C'mon, Universal Studios Hollywood. We mean, really now.
One minute we're traipsing about, picking daisies, thinking about ice cream while enjoying the spring-sweet sunshine, and the next minute you tell all of us, out of the blue, that "The Exorcist" will make its first-ever maze debut at Halloween Horror Nights, the annual get-scared spectacular at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Out of the blue? Er... We mean out of the fog, of course.
We weren't ready, is what we're saying. We hadn't yet covered our eyes and put our popcorn bucket on the floor and made the necessary preparations one must make during a fright-filled flick.
Though it kind of makes macabre sense, that the first Halloween Horror Nights maze reveal would arrive even in sunny April, what with recent announcements involving other terrifying treats like ScareLA and Midsummer Scream and year-round "The Walking Dead" attraction headed for USH in the summer of '16.
If you know the William Peter Blatty novel, and the sensation-spurring 1973 film, you know that the story centers around a girl named Regan, her mother Chris, and a host of priests, doctors, and police officers who get involved over the course of the possession-themed plot.
It's scary, so much so film goers famously ran from cinemas during its headline-making first run, and time has not dimmed its fright-making flame.
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So are you up for entering that world? Via a scene-filled maze? Do you need a half year or so to ponder whether you can? You've got it: Halloween Horror Nights traditionally debuts around the third week in September.
More mazes will soon come down the announcement pike, so stayed tuned, and keep a well-oiled supply of "eeks!" handy, because the autumn-time theme park event has a way of summoning them, scare after scare.
Universal Studios is owned by NBCUniversal, the same parent company as NBC4.
