Ranked: The 10 Haunted Houses of Halloween Horror Nights 35

Halloween Horror Nights has been going on for a few weeks now at Universal Studios Florida, and that has been enough time for me to get a few runs through each of the 10 haunted houses. That means, now is a good time to rank all 10 of the haunted houses.

Keep in mind, the houses of Halloween Horror nights are very difficult to rank because, on top of it being completely subjective, you might get a completely different experience every time you go through each house. Timing is everything with an HHN house. If you walk through and see all the scares four or five guests ahead, your experience might be pretty forgettable. On the flip side of that, if every scare is timed perfectly for you, that house might be your favorite. All this to say, these rankings are based on my personal experiences with these haunted houses.

10. Evil Dead Burn

Let me start by saying this is a fairly strong lineup of houses from top to bottom, though maybe none stand out as an all-time great. With that being said, Evil Dead Burn feels like a house that requires you to have seen the film on which it is based, and that film is still currently in theaters. There are some impressive sets and some decent scares, but overall it just kind of falls flat for the most part. It’s also a very long house. Which can be a good thing. But when you reach the last few rooms and you’re thinking “okay, why isn’t this over yet?,” that’s usually a sign the house will be near the bottom of your list.

9. Hellraiser

This seems to be an unpopular opinion. A lot of people are enjoying this house and I can understand why. It’s unique in its layout, allowing you to see both ahead and behind into other rooms. It also includes some impressive sets, especially for a tent house. However, this is just not my particular brand of horror. Over-the-top gore is not something that interests me, even if it was much more tolerable in an ‘80s trilogy of films. Still, there are some great character designs on display and it seems like a good recreation of those films, so I can see why people enjoy it.

8. Madlands: Caged Cannibals 

Has a smell ever ruined your experience? This was the first house I did on opening night and it felt like everything wasn’t ready to go just yet, so this was initially at the bottom of my list. However, I have had couple more runs since and I want to move this one up. And yet, I found myself enjoying my run through most of the house, until I got to that bat cave room. I understand wanting to create an immersive experience by including scents, but the smell in there was overwhelming enough to distract me from a portion of the house. It’s still impressive, with some great sets and cool visuals, I just couldn’t move it up any higher than this.

7. Invasion: Alien Abduction

This is one that seems to be fairly low on most lists, with the typical complaint being something along the lines of “the aliens just aren’t scary.” And while that’s a fair criticism, I have had some great runs through this house. I don’t love the character designs myself but this house has some creative scares and designs. That vibrating floor is one of my favorite elements of the whole event. It also has one of the best final scares of the event.

6. Stranger Things 5

This is a tough one to rank because I have had some great runs through the house and some duds. Most of the time though, the demogorgons are absolutely on fire. I am also a big fan of Stranger Things, so take that into account. If you don’t love the show or didn’t like season five (which I did), you might not love this house. There are some elements that I found disappointing, but there are more that I think were done very well. And again, those demogorgons can really make your experience a great one.

5. Sinners

I’ll be honest, I was a bit disappointed in this house at first because I am yet to get a really good scare from it. However, there are houses like this every year. Some are just more focused on the visuals and the telling of the story than they are on the scare factor. This is one of those houses and if you are a fan of the film, you will likely appreciate the opportunity to walk through it scene by scene. I will say it also feels a bit short, but if that’s a complaint, it can only be because it is a strong house.

4. Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness

I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect to like this house. I’m not a big Ozzy fan so it wasn’t something I was excited to see. However, this is the one I will affectionately refer to as “the pretty house,” meaning it offers some spectacular visuals. And yet, it still offers some great scares as well. Getting the chance to through some of Ozzy’s album covers is going to be exciting for fans, but if you’re like me, you can still enjoy incredibly impressive sets and costumes. There’s also an incredible amount of detail throughout this house, with an original story being told in a house based on IP.

3. Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control

Let me preface this one by saying my top three is more or less interchangeable. On a given day, any one of these could be my favorite. And being a big HHN nerd, I knew I was going to love this one. Diving even deeper into the lore of Jack the Clown and Dr. Oddfellow, the two icons of this year’s event, was a very exciting concept from the beginning. And the creative team executed that concept perfectly, taking us through the story of the rivalry between these two characters with beautifully impressive sets and some very creative scenes. This is a dream house for big HHN fans but people going for the first time are still likely going to enjoy it.

2. H.R. Bloodengutz Presents: A Halloween Fright-Tacular

I have never, in my nine years of attending HHN, left a house thinking “that was hilarious.” This house has completely changed what I thought a haunted house could be. It is not scary. Instead, each room introduces a new hilariously cheesy horror movie, filled with characters behaving in ways you would not typically see scare actors behave. You can get a good scare if you really let yourself get lost in the detail and comedy of this house. That’s when those scare actors might have a chance to capitalize and catch you off guard. Aside from that though, I would say this is the least scary house at this year’s event. And yet, it is near the top of my list because it is just so dang fun.

1. Cybergoria

On the complete flip side of that coin, this, to me, is easily the scariest house of this year’s event. It’s ironic that I have a hard time choosing between the scariest and least scary, but this house is also just a ton of fun. It’s a great original concept that sees humans trying to become immortal and trusting machines to make it happen. Of course, things don’t go according to plan and the result is a relentless nightmare that is absolutely loaded with great scares. One of my favorite elements of this house is a moment that almost lulls you into a sense of security before about a dozen more scares come at you in the final stretch. If I haven’t made it clear, this is an intense house, so it might not be for everyone. For me though, those houses tend to make for some incredibly fun experiences. 

Halloween Horror Nights will continue to haunt the streets of Universal Studios Florida on select nights between now and Sunday, November 1.