Halloween Horror Nights 2007 at Universal Studios Hollywood featured a twisted carnival theme led by Ringmaster Jack Schmidt. While Jack was the main villain of the story, he was largely absent from most promotional materials. Instead, the focus was on The Carnage Killers—Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Leatherface—who served as Jack’s main attractions in his vision of terror on the Universal Backlot. This was the first year that both the Hollywood and Orlando events shared the same theme, centering on Jack’s demented carnival, though Hollywood’s execution of the concept was more subdued. It was also the last year that Hollywood borrowed an Orlando-originated icon, as Creative Director John Murdy decided he wanted to move away from using characters he did not create. The backstory revolved around Jack Schmidt, a horror fanatic who idolized classic slasher villains. On Halloween night in 2006, he attacked guests at a Universal Studios Hollywood movie theater and was committed to S...