The first of the scare zones that most guests will encounter at Halloween Horror Nights 32 is Dr. Oddfellow’s Collection of Horror at the front of the park. Oddfellow is, it seems, the newest Icon — though this is not his first appearance.

Dr. Oddfellow’s Collection of Horror

Dr. Oddfellow will lure you into Halloween Horror Nights with a promise of immortality. As he lifts the veil on all the horrors to come, you’ll soon realize you may not even survive the night.

Dr. Oddfellow’s Collection of Horror, like all of the scare zones this year, ties directly into Oddfellow’s house, which tells his origin story (aptly named Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins).

Photos

As guests enter the park, they encounter some of the creatures loyal to Dr. Oddfellow. This stiltwalker can also be found in the nearby Dark Zodiac scare zone.

Scareactors will not touch you, but that doesn’t mean they won’t get unnervingly close.

One of Oddfellow’s clowns is on the prowl, resurrecting the fan-favorite rubber chicken knife.

Oddfellow’s trunks can be found in the zone, filled with costumes and trinkets from his travels.

Some trinkets are Easter eggs for other parts of the event or of Oddfellow’s story.

A photo of the Music Fest or Bust bus from Vamp ’69: Summer of Blood features some of the Team Members but also harkens to Oddfellow’s involvement in the massacre.

Mushrooms and a plague mask seem to reference The Last of Us.

Fortune telling plays a theme in the background of Oddfellow’s story, with Delancey Street’s Madame Basiel accompanying him on his journey.

Oddfellow keeps many jars of tinctures, potions, and disturbing substances.

His symbol, as well as other occult symbols, are on the outside of his trunks.

Another trunk set contains more mysterious bottles and jars.

More clown imagery is present.

A photo from his expedition to the Jungle of Doom (featuring more of the Team Members behind the zone) is displayed in a themed frame.

A conjoined skull and lion statue evoke moments from Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins.

Oddfellow can be seen on the stage at his wagon or roaming the zone. He is more than happy to stop and talk to guests — though he’s hoping you won’t leave the interaction with your soul intact. He has an outfit that matches his gravitas, complete with a fur-lined cape featuring constellations on the inside and zodiac symbols on the outside.

He is not a subtle man.

The scars left on his face from his final encounter with Jack the Clown can be seen, as well as his symbol in glowing green. Oddfellow, by this point in time, is more monster than man, evident from his mouthful of sharp teeth and pale, ringed irises. As you see him throughout the other zones and house, his transformation will be apparent in several stages.

When he takes the stage, he spins tales of power, offering guests the chance to exchange their soul for an immortal life. To do so, you must survive the night and rise above the horror.

He likes to discuss zodiac signs with his audience, expressing his strong opinions about each. For the record, Oddfellow does not have a zodiac sign. Upon possessing his powers, he has risen above the call of the stars and beyond the trappings of whatever sign he was originally born under.

Review

This zone suffers from its location. The previous Production Central location wasn’t great either, but this is worse. The number of Scareactors is severely limited to allow guests to enter the park, and they don’t have a lot of room to do anything. Even the beloved neon sign suffers here — you only see it when you first enter the park.

The highlight is Dr. Oddfellow’s little stage show. He gives a monologue about his pursuit of power and immortality and how he wants to share it with us. The real gem is after when he mingles with the crowd and roams the zone. Unlike most Scareactors, he will stop and talk — and the actors are great at oozing with dangerous charm while improvising. Make sure to catch the show and have a chat with Oddfellow, but the rest is a miss.

Walkthrough Video

Backstory

Oddfellow was introduced in 2000 for the tenth anniversary of Halloween Horror Nights. He was created as part of the backstory for Jack the Clown, and their tales are still intertwined.

In expanding Oddfellow’s history to bring him to the front of the story this year, some of the old lore has been altered. We won’t spend much time on it, but here are the essentials that stayed the same: Oddfellow ran a carnival where Jack Schmidt worked. After Jack killed a baker’s dozen children, Oddfellow began to worry that the authorities might look a little too closely at his own twisted operations. He had Jack killed, stuffed his remains in a Jack-in-the-box, and went on his way.

HHN fans will know that is not where Jack Schmidt’s story ended. But we’re not here to talk about Jack. (Okay, we might a little. But you can’t really have one without the other.)

The new, extended story gives us more of Dr. Oddfellow. The night he killed Jack, back in 1933, he was also responsible for a gruesome massacre of the members and patrons at his circus in a twisted ritual to gain the power of the dark zodiac. After using the power to become immortal, he dealt with Jack, and in their scuffle, Jack scratched Oddfellow’s face. Not only did the blood gift immortality to Jack, but the scratch remains on Oddfellow’s face, no matter what form he takes.

Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origin’s is the start; it’s the circus of horror before that fateful night. The massacre plays out in the house, and the rest of the scare zones walk us through decades of Oddfellow’s life. Until now, here, as he welcomes the masses and invites them to follow his path through fear and death to become immortal.

Location

Dr. Oddfellow’s Collection of Horror is at the front of the park, replacing the scare zone that used to occupy the Plaza of the Stars in Production Central. Since Production Central is now Minion Land and Plaza of the Stars is Illumination Avenue, Universal has shifted the zone up toward the gates.

Dr. Oddfellow’s Collection of Horror can be found at K on the map below.

Halloween Horror Nights 32 runs on select nights from September 1 – November 4 at Universal Studios Florida.

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