Exclusive first interview: Universal Orlando peels back curtain on Halloween Horror Nights 31

Like morsels of candy doled out to trick-or-treaters, Universal Studios shares limited details on Halloween Horror Nights before the fan-favorite event opens on Friday at Universal Orlando Resort and Sept. 8 at Universal Studios Hollywood.

But two of the masterminds behind Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights peeled back the curtain a bit further for USA TODAY.

Here's what Lora Sauls, senior manager of Creative Development and Show Direction for Universal Orlando Entertainment Art and Design, and Charles Gray, senior show director of Creative Development for Universal Orlando Entertainment Art and Design, revealed in the Florida resort's first Halloween Horror Nights interview of the season:

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The theme is Halloween

While each of Universal Orlando's 10 haunted houses, five scares zones and two live shows have different themes, they're all tied together.

"As we turn 31 this year, it gave us a great opportunity to lean into what started it all, the Halloween holiday that is Oct. 31," Sauls said. "So we're really leaning into those traditions and tropes of an actual Halloween celebration, the witches and the ghouls and the black cats and the zombies and vampires and the skeletons and the scarecrows, leaning into all those more traditional things but twisting them in our kind of Halloween Horror Nights way to make them more horrific."

While it's not Universal Studios Hollywood's 31st Halloween Horror Nights, Sauls said, "Our partners out in Hollywood are also leaning into some of those traditions as well. It's a great collaboration."

Easter eggs and throwbacks abound

The number 31 will keep popping up across the park.

"In our Bugs: Eaten Alive haunted house, you're entering a world's tech fair where you're entering pavilion 31," Sauls said. "In the Hellblock Horror haunted house, which is a prison for monsters and they're all breaking free, you're going into cellblock 31. In Descendants of Destruction, you're on platform 31. It's very fun that we can hide those little Easter eggs all over."

There will also be echoes of Halloween Horror Nights past.

"We are bringing back characters from our scare zone in 2016 Dead Man's (Wharf)," Sauls said of this year's Dead Man's Pier: Winter's Wake haunted house, which she called one of the most beautiful scenic houses ever at the park. "So you get to see all those iconic undead fishermen coming after you in a brand new house and a brand new story."

Fans of the former Scarecrow: The Reaping haunted house will also see familiar faces in this year's Scarecrow: Cursed Soil scare zone.

"The first time we did Scarecrow, we had very distinct scarecrows that had their own personalities. There were about eight different types," Gray said. "This year, we've brought a few back. We've tweaked some of them. So if (guests) were really into that house, they're really going to enjoy the scare zone and how we've kind of upped the ante with some of the scarecrows. You may see some repeat visitors, but slightly changed over the years."

Gray also hinted at throwbacks in the new Hellblock Horror haunted house.

"If you go to Hellblock Horror, there are some Easter egg characters from other houses that you will see," he said. "Some may not have survived, so I'll throw that little Easter egg in there. I'm not going to go any further on that because it's a treat."

"We will never actually repeat anything, but we will expand," Gray added. "A lot of times we will do a prequel or the next night."

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Some guests may not make it through Bugs: Eaten Alive

Sauls recommended Dead Man's Pier: Winter's Wake and Bugs: Eaten Alive as two can't-miss haunted houses. Unlike others, which are make-believe, Bugs: Eaten Alive plays on people's visceral fears.

"A long time ago we had some bugs-inspired rooms in a house, but I think this is the first time we've had a full house just concentrated and focused on bugs," Sauls said.

"And there (are) a lot of different bugs," Gray added. "So even if you're brave with a certain bug, if you don't like roaches, spiders, or certain types of things, oh my goodness. I'm just curious to see how many people can actually finish the house."

Asked if there are actual bugs in the house that guests should worry about or if they're just theatrical, he added, "Let's keep that fear going. Let's keep it a secret. Plus, it's Florida, so." 

The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare marks a first

The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare, which is inspired by the Grammy-winning artist's "After Hours" album, is one of four intellectual property haunted houses shared by both Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando this year. Each park's other houses are location specific.

"I think people may think because it's based on music, it's not going to be ferocious, but it's going to be very intense, very gory and very aggressive, so it's going to be great," Gray said.

He described it as traveling through The Weeknd's nightmares.

"Yes, you are going through recognizable scenic, as in bathrooms and clubs and train stations and hotel hallways, but it's very surrealistic. It leans into the psychological terrors," Gray said. "And it's presented in a way that we haven't presented a house before where it's musically driven, and even the lights are programmed to interact with the music, so it's almost as if you're walking through a nightmare of a music video. We've never done anything like it before."

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Universal Monsters: Legends Collide will differ from night to night

Three familiar Halloween icons will face off in a haunted house for the first time at Universal Monsters: Legends Collide, another one of the intellectual property houses guests will find on both coasts.

"We have a new winner every night because there (are) three monsters fighting," Gray said. "There's The Wolf Man, Kharis The Mummy, Count Dracula, and you never know who's going to win at the end. We're switching it up every night, and that's going to be fun."

Most of Fiesta de Chupacabras will be in Spanish

Like the legend of the chupacabras, which spans various Latin American cultures, the setting for the new Fiesta de Chupacabras haunted house isn't set in a specific country, but its tale is largely in Spanish.

"We cast a bilingual cast, and we have a bilingual production crew with that cast," Sauls said. "Most of the triggers in the house are in Spanish."

"As our story goes, the townspeople are luring tourists into their town, so they can sacrifice them (to) the chupacabra, so the chupacabra does't kill them," she added. "So there are some tourists that may speak a different language than Spanish, but all of our main villagers and all of our lead characters in there are Spanish-speaking and bilingual."'

Among them is a mask maker whom guests will see right when they walk into the haunted house.

"She is crafting masks for the villagers to disguise themselves as they are doing these horrific kills," Sauls said. "Her family has been making these masks for this festival for decades, and it's been passed down for generations."

The mask maker will share some of that history and the chupacabras' story in a separate add-on dining experience at Louie’s Italian Restaurant, where she'll engage with guests in character, in both English and Spanish. Reservations are required.

The Halloween Tribute Store will be part of the story

This year's Halloween Tribute store is tied to a specific scare zone, but also the event's broader Halloween themes.

"We got to collaborate with our visual merchandise partners on what the theme of the tribute store is, and they're kind of leaning into Sweet Revenge, our New York scare zone," Sauls said.

"Sweet Revenge is a Halloween party in the 50s," she added. "The mayor of the town that the party is being thrown in has brought in Major Sweets Candy Company to sponsor a parade for the first time, at their party. Well, Major Sweets unbeknownst to the mayor, has a little scheme up his (sleeve). He's poisoned all the chocolate. He's given the chocolate to the children, the trick-or-treaters of the town ... and they're killing everybody in their path."

The tribute store itself is being housed in what's supposed to be a closed theater.

"The mayor wanted to revitalize the theater, and now it's a dark ride where you will go into the witch's cabin and into the Scarecrow's domain and into the cemetery," Sauls said. It's not an actual ride, but that's the backstory. "All the while (you're) seeing the amazing merchandise that our merchandise team has to offer this year."

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'Halloween Nightmare Fuel' is back, but not the same

Halloween Nightmare Fuel debuted as a live show at Halloween Horror Nights last year, featuring pyrotechnics and aerial performances.

"This year, it's coming back bigger, with more flame, with more fire, with more aerial acts, with more dancers," Sauls said. "It's just bigger than it was last year. And I think that's how the event changes is we always try to evolve ... so we can give new stories, new experiences, and new scares to our guests."

This year's show is called "Halloween Nightmare Fuel Wildfire." The event's other live show is called "Ghoulish! A Halloween Tale."

There won't be plexiglass in haunted houses

As a pandemic safety measure last year, plexiglass dividers were installed in places where scare actors would jump out at guests in haunted houses.

While not discussed in the interview with Sauls and Gray, Universal Orlando told USA TODAY that there will be no plexiglass in haunted houses this year with the resort having returned to normal operation.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Halloween Horror Nights 2022 at Universal Studios details revealed