La Llorona announced for Halloween Horror Nights 2013 as popular Mexican legend maze moves to Universal Orlando

in Entertainment, Theme Parks, Universal Orlando

As the first of several announcements planned for midnight each night this week, La Llorona has been revealed as the latest addition to the lineup of haunted houses for Halloween Horror Nights 2013 at Universal Orlando.

What began as a Universal Studios Hollywood scare zone based on an old Mexican legend eventually evolved into a wild and popular haunted house. But now Hollywood is leaving La Llorona behind, passing the concept on to Universal Orlando’s creative team to run with it in a new direction.

The Orlando maze will be new and different from the Hollywood scare zone and attraction in the past. But it will be based on the same basic premise, the Mexican tale of a beautiful woman who drowned herself in a lake after being rejected by a lover, later forced to wander the Earth searching for the children she drowned with her, weeping along the endless journey.

It will begin when guests enter an old Mexican chapel where they hear La Llorona’s horrifying tale of murder, tragedy and fatal love. Guests step into the funeral of her victims, and as they progress, they’ll hear her cold, ghostly whisper that announces her presence.

“La Llorona’s intriguing and tragic story has been terrifying people in Mexico and all over Latin America for centuries,” said Mike Aiello, Creative Director for Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights. “And now at Halloween Horror Nights, you will be transported into her mysterious realm and experience firsthand this disturbing folktale.”

Here’s a full walkthrough of last year’s La Llorona maze at Universal Studios Hollywood to offer an idea of what it looks like when this legend is turned into a haunted house:

Universal Studios Hollywood also created elaborate character makeup and set pieces both in the streets and in the maze for their versions of La Llorona over the past couple years:

Finishing La Llorona

La Llorona - Haunted House

La Llorona - Haunted House

La Llorona - Haunted House

La Llorona joins The Walking Dead, Cabin in the Woods, and Evil Dead as the fourth announced haunted house for Halloween Horror Nights 23 at Universal Orlando, which begins on September 20, 2013. More late-night reveals are planned at midnight each night this week, so keep checking back here for all the latest updates.

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