The winner of our favourite maze of Halloween Horror Nights 35 deserves its own article as we explore this absolute masterpiece of a scare maze, introducing El Artista: A Spanish Haunting.
When Universal set up Halloween Horror Nights they usually mix recognisable IP mazes with their own original creations and in most cases their original creations are always the much stronger mazes, this is no doubt down to their unlimited creative controls over their own houses as opposed to IP mazes which are usually finely tooth combed to make sure they apply to the IP standards etc
It’s within El Artista: A Spanish Haunting that you travel back to 19th-century Spain and follow in the footsteps of Sergio Navarro, a torture artist who seeks inspiration inside an isolated Spanish manor. His quiet retreat doesn’t go to plan though as the house is haunted by a horde of ghosts, using Sergio’s art the spirits transcend into our world and take a hold of the house and Sergio himself.
The beautiful facade of the manor is the most jaw-dropping maze introduction at this years event, it truly is a work of art and that’s before you’ve even seen the conservatory, corridors of the manor and even the garden area complete with working fountain that has you scrambling into your pocket for your phone until you realise you’re not allowed to take photos or videos (damn you Universal!).
But hey, let’s allow all the press and media to spoil the mazes weeks before the public attend eh… great thinking…
Anyways, let’s pop my saltiness to one side as we explore this beautifully crafted haunted house.
As you transcend the maze you’ll meet the various works of art who have come to life before your very eyes but we also dive into Sergio’s mind as he’s becoming possessed by the very spirits that inhabit the house.
El Artista: A Spanish Haunting is a feast for the eyes and for the senses as Sergio is narrating through journals as you go through the maze and see these spirits coming to life, one in particular is on some sort of zip-line that whizzes above you overhead, a very cool moment that I wasn’t expecting (it’s not a spoiler, it’s been posted everywhere already).
If only you could just stand outside the house and take photos before going inside as the stained glass windows were a joy to behold but I feel as though within this maze you are walking through a piece of art, it’s truly remarkable and there are things to see absolutely everywhere.
One run-through of this particular maze just isn’t enough, you need to go through this multiple times if you can to soak up every single detail at what is (in our opinion) the best haunted house at Halloween Horror Nights 35 at Universal Studios Orlando.
Check out our full maze listing and review HERE
With how the queues are currently at Halloween Horror Nights you’ll certainly want to grab yourselves an express pass. We managed to do every single maze at the event in 91 minutes which considering just one queue was on 200 minutes (Five Nights at Freddy’s) during our visit, it’s well worth the investment.
Check out our Express Pass review HERE
