| Halloween Horror Nights Orlando attraction | |
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| El Artista: A Spanish Haunting | |
| Attraction type | Haunted House |
| Event | Halloween Horror Nights 34 |
| Park | Universal Studios Florida |
| Area | Production Central |
| Year | 2025 |
| Housed in | Soundstage 22 |
| Based on | Original |
El Artista: A Spanish Haunting was one of the ten haunted houses featured during Halloween Horror Nights 34. The house was located in Soundstage 22.
History & Location[]
At the end of a Spooky Empire panel on June 20th, 2025, El Artista: A Spanish Haunting would be announced as the first original haunted house coming to Halloween Horror Nights 34. The announcement featured a live actor playing Sergio Navarro narrating the backstory of the house, as well as various images teasing the house.
The house would be located in Soundstage 22, one of the smaller soundstage facilities designed to be used as filming locations for movies and television shows.
The codenames for this year's event were flowers, and the codename for this house was Poppy. The reason behind this is unknown, but one possible interpretation is because the ideas that artists get "pop" into their heads.
Description[]
Maestros del arte y del terror[]
In 19th century Spain, a tortured artist moves to an isolated country manor to seek inspiration. Instead, the art comes alive and possesses him. You’re about to be part of the permanent exhibition.
Story[]
Main Article: El Artista: A Spanish Haunting (Story)
In the 1800s, there was a famed artist named Sergio Navarro, who found himself down on his luck with his career. Looking for a little inspiration, he relocated himself to a Spanish manor in the middle of the woods called "La Casa Creación", The Creation House. A place known as a creative hub for the tortured artist, the manor had quite of bit of legend behind it. Unbeknownst to Sergio, the manors' grounds are infested by spirits of artists that came before him who also moved to the manor.
Prior to Sergio, a talented florist, her soldier husband, and their two children moved into the house. The florist grew Wisterias in the garden, which manifested into horrifying creatures. They were driven to madness like all the others. In her madness, the mother ended up killing her husband and their children, and in her grief, intentionally drank wisteria in her tea (its petals visible in a cup in the garden). The poison caused her to lose even more of her inhibitions. She leapt from the second story and collided with the fountain. This is why her spirit was visible above guests in that room, why the fountain is partially broken, and why her jaw is deformed.
A deeper sense of evil is rooted deep within the manor grounds, many of which exist mostly inside The Conservatory. Within this conservatory, this deep sense of evil overtakes Sergio's mind and influenced his art, forcing him to paint horrifying things that come to life, thus giving the spirits a portal to break into our world. One night when the veil is at its thinnest, Sergio had to overcome his own madness and ongoing whispers of the ghosts as they proceeded to break through his artwork and create a haunting unlike any have seen before.
Realizing his mistake, Sergio grabbed an axe in an attempt to destroy all of the artwork he created. However, he eventually succumbed to the horrors of the mansion. He was strung up by vines in the cellar of the manor and killed, becoming a ghost himself.
Settings[]
Experience[]
Queue and Facade[]
The entrance to the queue for this house was right outside the Universal Music Plaza. The line for this house would loop back and forth in front of the Universal Music Plaza. The line would go left into the area where the entrance to Rip Ride Rockit once was. It would then turn right and go behind the Music Plaza Stage, before entering a small room leading to the entrance to Soundstage 22.
Guests find themselves turning a corner and being greeted by the aging facade of La Casa Creación. Eerie lights flicker from the windows and porch lamps as the voice of its latest occupant - Sergio Navarro - can be heard describing the supernatural powers that dwell within the house, and the art he creates to set them free. His journal can be found open on a stone bench next to the house itself as guests climb the porch and make their way inside.
Haunted House[]
Upon crossing the threshold of La Casa Creación, guests can hear Sergio's voice as they pass through a small entryway with art supplies on the desks and portraits hanging on the walls. Guests enter the foyer to find Sergio working on a new piece of art on canvas, and he lashes out at them. He is tormented by one of the ghosts who haunt the house, a Tall Spirit from one of the paintings, who suddenly vanishes from it and lunges at guests, giving them a scare. Another spirit could also be seen in the floor beneath Sergio, and three others could be seen in the tall windows behind him. A painting of the manor above the fireplace can also be seen, bulging as if a spirit is trying to escape from it.
Journeying further into the house, guests are met with a staircase and an apparition of a little girl standing on top of the stairs. A chandelier to the right moves unnaturally as it illuminates an hallway. Another ghost child appears in that hallway before suddenly appearing right next to guests, scaring them and laughing at them. More ghosts would attack visitors as they make their way further into the house, including the tall spirit from the first room. Another painting of a spirit could be seen in a mirror, and a dark-robed spirit would burst through the painting to attack guests. The Ghostly Bride would jump out soon after on the left next to another ghostly figure in a window.
The walls are covered with paintings, portraying figures with somewhat disturbing appearances as shadows creep across them in the dim light. The lights in the hall are quickly and individually blown out by an unseen force. An apparition dressed as a bride with a disfigured jaw suddenly appears in a mirror. Guests can see the spirit of a Spanish soldier marching behind the windows before he swoops in for a scare. They are also scared by the spirit of a little girl before they leave the hallway.
The next room is the very center of La Casa's horrors - The Conservatory. The spirits grow more restless as they terrorize guests from various corners of the room. The Ghostly Bride can be seen phasing in and out of a wall. A stone gargoyle flies overhead, shattering through the conservatory glass (as shards fall on guests through a water effect.) It’s roaring deep and loud while swiping at visitors, with another one scaring intruders on the ground.
Not too far away, guests find themselves outside in the back courtyard of the house. A living Wisteria Plant scares them while a living statue attacks guests with a sudden jolt of movement. Additionally, there was a broken fountain in the center of the garden and a statue that would subtly move its head, as well as the smell of roses. The spirit of the bride breaks a window up above and a gargoyle peered from a balcony as the nightmare continues inside.
After passing by two more paintings, guests make their way into the library of the house, and Sergio's voice becomes more panicked. The entire room is covered in large, shredded pieces of writing, and it smells of old books and ink. A ghost whose form is seemingly made up of discarded pages attacks on the right while another hooded ghost attacked from the left. Pages from the ceiling flashed with light revealing hidden words and messages. Sergio explains further that his own art might destroy him in the process of crossing over from their world to his.
Guests makes their way into the disheveled cellar where Sergio vows to destroy all of his creations. A couple of monsters carved from wood attack visitors, roaring and creaking as Sergio attempts to cut them down to size with an axe. As guests walk through, they feel their legs being poked and prodded by unseen spirits (done through “ankle ticklers.”)
Guests then enter the catacombs of La Casa as a ghost in a white hood and the rotten corpses of those who were buried jump out and scare them throughout the stone walls. The walls are covered in creeping vines, causing even worse damage to the house’s foundation. An infinitely long hallway of bones can also be seen in this room. Near the end, the cave walls could be seen forming a monstrous face.
The next room is a small, round crypt, and the ghosts and spirits of La Casa Creación have succeeded in killing Sergio Navarro, his body entangled in roots and vines hanging from the ceiling. The ghosts themselves (including the white-hooded ghost, the Spanish soldier, his bride, and the little girl) scare guests from almost every doorway, reveling in their successful mission in terrorizing the world of the living. A final painting depicting Sergio's fate could also be seen. He has completed his masterpiece.
Finally, guests encounter Sergio Navarro one last time - now a ghost, like the rest of the spirits - as they make their way out of the haunted house.
Scareactors[]
- Sergio Navarro x3
- Tall Spirit
- Ghost Boy
- Mirror Spirit
- Ghostly Bride
- Ghostly Spanish Soldier
- Ghost Girl
- Stone Gargoyles x2
- Wisteria Monster
- Living Statue
- Page Monster
- Shrouded Ghost
- Wooden Monsters x2
- White-Hooded Corpse
- La Casa de Creación Corpses x2
Journal Transcripts[]
- “Viernes, 29 de agosto de 1884. La Casa Creación, a place where dreams, sueños, come to blossom. A haven for the inspired, Un santuario, that is cursed by tragedy and haunted by malevolent spirits. A forsaken void that calls out to the tortured artista with ill intent. Un lugar, a place - that called to me, Sergio Navarro. With each passing day, their whispers grow louder, susurros se hacen mas fuerte. I feel them moving over my shoulder as I work, eager for their ghastly forms to be painted onto the canvas. And I can’t resist, no puedo resistirlos. Tonight, los muertos -- the ghosts -- are more restless than ever and my art -- mi arte -- will imitate their death. Sergio Navarro.” - Journal in Facade
- “Viernes, 29 de agosto de 1884. The spirits - Las Fantasmas - yearn to break through, controlling every stroke of my brush. The canvas is their portal - Su puente halia nuestra mundo. I have to paint them and create... my masterpiece. La obra maestra. Sergio Navarro.” - Journal in Foyer
- “Viernes, 29 de agosto de 1884. Estan crusando- they’re crossing over. l can see them. No longer just fading visions in my mind, or sombras stalking in the darkness. Apparitions - apariciones - of the people they once were. A haunting is upon us. Sergio Navarro.” - Journal on Foyer Stairs
- "Viernes, 29 de agosto de 1884. Una familia, a family- father, mother, daughter, son- plagued by tragedy, and bound by death. Unida por la Muerte. Sergio Navarro." - Journal on Hallway Table
- "Viernes, 29 de agosto de 1884. La malo- the evil that permeates these grounds was grown within this stained glass sanctuary. I can feel it looming over me. Lo siento. It hungers for more, spreading its tendrils through La Casa Creación. Sergio Navarro." - Journal in Conservatory
- "Viernes, 29 de agosto de 1884. It’s a poltergeist. La Casa Creación is coming to life. Gárgolas, estatuas, flores - turned into monsters, possessed by the evil, and turned into monstruos. Sergio Navarro." - Journal in Courtyard
- "Viernes, 29 de agosto de 1884. Mi realidad - my reality - is crumbling before me. The walls of La Casa Creación are withering like aged pages of my journal. Los espiritus wish to create spiritual vessels from my artwork, mi arte, to force me to succumb to their evil will. Sergio Navarro.” - Journal before Library
- "Viernes, 29 de agosto de 1884. Se me va la mente - my mind is compromised, as is my art. Ya se lo que hacer. I must destroy my work before it destroys me, and uncover the roots of evil. Before it’s too late. Ante que sea demasiado tarde.” - Journal before Cellar.
Quotes[]
- “La Casa Creación, a place where dreams, sueños, come to blossom. A haven for the inspired, Un santuario, that is cursed by tragedy and haunted by malevolent spirits. A forsaken void that calls out to the tortured artista with ill intent. Un lugar, a place - that called to me, Sergio Navarro. With each passing day, their whispers grow louder, susurros se hacen mas fuerte. I feel them moving over my shoulder as I work, eager for their ghastly forms to be painted onto the canvas. And I can’t resist, no puedo resistirlos. Tonight, los muertos -- the ghosts -- are more restless than ever and my art -- mi arte -- will imitate their death.” - Sergio Navarro
- "The spirits - Las Fantasmas - yearn to break through, controlling every stroke of my brush. The canvas is their portal - Su puente halia nuestra mundo. I have to paint them and create... my masterpiece. La obra maestra.” - Sergio Navarro
- "Una familia, a family- father, mother, daughter, son- plagued by tragedy, and bound by death. Unida por la Muerte." - Sergio Navarro
- "Mi realidad - my reality - is crumbling before me. The walls of La Casa Creación are withering like aged pages of my journal. Los espiritus wish to create spiritual vessels from my artwork, mi arte, to force me to succumb to their evil will." - Sergio Navarro
- "Se me va la mente- my mind is compromised, as is my art. Ya se lo que hacer. I must destroy my work before it destroys me, and uncover the roots of evil. Before it's too late. Antes que sea demasiado tarde" - Sergio Navarro
- "Tengo que destruirlos (I need to destroy them)" - Sergio Navarro
- "Mi arte vivirá (My art will live on)" - Sergio Navarro
Pictures[]
Videos[]
Soundtrack[]
Trivia[]
- Ramon Paradoa was the show director for this haunted house.
- Some of the effects used in the haunted house has been previously used in past haunted houses like Graveyard Games from Halloween Horror Nights 29.
- This house was designed by Dylan Kollath, who designed many past Halloween Horror Nights haunted houses like Blood Moon: Dark Offerings, Dead Man's Pier: Winter's Wake, & Goblins Feast.
- The Conservatory from this house was considered the dark heart of the house and the root of all evils.
- While the aesthetics of this house reflect the theme of the event and with Sergio being the lead character of the house, he is not considered the Icon of the event by Art & Design.
- According to Ramon Paradoa, the house would have a different aggressors and entities in the house and wanted to really run the gambit of creatures and attackers that Sergio would have to deal with throughout the house, spectral entities (apparitions of ghosts that belong to the manor and artists' of the past), and Poltergeist Creatures (creatures that possessed Sergio's artwork and came to life and use his artwork as vessels for themselves to have tangible bodies than just being spectral entities).
- According to Ramon Paradora, the entire cast of scareactors are of Latin descent.
- The Echoes from the Fog video detailing the backstory of the event implies that all of the houses and scare zones from the event are tied to La Casa Creación, as it not only features art and characters from the Scare Zones, but also pieces from haunted houses based on Intellectual Properties such as Five Nights at Freddy's and Terrifier. To add to this, see the fourth bit of trivia from this one.
- The final date on the journal listed is August 29, 2025, which is the opening date for Halloween Horror Nights 34.
- The house utilizes the popular "Pepper's Ghost" effect numerous times, in various different ways. A scareactor or projection is reflected on a sheet of glass, giving the illusion that they are a ghost.
- The Wisteria flower appears quite frequently in and around La Casa Creación, which in the Victorian era was often used to represent nostalgia and melancholy.
- The diaries in this house all show the events taking place on August 29th, 1884, with August 29th being the day of opening night of HHN 34. This also means that the events of this house took place entirely in the span of 24 hours.
- Show director Ramon Paradoa revealed that he sees quite a bit of himself in the character of Sergio Navarro, due to the idea of the price you pay losing yourself as a creative.
- Smells were a very important aspect to this house, with the house smelling like Wisteria and the library smelling like old books.
- Paintings of cats were featured in this house as an easter egg to some of the things guests would encounter around the event, including The Cat Lady of Crooked Lane.
- Some pieces of the manor's walls and statues have been filled with colorful mosaic tiles in an attempt to beautify the otherwise decaying estate.
- The facade for the Casa is one of the biggest of the event’s history. It truly used all available space, from top to bottom.
- Above the door of the facade, guests could see a demon face in the house's design.
- On the staircase in the foyer, a doll and a rocking horse could be seen, representing the Dolls: Let’s Play Dead and Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters haunted houses respectively.
- A lizard was hidden in all ten haunted houses at Halloween Horror Nights 34. The Lizard for this house could be found on a pot found on a desk in The Conservatory.
- A statue prop in The Conservatory scene was reused from Screamhouse during Halloween Horror Nights: Islands of Fear.
- On the final night of the event, a red tarp bearing Dr. Oddfellow's symbol and a small wooden carving of Jack the Clown were reported to be seen inside the house, both acting as a possible teaser for what Halloween Horror Nights 35 will bring.
| Halloween Horror Nights 34 |
|---|
| Characters: Freddy Fazbear • Lucy MacLean • The Ghoul • Maximus • Jason Voorhees • Sergio Navarro • Hatchet • Chains • Art the Clown • The Fiend • Flesh-Eaters • The Beast • Lyla • The Cat Lady |
| Haunted Houses: Five Nights at Freddy's • Fallout • Jason Universe • El Artista: A Spanish Haunting • Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters • Dolls: Let's Play Dead • Grave of Flesh • Gálkn: Monsters of the North • Terrifier • WWE Presents: The Horrors of The Wyatt Sicks |
| Scarezones: The Origins of Horror • Masquerade: Dance with Death • The Cat Lady of Crooked Lane • Mutations: Toxic Twenties |
| Shows: Nightmare Fuel: Circus of Decay • Haunt-O-Phonic: A Ghoulish Journey |
| Street Experiences: Mel's Die-In Zombies • Club Horror |
| Unofficial Scarezone: Chainsaw Clowns |