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Issue date: 11/1/06 Section: Entertainment

It's too late to take in Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Night, but there's always next year... and your nightmares!

For its 16th anniversary, Universal Studios turned its park and streets into a horrifically frightful event, including seven haunted houses, three scary shows and three must-see scare zones.
Before going to the park, "victims" could visit www.halloweenhorrornights.com and get a complete background on the creation of Halloween Horror Nights. But beware, it is just as gruesome as the unpleasantly disgusting and frightful realism of the park.
When arriving at the park, victims walk down the first street and are immediately frightened by ghouls of all shapes and sizes. They can then choose to either see one of the scary shows - "The Arrival," "Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure" and "Sweet 16: The Director's Cut" - to start their screaming good time, or jump right in with the haunted houses. For those who are frightened easily, it is recommended to start with shows because they are a little less scary and give a little background on Jack, the Caretaker, the Director, the Storyteller and the pathological killer Norman Bates.
It is also recommended that children don't attend, but it has become a tradition for many families to tour the horrifying event. A few children admitted that some of the houses were a little too scary. It's nice that there are staff in the houses in case someone needs to make an emergency exit. The 7 to 9 year olds weren't screaming half as loud as the adults. Even on a Sunday night, families drove over three hours for the scare.
While it was expected to be scarier than the past years, there was definitely room for improvement on the scare factor scale. People repeatedly said through the night: "It's not quite a good as last year" and "Why did they focus so much on beer and alcohol sales?" But this doesn't seem to have affected park visitors too much considering Universal Studios extended the park hours till 1 a.m.
Each of the haunted houses has its own special theme and entertainment while waiting in line. While waiting in "People Under the Stairs," line patrons are able to watch scenes from the movie and have access to all the cold beer they can imagine. During "Dungeon of Terror" the specters give advice on how to survive in the dungeon.

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