You're on the guest list: inside The Raveyard at HHN14

The dead have taken over New York for a party that never ends at The Raveyard, home of the Nail the Beat live show, at Universal Studios Singapore’s Halloween Horror Nights 14.

Warning

This article contains spoilers. Photos from Halloween Horror Nights 14 are featured here in a special showcase.
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Overview and Thoughts

Most scare zones want you to keep moving. The Raveyard would rather you stayed for the next set. It feels more like a stage than a set: nearly all the decor hangs overhead, with camo netting, neon cloth strips and reaper-like skeletons strung beneath the New York roof. That leaves the street bare for a reason. It’s a dance floor, shared by the dead, the undead and the living who wander through.

The residents are a wonderfully mixed crowd, as if the dead of every era have turned up to finish the party death cut short. Seemingly Singaporean ghosts share the street with some western undead, along with a crowd of undead Gen Z ravers. None of them stays put, so it’s a constantly shifting experience. If you can’t find someone, they’re probably dancing with a guest at the far end of the street. Keep an eye out for the Fanta zombie too: word on the street is he sometimes hands out a full can.

That openness cuts both ways. Between shows, The Raveyard can feel more like a themed walkway than a scare zone, and with no set pieces to anchor the characters, you might walk the length of the street and catch only a few of them. The two tree stumps with faces and tombstones are paid photo booths, so the theming mostly hangs overhead. Add the very loud music and the strobing lights, and the centre of the street gets overwhelming. If you’re just passing through, the kerbs are easier on the senses.

It all builds towards Nail the Beat, the zone’s real headliner, with HamiKuma making his Singapore debut and Ponti-Ana stepping out alongside him. Plan your visit around showtimes, and try to be at The Raveyard around 9pm. That’s usually when the Fatimah Rockers sweep down the street, dancing to THRILLSEEKER.

The Raveyard Photo Tour: The Guest List

You leave Hollywood behind and pass under the marquee into New York. Overhead, the party has already started. Camo netting and strips of neon cloth stretch across the roof, and reaper-like skeletons hang among the tattered fabric, watching over the dance floor below. Banners on the lampposts along both sides of the street announce the night’s headliners: HamiKuma, Ponti-Ana, the Fatimah Rockers and the Scare Bears.

First on the guest list is Aunty Curler. She looks like she has been part of the neighbourhood longer than anyone, and death hasn’t stopped her from turning up for the party.

Scarlet Lian drifts through the crowd, a deathly, beautiful woman in a qipao. If she catches your eye, she may want the next dance.

Not every resident comes from the same era. A towering uncle lights his way with a lantern, while a guard holds on to his staff, still keeping watch long after his last shift should have ended.

A ghostly bride and groom wander the street together. Their wedding never reached its end, so they have brought what’s left of the celebration here.

A dapper corpse in a red bow tie cradles a lace cushion, and on it rests what looks very much like a hand. Perhaps he’s still hoping to ask for someone’s hand in marriage. Literally.

The newer residents brought their own style.

These Gen Z party people in bright clothes roam the street, and one of them has brought a chainsaw to the party. Zombies, some in hoodies, move through the crowd in time with the beat.

Away from the crowd, a girl stands alone with her lantern. She doesn’t seem to be dancing. She seems to be waiting.

Then there’s the Fanta zombie, carrying a box of cans through the party. Word on the street is that some of them are still full, and every now and then a lucky guest walks away with one. It’s worth saying hello.

Two gnarled tree stumps rise from the street, with tombstones at their roots and faces twisting out of the bark. They are the only street sets in the zone, and both are photo booths, so a souvenir of your night at the party comes at a fee.

At the end of the street, the stage lights up. Everyone here is waiting for the same thing. The show is about to begin.

Nail the Beat

Every rave needs a headliner, and The Raveyard has two: HamiKuma and Ponti-Ana. Nail the Beat is staged right in the zone, with the hype man DJ Rave Digger on the screen above, orchestraing the night’s mega dance showdown.

This multi-angle recording captures the full Nail the Beat show, and it’s the best way to enjoy it at home. Subscribe to DEJIKI YouTube channel for updates of HHN14 videos.

HamiKuma, the scary-cute zombie teddy bear from Universal Studios Japan, makes his first appearance at Universal Studios Singapore with his Scare Bears. But the pounding bass has awakened Lady Pontianak, buried below.

She rises as Ponti-Ana, the new Scream Queen of the Undead, and brings her ghostly Fatimah Rockers to challenge HamiKuma for control of the night.

The show closes on a Japanese proverb: 出る杭は打たれる (deru kui wa utareru), literally “the stake that sticks out gets hammered down”. It’s usually said as a warning that whoever stands out from the crowd will be knocked back into line. Lady Pontianak, the classic, long-haired version, sticks out from the start, and once the nail is pulled from her neck, she transforms into Ponti-Ana.

By the finale, a Scare Bear hands the nail back for her to hold. Nobody gets hammered down: THRILLSEEKER brings both crews together, and classic horror finds its place with a new generation.

THRILLSEEKER with the Fatimah Rockers

THRILLSEEKER, an original song written for HHN14 and Festival of Thrills, plays every hour on the hour, around the park, and you’re encouraged to dance when the beat drops. Before each Nail the Beat show, DJ Rave Digger teaches the routine with the Gen Z party dance crew: four moves of four counts each, riding a pony, washing the bloodstained windows, slapping a bloodsucker twice, and zombie arms on “thrillseeker”.

The Fatimah Rockers bring it to life on the street. As one of HHN14’s Roaming Horrors, they reach The Raveyard roughly around 9pm, just as THRILLSEEKER plays. Once the chorus hits, they dance the full routine down the street. At other times they simply walk through, so if you want the full dance, be in The Raveyard early.

Halloween Horror Nights 14: Select Nights 25 Sep – 1 Nov

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