At the spring/summer edition of Spooky Empire, a Central Florida convention centered around all things, well, spooky, members of the team behind Halloween Horror Nights hosted a panel to discuss this year’s upcoming event.
HHN creative alums Mike Aiello and Lora Sauls revealed that this year, they settled on an aesthetic and theme that will carry throughout the park, weaving into the various elements of the event.
Guests will enter The Conservatory, wherein lies all of Halloween Horror Nights 34. This is also presumably the theming for the first scare zone. When you move deeper into the park, the zones will still have their own themes, but there will be signs that you’re still inside.
Before developing The Conservatory, the team looked for inspiration in the core of horror, specifically noting a search for evocative textures. When discussing what one imagines when thinking of classic horror designs, they landed on gothic architecture with stone structures, overgrown vines, gargoyles, and more.
The initial merchandise drops have shared some of these elements, demonstrating how the team plans to bring that look across the board.
The first merchandise drop, which launched in May, features the “Never Go Alone” slogan written in roots. The display was appropriately themed with a stone wall, stained glass, vines, and statues.
In the merch drop for the “Fallout” announcement, another key piece of merchandise arrived with a similar aesthetic. The acrylic stand has faux stained glass, with each pane intended to be home to a themed sticker based on five of the houses (those themed to Intellectual Property — franchises that are not original creations). So far, stickers for Fallout and Friday the 13th are available. The sticker frame has roots, gargoyles, faux-stone, and, of course, blood splatters.
The full extent of the event-wide theming is yet to be known.
What do you think about Halloween Horror Nights 34 leaning into gothic vibes park-wide? Let us know in the comments.
For more Universal Studios news from around the world, follow Universal Parks News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news, visit WDWNT.