Halloween Horror Nights 35 kicks off August 28 at Universal Studios Florida, and one haunted house is already generating serious buzz. Jack and Oddfellow: Chaos and Control brings together two of the most iconic characters in HHN history for the first time, and the behind-the-scenes story of how this house came together is almost as wild as the experience itself.
For anyone who needs a refresher on the lore, Jack the Clown, born Jack Schmidt, was once a carnival performer working under the mysterious Dr. Oddfellow. When Oddfellow discovered Jack’s homicidal tendencies, he had him murdered and transported to a pocket dimension called the Oddverse. As Senior Show Director Charles Gray puts it, Jack was “torn, twisted, and pulled apart and driven mad” in that alternate world, eventually gaining supernatural powers to rival Oddfellow’s own. The two have been rivals ever since, and their shared history is exactly what this haunted house digs into.
The narrative twist that makes this house so compelling is that Jack and Oddfellow have decided to stop fighting each other and start working together. Gray explains the logic behind their uneasy alliance: “Fear divided is fear diluted. By coming together with their chaos and control, joining together, they could remake this world.” Guests move through interconnected realms belonging to both characters, with the story alternating between their two perspectives throughout the experience.
From a design standpoint, Scenic Designer Dylan Kollath had the challenge of blending two very distinct visual styles into one cohesive house. The result is a grisly carnival opening, a swirling vortex portal into the Oddverse, churning hallways depicting the depths of another dimension, and Jack’s very own game show room. The standout moment is the Tilted Hallway, which combines video projection effects with live scareactors in a way that is genuinely disorienting. Carnival popcorn scents, Easter eggs hidden throughout for longtime HHN fans, and an unusual narration element that ties sound and visuals together all add to an experience that rewards guests who pay attention.
If clowns make your skin crawl, this house was built specifically with you in mind. Halloween Horror Nights 35 opens August 28, and Jack and Oddfellow are ready to welcome you to the Oddverse. Will you be brave enough to walk through? Let us know in the comments!
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