Happy Halloween (Horror Nights)! It’s almost that time of the year, and like last year, Universal Orlando Resort offered the opportunity to see inside three original houses before the event even began.

About Behind the Screams: Unmasking the Horror Tours

One of the most unique offerings at Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando are the lights-on behind the scenes tours. Two options are available during the season — a shorter 3-house tour or the longer 6-house tour. While the lineups are subject to change, typically guests on each tour see a different selection of houses. This means guests who do both can see inside nine out of the ten houses each year. There’s usually one whose Intellectual Property (IP) holder doesn’t want people to see or photograph, anyway.

We embarked on the 3-House Behind the Screams: Unmasking the Horror tour on its first day of the season, August 22. In 2024, the tours began on August 11, but we’re glad they delayed it a bit this year. Last year, Blood Day hadn’t happened yet, meaning the houses were free of the classic splatters. That was not the case this year.

Guests also receive a complimentary lanyard and button. This year’s design for the lanyard hadn’t arrived yet, so we were given an old version and told we could come back later for the new one (stay tuned).

Our lineup for the 3-house tour consisted of three original houses — that is, houses based on concepts created by the HHN team and not using any licensed IP. We went through the following houses:

• Hatchet & Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters
• Dolls: Let’s Play Dead
• Grave of Flesh

Warnings

First and foremost: this is an inside look at Halloween Horror Nights. There will be graphic images of fake blood, fake gore, fake corpses, etc. Viewer discretion is advised.

Another disclaimer before we get started: I won’t share all the photos we were allowed to take or spill all the secrets (at least, not until the season is over). I wouldn’t want to ruin the tour for anyone who wants to go, and I highly recommend it.

The tour guides are always phenomenal, and each has their own bonus facts, jokes, and experience. It’s a voluntary assignment, meaning that whether on an RIP tour during the event or a Behind the Screams tour, the guide has chosen to be there. They do it for the love of HHN, and I’ve personally never been disappointed.

That doesn’t mean this is spoiler free, however. These photos are from inside the house, and some of the information is backstory related or full of Easter eggs.

Without further ado, let’s check out Hatchet & Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters.

Hatchet & Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters

This is one of the concepts from last year’s Slaughter Sinema 2 that was brought into a larger scale for HHN 34 (yes, one of, but more on that another time). Admittedly, this wasn’t one of my favorite faux B-horror-movies featured in the house. It offered very little, and when it was announced this year, I was prepared to be equally as bored.

From the story elements we learned and the beauty of the house’s design, it jumped to one of my most anticipated.

The house’s official description was announced as:

In this Old West town, all hell is breaking loose. Masses of red-hot lava demons are crawling out of Hell’s Well and trying to possess everyone, melting everything in their path. As you flee from the post office to the bank, the prison to the graveyard, your only hope is Hatchet and Chains with their arsenal of mystical weapons.

The full story is far more interesting. It’s 1830, and progress is coming to the old west. Namely? Trains. A local, elderly woman is vehemently against the town becoming a transportation hub. Her solution? Well, what would anyone do?

That’s right. Summon demons.

Here’s where Hatchet and Chains come in. Hatchet is a demon himself, a reformed one. He fights alongside Chains, a human with supernaturally powered chains. You can tell where they’ve been as you go through the house, because they don’t bother to take their hatchets or chains with them when they leave.

Dolls: Let’s Play Dead

Meet Lyla, a little girl with a big imagination and a small moral compass.

Actually, you probably don’t want to meet her, but it doesn’t matter. We’re all her dolls in this story.

This house plays on larger-than-life scale in a lot of ways, and follows the development of a little girl with the makings of a serial killer.

This house in particular is flush with Easter eggs, like Lyla’s Jack the Clown bedding (we’re starting to see where she gets her ideas). The power for her toys is provided by Bzzzcon, which seems inadvisable, given their track record.

Also, did we see a spot for HHN Bear?!

Watch out for three GATs in this house. GATs are big buttons called Guest Activated Triggers that set off an effect if you push them. It can be a noise or lighting effect, an air blast, a spray of water, etc., and you never know where it’ll come from.

Grave of Flesh

This is another house that gives us a story. Rather than being unfortunate children’s toys, though, in this house we’re all dead. We arrive at the cemetery for our own funeral. Sad!

Grave of Flesh is Universal’s answer to the eternal existential question: What happens when we die?

The answer: nothing good! We journey into the earth to face unending torment, primarily by creatures who want to eat us.

This guy is not having a good time in the afterlife.

These creatures were inspired by Star Nose Moles, which, to be honest, makes my skin crawl. I’ve said it in years prior, but one of the only things that the twisted minds behind HHN have created that gave me the heebie-jeebies was the Knucklegrunts. I have some concerns that these creatures will have a similar effect.

I guess we’ll find out!

Halloween Horror Nights 34 opens to the public on Friday, August 29. Team Members get a first look on Tuesday, August 27, and guests who purchased tickets to the sold-out Premium Scream Night will get to be among the first on Thursday, August 28.

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