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And then there was Screamhouse... the most elaborate of the houses and by far one of the best sets ever done. We had seen the "outside" of Albert's house during our interview... even with the house lights up, it exuded eeriness....We waited in the long line to get into the soundstage, Albert's face grimacing down on us from above, the walls of the structure covered with his ominous image. Once entering the building, you are in Albert's yard... a montage of images appear in a short film on screen above your head until you walk up the stairs to the dilapidated slanted porch and enter the doomed domain. Thru the parlor where the piano plays on its own and down thru hallways, walls damp (not sure if this was intentional or the weather... we'd heard there may have been roof leaks) and wallpaper peeling.... old framed photographs randomly hung. Into another room a coffin, elaborate with flowers took center stage, until the wooden one in the corner began to violently slam against the chains that held it shut. Thru another doorway, was that feet in your peripheral vision?... a woman hung just out of reach. Into the next set, bodies and body parts on gurneys.... hospital type curtains acting as dividers, we pass the ripped apart body feeling for his demise until the poor wretched soul reaches for our help... into a refrigerated area, heavy black plastic hanging and not allowing an unobstructed line of vision, past the demented ghoul manning the meat grinder.... it looked like beef, but we're not so sure.... we wrestled past chains hanging from the ceiling thru car wash carpeting, clawing our way to the next set.... where faces had been sewn together in the manner of "Leatherface" and had been stretched across the chain link fence... mattresses lined the walls then out into the yard... heavy use of camo netting, past zombies and corpses, living statuary and mausoleums until you reach the end and Albert is ahead of you, waiting for you... but wait, how did he get behind you?? And then you catch your reflection in the mirror that tricked you... but it's too late. We can't say enough good things about Screamhouse, this is Universal's potential. This is why people go and this is what we'd love to see more of. The ON LY thing different we would love to see is more breaks in the line to allow scenes and actors to reset and less of the “cattle chute” method of ushering guests thru. Bill & Ted was a hit again.... joined by the Osbournes, (great Ozzy!!), those meddling kids from Scooby Doo, Pink, Dr. Evil, Serleena (from MIB), Spiderman, the Green Goblin and the Power Puff Girls it was another entertaining mix of music, pop culture and comedy. I thought my son would nearly fall off the bench when the Power Puff Girls ripped off their trademark striped mini dresses for much skimpier attire. And who would ever have guessed that these characters from the 80’s, Bill & Ted, would live on as Halloween legend? As we exited the park, we experienced POE. For most, Port of Evil would be what they first encountered on their night at Halloween Horror Nights. Carts were strewn about, each with their own device of torture and extermination. A favorite was the dominatrix girl who beat the hanging man... Victims (staff) would appear to be pulled at random from the audience and strapped into the devices... crowds would look on for the electrocutions and such.... bodies pulled from their devices would be cast onto carts for the dead and pushed thru the crowds... costumes for this scare zone were turn of the century... and these castoffs from another time wandered thru the fog with "reaper" like creatures.... hooded cloaks with hidden faces and glowing eyes. Was the most successful scare zone, and while I still miss the streets of NY in USF, this zone was on par in quality with Screamhouse and an example of Universal at their best. Not relying on darkness and startle scares they sought to immerse the haunt lover in great atmosphere and they succeeded. In conclusion, we got our traveling companions together before we sat down to write this article. This year we had a range of HHN experience. From those that had been going since 95 or 96 to newbies. Overall, the consensus was that it was a success, tho certain friends have said they will not return until it goes back to the studios and the parade was missed by all who had known it. I will admit I still prefer the event at USF, but in retrospect cannot call its move to IOA a complete failure. Our first-timers? They can't wait to visit with us again this year.... they have been bitten by the bug. Whatever Universal’s shortcomings, this event is infectious, crowds growing exponentially over the past few years. This year we hear they are inching outward from their confines to the streets of Citywalk.... they have already made their way into the Hard Rock Hotel.... maybe, just maybe, if we keep our fingers crossed, they'll keep moving forward and will cross that bridge and utilize BOTH parks for the event sometime soon. One can always hope.
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Click here to veiw our HHN XII event photo gallery	Click here to veiw our Bill & Ted photo gallery
Editor's Note: Not all of these photos are of ideal quality. Some are a little out of focus, some are sideways... and some may appear to be duplicates due to numerous photographers being in the same close proximity for the event. With the sheer volume of photos, we decided to make all available to you the viewer.... the good, the bad and the ugly... happy viewing.

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