| Halloween Horror Nights Orlando attraction | |
|---|---|
    Image from HorrorUnearthed | |
| Spirits of the Coven | |
| Attraction type | Haunted House |
| Event | Halloween Horror Nights 31 |
| Park | Universal Studios Florida |
| Area | Production Central |
| Year | 2022 |
| Housed in | Soundstage 22 |
| Based on | Original |
Spirits of the Coven was one of ten haunted houses featured during Halloween Horror Nights 31. It was located in Soundstage 22.
History and Location[]
On August 16th, 2022, Universal announced that an original haunted house taking place in a 1920s speakeasy would be featured at their Halloween event that year. The house would feature witches, traditional Halloween creatures keeping up with the event's theme, who would turn humans into a "witch's brew".
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 codename for the house was Soap due to the ice in the bathtub looking like soap in one of the scenes of the house.
Description[]
They’re Bewitchingly Terrifying! A coven of beautiful flapper witches will lure you into their 1920s speakeasy, reveal their haggish true form and turn your scream squad into a witch’s brew. They’ll be cackling; you’ll be screaming.
Guests will be invited to a lively 1920s speakeasy, but something sinister is brewing beneath in “Spirits of the Coven.” A coven of seemingly beautiful flapper witches will lure those who enter into a hidden brewing area. Once they’ve ensnared their victims, they’ll reveal their haggish true form and turn guests into a witch’s brew. They’ll be cackling; everyone else will be screaming.
Story[]
The house would take place in a forbidden speakeasy in 1928 that is disguised as a Meat Processing Factory in which anyone who would venture inside would be turned into their witch's brew. This Witch's Brew will be smuggled to other covens by cutting open pigs and sewing the bottles inside of them. Men are the main ingredient, and the witches would add enchantments on the brew. Some men were possessed by the witches to attack other men.
The witches would boil the blood of the men in large vats to use in their brew. As guests venture deeper into the speakeasy, the witches would slowly transform from seductive flappers into their true haggish form. The very end featured the Queen Witch performing a mass ritual.
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. Guests would then start walking towards Soundstage 22 and the queue would once again loop in front of the soundstage. Guests would enter the house from the left side of the building.
Upon entering Soundstage 22, guests would be greeted by the outside of the Salem Meat Packing Distribution Building. A black cat could be seen perched on top of the roof as a witch whispering "Witchesbrew" could be heard. Another man's voice could also be heard talking about the speakeasy, as well as another woman's talking about the password to enter the establishment. Guests would enter the house through the door of the establishment.
Haunted House[]
Guests would go down a corridor and come across a door. A voice would come from behind the door asking guests what the password is. They would then walk past the inside of a hat shop with a variety of hats on display. Another doorman, much like the first, would also interrogate guests about the password as they continued. Going down another corridor, guests would be attacked by a Possessed Bootlegger asking them for the password. Before entering the next room, they would be able to see a bunch of newspaper strips about witchcraft and prohibition above the door.
Guests then entered the Black Cat Lounge, where they would find a bar. One of the glasses in the bar had blood and eyeballs in it. A bartender could be seen bashing a customer's head in with a bottle. A Flapper Witch could also be found dancing amidst some tables before reaching out towards guests. She would serve as a distraction as a Hag-Like Witch would jump out from the left. After that, guests would find themselves in another hallway with spider web decorations where a Flapper Witch could be seen kissing a man before snapping his neck and laughing.
Next, guests would enter a room where a man could be seen playing the piano. He would periodically slam on the keys to startle guests. The next room featured card tables and a roulette wheel with a spinning head impaled on it. A Flapper Witch could be seen next to another static-figure of the witch from behind the roulette table. A Hag-Like Witch attacked from behind a table with tarot cards on it.
Exiting the Speakeasy, guests would enter a hotel next door. On the way, they were attacked by another witch, this time looking somewhat deformed. Guests would then pass through an elevator which would shoot air at guests. and then into a Hotel Room. After going into one of the hotel rooms, guests would find the music to be much more distorted. Guests would walk around a bubbly glowing bathtub with hacked up body parts inside of it, as two more deformed witches would pop out from corners of the room, one of which removed a covering their face to reveal their true form.
After that, guests would enter the basement of the speakeasy, where distilling equipment could be found. The music at this point turned into a low beat as guests wound their way through a tunnel filled with kegs of blood. At the end of the hallway, a hag-like witch jumped out of a door on the left as guests were distracted by a hole in the wall on the right. Another Possessed Bootlegger would attack guests as they exited the scene.
Guests then entered "Shipping and Receiving Load Dock 18". Guests would see bottles embedded into the walls that would change colors. A hag with a scythe would attack guests on the left. Further into the room, another Possessed Bootlegger could be seen cutting open a pig and stuffing bottles inside of it before turning to attack guests. The next room had hanging pigs stuffed with bottles, as well as a hag that would attack guests with a meat cleaver. Appropriately, the room smelled of rotting meat.
Entering a mineshaft, guests would be attacked with a hammer by another Possessed Bootlegger behind some barrels. Guests continued through the mineshaft, where a winding path with glowing red lights led them past many barrels labeled "Witchesbrew". Another hag would attack guests on the left as they made their way through the room. At the end of the mineshaft, a minecart would roll and crash near guests.
Continuing on, guests would find themselves in a room with three glowing symbols on the wall. Demonic chanting could be heard as guests wound their way through this room. After that, guests would enter the finale, which had men standing in platforms in the walls with their eyes and mouths stitched shut. A Master Witch would dance on a stage in the middle in front of projections of the Witches Brew showering down. Guests would be attacked by yet another hag, as well as another Possessed Bootlegger. Before guests exited the house, they would be attacked by another hag.
Settings[]
Scareactors[]
- Possessed Bootleggers x5
- The Bartender
- Flapper Witches x3
- Bertie
- Deformed Flapper Witches x3
- Flapper Hags x8
- Queen Witch
Quotes[]
- "Secrets anymore, speak easy and pipe down when you say the password if you read my column you should..." - Reporter (voiceover)
- "Witches brew, speak the password." - Witch (voiceover)
- "What's the Password!?" - Bouncer
- "Oh, don't you look keen?" " - Flapper Witch
- "You think I look spiffy?" - Flapper Witch
- "You’re the cat's meow." - Flapper Witch
- ”You would make a tasty brew.” - Hag
- “Oh, you're on edge." - Deformed Flapper Witches
- "You look ripe." - Hag
Pictures[]
Videos[]
Soundtrack[]
Trivia[]
- The facade took place on Dock 31, a reference to it being the 31st year of the event.
- A black cat could be sleeping on top of the facade building.
- On week three of the event, new dialogue was added for the witches in the house.
- One of the articles before entering the speakeasy was about filler text.
- All of the Halloween Decorations in the speakeasy scene were homemade [1].
- The Creative Team wanted the speakeasy to have a Halloween party vibe but also to hint there's something wrong. This was done with the eyeballs and fingers in the drinks and the witchcraft symbols on the ceiling[2].
- There was a pentagram above the Gambling Room with pumpkins surrounding it.
- The “decapitated head spinning on a roulette table” gag has been done before in HHN history, specifically in S.S. Frightanic: Fear in First Class.
- An eyeball could be seen in the black 31 of the spinning roulette wheel, a reference to it being the 31st year of the event.
- In the hotel there was a book with the text reading, "Skin of a serpent, hair of the dead, surrounded by sisters, we'll continue to spread. This circle is cunning, Our season is here. The Spirits of this Coven ensure men live in fear."
- There was a spider hidden in every house during Halloween Horror Nights 31. The spider in this house was on a table right after the Bootlegger gutting the pig.
- The Witch's Brew was being shipped to covens all around the world[3].
- In the finale, above the man with his mouth sewn shut was the Number 7, which in Tarot means Trapped or Bound[4].
References[]
- ↑ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/haunt-season-8-27-unmasking-spirits-of-the/id1578943290?i=1000583270492
- ↑ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/haunt-season-8-27-unmasking-spirits-of-the/id1578943290?i=1000583270492
- ↑ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/haunt-season-8-27-unmasking-spirits-of-the/id1578943290?i=1000583270492
- ↑ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/haunt-season-8-27-unmasking-spirits-of-the/id1578943290?i=1000583270492