Spooky season is just around the corner and you know what that means—the most highly-anticipated horror event of the year, Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) at Universal Studios (USS) is back once again with brand new scares to excite all you thrill-seekers! This year marks the event’s 12th edition with the theme of Dark Dreams, featuring 4 brand new haunted houses, 3 scare zones, projection mapping, 3 horrific shows, immersive dining experiences and more. Here’s a sneak peek at what to expect from the upcoming HNN event, and which are the scariest ones to look out for!
Haunting Asian-themed haunted houses
- Netflix’s Sweet Home
This is probably one of the most highly-anticipated haunted houses, centred around the hit Netflix series, Sweet Home. HHN is also the first-ever in the world to debut a Sweet Home-themed attraction! Here, you’ll get to see some of the most iconic (and grotesque) scenes from Sweet Home Season 1 and 2.
Set design for this house is pretty well done and realistic, and they managed to include lots of familiar details that fans of the show can look out for: like recreations of the Green Home apartment complex like Cha Hyun-Su’s (Song Kang’s character) apartment and the basement.
Set design & theatrics: 4/5
Scare factor: 3/5
- Singapore’s Most Haunted: The Killings
This house recreates some of Singapore’s most classic horrors and urban legends, the ones you might be familiar with as childhood horror stories. The entrance itself features eerie stone lions, and it’s said that you have only until the incense burns out to escape the place.
We’re told that the space is inspired by the infamously haunted Pasir Ris Red House, where you’ll have to brace yourself to come face-to-face with the restless spirits of victims who were brutally murdered by malicious souls.
Set design & theatrics: 3.5/5
Scare factor: 3/5
- Cursed Scrolls: Dynasty of Darkness
Set in the Qing Dynasty, this haunted house boasts an immersive 3-dimensional experience filled with evil entities from ancient scrolls conjured by the sinister Scrollmaster, a possessed Qing Dynasty scholar. Think ancient Chinese elements, neon graphics and even an entire room made of blood-stained white fur.
This house is by far the most elaborate and theatrical in terms of design, with stunning graphics, tactile elements and psychedelic colours. You can also wear the Chromadepth 3D glasses provided to make the graphics and colours in the house pop even more and enhance the immersive factor.
Set design & theatrics: 5/5
Scare factor: 3/5
- Under the Castle by Team Wang Design
This is also another hyped haunted house, brought to you by Jackson Wang and his team at Team Wang. Under the Castle is designed to resemble a cursed Medieval castle, where dangerous secrets abound and haunted undead lurk in the darkness.
While the design of the castle was pretty realistic, we expected much more theatrics and performance factor. But there were some good jump scares and photo-worthy effects throughout, so keep an eye out for those.
Set design & theatrics: 3.5/5
Scare factor: 3.5/5
Sinister scare zones & Tiger soju bar
- Vampire Alley
Enter a dark alley filled with thirsty, bloodsucking vampires who’ll try to lure you into their clutches and make you one of their own!
Be prepared for lots of jump scares and gore throughout this scare zone, though not all the vamps are scary—some of them are actually quite friendly too.
Set design & theatrics: 3/5
Scare factor: 4/5
- The Lost Kampung
Beware of the vengeful spirits at this kampong-themed scare zone—where you’re most definitely not welcome at their village!
The village set is filled with various evil entities and cursed items, and you’ll be faced with some of Singapore’s greatest and most famous horror icons: like pontianak, toyol, penanggal and hantu cermin.
Set design & theatrics: 3.5/5
Scare factor: 3.5/5
- Nether-Land
Bet you’ve never experienced a dance rave like this: Nether-Land is a party of horrific proportions, with undead party-goers in a hypnotised trance vibing to some sick DJ beats.
Nether-Land feels more like an actual club rather than a scare zone, and you’ll definitely have a blast dancing alongside the other undead party-goers—who all have some pretty amazing moves, by the way.
There’s also a Tiger Twisted Bar located here where you can enjoy refreshing drinks like the exclusive Tiger Soju Infused Lager.
Set design & theatrics: 4.5/5
Scare factor: 2/5
Immersive live shows & new digital projection mapping
- Night Terrors
HHN debuts a brand new live projection mapping experience called Night Terrors for the first time ever, featuring a haunted fortress filled with lots of spectacular lights and sounds.
The projections will be shown regularly at half-hour intervals, showcasing some of the most horrific fears that haunt your darkest dreams. This attraction is more of a light and sound show, so feel free to take a break from all the scares here and enjoy the stunning graphics.
Set design & theatrics: 4/5
Scare factor: 1/5
- Dark Dreams
This show tells the sordid tale of the Dream Reaper, who feeds off the nightmares of innocents with the aim of stealing their very souls. You might even get to see some of your own worst fears come alive at this spectacular yet spine-chilling show.
This was highly entertaining to watch, with funny and witty moments throughout and plenty of shocking twists happening at every turn—so make sure to keep your eyes peeled so you don’t miss out on all the action.
Set design & theatrics: 5/5
Scare factor: 1/5
Vampire-themed dining & speakeasy
Enter the Viper Lounge hidden somewhere within the Vampire Alley scare zone: a lavish speakeasy bar owned by an elite vampiric clan known as The Elders, where you can experience how the vampires actually live and breathe.
This place feels like a secret vice den of sorts, and you’ll get to see a one-of-a-kind theatrical immersive dining experience, and interactive elements like an IG-worthy ball pit too. Note that this is not a fixed show, but rather an experience, so you might see different things happening each time you enter.
The Viper Lounge dining experience is available for an additional top-up of $25 for R.I.P Tour guests and $35 for regular guests.
Set design & theatrics: 4/5
Scare factor: 1/5
Tickets for HHN 2024 now on sale online
Halloween Horror Nights will be running for 18 select nights from 27th September till 2nd November 2024. Tickets start at $80 per person for non-peak nights and $90 per person for peak nights, inclusive of $5 F&B and $5 retail vouchers. You can get your tickets online here.
Halloween Horror Nights 2024
Dates: 27th September till 2nd November 2024 (select nights)
Address: Universal Studios Singapore, 8 Sentosa Gateway, Singapore 098269
Opening Hours: 6pm till late
