Universal Creative Directors Mike Aiello and TJ Mannarino Answer the Burning Questions of HHN 20

Before the clock struck midnight last night, Universal unveiled the houses, scare zones, and shows that will be at this year's Halloween Horror Nights event this year. Universal held a conference call for several media outlets today, and we were given the opportunity to chat with Michael Aiello, Writer and Show director, and TJ Mannarino, the Director of Art & Design for Entertainment, who answered several burning questions regarding Halloween Horror Nights 20 Years of Fear. Here are some of the questions and direct responses from the creative team on the conference call today:

How does this year's event compare to past years in terms of gore and scare factor, are we talking greater intensity?

"We always want this event to be as intense as we can possibly make that and we're always trying to grow that year after year." -Michael Aiello

What went into creating the iconic character, Fear?

"We wanted a character that would seem all encompassing something that you can visually look at and it could stand among the other icons we've created like Jack and the Caretaker", -Aiello

"A big goal of ours was to pay [tribute] to the past 20 years..One thing has been consistent: Fear. Fear has always been here. Fear is what we create every year." -Mannarino

Can you give us some insight as to why Rocky Horror is not returning this year and if we might ever see it in the future?

This year we felt being all new we felt rocky horror was going to be something that might come back in a few years, it depends what we feel is the best for our audience in the mix of content. The answer is yes it's not part of [this year's event].. We felt we had some other options. It could come back in two years." -Mannarino

Is the Legendary Truth going to be more of a fan base game or is it going to go with the event?

"A mixture of both...Legendary Truth has a wonderful role within this year's environment... We felt this year it has a place within the entertainment content for the fans to really understand how the 20 years have been connected. Fear has been a part of this event for all 20 years." - Mannarino

What kind of special effects might we see this year?

"There's a lot of different things we're doing that we've never done before. We're going out on a limb in a lot of ways, there's a lot of experimental technology that we've never used in our mazes before. One instance we have never attempted to or gotten away with at any time: having open flame involved in a house. This year that is something we will be incorporating into one of our mazes" - Mannarino

Last year we saw classic Universal monsters: Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolfman. Are we going to see them coming back?

"No creature is off limits as far as what you may or may not see on the streets or in the houses [that includes Bloddy Mary]" - Aiello

Here's some quick facts about this year's event:

*"The lantern is fear. The fear is the lantern. The lantern represents our past. The lantern is extremely important."
*A number of houses from the past will be presented in a brand new way along with brand new houses.
*Some houses won't be seen again for awhile
*In the story of Bill and Ted, they are being replaced (Bill and Ted is not leaving)
*Rocky Horror Show will not be back this year, but it could come back in the future.
*RIP Tours will be back again this year.
*More details will be released over the next few weeks.
*To avoid "conga lines", go to the event on a non-peak night (Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday) to avoid waiting in longer lines.

To listen to the entire conference call, click here.

For more information about Halloween Horror Nights, visit the official HHN website.