The wait is finally over! Fortnite’s annual Halloween event, Fortnitemares, is now live and will be available until November 2nd. Fans of the franchise will not want to miss this, as there are a lot of new additions including Billy the Puppet from the Saw franchise and a chainsaw that can be used to kill and propel yourself forward at frightening speeds. Brawler’s Battleground has had a makeover, it is now Brawler’s Patch and the usually green river around the Underworld has turned a blood-red color.
The Fortnitemare’s score also got an update this Halloween season, thanks to composer Chris Thomas. Chris is somewhat of an affionado when it comes to spooky Halloween music, he has created music for Halloween attractions such as Knott’s Scary Farm, Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, Creep (LA), Queen Mary Chill in Long Beach, CA and Haunted Soiree (Glendale, CA). If you can’t attend any of these attractions, you can hear the music he created for them on his latest Halloween album, Purgatio.
We wanted to learn more about the process for creating the Fortnitemare’s score, so we conducted the below Q&A with Chris.
First off, how did you become involved with Fortnitemares?
A long-time friend (and brilliant musician), Verity Pabla, runs I’m Not A Machine Music in the UK. She handles my sync licensing in Europe. My understanding is that some people at Fortnite and Epic Games were already fans of my Halloween theme park music, and she was contacted to see if I could write a score. It was quite a surprise to wake up to a WhatsApp message about Fortnite asking me to consider writing a new score. Of course, I didn’t need one second to think it over! The answer was a big loud yes before I could even jump out of bed.
What was your favorite part of working on the game?
I really enjoyed getting to play around with the characters from a wide range of IP. We had the sound world of Edward Scissorhands, Leatherface, Jack Skellington and many more. Not only did I get to play in my own sandbox as a composer, but I got to venture out into various other styles and sounds I don’t always get to play with. It was very bizarre and delightful!
Some critics are saying that the Fortnitemares update is the best Fortnite update in 5 years. Do you agree with this?
I think I’m really the last person to know the answer to this question. Whenever I’m very close to a project (a film, theme park, video game), I’m the least objective person! I would personally say this was an absolute triumph on the part of Fortnite and Epic Games, and so far the fans agree across the board. Ultimately, time will tell, but it’s looking pretty good for us.
What was the process like creating the Fortnitemares score? Would the creators send you some of the gameplay or would you just go off sketches? What would you base the scores off of?
The developers do an immense amount of work in very little time to release the Fortnitemares events. I was often working from sketches and minimal blueprints. I was usually composing new music as they were creating new spaces. Luckily, they were using my pre-existing Halloween theme park music to temp parts of the game. When I started working on the score, I was often referred to tracks from my own music as a guide. That was a new experience for me!
Did you work with the sound designers at all? I know the chainsaw is a great new addition that players are loving.
There are times when I’ve been a part of the sound design team. Other times I work very closely with the sound department. This was a case where I would get notes through the director asking me to tame certain sounds or musical moments to better match the sonic needs in a scene. Indeed, the chainsaw has been a hit with players out there! Much like chainsaws and explosions in movies, it often means the composer has to make big compromises. That’s not an insult to us, it’s just people really want to hear chainsaws and explosions! Heck, it’s what I want to hear, too! Nothing against the music, but there are moments I’d rather hear the cold, rusty, menacing sound of the saw during an action sequence than an introspective clarinet solo floating around. Sometimes, the sound design just has to win.
What was it like creating music for such recognizable characters such as Leatherface, Edward Scissorhands, Sally and The Pumpkin King?
Juggling themes is always an interesting puzzle. It’s not always easy finding ways to make very recognizable and disparate themes work together. Luckily, I got to create a lot of new themes and original pieces draw more focus to the scene than the mix of characters involved in them. I find this a preferable approach. Original tunes keep the focus on the game and the story, rather than leaning into nostalgia just because someone is featured on the screen. I like that Fortnite wanted to go heavy on originality, it freed me to focus on what the story really needed.
There is a big Saw element to the game with Billy. Did you create any particular music for this?
Not really, the score stayed focused on what was happening in the story rather than digging into that character’s musical material. Those realms were more action oriented, needing more rhythm, drive, and cinematic power. I really brought out the choir, pipe organ, horns, and big drums! This matched the adventure of those moments more than falling back on the feel of the original film.
Anything else you can tell us about Fortnitemares?
The good stuff is in the gameplay! Jump in, join the fight, embrace the adventure. All will be revealed when you experience it for yourself.
You also created music for another game coming out soon, Hyde’s Haunt & Seek. What can you tell us about your work on that game?
Indeed, I’m very excited for the world to experience this game! Hyde’s Haunt & Seek exists in a completely different universe from Fortnitemares. This one has been a very fun, playful, nostalgic experience. Rather than the epic, smashing big orchestral score, Hyde’s is full of whimsy, waltz harpsichord, and haunted mansion pipe organs. The developers, myself included, have been life-long Disney Haunted Mansion fans. That was the vibe we wanted to capture in some way. From there, we realized the theme should be a quirky waltz, strings were great for the melody, harpsichord and pipe organ were fun to have in the background (rather than the dominant sound). Our haunted mansion aspirations aside, the game, story, and its characters ultimately shaped the direction of the music (as they should).
How did you come to specialize in Halloween music? Was it by chance or were you always passionate about it?
Since I can remember I’ve had a dark sensibility. My earliest memory of a favorite movie was Night of the Living Dead. Early in life I knew Halloween would be my holiest of nights. All things haunted, ghostly, and weird always fit me like a glove. Despite growing up in rural farm country in Eastern Oregon, I was the misfit kid who was into all that stuff. I don’t think it was much of a surprise (to me or my family) that my artistic and musical tastes veered in a similar direction. My first TV jobs in LA were orchestrating dark dramas, my first two films were horror pics, and after one year of exploring LA’s vast landscape of Halloween attractions I knew I had to serve them all! Getting into this cross-section of the music and attractions world was very natural. Interacting with these show directors, I realized we spoke the same aesthetic language and grew up with all the same musical and cinematic influences. To this day, it feels like home!

DC Fanboy! Superman is the greatest comic book character of all time. Favorite movies are Man of Steel, Goonies, Back To the Future