Sadly both of these sites are long gone, and not much of the sites' contents have materialized since. That's why I'm publishing this guide with the hopes that someday these news reports and radio spots can be found. I'm sure that the newer generations of HHN fans would love to see and hear material from the event's past!
For this guide, I've decided to focus primarily on what I call the 'Iconic' era of HHN - that is, 2000-2011, when the event's Icons held full reign over the event, as I feel this is the one era of HHN that contains the most lost media.
2000
- Did Jack appear on other news stations/programs?
2001
- Is there any other Eddie footage that might be missing/lost? There is a photo of Eddie holding Jack's decapitated head, which all but confirms footage with Eddie was filmed before the event changes made after 9/11.
2002
- Radio spots. I personally have not heard any, nor do I think any of the old HHN sites posted any, but I'm sure they existed.
- Local 6 News segments that were on HorrorNights.Be: 'Opening Night' and 'Sold Out Scream'. 'Meet the Caretaker' has been found and can be viewed here.
- Photo(s) of the infamous Caretaker billboard with the glowing eyes.
- "The Art of the Scare" interstitial segments shown only during the documentary's original airing. According to this Inside Universal user, one showed the Caretaker operating on a patient and telling the audience, ""Don't worry, we'll be right back...but he won't."
2003
- Did Director appear on news stations/programs like Jack and Caretaker did? (I personally don't know if he did, but the St. Petersburg Times' 'Interview with the Director' suggests it was a possibility.)
- Radio spots that were on HorrorNights.Be: 'Drowning', 'Electrocution', 'Guillotine', 'Torture (Burger King)', and 'Drill (Coke)'. I remember these radio spots pretty well, as I'd frequently visit the site to listen to them. I might get some details mixed up. It's literally been a decade since I last heard these.
- News reports that were on HorrorNights.be: 'Shriek Peek' and 'Extreme House Rumor'.
"You Oughta Be in Pictures" (same version from the commercials) played in the background in all the spots. Sometimes it was sung, sometimes it was just the instrumental. Paulo had a gruff, cartoonish "bad guy" voice, and the actor (unsure if it was the original commercial actor, I don't think it was though) went full ham in all the ads.
Drowning: Paulo taunts a guy in a bathtub or some kind of water tank. He shouts, "Are you ready for your final scene? HOW'S THE WATER?!" and sings a bit of "You Oughta Be in Pictures". At the end you hear water bubbling and maybe a drain?
Electrocution: More or less the Electrocution commercial but if Paulo spoke in it. He tells the victim, "You know, you are perfect for this part."
Guillotine: The one where a guy is beheaded. Toward the end, Paulo says, "Put your head on the block," and then the victim screams in a bloodcurdling way.
Torture (Burger King): Paulo attempts to torture a dude through means I forget. He asks, "Any last words?" or something similar. "You Oughta Be in Pictures" abruptly ends as the victim lists off a Burger King order. He mentions a chicken sandwich that was popular at the time, a Southern Club something?
Drill (Coke): Paulo drills into someone's head. You hear everything, even gore sound effects. The ad ends with an ad-read for Coca-Cola products.
2004
- Caretaker's appearance on CBS This Morning. Apparently, Albert and some other characters passed out candy to kids. James Keaton (who played a non-Icon character called Dr. Phobias) posted about it on Twitter:
2005
- Radio spot. I heard it as a kid and it scared the crap outta me! Storyteller sang 'This Old Man' (maybe a version with disturbing lyrics) over a creepy glockenspiel instrumental of the song.
- News report that was on HorrorNights.be: 'Sneak Peek'. Storyteller definitely wasn't in it, but Terra Queen possibly was.
2006
- Radio spots that were on HorrorNights.be: 'HHN/Burger King Version', 'HHN Memories - Version 1', and 'HHN Memories - Version 2'. Each spot was about a minute long, and featured the Icons (Jack, Caretaker, Director, and Storyteller) sharing memories. Here's some quotes I remember (probably not verbatim):
- News reports that were on HorrorNights.be: 'Sneak Peek' and 'Golden Ticket Award'. In 'Sneak Peek', a news reporter talks with all four Icons, then gets makeup from the Blood Masquerade scarezone applied to her.
Director: Remember your warm bath? The way your skin crawled when I yelled 'Action'? (*electrocution sound effects*)
Storyteller: Remember the rope? (Something about 'your final chapter')?
Jack: Remember my nails? (Don't remember the rest lol)? (*Jack laugh sound effect*)?
Caretaker: (I don't remember at all what he said, something about experiments I think) That.. was NOTHING! (*screaming sound effects*)
(*Cue the creepy birthday music you hear in the commercial*)
The Icons didn't share memories in the Burger King version; they just said creepy stuff. Albert says, "The sweet tears of the withering," and Jack says, "The way you scream for mercy," before laughing. I don't remember what Paulo or Elsa said.
- "Share the Scare" video and Caretaker voicemail. On the Sweet 16 website, you could provide someone's phone number, which would create a special link for them to watch a video with the Icons in it. Then, they'd receive a phone call (re: voicemail) from the Caretaker.
2007
- Radio spot has been found!
- News report that was on HorrorNights.be: 'Jack Interview' in two parts.
- 'Jack Interview' that was on HorrorNights.be. Jack visited the Monsters in the Morning radio show to promote HHN 17. The other Icons get mentioned when one of the hosts asks what happened to them. Drunky the Bear (one of the hosts) tells Jack something along the lines of, "I remember that Director guy, but you've always been my favorite." Jack and the hosts clown on Elsa (Drunky calls her 'the old lady'); I wish I could remember what they said. The hosts ask if you can wear a costume to the event and Jack says, "No, dress like a victim." Also, there's a part where they talk about quesadillas for some reason?
2008
- 'Boris Shuster Answering Machine' audio that was on HorrorNights.be.
- Bloody Mary voicemail. There was a number you could call (427 area code) and Mary would "answer".
- SMS text games for each of the houses.
2009
- I saved 'News 13 - The Usher' before HorrorNights.be shut down. It can be viewed here.
- Usher appearance on First Coast News/Good Morning Jacksonville, aired 10/06/2009. The only thing I remember from this appearance was HHN's creative director at the time introducing Julian by his full name - "This is our Usher, Julian Browning." Also, the Miner from "My Bloody Valentine" was swapped out for a Bride from the Dracula: Legacy in Blood house.
- Usher appearance on an unknown Fox affiliate channel. Photos exist of this appearance, posted on the HHN Wiki:
- Usher appearance on WJHM 101.9 FM, aired 10/08/2009.
- Usher appearance on WFLA Daytime News, aired 10/16/2009. I personally saw this back in the day. Mike Aiello discusses the event. Julian arrives and greets the hosts by name. "Danny... Cindy... Baby Mikey." I'm dead serious, he called Mike Aiello "Baby Mikey". The hosts say something to the effect of "You've brought some friends with you!" to Julian, and Julian says, "Of course... Posse!" He gestures for the Bride/Saw girl/Snake Boy to enter. I have a screencap from it:
- SMS text games for each of the houses. This thread on r/HHN discusses some details of the Dracula: Legacy in Blood game.
2010
- Did the Icons appear on other news stations during opening night promo?
- Legendary Truth Facebook posts and discussion threads. I vaguely remember the Legendary Truth Facebook page hosting a Q&A one night.
- SMS text games for each of the houses. This Horror Night Nightmares thread discusses the PsychoScarepy: Echoes of Shadybrook and Havoc: Dogs of War games.
2011
- Central Florida on Demand "skit" featuring Lady Luck, reporter Allison Walker, and a male news anchor who gets held hostage on Lady Luck's wheel. It wasn't a traditional interview; this was a scripted thing. I remember catching it On Demand years ago.
