Halloween Horror Nights

I’ve always been a scaredy cat. Case in point: I’ve lived in my current house for almost my entire life and still, I can’t go up the 3rd floor by myself–especially when night time starts creeping in. When it’s past midnight and I have to pee, I run from my bedroom door to my bathroom and slam the door shut as quickly as possible like my life depended on it. I, Camille Co, am a scaredy cat. I believe in ghosts and monsters. I’m easily startled. And I avoid horror movies like a plague. So why the hell did I say yes to a special media preview of Universal Studios Singapore’s Halloween Horror Nights 5 (HHN5)? Was I asking for my death sentence?!?

Well, you know what they say, life is too short to be afraid so why not? I was going with my blogger friends anyway so at least, I was with a bunch of fun people. I was still very much scared though. Minutes before the official start of my HHN5 experience, my hands were the coldest ever and my heart was about to jump out of my chest. You see, the entire USS was closed down for us. So aside from the rain, the darkness and the eerie lighting and setup of the entire theme park, I really felt like I was in a ghost town and some monster was hiding in the corner waiting to jump out on me. (Thankfully, HHN5 actors are not allowed to have any form of physical contact with guests.)

Halloween Horror Nights is actually the region’s iconic Halloween theme park experience and the only immersive Halloween scare fest in Singapore this year. Now on it’s fifth year, the signature event is back to thrill with 3 scare zones and 4 haunted houses (3 of which are locally themed and based on Singaporean ghost stories and folklore), on top of the 10 rides, shows and attractions that are operational during the event. The theme for HHN5 revolves around the descent of the blood moon, which caused evil to reign.

Now before you go further down this post and see the photos from my HHN5 experience, I must warn you–some photos are very graphic. USS pulled out all the stops in all the haunted houses and scare zones. I felt like I was in a horror movie! Not just because of the sets and props but also because of the actors who had super realistic masks, prosthetics and makeup on. Plus, they’re always in character that I actually think all 400 of them probably have their own backstories for their roles.

Just a little background on each of the haunted houses and scare zones so you’d know what to expect. (I’m building suspense!) The three scare zones consist of The Invaders, conTERMINATED and Hungry Ghosts. The Invaders tells the story of a meteor-like alien space probe crashing into Earth and its extra-terrestrial inhabitants taking over our planet. The masks and prosthetics used here are so realistic! On the other hand, conTERMINATED is all about a quarantined sector where forsaken and diseased inhabitants fight for their survival. The ghosts here are super creepy. And lastly, Hungry Ghosts is set in a hidden village where cursed villagers are doomed to go through rites and prayers everyday. This is kinda eerie especially because it looks like a Chinese temple to me.

As for the haunted houses, there’s the Siloso Gateway Block 50. I find this the scariest of all. Basically, a virus outbreak turns the residents of this place into flesh-ravaging vultures so there’s a lot of carnage and blood all around. This haunted house reminded us of what a murder house probably looks like. You won’t see photos of this house here though so be thankful. The second haunted house is called Tunnel People. This is the event’s first ever dark house so that alone sent shivers down my spine. We had to feel our way through the fortress of the tunnel people because we couldn’t see much. Obviously, all of us were extra jumpy. The third haunted house is Hell House–where paper effigies rule. This one is the trippy-est of all the haunted houses so if you’ve got a wild imagination, this one is for you. Finally, the fourth haunted house, True Singapore Ghost Stories: MRT, is inspired by tales of paranormal sightings on the underground train built on a Malay burial site. This one is super scary too, right next to Siloso Gateway Block 50 on the scare meter because of all the hidden scares that greeted us along the way. (Maggots, anyone?)

Halloween Horror Nights 5 is open on October 2-3, 9-11, 16-18, 23-25 and 29-31, 2015 from 7:30 PM to 12:30 AM (1:30 AM on October 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31). Tickets are sold at USD 49 each with a Special HHN5 Hotel Package at USD 181 each. Frequent Fear passes are also for sale for those who want to avail of unlimited visits to the event throughout the 14 night run. For more information and reservations, visit halloweenhorrornights.com.sg or rwsentosa.com/ph.