‘Halloween Horror Nights’ maestro Mike Aiello brings nightmares to life

Mike Aiello knows the art of the scare. As creative director of Universal  Orlando’s “Halloween Horror Nights,” he has worked with teams of innovative ghouls and effects magicians to orchestrate frightening mazes, scare zones and live shows for the theme park’s seasonal event since 2003.

A lover of monster movies, Mr. Aiello, 37, took some time with The Washington Times to discuss his early years at Universal Orlando, the “Halloween Horror Nights” 25^th anniversary celebration and the evolution of shocking mortals.

Hats worn at Universal Orlando Resort over the years: As a senior in high school, I took a gig as a skipper for the “Jaws” ride and killed the shark 89 times a day. I eventually gave tours at Nickelodeon, worked the Horror Makeup Show, played Elwood Blues at “The Blues Brothers Show” and was in the Hotel Hell maze as a scare-actor, popping out of a washing machine 80 times an hour.

My life with monsters: Horror was always in my blood. My dad was a huge monster-movie fan. “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” was always on rotation in my home as a kid. Growing up in the mid-1980s, during the slasher-movie era, I just loved Michael Myers, Freddy and Jason.

My history with ‘Halloween Horror Nights’: I have had a role with the Horror Nights events for its entire history, and to help the teams and now present the event on this 25^th anniversary is an absolute dream come true.

Be it coming to the event with my dad from 1991 to 1996 (we did it every year, it was our thing), working it as a scare-actor in 1997 or with my current role, I have amazing memories of creations that I have been fortunate enough to have been a part of growing up for over half of my life.

Favorite original horror-maze backstory: “The Forsaken,” a tangent on how Christopher Columbus discovered the new world. Everyone knows there were the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria, but we say that there was a fourth ship called the Santa Anna. The captain of that ship mutinied against the rest of the fleet and wanted to claim the new world. Columbus sank the Santa Anna to the bottom of the ocean, cursed it and struck it from the record. One hundred years later, a massive storm carries the ship from the depths of the ocean and dropped it into a Spanish Fort with its invading cursed crew.

We built an entire maze based on that premise, snaking around the fort and opening up to a courtyard area to see the bow of the ship and a waterlogged crew moving about. We have actually brought part of it back for a scene this year in the “25 Years of Monsters and Mayhem” maze.

My favorite horror maze based on a brand: “Halloween” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street” are my two favorites. I also love both of the lead characters.

The technological limitations of horror mazes: We had been trying to create an “An American Werewolf in London” maze for six years. We tried to figure out how to accomplish it using a costumed character, but with the amount of guests engaging with the wolves, it was not going to work.

Finally in 2013, we cracked the nut and figured out a way to create a puppeted scare that would interact with the guests. Our event runs many hours into the night and the wolves need to work over and over, hundreds of times an hour. We figured out a system that allows a puppeteer to manipulate these amazing creatures with pneumatics, bungee cords and cables.

The evolution of scares: In the old days, when it was still called “Fright Nights,” every scare-actor had a shaker can, a tin can with nuts and bolts inside. When the actor scared the guests, they would get a practical sound effect. Now, every live character in our mazes has a trigger system, either a foot pedal or attached to the wall — push it to do a multitude of things. It can cue a sound. It can cue a light with a sound. It can cue an effect like a water or air blast.

Old school horror still works: Some of the best effects are still the simplest. For example, in the “Insidious” and all of the paranormal mazes, we use a fishing line filament in dark hallways so as guests are walking through, they feel something on their skin even though they can’t see it. It’s incredibly effective.

What scares me: The shower scene in “Psycho” as well as the end of the original “Halloween.” Michael Myers was scary, but what terrified me more were the establishing shots of the house and street after his supposed death. That could be my neighborhood, and now we do not know where he is. He is out there somewhere.

Most memorable maze this year: “25 Years of Monsters and Mayhem” is a montage of our best characters and environments over the years. That for us, as creators, is a living photo album highlighting some of the rooms we have built.

We have two different types of audiences that come to “Horror Nights.” We have the die-hard fans who have been with us for the past 25 years, and we are giving them that maze as a thank you.

And then we have guests that are relativity new to the event. Maybe there was a brand that brought them here like “The Walking Dead,” a huge television series that is watched by 16 million people every week. That brand has opened the doors to people who might not attend a Halloween-themed event.

So they get to see what they have missed with this maze. It’s a great table of contents for a Halloween-themed theme park.

Tips for surviving ‘Halloween Horror Night’: First, comfortable shoes for walking and possible running if you are scared of chainsaws. Next, navigate the park in a counterclockwise motion. Typically, guests go to the soundstage mazes first. Hit the soundstages towards the end of the evening. Also, stop by the “Harry Potter” area is you need a break.

Encouragement for budding creators: Never having the fear of failure. It’s about riding creative waves and being ready to put yourself out there. Always, keep going and stay passionate about your work.