. I have some doubts, but I'm very excited to see how it compares. I may be setting myself up for disappointment.
2. Scary Tales - Again, the 2008 house is in my all time top-10 (top 3, really.) I'm hoping for a good blend of awesome scenic/costumes mixed with well-designed and clever scares. I will say that I was very disappointed with the scarezone in 2015. I hope they steer clear of anything resembling that zone in here.
3. Carnival Graveyard - Potential. Bold creative choices here could potentially be just what the event needs. It could also potentially fall flat. No matter what though, it's going to be eye candy. I hope the overall tone of the house is more scary than fun.
4. Halloween - The 2014 house is also in my all time top-3, and I really enjoyed the 2016 house. I don't think you can really go wrong with Michael Myers in a haunted house. I am not a fan of the 4th movie and would have preferred this house was based on the new Blumhouse movie. I'm a bit fearful of the limitations the Shrek theater presents, but..in the end, it's still Michael Myers. It's still the iconic music. I think I will really enjoy the house.
5. Stranger Things - This house would have been ranked higher if they were taking a different route in translating the content to their haunted house. It would have been ranked lower had they not decided to cast lookalikes in the main characters' roles. I'm a fan of the show (who isn't?) and I'm excited to see some of the settings from the show brought to life. However, the time waiting in line for this house may end up being scarier than the house.
6. Seeds of Extinction - Speaking of queues being scary, I don't think my feet are fully prepared for the walk to and from this house. To justify repeat treks to the end of the world, this house is going to have to deliver in a big way. The concept doesn't scream "frightening" to me. I wonder if going with Scarecrow comparisons will be too much to live up to in the end. Admittedly, I wasn't as fond of Scarecrow as most. For now, this house seems a bit all over the place in content/theme/tone. We shall see.
7. Slaughter Sinema - I'm not a fan of b-movies. But with this house, I hope they really play up the camp. I just don't know if it's going to work as a scary house. Humor may be the way to go with this one. The entry setup should be cool.
8. Poltergeist - Recently re-watched the movie for the first time in many, many years. It has held up well. However, I fear the content just doesn't lend itself very well to a haunted attraction. Also, supernatural houses aren't usually my favorites. While not as bad as Seeds of Extinction or Trick 'r Treat, I'm not looking forward to the hike to and from this house.
9. Trick 'r Treat - I think the content from the movie lends itself better to a haunted house rather than a scare zone, so that's a plus. However, I do not typically enjoy repeated IPs at HHN and especially not in back-to-back years. While the traditional Halloween holiday themes are some of my favorites, I feel like they have been overdone at HHN in recent years. Add in Twisted Tradition as a loose pre-house zone and it's just a bit too much of the same to me. Not looking forward to the long queue, either. This house would have been much higher up on my list had it been at say HHN 18/19/20.
10. Horrors of Blumhouse - As much as I ended up being surprised by last year's house, I don't expect a repeat this year. The only thing that intrigues me about this house is how well they'll adapt Happy Death Day's repeating scenes. If I could exit the house midway through and completely skip The Purge content, I would. I hope the actors make me eat my words.
Ok, here's my revised and final pre-attendance hype order:
  1. Dead Exposure
  2. Seeds of Extinction
  3. Scary Tales
  4. Poltergeist
  5. Carnival Graveyard
  6. Stranger Things
  7. Trick 'r Treat
  8. Halloween 4
  9. Slaughter Sinema
  10. Horrors of Blumhouse
 
In my opinion, this is the most stacked lineup in the time i have been attending (since 23).. There is no house that i'm not looking forward to.

1. Slaughter Sinema
While I don't expect SS to have too many scares or even grandiose sets, I can see this becoming the maze that I have to do every night I go. (Similar to how I felt about AIW at 25)

2. Seeds of Extinction
one of the more unique concepts for a maze. I wasn't a fan of Tomb of the Ancients, but loved Scarecrow. interested to see where this one falls on the spectrum of the claustrophobic houses.

3. Trick 'r ' Treat
Very few movies embody the spirit of Halloween more-so than Trick'r'Treat. That spirit was captured perfectly in last years scarezone, and hopefully it will spill over into the house. Also, i am highly anticipating some of the final scenes that have been mentioned by insiders and creators

4. Carnival Graveyard
interested in this maze's layout, as well as scale of the set pieces. I think this will be my favorite maze on a visual level

5. Poltergeist
I'm guilty of having only seen portions of this movie; but what I have seen, I have adored.

6. Stranger Things
I like the show (maybe not as much as others) but the released photos look amazing and with the amount of hype surrounding StrTh, It's almost impossible (for me) to not be ecstatic for this.

7. Scary Tales
have never been through a scary tales maze and am looking forward to finally experiencing an edition to a highly regarded original concept

8. Halloween 4
I just love Myers, and honestly love the Shrek theater as a maze location

9. Dead Exposure
Regardless of the fact that this is number 9, I am still very excited for this maze. I've always wished that they would recreate the DE effect in some aspect, and what better way to do so than in a prequel.

10. Blumhouse
Last years house was tons of fun; and I think this will be as well. I am really not a fan of this facade though.. but hey, what can ya do.

happy horror nights everybody
 
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