The Icons and Lore Thread

[Ringwraith]

Let's get this party started. It's all icon and lore talk, all the time.

These are some of the questions that run through my head when I think of HHN, so feel free to chime in or ask your own and we can discuss.

Why does Terra Queen get only one year, but Chance and her boring backstory get to be at several events? Why are some characters in HHN lore, not icons? What does the future hold for the icons and should some be retired, replaced or enhanced? What happened to the Legendary Truth? What backstory would you give to some of the icons that doesn't exist?

Let's get this conversation going!

I'm also going to make a list, because 'mericans like to rank things as a way to start, I'm going to rank my top 10 HHN characters/Icons from favorite to least favorite:

1. Bloody Mary
2. Terra Queen
3. Jack
4. Nathaniel Crowe
5. Voodoo Queen
6. Sindy
7. Usher
8. Storyteller
9. Caretaker
10. Director

What are yours?

 

[Legacy]

Favorite characters in HHN lore?

The Projectionist



They should have just used him instead of creating the Usher.

Warden Strickland (Hellgate Prison)



A stellar character who elevated the whole house with a fairly simplistic queue video.

Michael Krueger (Hell High)



Just look at him and tell me that isn’t the most beautifully cheesy thing ever. It’s somehow a creative zenith and nadir in one stupid mask.

 

[reeseyNG]

Thanks for making this Wraith, fun way to have some interesting conversation about the event

To start with, I unfortunately have not been visiting since "The Icon Years", so I've only seen Jack and Chance in power, but I have read up and seen a bunch of videos so I THINK I can speak pretty well on Icons and the important lore characters.

Here's my list of lore characters:

10. Director - He's a psycho director, basic story and pretty basic design but I like that concept. Helps that I'm a film nerd.
9. Chance - Funny that in HER year, she was so boring and pointless, but when she's the sidekick she absolutely shines. She's funny and yeah she's a hot psycho clown whatever.
8. Cindy - Creepy killer kids are always a fun trope. They wrote some insane conceptual stories for the years she was supposed to be the icon, and MAN they would be insane to see played out.
7. Nathaniel Crowe - Very cool story, some of the most in-depth lore available for the event. I. Just. Wish. He Actually. Existed. If I see him in action I'm sure he'll shot the Hell up on the ranking.
6. Usher - Yeah, he's preeeeetty lame and doesn't have too interesting of a story, but I love what I saw from his house and I had a very funny interaction with him at scareactor dining in 25, made me love the guy!
5. Sam Meetz - I want to see a Meetz Meats house in person so, so bad. (Hopefully the year 30 anniversary house, please please) From all the videos I've seen of Leave It To The Cleaver it looks like such a fun, interesting dark comedy house. The little article Universal released about him recently made me enjoy him that much more. Keep the streets clear of riff-raff, Meetz!
4. Terra Queen - She has a super interesting story and really well built lore. I love how much stuff tied into her story her year, and I wish I could have seen her in person. Maybe HHN30?
3. Slaughter Sinema Announcer Guy - Not even a joke, he's technically a lore character since he exists as the trailer guy at the Carey Drive-In. His voice made me so happy, god I loved that house.
2. Jack - I mean, yeah, it's Jack. What else can I say?
1. H.R. Bloodengutz - Funny, brutal, genuinely kinda scary. Killer-looking house and so much potential for a greater expanded story and more fun houses with new concepts. Would love to see him hold down his own event one day, if his actor is still available.

Honorable Mentions! Bloody Mary, The Caretaker, Eddie, the Warden guy from Hellgate Prison

 

[Ringwraith]

Favorite characters in HHN lore?

The Projectionist

View attachment 12809

They should have just used him instead of creating the Usher.

Warden Strickland (Hellgate Prison)

View attachment 12808

A stellar character who elevated the whole house with a fairly simplistic queue video.

Michael Krueger (Hell High)

View attachment 12810

Just look at him and tell me that isn’t the most beautifully cheesy thing ever. It’s somehow a creative zenith and nadir in one stupid mask.

I agree with you when it comes too the projectionist.

There really is something fantastic about that mask...I'm too lazy to look, but was this before they secured the New Line Cinema crew and therefore could get away with it because it's parody?

I'm curious about the fandom for Strickland. He seems like the typical death penalty supporting warden and former politician and rather boring.

Thanks for making this Wraith, fun way to have some interesting conversation about the event

To start with, I unfortunately have not been visiting since "The Icon Years", so I've only seen Jack and Chance in power, but I have read up and seen a bunch of videos so I THINK I can speak pretty well on Icons and the important lore characters.

Here's my list of lore characters:

10. Director - He's a psycho director, basic story and pretty basic design but I like that concept. Helps that I'm a film nerd.
9. Chance - Funny that in HER year, she was so boring and pointless, but when she's the sidekick she absolutely shines. She's funny and yeah she's a hot psycho clown whatever.
8. Cindy - Creepy killer kids are always a fun trope. They wrote some insane conceptual stories for the years she was supposed to be the icon, and MAN they would be insane to see played out.
7. Nathaniel Crowe - Very cool story, some of the most in-depth lore available for the event. I. Just. Wish. He Actually. Existed. If I see him in action I'm sure he'll shot the Hell up on the ranking.
6. Usher - Yeah, he's preeeeetty lame and doesn't have too interesting of a story, but I love what I saw from his house and I had a very funny interaction with him at scareactor dining in 25, made me love the guy!
5. Sam Meetz - I want to see a Meetz Meats house in person so, so bad. (Hopefully the year 30 anniversary house, please please) From all the videos I've seen of Leave It To The Cleaver it looks like such a fun, interesting dark comedy house. The little article Universal released about him recently made me enjoy him that much more. Keep the streets clear of riff-raff, Meetz!
4. Terra Queen - She has a super interesting story and really well built lore. I love how much stuff tied into her story her year, and I wish I could have seen her in person. Maybe HHN30?
3. Slaughter Sinema Announcer Guy - Not even a joke, he's technically a lore character since he exists as the trailer guy at the Carey Drive-In. His voice made me so happy, god I loved that house.
2. Jack - I mean, yeah, it's Jack. What else can I say?
1. H.R. Bloodengutz - Funny, brutal, genuinely kinda scary. Killer-looking house and so much potential for a greater expanded story and more fun houses with new concepts. Would love to see him hold down his own event one day, if his actor is still available.

Honorable Mentions! Bloody Mary, The Caretaker, Eddie, the Warden guy from Hellgate Prison

My pleasure!

Ah! I probably should have put HR Bloodengutz in my rankings as well.

I'd really be much more excited if Lady Luck and Chance were replaced by Voodoo Queen or Sindy as strong female characters. They're just so bland and uninteresting. I'm not sure if it's the whole idea of "sex sells," but if it is, that's really selling them short.

 

[00_Themeparkfan_00]

I'm curious, what happened to Legendary Truth after the events of HHN20, did they just mysteriously disappear? Or are they out doing their own missions?

 

[reeseyNG]

Favorite characters in HHN lore?

The Projectionist

View attachment 12809

They should have just used him instead of creating the Usher.

Warden Strickland (Hellgate Prison)

View attachment 12808

A stellar character who elevated the whole house with a fairly simplistic queue video.

Michael Krueger (Hell High)

View attachment 12810

Just look at him and tell me that isn’t the most beautifully cheesy thing ever. It’s somehow a creative zenith and nadir in one stupid mask.

Huh. How have I never heard of The Projectionist? What's his deal?

 

[Legacy]

I agree with you when it comes too the projectionist.

There really is something fantastic about that mask...I'm too lazy to look, but was this before they secured the New Line Cinema crew and therefore could get away with it because it's parody?

I'm curious about the fandom for Strickland. He seems like the typical death penalty supporting warden and former politician and rather boring.

He was from ‘98-long before Universal was even pretending to care.

And Strickland was exactly that, but awesomely quippy at the same time. Sometimes, a simple idea executed well does wonders.



EDIT -

Huh. How have I never heard of The Projectionist? What's his deal?

The Projectionist

Despite the very short length, this article doesn’t count as a stub as all the necessary information has been gathered. Thus, there is no further information that needs to be added. "It's all true! It's all true! I have the proof! Do you wanna see something really scary? Be warned! Once you...

halloweenhorrornights.fandom.com

 

[Ringwraith]

He was from ‘98-long before Universal was even pretending to care.

And Strickland was exactly that, but awesomely quippy at the same time. Sometimes, a simple idea executed well does wonders.

This is where enhancements to backstory could be made. Since Eddie is linked to Run and Run: Blood, Sweat and Fears takes place at Hellgate, those two could end up having a backstory. Eddie is obviously linked to Jack and then Jack could have a link to Strickland by making him the former director of Shadybrook. Maybe his methods were a little too violent and that's why he was moved to the prison system.

 

[Returning-The-Reaction]

Official Icons

1. Bloody Mary
2. The Caretaker
3. The Director
4. Jack
5. The Usher
6. Fear
7. Chance
8. The Storyteller
9. Lady Luck

Pseudo Icons

1. Terra Queen
2. Eddie
3. Cindy

Other 'Original' Characters (undoubtedly forgetting some)

1. The OG Nightingales
2. The Gentlemen (Body Collectors)
3. Psychoscareapy inmates
4. Warden Strickland
5. The Projectionist
6. H.R. Bloodengutz
7. The Evil Queen (Scary Tales)
8. Vampyr/Blood Masquerade Vampires
9. Gothic Gargoyles
10. Harvest of the Souls scarecrows
11. Skoolhouse children
12. Samuel Meetz
13. The Forsaken Crew
14. Plague Doctors
15. Stilt-Tree Man
16. The Spawning Sculders (j/k)

 

[Legacy]

Stilt-Tree Man

OH MY GOD! I forgot how amazing he and the Stilt-Rock Man were.

 

[Frightnight03]

Not being local, I’ve only has the privilege of having been to a couple HHN’s (and was/am hoping to go this year). Is there a good summary somewhere of the story behind all of the Icons?

 

[Ringwraith]

Not being local, I’ve only has the privilege of having been to a couple HHN’s (and was/am hoping to go this year). Is there a good summary somewhere of the story behind all of the Icons?

Halloween Horror Nights Crypt - Icons is a good place to start.

If you'd like to go down the rabbit hole of websites, you should try this link: Hallow'd Past: Past HHN Websites - Archived Versions

When you go to the websites, look for your pointer to turn into a "pointer finger" ANYWHERE on the screen. It's back when Universal hid links in tiny symbols or what have you, on the page. I know there are a few sites, I believe 14-19 that have links to click in the top right, that will open different portals of games and things that can provide hours of enjoyment! There are also a ton of behind the scenes videos that show A&D's processes for creating the event. If you have any questions on what the pages should look like or how to complete some of the activities, I've survived most of the games (minus CoC since I think they're impossible due to non-working functions). The LT website is pretty deep too. It's really a lot of fun and time consuming, but well worthwhile in my opinion.

 

[Cwoolboy]

Official Icons
1. Bloody Mary
2. The Usher
3. The Director
4. The Caretaker
5. Jack
6. The Storyteller
7. Fear
8. Lady Luck
9. Chance

 

[MrRoamer]

OH MY GOD! I forgot how amazing he and the Stilt-Rock Man were.

Stilt Rock Man broke me and my friends so many times!!! Always one of the stories I tell people new to the event. "Help!! I got stuck! Help get me down from here!!!"

 

[Skubersky]

He was from ‘98-long before Universal was even pretending to care.

And Strickland was exactly that, but awesomely quippy at the same time. Sometimes, a simple idea executed well does wonders.



EDIT -

The Projectionist

Despite the very short length, this article doesn’t count as a stub as all the necessary information has been gathered. Thus, there is no further information that needs to be added. "It's all true! It's all true! I have the proof! Do you wanna see something really scary? Be warned! Once you...

halloweenhorrornights.fandom.com

I’m pretty sure Strickland is played by Bryce Ward, who was also Albert Caine (The Caretaker) and one of my favorite original HMU hosts.

 

[Legacy]

I’m pretty sure Strickland is played by Bryce Ward, who was also Albert Caine (The Caretaker) and one of my favorite original HMU hosts.

Bryce is awesome. He was in our Screamhouse green room for when he’d go out and interact with the queue.

 

[Allison]

OMG the audacity, the absolute slander towards Chance in here-I

 

[Ringwraith]

OMG the audacity, the absolute slander towards Chance in here-I

Universal made strong, deep female characters with the Terra Queen and Mary Agana. They failed to do that with Chance and it shows :shrug:

The same can be said for The Director and in some aspects, the Usher. They're just not obnoxious, so they slip through the cracks.

 

[Allison]

Universal made strong, deep female characters with the Terra Queen and Mary Agana. They failed to do that with Chance and it shows :shrug:

The same can be said for The Director and in some aspects, the Usher. They're just not obnoxious, so they slip through the cracks.

Lol I wasn’t being serious, Chance is the only icon I’ve ever experienced so she just holds a special place in my heart that’s all.

 

[DanyulTheManiel]

Speaking of Chance, has there ever been a specific backstory for her? I remember at 26 she mentioned that she was part of Oddfellow’s Circus before meeting Jack so I’m curious if anyone has more insight?