Story by Megan Madueno
Staff Writer
Realistic makeup. Costumes with blood. And chainless chainsaws. Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights delivered it all.
As soon as I saw the gates when I went with my friends Saturday, I started shivering with fear. When you walk in it all becomes a reality that you are in a real life horror story.
This years theme is “The Walking Dead,” inspired by the AMC tv show. Along with the “Walking Dead” Terror Tram, Universal had six new mazes, a new show and two new scare zones.
I was unable to get away from the terror going on in the park. This year the horror actors were not allowed to touch people but were still able to chase guests around the park, according to the rules. The trick from getting away from the monsters was not to show fear.
The scariest maze of them all was La Llorona: La Cazadora de los Niños (The Child Hunter). The maze tells the story of the old Mexican myth of the La Llorona. To make it short, this mother killed her children to be with a man. The man no longer wanted her so she drowned herself and her kids in a lake. According to the myth, she roams around the lake where she drowned her children looking for them.
The maze of the story features a lake, mannequin kids everywhere and the woman popped up in different places.
The actors throughout the park were great, they stayed in character the whole night and some were even nice enough to talk to the guest. If they took a special liking to you then you would be
in for a treat of being chased and scared for your life.
However, the terror tram delivered few screams due to the lack of unrealistic makeup and clothes the actors wore. If anyone wanted to be a zombie this year you can do what Universal did and just get a plaid shirt, dirty ripped jeans, throw some blood on you, and add a few cuts to your face and you’re done.
Every ride was open in the park, including the water ride, Jurassic Park, but with a twist. Alice Cooper’s music played in the middle of the ride.
The park opens at 7 p.m. and gets packed almost immediately. Make sure to be early when you go. Wear comfy shoes along with nice warm clothes. And most importantly, be ready to get scared.
