When I was in college, I went up to Salem, Massachusetts for Halloween with some friends, and we ended up getting kicked out of one of the great haunted houses they have up there. Long story short, one of my friends got so freaked out at moment that she instinctually punched one of the performers – which is obviously a big no-no. With that experience burned in my memory, I can definitely co-sign the advice that Art The Clown himself David Howard Thornton has offered fans in order to survive the Terrifier-themed experience that is going to be available this year at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights.
The annual spooky theme park event has begun in Orlando and is set to launch on September 4 in Hollywood, and if you find yourself already girding yourself for the experience, you may want to take the recommendations offered here. People recently spoke with Thornton to get his tips on getting through HHN '25, and while he describes himself as a "puncher" (I guess he and my college friend would get along), he has learned how to avoid becoming an impromptu pugilist when he gets scared in a haunted house. Said the actor,
I like to go through the house with my hands in my pockets and have a person in front of me just in case. So they are the person that [Scareactors] usually pop out at. They usually don't pop out of the person in second or third in line. So I like to have a buffer between myself and whoever's popping out just so I don't accidentally punch someone.
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This is a great call – and I would actually take it a step further. What I would recommend is making what I will call a Bravery Sandwich with your friends: performers are more likely to go after the first and last people walking through in a group simply because they are the most vulnerable, so the people most likely to freak out should try and stay in the middle. They still get the fun experience of being scared (it is the whole point of haunted houses, after all), but they will have an extra bit of "safety."
All that being said... if you're truly scared of going into haunted houses, you may actually want to skip what is planned by Universal Studios for Terrifier, as what's been described sounds wild. While Universal Studios Orlando will have "dry" and "wet" paths to choose from, folks attending Universal Studios Hollywood are guaranteed to be drenched, as there is going to be both extreme fake blood spray and fake bleach. Staying true to the scatological aspects of the franchise, there is apparently going to be a smell of feces in the mélange of sensory experiences as well.
It sounds like it's going to be all kinds of nasty, but David Howard Thornton is promising that it's also going to be a joyful time for genre fans and those who love the franchise. In addition to featuring what could be described as "The Best Of Art The Clown" from the films, the Terrifier house at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights will also have some exciting original content for fans:
Go in there and just have fun. You're going to see recreations of different death scenes from all the Terrifier movies, but they're also adding their own twist to things because it's basically Art's funhouse of horror, in a lot of ways.
If you find yourself in either Orlando or Los Angeles this fall and you're looking for an experience that is both horrifying and disgusting, it sounds like this will fit the bill quite nicely... but always remember to keep your hands to yourself. Tickets for Halloween Horror Nights on both coasts are now on sale at both universalorlando.com and universalstudioshollywood.com, and the event runs through the spookiest holiday of the year (ending on November 2).
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