Halloween Horror Nights 9 Guide - The Uncle Edition

Will these Uncles survive HHN9?

Daddies from Daddy Matters decided that a night out should be something different. Instead of gathering for a beer or coffee, we headed to Universal Studios Singapore for the famed Halloween Horror Nights 9.


Having used to venturing out to USS with the kids for Sesame Street fare, it was refreshing to experience Universal Studios sans kids. Don't get me wrong kiddos, this party is not recommended for kids under 13.

There were 7 of us for the night. Trust me. Going in a group made it much more enjoyable. This trip was the Virgin tour of HHN for almost all of us The fact that we belong to the *ahem*  'Uncle' category (we are all covered by Eldershield)  and being Dads made us 'fearless'.  After witnessing childbirth, enduring the wrath of the Missus and handling little devils every day, it will take something momentous to faze us. After all, we had eaten salt a lot more than rice compared to the younger crowd HHN9 attracts.

It will be interesting to see how this night would turn out for us.

What is HHN9

5                              2                2                       16 Haunted Houses   Show    Scare Zones     Nights

Halloween Horror Nights is the biggest Halloween event in Singapore. It is a screamfest that had taken Singapore by the scruff of the neck for 9 consecutive years.  If you need a scare on Halloween, this is the place to go.

There are a total of 5 Haunted Houses to explore, 2 shows, 2 scare zones spanning over 16 nights. Event dates are Sep27-28, Oct 4-6, 10-13, 18-20, 29-27,31

Universal Studios Singapore Halloween Horror Nights - Normal Pass
Universal Studios Singapore Halloween Horror Nights - Express Pass

Dresscode

With Singapore's infamous hot and humid weather, a couple of hours outdoor would feel like hell. The ideal dress code would be typical Singapore Uncle fashion in Tees (Dri-Fit no less),  bermudas and shoes. Wear shoes instead of sandals, because you never know if you need to run away from the ghouls and clowns. Being a little older does not mean you are immune to scares #fact.

5 Haunted Houses

There are 5 Haunted Houses to explore. We ranked them according to the scare factor and setup

1 Curse of the Naga

Curse of the Naga

Bangkok is probably Uncles and Aunties favourite short getaway. It will not be surprising to have these folks heading to Bangkok for some shopping, eating and foot massages. At HHN9, you will experience Bangkok with a twist.

Walked through the streets of Bangkok and be transported to the jungles to discover a lost village under the spell of Naga, a snake spirit. This original haunted house is the brainchild of the directors from the well known Thai horror films, Shutter.  The Asian oriented ghouls rank high on the list.
The Uncles got a little giddy at the start walking through the spinning corridor that mimicked the transportation. Your senses will get distorted especially if you are in the 'Uncle' category.

In the end, we came face to face with the snake spirit. Most of the Uncles survived except one who had a 7 mark mysteriously branded on the hands after the tour.

Was it due to the Curse of the Naga?

Shudder...

2 Hell Block 9

This one was solid. Remember the times when you said to your kid ' If you don't behave, police will come and catch you and put you in jail.' ( Ok, maybe that is said much to a much lesser extent these days, but this Uncle remembered that phase as it was repeatedly said  when I was a kid)

Nowadays, that phase would no longer hold weight, especially if you got potential and good grades. To amplify the effect, you should bring the kids to HHN9 Hell Block 9, the realistic set up will up the scare factor. Here, prisoners scream in agony and fear as merciless wardens torture them and leave them for dead.

3 The Chalet Hauntings

Chalets were huge in the 80s and 90s. Uncles and Aunties remembered those days with pride. We would head to the chalets of East Coast Park or Changi Village to spend a night or two with our gang. With the beach in front of you, it felt like a  holiday. It was also the carefree teenagers years. Staying a night away from home was like a bird being let out of the cage.

There were no smartphones during the era,  so we got to do a lot of interactive stuff.  Our usual activities were BBQ, play games, sing songs, play mahjong and share ghost stories. Mind you, last time, share meant everyone sat down in a circle and talked... not chat like how you do now in a Whatsapp group. I know... the thought of making a real conversation sounded scary right?

Talk about Ghost Stories, we loved to share chalet ghost stories about how this chalet was haunted, how someone got killed there, etc, etc.

Never in our wildest dream would we imagine encountering our stories first hand at The Chalet Hauntings. We heard that five teenagers mysteriously disappeared from their chalet here and whispers of a hantu raya being the cause of it. After this experience, we would never go to a chalet again!

Anyways, is chalet still a thing nowadays? This Uncle is trying to catch up with times.

 4 Spirit Dolls

Spirit Dolls is set in an abandoned village where legend has it that an entire village was slaughtered by an evil doll that housed a vengeful spirit. As a result, the villagers have their spirits trapped in life-sized, hand-stitched dolls left behind in the village.

The first thing that came into this uncle's mind was Chucky. The next thing was preparing myself for any jump scare from the dolls we saw.  Lucky for us, we are not into dolls, so this memory would not linger even if we do get scared.

Actually, the scariest bit would probably be the wait time... it takes 110 minutes to get into the house if you do not have an express pass!

If you can't wait that long, check out this promo video then...

Twisted Clown University

Clowns are in this season. With Joker premiering, people with scary painted faces are the in thing.

Step into the abandoned carnival ground and receive a welcome to the Twisted Clown University. Here, remorseless clowns train the next generation of red-nosed killers to wreak havoc on the world

Blurry picture from iPhone X

This was the first house we visited. It may not shock us as much but it did set shook our fragile bones and made us wanting more.

The other scary thing that this Uncle discovered was that my iPhone X takes horrid night photos. No amount of editing can save the image quality as it was grainy and almost unusable. It paled in comparison to the newer phones other Daddies used. I should upgrade the phone for better image quality but the high price of the iPhone 11 Pro sends shivers down my spine.

Excuse the sidetrack, old already so the thoughts ramble. Back to HHN9 with this intro for Twisted Clown University

2 Scare Zones

In addition to the haunted house, 2 outdoor scare zones were filled with walking ghouls.

Dead End Scare Zone

Photo Credit: Cheekiemonkies.net Pixel 3

The Lost World is transformed into the Dead End scare Zone where you walk among the dead. There are plenty of Instagramable moments but do invest in a good camera phone and not be like Uncle here...

Taken with iPhone X - blur blur one...

Death Feast Scare Zone

Death Feast

Taking place at New York, Death Fest scare zone is for the heavy metal fans.

It's wild and gruesome ... death metal style!

2 shows

Death Fest Live Show

In addition to the scare zones, there are 2 new shows to HNN9. The Death Fest Live show was performed by Death Trap band in true Death Metal style.

Even if you are not a fan, you would be immersed by the performance. I hope no one caught this Uncle headbanging to the music.... gosh, I missed my long hair. This uncle got shoulder-length hair a
la Ekin Cheng back in the 90s. If you don't know Ekin Cheng, you are considered young. He is Uncle's Uncle,  so that's 2 generations apart...

Skin and Bones

This was a horror-comedy show.

The best part for the Uncles here... air con!

Actually, the show was quite entertaining. It's funny, had a good twist and original.  Uncle approved!

The show's timing differs, so check the timings when you are there.

Other than the HHN fare, there are rides and attractions opened throughout the night.
These rides are open for the night

• Battlestar Galactica: HUMAN & CYLON
• TRANSFORMERS: The Ride
• Accelerator
• Revenge of the Mummy
• King Julien's Beach 
• Party-Go-Round
• Puss in Boot's Giant Journey
• Enchanted Airways
• Shrek 4D Adventure: Scared Shrekless (2 D Screening)

The Halloween carnival is also opened during this time for you to try your luck!

Survival Tips Halloween Horror Nights

Here are a few tips to explore HHN9

1) Arrive early and head to the House you want to explore first. 

Queues can be horrifying long (as long a 2 hours or more). If you plan well, you might be able to squeeze in 3 houses for the night. We reckon 2 would be the average during peak hours

2) Head there during off-peak hours.
Less crowded so more chance to visit the houses. Uncle doesn't like to squeeze here squeeze there.

3) Get Express pass
If you want to visit all the houses in one visit. You will need this!
If you are an Uncle, you need this too to save your legs.

You can get your tickets from Klook for both the normal passes and the express passes
Universal Studios Singapore Halloween Horror Nights - Normal Pass
Universal Studios Singapore Halloween Horror Nights - Express Pass


4) Experience is best with mates

Go with your mates. These bunch of elders had tons of fun screaming shouting through the night. Bring the Aunties along and I am sure it will up the scare quotient.


5 Skip the rides
Save it for another day if the timing is limited. If you really want to take a ride to compliment the night, we highly recommend Battlestar Galactica: CYLON.

6 Leave your young kids behind
Some of the attractions are really not suitable for young kids. Good excuse to leave them at home.

7 You can be too young to enjoy but never too old to have a good time.
If this bunch of Uncles who are ALL on Eldershield can enjoy HHN, you would too if you are aged 13 and above.

Verdict

The Uncles had a great time at Halloween Horror Nights 9. For most of us, it was our first Halloween Horror Night Experience and we were not quite sure what to expect. After going through it, we were already making plans to bring our Missus or one of our elder child for HHN 10.

If we can survive the night... so can you!

Check out the video of the Daddy's night out

Video Credit: Life Tiny Miracles

Halloween Horror Nights end on 31 Oct 2019

You can get your tickets from Klook for both the normal passes and the express passes
Universal Studios Singapore Halloween Horror Nights - Normal Pass
Universal Studios Singapore Halloween Horror Nights - Express Pass


PS: Apple, want to sponsor iPhone 11 Pro for the next event?


Disclosure
TWD Dad was invited to join the dads from Daddy Matters for a Night of Horror. All opinions are of our own.