Will You Sell Your Soul in The Darkest Deal at Halloween Horror Nights Orlando?

Hopefully, you will not sell your soul to eternal evil during the Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) event this year in Orlando. However, based on the HHN Orlando 2023 house announcement, it looks like someone sold their soul to eternal evil or the collector in The Darkest Deal.

Many things have changed regarding speculation regarding Halloween Horror Nights since we were hallway to Halloween Horror Nights. Starting in April, popular speculation led to an HHN house for 2023 built around selling your soul to the devil. Based on the recent significant announcement by Universal Orlando Resort, that hypothesis held up nicely.

A typical troupe of morality dramas involves selling your soul to the devil. This idea is often known as a Faustian Bargain. HHN 2023 looks to have a main character in a house partaking in a Faustian bargain.

Faustian Bargain

In literature, a Faustian bargain is a situation in which a character deals with the devil, literally or metaphorically. Usually, the agreement involves trading their soul in exchange for what they desire. The Faustian bargain definition also implies that what the character receives in exchange for their soul is initially appealing but ultimately far less valuable.

A Faustian bargain is also sometimes called a devil’s bargain. In stories that use this plot device, the person who sells their soul to the devil must suffer eternal damnation. In a few of these stories, the character can outsmart the devil’s bargain, meaning they manage to keep possessing their soul. Faustian bargain stories are often cautionary tales that explore the concepts of temptation and damnation.

The idea of the Faustian contract comes from a specific story in German folklore. This folk story follows a man named Faust, or Doctor Faustus. In the story, Faustus makes a deal with the demon Mephistopheles, who acts as an agent of the devil for this bargain. Faustus is a brilliant and well-educated man. Faustus believes he already knows everything he can learn from reading books. He wants ultimate knowledge and the ability to use magic.

Through Mephistopheles, he makes a deal with the devil to sell his soul in exchange for twenty-four years of magical knowledge. At the end of the twenty-four years, Faustus realizes that he has wasted his time and tries to reverse his deal with the devil. Spoiler…this does not go well for Faustus.

Media Examples

This idea appears in media often in various ways. For example, The Charlie Daniels Band’s famous song, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” plays on this idea.  Also, many movies use this idea of a Faustian bargain. Some examples include “Devil’s Advocate,” “Needful Things,” “Crossroads,” and “Bedazzled.”

Late Speculation about this HHN House

As announcements like “Stranger Things” and “The Last of Us” started to happen, a title for this Faustian Bargain house emerged. Speculation led to the title “Soul Snatched: Deal With the Devil.” However, that title turned out to be inaccurate. Halloween Horror Nights fans will experience a house themed with a type of Faustian Bargain entitled “The Darkest Deal.”

All we officially know about this original concept house for HHN 2023 in Orlando is from the latest announcement. Universal Orlando Resort stated, “Blues musician Pinestraw Spruce will have to face the music after meeting with The Collector and trading his soul for musical glory. You and your squad learn the terrible price of fame. “

Universal Orlando Resort tends to avoid using “The Devil” imagery at their HHN events. We could debate the pros and cons of this. In fact, I might be distinctly qualified to have that conversation, as my Twitter handle indicates.

Still, we see Universal Orlando Resort taking the concept of the Faustian Bargain and changing the demon and evil connection in its marketing to the term “The Collector.” We should expect that character in this house to fulfill the role of a demon or “The Devil.”

Questions about this Halloween Horror Nights House

If this house focuses on a “Faustian Bargain,” where will the scares come from? In those narratives, the devil character plays nice at first, right? Implied in making the bargain would have limited scary scenes, right? Will this house show what happens when someone decides not to sell their soul at the last minute? However, the basic description says that Pinestraw Spruce faces the music for his bargain. Does that mean guests will see the process of Pinestraw Spruce paying the price? What type of music will we hear in this house? Will the music be a key part of the queue like The Weeknd last year?

What About You For Halloween Horror Nights?

What do you think of this original concept house? How good (or bad) do you think this house will be? Will you sell your soul to the collector for Halloween Horror Nights? Let us know in the comments below.