Sophia HyderWe all know why you’re here. Your idiotically ‘brave’ friends roped you into going for Halloween Horror Nights 5 (HHN5), and you didn’t want to look like a scaredy-cat by saying ‘no’.
Let’s clear the air here: there’s no shame in being afraid. You aren’t the only Hallo-weenie in the world. Lucky for you, the biggest weenie (me) has already taken a walk through the iconic Halloween theme park experience, and, if it’s any comfort at all, I survived.
Universal Studios Singapore brings back its iconic mega scare fest for the fifth year, all in time for the much-anticipated Blood Moon (Which also happens to be part of their theme).
As a belated (but thoughtful) gesture to SG50, HHN5 features three blood-curdling Singaporean haunted houses: a zombie-infested HDB block, an MRT cursed in true True Singapore Ghost Stories fashion, and a Seventh Month paper ‘house’ offering. Remember when your parents said: ‘Don’t play with hantu [Malay term for ghosts]’? Obviously, the people behind HHN5 are the kind of people who point at the moon or stick their chopsticks straight into their rice bowls.
As if breeding fear of our own homes and public transport isn’t enough, HHN5 boasts its first-ever dark house, where the Tunnel People (a community living underground) try to scare the melanin out of you with their vitamin D deficiency wrought paleness. On the bright side, it’s so dark in there that no one can see you cry!
You’ll sweat buckets on your journey through the burning paper ‘house’ offering in ‘Hell House’; go head-to-head with suspended shrunken heads in ‘True Singapore Ghost Stories: The MRT’; hold your breath against the nasty sewer stench in the dank tunnels of ‘Tunnel People’, and slowly edge your way past the token Indian zombie couple in ‘SG Blk 50’. Just a heads up: ‘SG Blk 50 also sprays you with a really icy decontamination solution. It smudged my eyebrows.
It’s almost impossible to escape the horror of the 4 haunted houses with 3 scare zones (areas with free-roaming scare actors) around the park. For those with an alien invasion fantasy, there’s ‘The Invaders’ and for those who are more into diseased dystopian wastelands, there’s ‘conTERMINATED’. For the bravest of you Hallo-weenies, make your way over to ‘Hungry Ghosts’, a forsaken village, very unfortunately stuck in the Hungry Ghost Festival. In other words, this scare zone is truly terrifying and I barely made it out alive. I might’ve cried.
With every year’s effects and makeup getting more eerily realistic, HHN5 makes you wonder if you’re really rubbing shoulders with actual ghosts and ghouls in the deepest depths of the underworld. This is why you don’t turn around when someone taps your shoulder in the park even after the Seventh Month (Or Hungry Ghost Festival) is over.
HHN5 is an immersive experience after all. Immerse yourself in situations you otherwise cannot imagine yourself in, and give in to your fears. Immerse yourself in soiled underwear.
But if you did soil yourself and are too embarrassed to join your friends for the rest of the night, the Minion Mart is open. So, immerse yourself in the greatest nightmare of all: capitalism.
Hallo-weenie Survival Tips
To protect yourself from the potential evils you might encounter at HHN5, including, but not limited to, mean friends, mean scare actors, and betrayal by your own bladder, The UrbanWire has come up with a comprehensive HHN5 survival guide.
1) Know where the safe zones are.
One is located at the entrance of the park, at Hollywood Boulevard. This is also where the Minion Mart is, in case you wanted to do some shopping. The other safe zone is located at Sci-Fi City, where the Battlestar Galactica roller coasters are. I suggest you don’t get on the roller coasters. Your heart might overwork itself.
If you’re looking for some less scream-y entertainment during chill time, visit the Beast Club at Ancient Egypt, where the only performance available this year is located. (Unlike previous years, which had stage shows in Pantages Hollywood Theater).
2) Prepare essentials.
Make sure you have the following items with you:
- N95 mask. Protection against the haze, fog machines and body odor (it’s going to be packed).
- Candy. To keep your blood sugar levels up. Don’t faint.
- Silver jewelry and garlic. Wards off werewolves and vampires. Garlic also rouses you in case you faint.
- Sunglasses. To aid in pretending you don’t see scare actors. Also to hide the fear in your eyes.
- Brave friend. For overall protection.
3) Have fun.
Everyone is at HHN5 to have a blast. Make yourself laugh when you’re the most afraid. When an actor jumps out at you, scream, then laugh about it. Have your phone ready for goofy selfies with the actors in scare zones, too. You don’t want to forget their gorgeous makeup and costumes!
Dates: Select nights, Oct 2 – 31
Time: 7.30pm to 12.30am
General Admission: $68
Frequent Fear Pass (14 nights of terror): $118
For more information, log on to their website.