Movies

We Rank the 2024 Houses at Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights

by Rotem Rusak
Sep 19 2024 • 8:35 AM

Halloween Horror Nights is an incredible tradition. Not only does it bring the spirit of Halloween to life in full, but it’s also an exquisite meeting of screams, scares, art, theater, craftsmanship, and delight. Halloween Horror Nights brings weird to the forefront, which we could not mean in a more complimentary way. It’s honestly a boo-tiful thing. At Nerdist, we had the pleasure of visiting Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando this year during the park’s media preview. And we were absolutely stunned by the eerie array of delights. From delectable themed treats (that were as terrifying as they were delicious) to a ton of thematic atmosphere to huge crowds of horror fans passing out friendship bracelets and celebrating their favorite genre, Halloween Horror Nights had it all. But, of course, the main thing on offer was the theme park’s Haunted Houses. While they were all spectacular, we wanted to share our final rankings of Universal Orlando’s 2024 Halloween Horror Nights haunted houses with you.

Halloween Horror Nights Universal Orlando 2024 Haunted Houses ranked
Nerdist

It’s hard to rank Universal Orlando’s 2024 Halloween Horror Nights Houses from worst to best. That wouldn’t be right. But we’ll just rank them from awesome to TOO AWESOME TO FOR WORDS instead. Here we go.

10. Major Sweets Candy Factory

Major Sweets Candy Factory is one sweet scare. This house is actually a prequel to Universal Orlando’s 2022 Halloween Horror Nights House, “Sweet Revenge.” In that house, Major Sweets gave kids some candy and they went rabid and murderous. Major Sweets Candy Factory takes place prior to that and tells the tale of a field trip from Progress County to the candy factory. Guests of horror nights are the chaperones on the field trip, but alas, the children get samples of some of the sweets, and the results are deliciously murderous.

This was a fun house and very gory. But I felt it could have leaned into the candy theme a little more. I was imagining something a bit more Willy Wonka-esque (and maybe a little bit more aesthetic), but instead, it was really more just GROSS. For some, that might mean a lot of fun. But for me, it wasn’t the most immersive house I visited. Still, the presence of GATS or “Guest Activated Triggers” made for some excellent surprises! And this house absolutely put some yuck in the yum of candy, in a good way. There was also some intense rattling and slamming, which gave me quite a jump.

9. Triplets of Terror

Unfortunately for Triplets of Terror, I just so happened to visit it after I visited my favorite house, which you can scroll down to learn more about. And so, I think the comparison just made this house feel a bit flatter. The story is that the Barmy triplets killed their entire family on their 9th birthday, and every ten years, they reenact the murder, killing more people throughout. In 2024, they’re celebrating the 40th anniversary of the deaths, so they are out for some blood. The house was definitely creepy and very bloody, and the jump scares were a lot of fun.

But for me, the story wasn’t that salient, making me less connected overall. Once again, I think I’m just more naturally drawn to houses that are a bit more fantastical. This one felt of a slasher movie and had a very realistic energy, which could work well if that’s your taste!

8. The Museum: Deadly Exhibits

Prepare to rot! The Museum: Deadly Exhibits features a museum of folklore (not the Taylor Swift album) that has received a new exhibit, the Rotting Stone. The Rotting Stone has a hold not only on the people but also on the museum itself, rotting it from the inside out. For me, this Halloween Horror Nights Universal Orlando 2024 hour was a sleeper hit. I’m not really a person who goes in for rot, mold, and pestilence. But it turns out the museum was done up with all kinds of historically oriented art and decor; it really told a compelling tale of the Rotting Stone throughout the ages and took us on a very resonant adventure. The attention to detail was honestly iconic.

Not to mention, the rot was really artfully created in a way that worked for me. Unlike Major Sweets’ factory, this gruesome exhibit leaned into the beauty and seeping terror of its decay. That said, I will say this house had a bit less space than some of the others, and many people were in it with you at once, which made the experience a bit more crowded and a little less magical.

However, I did enjoy the true sense of urgency and tension inside The Museum: Deadly Exhibits, with alarm bells and frantic security system recordings that were very immersive. As I said, I expected very little from this one and was pleasantly surprised. It also definitely called to mind The Last of Us, with some mushroom-like creatures invading the world of the house.

7. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was absolutely a delightful haunted house! For me, it’s in the middle of the pack because while I enjoyed its homages and very clever Easter eggs (Hello Slimer!), it wasn’t really very scary. And that makes a ton of sense. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is more about fun and nostalgia than true overwhelming fear. The house was super cute and some of its effects, like its falling snow, were nothing short of amazing. It was also quite hard to tell the difference between animatronics and scare actors, which is a real credit to the experience. Also this house brought in Garraka to great effect. This ancient deity was serving, and I loved it.

6. Slaughter Sinema 2

Slaughter Sinema 2, baby! This is another example of a 2024 Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights House that ranked much higher for me than I thought it would. Slaughter Sinema 2 is the sequel to the 2018 Slaughter Sinema Horror Nights House. Both are about B-rated movies, where B obviously means best. But this time, the camera has turned to show us some true cinematic fun.

The truth is, B-rated movies are not preferred horror movies, either. But Slaughter Sinema 2 totally won me over; it is a cheesy, gory, good time. I just had a blast in this house, and the ideas are so, so good. Slaughter Sinema 2 hits at all the best tropes: a Western horror movie, a shark scare, killer clowns, evil machines, cannibals, aliens, mermaids, I could go on. Of course, the mummy strippers sold it. You’re still getting scared, of course, but you’re giddy to be so.

Slaughter Sinema 2 was so camp and so queer. I absolutely adored it.

5. Goblin’s Feast

A Goblin’s Feast is the winner of my heart, but not my top-ranked house, objectively. But this Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2024 haunted house really understood me. If you love dark folklore or Dungeons & Dragons, this house is for you too. In it, the goblins and orcs are celebrating their favorite holiday. But when an orc is cooking, you’re on the menu. It might be a good time to mention that I’m an orc apologist. This house was super beautiful and took care to build out its fantastical nature scenes. It made you feel like you’d wandered right into a treacherous fairy tale of the best kind.

A Goblin’s Feast brought high-spirited energy to the table; it was all about a celebration, after all. Additionally, the monsters were crafted with such care (and there were so many of them) that you really did believe you stumbled into a Goblin Thanksgiving. I also felt like I really got to know the culture of these creatures as I screamed, and that was beautiful to me.

Also worth noting is that the exterior of Goblin Feast was the absolute best. The house turned into a snug little fae cottage with a cozy chimney blowing smoke. I was obsessed with it.

In sum, witches, goblins, and forest spirits, oh my!

4. A Quiet Place

The A Quiet Place house at Halloween Horror Nights Universal Orlando 2024 tells the story of the first two A Quiet Place movies and the Abbott family. Of course, the house beautifully and hauntingly brought you through to all your favorite scenes and settings from the movies. Most importantly, it created absolutely wild versions of the monsters from A Quiet Place that were point-perfect to the terrifying creatures in the films. There was also a lovely incorporation of American Sign Language throughout the house, which Halloween Horror Nights took great care to get right.

But the bar-none best part of the house was that it let you answer for yourself the question that A Quiet Place makes us all ask ourselves. Could I keep quiet? When I was in this house, everyone was deadly silent. No one wanted to be the one who wouldn’t make it through the movie. I myself did not scream once. But this personal challenge brought to life really added stakes to this house. And that’s why A Quiet Place is up there in my rankings of Universal Orlando’s 2024 Halloween Horror Nights House offerings.

3. Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America

Monstruos, wow. Monstruos is an incredible Halloween Horror Nights haunted house. At its core it brings us three myths from Latin America: Tlahuelpuchi, a vampiric witch, La Lechuza, a witch who can shapeshift into an owl, and El Silbón, a damned lost soul. Death, of course, is our guide. This house was gory. There are no two ways about it. There was blood seeping and carnage at every turn. But it was magnificent. Some parts of this house manifested fear, some, tragedy, and others still, beauty. Gorgeous music accompanied your screams at every turn. And the creatures themselves were a sight to behold. It was an aesthetic nightmare, and that’s all I want from my haunted houses. The surreality of Monstruos makes it one Halloween Horror Nights House I would want to return to over and over again.

2. Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines

Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines, BABY! Never has a haunted house has been so exquisitely queer. In it, you follow the story of Saskia Van Helsing, the last surviving member of the Van Helsing family, who takes down monsters. She is getting revenge for the murder of her family. On her quest, she teams up with an unlikely ally in the Bride of Frankenstein, together they take down Dracula’s daughter, She-Wolf and many others. This house has an all female cast, female show director, female hair and makeup, and it shows. Because damn, you feel like the heroine of dark romance as soon as you set foot in it.

A haunted cathedral in the snow is one of the first sights that greet you. And that has stayed with me. The gorgeous gothic sensibilities of this house, its elegant decay, and its epic monsters come together to make it one of my highest-ranked houses from Halloween Horror Nights 2024.

1. Insisidous

Insidious: The Further is everything. So many of the houses were scary, campy, fun, and gorgeous, but Insidious was emotional. It resonated. You could feel everything locked in the movies inside of you as you traversed through. And that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t super scary. All of Insidious‘ best demons came out to greet you. The Long-haired Fiend, The Bride in Black, The Lipstick Face Demon, and more were all present and terrifying. I don’t think I’ve ever screamed so much in such a short period of time. But something about this house felt deep and moving.

It felt like there was a story aching there at every turn in the house. In one of the rooms, Insidious‘ iconic fairy lights lay on the bed, a little light in the darkness. And that really touched my heart. Insidious stayed in my heart the whole night, even though it was the first house I visited. And that’s why it’s a the very top of my Halloween Horror Nights Universal Orlando house rankings.