Halloween is here with Busch Gardens Williamsburg Howl-O-Scream 2025, introducing two new haunted houses: Werewolves: The Wolf’s Revenge and Bloodshot.
Howl-O-Scream has been at Busch Gardens Williamsburg since 1999, a favorite of many because of its frightening haunted houses, various scare zones, and nighttime rides. But why would someone pick Howl-O-Scream over another haunted house or amusement park?
Senior Daniel McDonald from Clover Hill Highschool went to Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream because of social media influencing him to.
“I saw a lot of posts on social media about it and the haunted houses looked really cool; it’s the spooky season so I needed to go to a haunted house. I also liked that I could ride roller coasters all day then have even more to do when it got dark,” McDonald said.
Busch Gardens has five haunted houses on its grounds, each with different themes: Werewolves: The Wolf’s Revenge, Bloodshot, Clown Town, Death Water Bayou: Morte, and KILLarney DInEr: Condemned. Which one is the best though? Multiple attendees share their thoughts.
Senior Ryder Bayliss, from Clover Hill High School, attended Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream and shared his thoughts on the scariest haunted house.
“The werewolves were my favorite because they were the scariest,” Bayliss said.
McDonald shared similar sentiments to Bayliss.
“The werewolves one was my favorite because werewolves are my favorite fictional creature. It was cool to see how they portrayed them and their costumes,” McDonald said.
One of the centerpieces of the event is the fear factor.
“KILLarney DInEr was the scariest because it had many jump scares that I didn’t expect and it had a couple unique parts like the spiderwebbed hallway, the webs were hitting my face while I was going through I’d never experienced something like that in a haunted house,” McDonald said.
The scare zones are unique to Busch Gardens because many other attractions similar to Busch Gardens do not feature actors walking around scaring people. They have six “Terror-Tories” which are Bavarian Bloodshed, Disgrotesque, Wicked Wunderland, Stalker Street, and Fest-Evil. Bavarian Bloodshed, Disgrotesque, and Wicked Wunderland are brand new this year.
Bayliss shared his opinions on the best “Terror-Tories” in Busch Garden’s Howl-O-Scream.
“I guess Fest-Evil. I took a picture with one,” Bayliss said.
McDonald had opposing opinions with Fest-Evil being the best Terror Tori.
“I liked Stalker Street the most because of the hay man. He was pretty chill and got me good when he hid on the side of a building and jumped out,” McDonald said.
Overall, students who attended Howl-O-Scream had a positive experience in attendance and thought that it was a whimsical night of merriment which balanced out the grotesque and hair-raising frights. The consensus of students is that this Halloween event features festivities for all ages and interests.
