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Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood attraction
Poltergeist Hollywood Logo
HHN 2018 Poltergeist Front Gate Banner
Poltergeist
Attraction type Haunted Maze
Event Halloween Horror Nights 2018
Park Universal Studios Hollywood
Area Metro Lot
Year 2018
Housed in 747 Area
Based on Poltergeist (1982)

Poltergeist (Hollywood) was one of the eight haunted mazes that were featured during Halloween Horror Nights 2018 (Hollywood). It was located in the 747 Area.

Description[]

Based on the classic 1982 film by director Tobe Hooper and producer Steven Spielberg, Poltergeist will take you inside the iconic ghost story that set the bar for paranormal thrillers ever since.

After moving to their new home in sunny Southern California, the Freeling family discovers that dreams can come true—and that nightmares can too…

One stormy night, their youngest daughter, Carol Anne, begins talking to strange, ghostly voices through a dead signal on the television set. When Carol Anne disappears, the family slowly comes to realize that she has been abducted by vengeful spirits occupying the spectral plane between the world of the living and the realm of the dead. What the Freeling family doesn’t know, is that their house was built over an old cemetery and they are in mortal danger!

Experience[]

Facade[]

The facade was the Freeling House with the Lights Flashing all throughout the windows. Guests would then enter the maze.

Haunted Maze[]

Guests would enter the living room to see a static figure of Carol Anne Freeling in front of a static TV talking to the Ghosts. A projection would go above the TV to show a portal.

Guests would then exit the scene and enter a black hallway with a curtain with a projection of a static TV on it as a Ghost Hand reaches through it to scare guests.

Guests then enter the kitchen to see the lights flashing and see the rotten meat moving on the table and then to the corner is the stacked kitchen chairs on the table.

Guests would then enter the bathroom to see Marty in front of the mirror peeling his skin off. Guests would then a series of black walls with 2 Marty scares before entering the Children's bedroom.

Inside the Children's bedroom was the Poltergeist Clown Down in the corner as guests would see a static figure of Robbie Freeling in bed as the Tree Monster would come bursting through the windows.

Guests would pass through clothes hanging down and enter a black hallway with a white revolving light. Guests were then attacked by a Big Skull Head that sprayed water on then. Guests then enter the Spirit Realm where the Poltergeist Clown Doll would pop out at guests from a boo hole.

Guests would re-enter the bedroom where it's in disarray. Carol Anne Freeling's bed is moving by itself and then the Poltergeist Clown Doll would pop out from underneath the bed with Robbie Freeling.

Guests would step into a Hallway with The Beast greeting guests. Guests then enter the Graveyard with coffins all around. Inside the coffins were the Undead Poltergeists as only 5 of them were real and would pop out at guests.

Guests would enter a short black hallway with a sign saying "You are now leaving Cuesta Verde we'll miss you!". Guests then enter a series of black hallways with 2 Undead Poltergeist scares and then a Big Skull Head scare before guests then exit the maze.

Scareactors[]

Quotes[]

Pictures[]

Videos[]

Soundtrack[]

Trivia[]

  • This movie was the first Horror movie Murdy saw in a movie theater. As time went on this movie was a bucketlist maze for John Murdy [1].
  • All of Carol Anne's dialogue in the maze was provided by one of John Murdy's daughters. [2].
  • John Murdy provides the voice of the father in the house [3].
  • Stepping inside the house, guests encounter that iconic shot of Carol Anne in front of the TV talking to the ghosts in the static. This was the shot on the movie poster for the film so they recreated it as per the film. It’s a slow burn with no other scares [4].
  • The next scene was an artistic interpretation of the static hand coming through the TV screen, like it tries to grab Carol Anne in the film. This is their stretch screen effect with a performer wearing a dye sublimation printed glove with extended fingers [5].
  • The static hand coming through the TV screen was the reused projector scare from the Sinister section in The Horrors of Blumhouse.
  • In the kitchen, there was the stacked kitchen chairs, which foreshadows the paranormal activity going on in the house [6].
  • There was also the TV set on the counter, through which you hear the voice of Carol Anne. In addition to providing plot exposition about Carol Anne trapped in the spirit realm and searching for her mother [7].
  • The moving steak was a puppeted effect with the performer’s body hidden by the kitchen counter and cabinets [8].
  • They designed the face peel scene so guests would see the character from behind with his face reflected in the mirror before he turns and reveals himself to guests [9].
  • Scenes involving a glowing door and coffins rising up inside the house were originally planned, but were cut for budgetary reasons [10].
  • The tree crashing through the window was another puppeted effect being controlled by a performer off set [11].
  • The bedroom scene also featured the first appearance of Robbie’s clown doll in the maze, sitting in the chair [12].
  • Guests exit the kids’s room through the closet and hear Tangina warn us about a malevolent presence she calls “The Beast” and then guests meet The Beast. It was a giant 3D printed fibreglass skull created by Magee FX [13].
  • The closet connects to that weird spirit realm that we only get a glimpse of in the film. For the maze they wanted to take guests inside it, which was a spray foam environment they created. They decided to have Robbie’s clown be the scare in this scene [14].
  • It connected right back to Robbie’s bedroom with all hell breaking loose, including Carol Anne’s bed moving by itself and another puppeted effect of the clown strangling Robbie popping out from under his bed [15].
  • Stepping into the hallway guests encounter this beast. This like all the creature effects was created by Magee FX and was controlled by a performer behind the door [16].
  • The design of the Mantis Spirit was created by MageeFX years prior as just a bust, but was able to be repurposed for the maze.
  • The final sequence in the maze recreated the coffins of the abandoned graveyard bursting through the front lawn of the house. This was a combination of static figures and live performers so guests didn’t know who was who or where the scare was coming from. [17].
  • The design used for the masks of the corpses in this maze were originally used in The Shining. They would go on to be used numerous times again, showing up in Universal Monsters and Holidayz in Hell in the same year, as well as many mazes in 2019.

References[]

  1. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1375232067500441613?t=DzDXryBWnkk4Y0lL35BMwA&s=19
  2. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1375232103512739842?t=Ko1B7S2mHpX3pDUstAAWBw&s=19
  3. https://twitter.com/HorrorNights/status/1051958438555725825?t=Xhjtc804Z65kDE4DUfsz2A&s=19
  4. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621518902472705?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
  5. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621534853353477?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
  6. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621596853538830?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
  7. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621628000514049?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
  8. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621651312394244?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
  9. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621670904037380?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
  10. https://twitter.com/HorrorNights/status/1051954705579081729?s=19
  11. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621752516743168?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
  12. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621770518757387?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
  13. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621789565095940?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
  14. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621809236328450?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
  15. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621847735906308?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
  16. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621867453267971?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
  17. https://twitter.com/john_murdy/status/1376621886403141636?s=20&t=ApnFAigr3SyaHeINWvf19A
Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018
Haunted Mazes: Stranger Things  • Trick 'r Treat  • The First Purge  • The Walking Dead Attraction  • Poltergeist  • Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers  • The Horrors of Blumhouse: Chapter Two • Universal Monsters: Music by Slash
Terror Tram: Hollywood Harry's: Dreadtime Storyz
Scarezones: Holidayz in Hell  • Trick 'r Treat • Monster Masquerade • Hell's Harvest • Toxxic Tunnel
Show: Jabbawockeez
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