I have now done all the houses save Hill House and the only one I've done twice is Bride so I'll let you know my thoughts. Though I really think houses are subjective and I don't think anyone should skip any of them because you never know what you'll like.
I also need to add a disclaimer. I don't really get scared at HHN. Every once in a while a jump scare will get me but I'm more of one of the types of people who likes to look at all the detail in the houses. So as far as scariness goes....not sure if any of the houses stood out as scarier than the others but I don't easily gets scared so... yeah.
Scare Zones
Honestly I'm not that impressed with any of the scare zones this year. It very well could be they have fewer scare actors in them because of COVID and maybe lack of people to hire.
5. 30 years 30 fears: at the bottom of my list. This is the entry scare zone so it's mostly a selfie zone just like in years past. It's a narrow space so they don't even have a lot of area to work with.
4. Crypt TV. I have never seen any of the shows so maybe that dampens my view. Most scare actors seem to be up on the stages and just nothing really works for me there.
3. Seek and Destroy. What a bizarre scare zone. The helmeted people just kind of look like Cobra Kai and I really don't get it. I might be alone here but I always love when they put the Purge in the NY area. It just fits so well and I think it works.
2. Lights Camera Hacktion. I enjoy all the different little genres and scenes we get. It's better than Crypt TV (in my opinion) because the scare actors are able to walk around and do their thing.
1. Gorewood Forest. I absolute love the lighting effect on the trees. This area always seems to get a great scare zone. I love the actors with the stilt type hands, I think breaking up the human profile is a great way to make things just a bit freakier.
Shows
We have so far only seen the lagoon show so that's all I can rank.
Marathon of Mayhem. I was mostly meh about this show. Some of the effects are cool (chainsaw and blood water) but other than that I couldn't really even find an overarching story beyond: look at this random assortment of properties we have that we got the rights to put in our water show. I wouldn't recommend waiting very long for this. Maybe try watching one of the later shows and see if you can walk up right before it starts to get a good view.
Houses
Just FYI we did not get a chance to do Hill House yet so it's not on this list.
9. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I thought the Chainsaw house they had a few years ago for HHN was perfection.
Even with that being said, this house was really just meh. I liked the pig puppet, that's about all I can say. Maybe I just need to do it again but I was not impressed.
Chainsaw was really the only house I disliked.
8. Scarey
I am pretty sure that I missed every single scare in this house. I didn't think it was a bad house, just for now it doesn't rank very highly on my list. I'd like to do it again and see if it goes higher on my list. I do really like the idea of Carey Ohio and I hope I enjoy this house more later on.
7. Revenge of the Tooth Fairy
I absolutely love the entryway to this house and I like the narration. However, I think it just got a bit tired with the fairies always looking the same and being the majority of the scares.
6. Wicked Growth Realm of the Pumpkin
I fully expect this house to go higher as the event goes on, I know it tops the lists of lots of people. I didn't dislike this house, it just doesn't hit the top of my list. I did like how they got the pumpkin smell exactly right. It wasn't a pumpkin pie smell but more like the smell you get when you're carving pumpkins.
There isn't a lot separating the houses at the top of my list.
5. Case Files Unearthed
Really really love the overall story of this house and the narration. I like houses where the theme jumps around, keeps it fresh.
4. Beetlejuice
This house runs in the same vein as Ghostbusters. Was it scary? Not by a long shot unless the jump scares get you. But it was extremely faithful to the movie and it was like stepping into the film. Beetlejuice is not one of my favorite movies, or else the house would rank higher. Loved all the details and how Beetlejuice greets you as you enter.
3. Bride of Frankenstein
I am a sucker for the Frankenstein movies so of course I liked this house. The entryway was such an impressive show.
2. HHN Icons Captured
I highly recommend watching a youtube short history video on the Icons if you aren't familiar with them. It will massively increase your enjoyment of this house.
1. Puppet Theatre Captive Audience
This is where it comes into play that I think everyone should experience each house. Because for me, the whole old time theater scenes really plays into my enjoyment of the house. Is everyone as into theater type stuff as I am? No way, but it definitely adds to my enjoyment and makes the house rank higher. I also liked the baby powder smell (actors used to use it to set their makeup).
I'm pretty sure my rankings will change as I experience the houses more.
I didn't take too many pictures this night since it was raining a vast majority of the time and I had my phone tucked away safely. Here are a couple of my favs.