Alright guys, I’ve been putting this update/editorial/report for far too long, and I’m finally doing it. So.. let us begin, shall we?

My Halloween season started off at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights (That’s a mouthful) on October  3rd. This year’s theme was “Living Your Worst Nightmares” and the ringleader was the master of nightmares himself, Freddy Krueger. Like last year, we saw the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the Thirteenth mazes in top form as usual. However, we also recieved a brand new Nightmare On Elm Street maze that took us directly into Freddy’s twisted domain. This maze delivered the thrills and chills like none I’ve ever eperienced. I can not adequately put into words the massive adrenaline, perfect thematics, and excellent acting that put this maze together as one of, if not the best maze of the event.

But mazes aren’t the only thing to scream about at Halloween Horror Nights. The “Most Excellent” Bill and Ted Show was back again with great acting, hilarious jokes, and neat special effects.  In this year’s show we saw Hellboy, Indiana Jones, Miley Cyrus (and her alter ego, Hannah Montana), Juno, and many more. The show was a hit, as usual. Or as Bill and Ted would say it was totally awesome dude!

In addition to all that I have already mentioned are the great scare zones, including The Terror Tram: The Nightmare Tour. Clearly coinciding with the Nightmare On Elm Street theme of the event, a brief video on the history of nightmares was shown as you ventured deeper into the backlot. Once you arrived, you were unceremoniously “kicked out” into your worst nightmare. Okay, so maybe your worst nightmare isn’t the Universal backlot tricked out for Halloween, but you can at least play along, right?This year’s Terror Tram was bigger and better than ever. It featured a Texas Chainsaw “maze” of sorts, a walk past the Bates Motel, a hike up past Crystal Lake, a tour through the demented Whoville, and the massive War of the Worlds plane crash set. Just like last year, this event is aces in my book, and a must visit for anyone who wants to have the living daylights scared out of them.

But what about Knott’s Halloween Haunt, better known as Knott’s Scary Farm just down the road (alright, so down the freeway)? How did it compare to Universal’s smaller scare event?

With thirteen mazes, and several shows and scare zones, Knott’s Halloween Haunt has been the biggest Halloween event in California for thirty years. However, with Universal’s newly rejuvinated event, will Knott’s be able to hold it’s crown as number one?

From my perspective, it’s not likely. Of the nine mazes that I was able to experience throughout the night, only two were able to come close to Universal’s high level of quality. The Asylum and Cornstalkers both delivered the scares thanks to fantastic acting and set design. However, even the two best mazes that Knott’s put forward did not compare to anything that Universal has been able to accomplish.

I will be adding pictures to either this post, or to a seperate gallery. I will update this post once I have them uploaded. Just remember – next year, if you want to get the best bang for your buck, check out Universal Studios Hollywood for the #1 scare event in Southern California.