The two above tweets were respectively tweeted out within 24 minutes of each other. Mike Aiello who usually mans the Orlando account (at the top) posted this cryptic message that many have speculated is a house that has been agreed by Hollywood, but will be at both events.
Since the early 2010s there has been a great effort by both coats to work together in sharing IPs (Intellectual Properties). The reason for doing this is the shear fact that obtaining these permissions to use third-party properties for their event is a long and costly experience (just ask anyone who dealt with JK Rowling on the Wizarding World at Islands of Adventure or anyone from Disney after they lost the deal!).
It was seen prior to 2010 that both coasts were actively going after different properties and at times there was probably a lot of overlapping. So the decision was made further up the managerial chain at Universal HQ to bring both coasts together to share time and costs on obtaining these permissions. Since this new unification has occurred, there has been many properties shared on both coasts for the same event years, these have included: Both coasts sharing the prequel version of ‘The Thing’ in 2011, Silent Hill and Alice Cooper in 2012, The Evil Dead remake and the first The Walking Dead house in 2013, Dracula Untold in 2014, Insidious in 2015 with Aliens Vs Predator, Halloween and other The Walking Dead houses on other alternate years (or every year in the case of TWD!). Have houses that are located on both coasts allows for join marketing for both events and allows the filmmakers of these films get their message out with this cross-promotion.
But this spirit of collaboration isn’t entirely new, as Orlando created properties such as Jack the Clown and co, plus New Line Cinema’s Big 3 (Freddy, Jason and Leatherface) have also been shared amongst both coasts prior to this new formal agreement coming into play.
So back to our tweets, if this means both coasts are again sharing a property, what could it be? Well the answer can be pointed to by looking at John Murdy’s tweets (from @horrornights), where he is a little more elaborate with what he is up to than the Orlando tweets, though just as cryptic!
The maze/house that is apparently being shared is Maze #2, so far on Twitter Murdy has dropped the following clues about this house:
His first tweet said:
“As part of my prep for maze #2, i’m listening to lots of old pop songs from the 50s and 60s. They all have the same word in the title…hmm?”
His second:
“Maze #2 now exists in “post it note” form on the wall of my office. Now I have to write it! The facade alone took 10 pages to describe!”
Third:
“Deep into writing the treatment for maze #2, which feels more and more like an original maze (even though it’s not). Hmmm…”
Fourth:
“About half way through the treatment for maze #2. The opening line of dialog/voice over for this maze is a strange secret ode to The Smiths.”
Other tweet:
“Previously we learned that the letters “Q” “Z” and “B” do not appear anywhere in this year’s maze slate…the letter “P” does appear…once!”
Final:
“Have started writing the treatment for maze #2 (two scenes in, 29 pages so far). Also formally secured one of the properties we were chasing”
So those are the clues, but which property do they point to? Well we think we have the answer. It must be 2015’s Krampus movie. Here’s why:
“As part of my prep for maze #2, i’m listening to lots of old pop songs from the 50s and 60s. They all have the same word in the title…hmm?”
Could this word be Christmas? It’s very easy to search iTunes for Christmas songs, as so many of them have the word Christmas in the title. Currently Spotify have an actual 50s and 60s playlist ready to go that has 26 songs ready to listen. Murdy has said on various outlets before that he uses said music streaming service, so it would not be a stretch to think it could be this very playlist. Also, with the likes of the Rat Pack, Andy Williams, Perry Como and others, the 50s/60s was a golden era for Christmas songs. Andy William’s ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’ even appears in the official trailer, link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6cVyoMH4QE
“Maze #2 now exists in “post it note” form on the wall of my office. Now I have to write it! The facade alone took 10 pages to describe!”
Could the façade be the family’s home covered in snow with the Krampus and his sleigh a top. If so, it would take some describing! Imagine the Bodycollector’s house from Orlando last year, all that snow and detail it could easily fill 10 pages of blurb.
“Deep into writing the treatment for maze #2, which feels more and more like an original maze (even though it’s not). Hmmm…”
It wouldn’t be Krampus’ first appearance in Hollywood. He appeared last year and the year before in the scarezones ‘Dark Christmas’. Whether these were official or unofficial appearances are not clear, though I would imagine the latter to be true for 2014 and the former to be true for 2015. Various news outlets went with the fact that the movie was hotly anticipated in 2015, so for it to be official last year is not a massive stretch.
“About half way through the treatment for maze #2. The opening line of dialog/voice over for this maze is a strange secret ode to The Smiths.”
I’m not a Smiths fan! Slightly, by a few years, before my time, however I can say that Krampus does need a narrator (like all good Christmas stories!), so to have an opening narrator for the maze would fit with the theme. The Smiths however, have done many songs that could lend themselves to horror, though I’m not enough of a fan to fathom the connection (if any Smith fans out there – please write to me!). The Smith’s albums names are very interesting, they include: Meat Is Murder (1985), The Queen Is Dead (1986) and Strangeways, Here We Come (1987) and The Smiths (1984), the latter of which has song titles that include: “You’ve Got Everything Now”, “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” and “Suffer Little Children” – could these phrases have made their way into his treatment enough to make him think of The Smiths; especially that last track!
“Previously we learned that the letters “Q” “Z” and “B” do not appear anywhere in this year’s maze slate…the letter “P” does appear…once!”
Krampus does not have a Q, Z or B but does have a P!
“Have started writing the treatment for maze #2 (two scenes in, 29 pages so far). Also formally secured one of the properties we were chasing”
This doesn’t sound much but it appears to show the detail of what the house would have, hence the length. As with Christmas houses of HHN past such as ‘PsychoScareapy: Home for the Holidays’, ‘H.R. Bloodengutz Presents Holidays of Horror’ or as previously mentioned, ‘Body Collectors: Recollections’ – these houses were packed with details! So it stands to reason that if a Krampus house was being developed it would be lengthy on detail.
And finally, in our 2015 book, we spill the beans on the Legendary Pictures deal that Universal struck a few years ago to actively cross promote their properties and bring their creations to life in other mediums, not just movies, but in online content, games, and yes, Halloween Horror Nights. So guess what? Krampus was made by Legendary! So there is already a deal in place. Murdy mentioned early on that Maze 2 was already locked in, so it would stand to reason that this house was already secured due to these previous arrangements.
So there you have it guys and ghouls, our first proper investigative and speculative suggestion on what we believe will be one of the houses for #HHN26. Do you agree? Would you like to see Krampus for HHN? Let us know below or via our social media channels, we’d love to hear from you.
In the meantime, our 2015 book is still available at all good book stores and via this link to Amazon.
All pictures copyright Universal Studios and Legendary Pictures, respectively.
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