As Halloween season attracts to an in depth, and plenty of are getting in our final frights at haunts, Horror Nights Orlando has some parting presents to maintain the spirit going previous Halloween. Discover Universal is launching its first narrative collection, Halloween Horror Nights: Haunted Tales, a podcast of spooky and creepily atmospheric anthology expands on the backstories from this yr’s homes and scare zones.

Here’s what Michelle Westfall (Sr. Content Strategist for Podcasts and Video at Universal Orlando Resort) and Charles Grey (Sr. Show Director, Entertainment Creative Development at Universal Orlando Resort) shared in regards to the enterprise and way more. Considering NBC Universal having numerous franchises becoming a member of Meta together with Horror Nights, it’s positively trying good for hang-out followers.

Sabina Graves, io9: I had the chance to go attend Halloween Horror Nights throughout opening. And earlier than that, I used to be holding observe the form of content material that goes up on for the podcast on social media once I got here throughout the Horror Nights anthology. I’m curious how that collaboration into increasing the theme park hang-out universe right into a narrative podcast got here to be?

Michelle Westfall: Great query! The anthology collection really got here from an thought I had like some time again the place I used to be like, “It would be really cool to know a little more about the stories [behind the houses].” I had family and friends who had come to the homes with me and could be like, “That was a really cool house, but what was the story?” You know, possibly they didn’t do a lot analysis into it. So I believed, what if we type of took that and instructed the story in audio with sound results and music and actually type of put you within the temper of Halloween horror nights. So that’s type of the place that concept stemmed from. Charles really helped me with a full reveal of Halloween Horror Nights [on the pod] and from there we thought, “Okay, what if we did a series where, you know, every week we have a new house that we reveal and we tell the stories [behind them]?”

So I reached out to Lora Sauls in leisure. I used to be like, “Would you be interested in maybe doing something like this on the podcast and kind of tell the story, take it however way you want to take it?” And in fact, she was like, “That sounds really great!” So we thought to check a pair homes this yr to see how they carry out on the podcast. Are folks speaking about them? So we selected 4 homes and one scare zone that their [Horror Nights] workforce type of divided it up. And as you in all probability heard, everybody learn a unique home, we did “Dead Mans Pier: Winter’s Wake,” “Bugs Eaten Alive,” “Fiesta De Chupacabras” and “Spirits of the Coven” for the homes. And then we thought let’s do a scare zone [Sweet Revenge] as properly, which is cool as a result of it tied into the Tribute retailer’s story.

io9: Was it very easy to translate these home pitch mythologies into podcast kind?

Charles Grey: For homes, we’ve to truly drive ourselves to take away bits of the story, each expertise together with every scene of the home, the streets, needs to be like a Polaroid image. It’s bought to be such as you bought to get it in a single take. So for us creating it, we’ve a little bit of a backstory however then we’ve to see what we’re going to disclose so we don’t confuse folks. So this gave us an ideal alternative to actually say the issues we wished to say or simply add these additional layers again in. And then I believe for individuals who expertise these tales, it actually provides a fuller basis and might add to type of emotional collaboration. Coming collectively and becoming a member of us on the journey, having that ammunition on the very starting after which seeing issues revealed is extra impactful—particularly the characters or the the reason why folks do the issues they do. So, yeah, it’s lots of enjoyable. Rwo years in the past, we wrote some tales too for lots of the stuff after which so to have the ability to learn them was like a campfire story…you already know, sitting across the campfire, telling your ghost tales.

Westfall: I used to be seeing on Twitter that some folks have been like, “I’m listening to it in my car on my way to Halloween Horror Nights.” And some folks have been like, “We’re sitting in stay and scream and listening to an episode before going to go do Dead Man’s Pier.” After listening to all of the episodes, I walked by way of Dead Man’s Pier and I used to be like,” I don’t know that I might have actually understood the violin had I not listened to that episode.”

io9: Right! I listened to that episode for work earlier than going and defined it a lot! Added an entire new layer to the expertise for my favourite home of the yr.

Westfall:  Exactly and possibly you went by way of the home after which after you went by way of the home, you have been like, “Oh, I want to learn more about it” so you possibly can play that episode. That’s type of what we have been pondering too.

Grey: And it’s not likely spoilers as a result of lots of the stuff we’re simply going deeper within the character or what occurred simply earlier than the inciting occasion, you already know? You see an IP or a film or tv present that you simply’re acquainted you’ve got that [background] coming in. But I’ll say that we’ve particularly in our authentic tales world constructing right here for individuals who come yr after yr. We are creating these tales and layering them on. Sometimes issues have connections to different zones or from previous years we don’t repeat, however we do hyperlink lots of instances. And lots of instances it’s very delicate. Sometimes we’re like, we don’t care if folks get it or not. If they do? Amazing. If not? Okay. So to have folks see the chance to see these connections, hyperlinks additionally inside these tales is is a giant boon.

io9: So I began going to Halloween Horror Nights East pretty not too long ago, so I’ve by no means actually skilled lots of the icons like The Director and Jack the Clown. And my favourite maze final yr was the The Icons Maze, as a result of I bought to lastly get the cliff notes of those totally different characters that I had had huant buddies fill me in on. With this form of factor are you pondering to proceed a few of these tales with the HHN icons by way of this medium or will it proceed as prolonged guides to the homes of the yr?

Grey: We have tended to have the icons in some form or kind solely throughout anniversary years, lots of instances as a touchstone for individuals who visited earlier than. Again, I’m not saying that’s going to occur sooner or later, however that’s been what’s occurred prior to now.  And you get on social media, you get on the weblog and we are able to really see what individuals are very interested by, what they’re latching onto.

Westfall: That is one thing we began to plan for subsequent yr to see, okay, what does the yr appear to be? These did fairly properly [with these houses], I’ve seen lots of people obtain them rather well, so I believed, is there one other place we are able to do it? It suits Halloween very properly. So that’s one thing that we’re hoping to do subsequent yr  I believe there may very well be a spot for storytelling in these varieties 

Check out Discover Universal for journey guides and extra Tales of Halloween on Youtube and wherever you get your podcasts.

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