Universal Orlando mixes hi-tech & simple tricks to serve up scares at Halloween Horror Nights 25

Jim Hill

9 years ago

With October 31st just a few days away now, millions of
people are in the process of putting the finishing touches on their home
Halloween displays. All with the hope that they'll then be able to impress the
neighbors and/or thrill some trick-or-treaters when they come a-knockin' on All
Hallows' Eve.

But what are the exact components of a truly successful
seasonal display? To get a definitive answer to this question, I reached out to
Mike Aiello, Director of Entertainment – Creative Development for Universal
Orlando Resort. This event has been serving up top flight frights during
Halloween Horror Nights for 25 years.

And Mike? He's been a part of HHN right from the beginning.
Aiello and his father went to Universal Studios Florida back in October of 1991
and experienced the very first edition of this holiday hard ticket.

Mike Aiello and Jack the Evil Clown (Mike's the one on the left).
Copyright Universal Orlando. All rights reserved

"Then when I was in high school, I actually began
working at the park as a scareactor,which is what we call the Universal team
members who work inside our mazes and scare zones," Mike stated.
"Over time, I rose up through the ranks at Entertainment and was
eventually lucky enough to play Jack the evil clown — who was one of the more
memorable characters that we've introduced at Halloween Horror Nights. In fact,
our guests so loved the Jack character that we brought him back to serve as
host of the 25th anniversary edition of this annual event."

Nowadays, Mike and the Universal Entertainment team work
year 'round dreaming up the nightmarish mazes that have made Universal
Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights one of the most popular seasonal scare events
presented annually in the U.S.
Which is why I thought that he'd be the perfect guy to reach out when I was
looking for tips when it came to constructing a truly terrifying home Halloween
display.

And Aiello? He did not disappoint. Mike was quick to point
out the relatively simple but ingenious things that Universal Orlando does to
ratchet up the thrills in its mazes and scare zones.

"When building their home Halloween displays, people do
tend to concentrate on the visuals. Which are — obviously — important. But
you also have to remember that — along with sight — people have four other
senses. And if you really want to give someone a genuinely memorable scare, you
then have to try and engage some of those other senses," Aiello explained.
"That's the one thing that we like to do here at Universal Orlando with
our guests. Attack as many of their senses as possible."

"Take — for example — scent. These days, we always
take smell into consideration when we're designing something for Halloween
Horror Nights. In fact, one of the coolest days during our maze development
process is when the team gets to experience what we call smell day," Mike
said.

"And what exactly is smell day?" you ask. That's
when one of the vendors that Universal Orlando works with on Halloween Horror
Nights drops by with a suitcase full of her latest creations.

"She's this scientist who creates smells. And when she
comes to meet with us, this vendor brings along this suitcase that's filled
with all sorts of smells. Pumpkins, cupcake & cookie scents. But then —
from the bowels of this first suitcase — she pulls out another, smaller
suitcase. And there's a reason that I used the word 'bowels.' Because this
second suitcase contains some of the most horrifying scents you can possibly
think of," Aiello continued.

"And why would someone spend the time to scientifically
recreate all of these horrifying odors?," you query. Because — as it
turns out — this vendor doesn't work for Universal Orlando exclusively. She
also works with the military and law enforcement, training them when it comes
to certain types of smells. Like — for example — rates of decay.

Anyway … Aiello and the Halloween Horror Nights creative
team work closely with this woman to determine just the right order in which to
introduce odors within each of their mazes. With the hope being that — if
guests encounter just the right scent combination as they enter a specific
space — they can then be successfully set up for the scare that's soon to
follow.

"Take — for example — our 25th anniversary maze. As
you go through that facade, you're immediately hit over the head with this dirt
& root smell, plus a little bit of pumpkin scent in the corridor,"
Mike said. "And that smell combination was completely intentional. We
really wanted — as soon as the guests came through Jack's facade — to hit
them over the head with that kind of natural smell. And it's really pungent
through there. Which is good, because that mixture of scents immediately puts
you in a different location than you were just seconds before."

So keeping that in mind, if you're going with a
Zombies-rising-from-the-grave theme for your home Halloween display, why not
set a pail of freshly turned earth in front of a fan? That way, the air will
then be filled with the smell of those graves that the undead just clawed their
way out of.

Similarly, Aiello's also a big fan of putting people on edge
by using the sense of touch.

"Mind you, at the Universal theme parks, our
scareactors are not ever allowed to touch our guests." Mike shared.
"That said, we have figured out a way to give our guests the sensation of
touch. And it's honestly one of the simplest scare tactics ever. We're using it
this year at Halloween Horror Nights to great effect inside of our Insidious
maze," Aiello enthused. "What we've done is hang strands of fishing
line in the pathway. And you can't see it as you're walking through the
darkened maze. But you can definitely feel that fishing line as it touches your
skin. And the way that our brains are wired is that we then misinterpret the
sensation of walking into that hanging strand of fishing line that you can't
see as a ghostly light touch on our face or our arm. And that simple.
easy-to-do thing really does freak out a lot of our guests."

Sound is also a great sense to toy with. Especially if
you're looking for new ways to frighten someone. And Mike insisted that there
are frights to be found at both ends of the sound spectrum.

"Here at Universal Orlando, we believe that sound is
just as important as our scenic. Which is why — for something like our
American Werewolf in London maze —
we built an elaborate sound design that actually made use of the stems that
John Landis' team used when they were in the original Pro Tools session for
this 1981 film. We even added a lot of low end to that maze's sound design so
that you can now actually feel that wolf even before he launches his
attack," Aiello stated.

And how do the dark wizards behind Halloween Horror Nights
pull off this particular effect? As it turns out, there's high frequency low decibel
audio tone that they've deliberately placed on the soundtrack for the American
Werewolf maze which kicks in just a few seconds before the actual wolf sound
happens. And this high frequency low decibel audio tone — while it may be hard for the human ear to
hear — is so strong that it literally reverberates the wood in the enclosures
where these wolves are positioned in that haunted house.

"That sound effect is totally subliminal. But if it
weren't there, the guests would definitely know it. Those wolf-driven scares in
the American Werewolf maze wouldn't be nearly as effective," Mike
insisted.

Obviously, the average person isn't going to be able to do
something that technologically advanced for their home Halloween display. But
Aiello maintained that there are equally big scares to be mined by going with a
simple sound design.

"That's what I love about what we've done with our
Insidious maze. Just like the films in this horror series — which are terrific
to watch in full surround sound, by the way — the house itself is the star of
the show. So as you walk through this maze, you can hear the eerie creaks
behind you, then in front of you, then off to the side. And that sort of audio
texture — used sparingly — can really unnerve people," Mike enthused.

Mind you, if you're a Central Florida
local and are looking for ideas for your home Halloween display, you can always
swing by Universal Studios Florida over the next five nights and then
experience HHN25 in person. This hard ticket event continues through November
1st. But don't be surprised if you see some pretty hi-tech stuff being tried
out along with the very simple, easy-to-do-at-home scares that Mike mentioned
earlier in this article.

"Last year, we did some tests during the very last
weekend of the event. We brought out some new technology that we're still
investigating," Aiello cryptically commented. "And we're of the
mindset here at Universal that we don't want to present an effect officially to
the public until we have it perfected– that we're doing it the very best that
we can. And I think that we're actually looking to do some more in-park tests
this year. Make use of some new technology that — I hope — we can then add to
our tool box and then use to build bigger & better mazes and scare zones in
the years ahead."

This article was originally posted on the Huffington Post's Entertainment page on October 28, 2015