A Neurodivergent Tackles Horror Nights: I Escaped The Further!

Universal Studios Florida’s 2024 Halloween Horror Nights event is over for the year, but I can’t resist doing a debrief anyway. After all, I was a VERY brave girl. 😅

I will be approaching this post with a light overlay of the point of view of someone with neurodivergence. One thing many neurodivergent individuals love is INFORMATION; I am one of them. Information helps me feel prepared. Preparation makes me feel like I have things under control. Feeling like I have things under control staves off my anxiety.

So here is some information on how I managed my Horror Nights experience. Obviously I don’t speak for everybody. Yet as there may be some overlap, I hope it can assist others going forward!

HORROR NIGHTS WAS A… CHOICE, FOR ME

You could argue that my attendance at Universal Studios Florida’s 2024 Halloween Horror Nights was a poor choice from the start. While I love horror movies, I have historically avoided traditional haunted houses – I’ve always been afraid I’d wind up overstimulated. As is so often the case with me, my anxiety over the what if of it all was as much the enemy as the event itself.

But I had a good time in the singular Ghostbusters house I tried at Horror Nights 2019. Plus everybody else always seems to be having a good time. Also I do, genuinely, enjoy horror movies. Yes, a lot of them are bad, but when they’re good, they REALLY hold your attention. As a card-carrying ADHD kid, that’s a rare treat.

For many of the neurodivergent among us, mindset is key. I decided, in advance, that I was going to try to do some actual, non-kid-movie haunted houses at Horror Nights this year. I prepared myself with some very light spoilers, determined what houses would be the best fit with me, and – most importantly – wore my Kitty Ears of Courage (a talisman can also help). Did it work? Let’s find out!

(Always set the tone with an event-appropriate outfit. Yes, I bought Pat’s shirt for him; he… tolerated it. 😆)

I SURVIVED FOUR HORROR NIGHTS HOUSES

I know! I didn’t expect that either!

I had hoped to begin my evening with the Ghosbusters: Frozen Empire house, it being the least intimidating. Unfortunately we were meeting up with friends who were about to enter the Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines house. I could have balked, of course, but I gave my Kitty Ears of Courage a squeeze and went in.

And it was fine! Mind you, I very carefully positioned myself so that I was behind our friend Kyle (who at 6’2″ was a helpful blocker) with Pat behind me; this was my Protection Sandwich for the night. Also, they really pulse you through the houses at a speedy clip. It was easy enough, particularly in the narrow hallways, to keep your eyes focused forward and let the scare actors fade into the peripheral if needed. Oh, and do keep an eye out for security personnel – they are EVERYWHERE and they all look bored af, which is reassuring.

Still, a couple scare actors inevitably got me. My fear has always been that my fight-or-flight response would be activated by all that startling action. To my own surprise, I laughed! Okay, maybe I yelped a little first, but then I definitely laughed. I even checked with Pat and he confirmed that I never screamed.

Alrighty, having established after several decades of buildup I in fact enjoy theme park horror events, let’s talk about the houses themselves!

THE HORROR NIGHTS HAUNTED HOUSES IN QUESTION

Right, as I said, the first house I went through was Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines. The conceit of this house was that Saskia Van Hellsing teamed up with the Bride of Frankenstein to take at all the other girl monsters, such as Dracula’s brides and daughters, She Wolf, and my personal favorite, Anck-su-na-mun. This house had some beautiful set pieces, especially the opening, but I found the story difficult to follow. Did Saskia and the Bride win? Darned if I know. Maybe I was too anxious over my first house of the night to pick up the details, but I wish they’d provide more narration.

Next up: Ghostbusters! This was my favorite house of the night, as it was a bit more story-driven than fear-driven. There were more large rooms with elaborate sets, which amped up the immersion significantly. I found the ghost containment lab to be such a good fit for the narrow-passage-with-curtains format. Admittedly the scare actors weren’t always a good match for the movie actors, which Pat found distracting, but he was THRILLED to see Vigo the Carpathian pop out!

After that, we went through Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America. We happened to see an actor shift change occur right before we entered, which I must admit took the edge off a bit. It was a bit distracting when a scare actor popped out and my first thought was “Oh yeah, I saw you earlier! You had a travel mug! Hey buddy!” But what can ya do.

This was an interesting house, highlighting a series of Latin American cryptids and their victims. Specifically I want to talk about La Lechuza, an owl-faced monster who at one point appeared in a form of an enormous and elaborate puppet. I was immediately overwhelmed by the putrid bird smell the second I walked into the room. I remember feeling bad for the security person who had to stand in that room.

But then afterward I mentioned the odor to my group and NOBODY else had noticed it. Am I insane? Did I have a thematically appropriate stroke??? If you went through that house and read this within a day of the publication of this post, PLEASE go to my Instagram Stories and vote in my smell-or-no-smell poll. I want to know.

Now on to my finest Horror Nights hour…

COUNTER TO THE PLAN, I ENTERED THE FURTHER

As noted above, I indulged in some light house spoilers before the event. Just enough to get a feel for which houses might be too much for me as I took my first Cowardly Lion steps toward facing my fears. Some I vetoed for the gross-out factor, some for hatred of the source material (lookin’ at you, A Quiet Place).

The Insidious: Into the Further house I vetoed because everyone seemed to indicate it was GENUINELY SCARY. I read one review that called it “relentless.” While standing in line, one guy in our group said “I guess this will actually be scary,” and let me tell you, that DID NOT HELP.

Once again, I could have balked. Once again: MINDSET. I came to be brave! Kitty Ears of Courage! I had gone through three houses and liked it! And anyway I did dig the first two Insidious movies. There was almost a hiccup where the team member controlling the line tried to stop it between me and Kyle. Luckily she registered the look of dismay on my face, realized we were part of the same group, and let me and Pat through.

Turns out, this house was GREAT! Some reviews suggested it would be pretty story-free, with nothing but a deluge of scare actors popping out of walls. Oddly enough, I found the conceit of entering The Further (guided by Lin Shaye at the beginning, which was a nice touch) very effective. You entered through a giant red door, passed through the nursery from the movie, and then it was the darkness and ghosts of the Further.

Perhaps it made less sense if you haven’t seen the movies, but the movie plot lent itself to this style of house really well. There were a couple rooms full of mannequins disguising the occasional real person that really amped the tension. And who hasn’t wanted to come face to face with the Lipstick Demon himself? (Er, probably a lot of people…)

I mean, yes, I did go through the whole thing with my fists balled under my chin, and at certain points I may have run into poor Kyle’s back. But I made it! Go me! Team Kitty Ears!

I ALSO RODE A FEW RIDES, TRAVERSED SCARE ZONES & FACED THE DEATH EATERS

Ride lines were longer than I remembered, but we did fit in Revenge of the Mummy (my love!) as well as a spin on Rip Ride Rockit (more on the abysmal music situation there later). There were no special overlays or anything, but it’s nice to have a breather now and then.

The scare zones this year didn’t do all that much for me, with the possible exception of the Torture Faire, which featuring some fun set pieces and costumes; the vibe was almost whimsical. None of the others told what I found to be a compelling story. Could always be a timing issue.

Most importantly, we made it into Diagon Alley to check out the Death Eaters. I found them a bit disappointing, frankly. The just kinda stalked around. Every 10, 15 minutes or so there was a “performance” on the stage, but it was only so much miming followed by a fireball and then they ran off. Perhaps I am insufficiently Potter-fueled to get it? The girl Death Eaters do have great shoes.

One last thing: it being the second to last Horror Night, much of the event-specific merchandise was marked down 70%. I got a hoodie for less than twenty bucks. Should you enjoy a good deal as I do, you might want to time your visit accordingly.

I’M GONNA GATEKEEP THE BEST HORROR NIGHTS BAR

Sorry, but this secret is too good. I’ll give you some clues, though!

Most of the Horror Nights bars are swamped the entire night. However, if you’re willing to think a bit further off the beaten path, we found a bar area with two serving kiosks that was shockingly quiet. Not only were the lines short-to-nonexistent, there was plenty of seating and a comparatively relaxed vibe. Nose around. Maybe check the lake edges.

I didn’t try any of the special event drinks, and that was by design. Not only had I read that they were overly sweet and light on the alcohol for the price, I overheard more than one person mention having tried a cocktail and hated it. So, yeah. At your own risk!

We also identified the entire Simpsons area as horror-free. Should you be in need of relief from the ghosties and ghoulies and long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night, you can also retreat there. Mind you, that area is both bright and loud, so I wouldn’t go so far as to describe it as calming. Still, if you’re only looking to escape the scare actors, that’ll do ya.

WOULD I DO HORROR NIGHTS AGAIN?

The answer is a resounding yes! As I noted above, though, preparation is key. If you’re Horror Nights-curious, I recommend taking the plunge – but don’t be afraid to indulge in some pre-event review spoilers. While there might be the occasional “twist” house, for the most part the description of the thing is a very different animal from experiencing the thing itself. Even if you’re not nervous, it often helps better appreciate the house if you understand the story framework in advance. It can be tough to collect the plot details in real time.

In closing, let’s go over my Neurodivergent Horror Nights Success Framework. Naturally results are not guaranteed as everyone experiences neurodivergence differently, but they’re worth a shot. You will need:

• The decision that you WANT to go (don’t let anybody drag you along under duress or you will be unhappy).

• Light spoilers, which will inform the next bullet, which is

• A game plan – which houses seem like a good fit for your sensitivities?

• Kitty Ears of Courage, or your preferred equivalent.

• A Protection Sandwich of supportive people that make you feel safe.

• Optional: I didn’t mention this earlier, but I HIGHLY recommend getting Express Pass for Horror Nights if you can swing the cost. It doesn’t just save you time – it saves you from overthinking. The standby lines were LONG (two hours for The Further!), but we never waited more than 15 minutes, which prevented me from stewing. Given enough queueing, I might have talked myself out of a house or two. With Express pass, I didn’t have time to psych myself out.

If you have any additional recommendations, I’d love to hear them! Maybe I’ll even see you at Horror Nights 34. We’re very brave, you and I. 👻

Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!