This story was originally published in the first edition of The Lion’s Tale (October 28, 2019).

Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights is the beloved scream-fest that many Floridians look forward to attending annually.

At the event you can find numbers of extravagant haunted-houses, scare zones to keep you on your toes throughout the park, shows with some of the best performers and actors out there, and overall a very good time.  With every new year, we find ourselves facing a new theme and new fears along with it.

From Oct. 2 to Nov. 2, the event will be open to the public from 6:30 p.m. until 2 am.  Show times vary every hour or so.  The annual event has been going on for almost 30 years with this year being the 29th year of haunting chills and thrills. Many older people have gone to almost all, if not all, of the years.

One of these super fans happens to be Oviedo High School’s own gym teacher, Anna Childress, who has been teaching at the school for about 32 years.

When asked what she thought was the biggest change throughout the year she said, “The artistry of each of the houses improved significantly, from the eerie sounds to the black light and strobe effects, and to the pungent smell and rotting flesh.”

This year’s theme was almost like a tribute to when HHN first began. This year’s theme consists of an overall rewind to the ‘80s, taking us back to some of the most iconic, original horror movies in the history of Universal Studios. One house has even been shaped around all of Universal’s original monsters like the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Swamp Monster and many more.

For many students our age, many of whom have probably not seen some of the older movies that the houses are based on, they might have contrasting views of the theme.

“It gave me a good and different perspective on how the horror genre was 30 years ago. And how different it is compared to the horror movies that have come out recently,” said freshman Nicholas Leon.

As teenagers growing up watching movies where the graphics and story lines are more intense and put together, we have differentiating views to people in older generations, so the fact that HHN is now an event that a majority of teenagers go to, it is nice to see them incorporating older cinematic icons to such a modern event. Therefore, this takes us through something new and exciting for the young generation, yet nostalgic and refreshing for older generations who watched those movies as kids.

I would highly recommended that if you have not already attended, that you take a trip to face some of your biggest fears at Universal Orlando’s annual Halloween Horror Nights.