The shadows of a sinister jungle hide one of the country’s best Halloween events – and a whole hell of a lot of monsters!
Howl-O-Scream, located at Busch Gardens Tampa, is a separately ticketed event that runs nineteen select nights between September 20, 2019 and November 2, 2019, every Friday and Saturday, every Sunday in October as well as the last four Thursdays of October. In its 20th year, Howl-O-Scream features six different haunted houses. One of these haunts are brand new for 2019, another had a slight refresh to its existing theme, while the other four are back again from previous years untouched. The event also features nine scare zones, a live show as well as all of your favorite Busch Gardens Tampa thrill rides, including Montu, Kumba and SheiKra in the dark.
Haunts which return unchanged from the previous year will be duplicated from our 2018 review.
The Residence
During maintenance at the park, an excavation crew uncovered a centuries-old house buried deep beneath the ground. Upon entering the house, a sinister force is unearthed. The vengeful demon takes her revenge by collecting the eyes of all who enter the house.
The Residence is Howl-O-Scream’s newest maze, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s also the best. Beginning with an impressive entry statement, maintenance crews pass by the actual underground home (which, admittedly wasn’t entirely clear that it’s underground in execution.) Just the same, it’s a large scale facade the likes of which we don’t often see from Howl-O-Scream, and to that degree, we certainly appreciated it.
Much of this haunt simply flows through The Residence itself – a fairly generic home with all of the fairly generic amenities one might expect. The path winds throughout the house, from the kitchen to the dining room, bathroom to the children’s bedroom. Each features is own dedicated scareactor to further bring it to life – but none particularly stand out.
Further into the house, things unravel, building towards a ritualistic sacrificial alter lined with flickering candles – the perfect setting for a good old fashion blood-letting. From there, the excavation leads into a winding series of underground catacombs, full of old wooden coffins – their inhabitants not quite ready for eternal rest. Make it past them and you’re not out of the woods yet – there’s a picnic waiting as the finale (?). We don’t make the rules.
At the end of the day, The Residence is a good haunt, with a fair amount of detail. The problem we had with it is simply that the theme in general is somewhat on the dry side. A romp through a generic house at an event full of fantastical worlds hardly stands out as a marquee destination attraction. Make no mistake, however, that the cast of scareactors throughout The Residence puts their all into each and every interaction – giving this somewhat generic home the character it might otherwise lack.
Insomnia: Patients’ Revenge
Insomnia: Patients’ Revenge may be the closest Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has come to having its own “comedy haunt.” Although not entirely crossing that threshold, this maze is delightfully light-hearted, while still packing in the scares. If you pay attention to the actors throughout, there are several clearly intentional moments of comic relief that made our group chuckle much more than once.
While at its core, Insomnia: Patients’ Revenge’s scenic actually is “generic asylum haunt” flavor, it’s what occurs in each scene that gives them distinct and memorable character. Plain hospital-like hallways separate patient rooms, however each room is dedicated to a specific phobia that patient may suffer from. And naturally, rather than help the patient deal with that phobia, it is instead harshly forced upon them. As we mention above, some of the results are truly funny.
But maybe we’re just twisted.
Common phobias like the fear of spiders or drowning lead way to some more… specific fears – like that of nuclear war or falling asleep at the wheel. Each provide a distinct environment for that terror to play out on the patients, all while we watch, doing nothing to help them. Yup. We’re just twisted.
While Insomnia: Patients’ Revenge does have it’s share of “mental patient yelling at you” type scares, much of what plays out during visiting hours is genuinely funny – thanks in great part to the the cast’s large percentage of senior actors. Without a doubt, these are Howl-O-Scream’s very best performers.
And a word of advice — be careful when counting sheep; one of them may try to eat you.
Simon’s Slaughterhouse
Simon’s Slaughterhouse is a healthy (?) mix of barn, hillbilly shack, meat processing plant and a little bit of cannibal. In short, it’s what you might expect to find.
Plenty of blood and severed limbs are scattered about staining the old wood and faux brick finishes. It should be noted that if you are the over-reacting PETA type, there are several cut open pig carcasses hanging throughout – but come on, it’s a slaughterhouse, and it’s Halloween.
So you need to get over that hang up.
The cast of Simon’s Slaughterhouse are definitely engaged and clearly excited to be cast in the roles which they received. Many of them bring the hillbilly flavor to life, using thick back-woods accents while they threaten your very existence.
Simon’s Slaughterhouse begins with guests entering one of three doors to be processed into the facility – Pigs, Cattle or Poultry. Groups will be separated. Every group. Every time. But if it helps your bravery, know that the separation itself is extremely short – basically just the doorways themselves before groups are almost instantly reunited for the duration of the haunt.
Inside the Slaughterhouse, a mix of highly detailed, gory sets are separated by sections of slated wooden plank fencing. This sort of on-again-off-again flow hinders the momentum just a bit – but the end result is still an enjoyable haunt.
MOTEL HELL: Infestation
The exterminator has turned his noxious attacks on you.
Hordes of oozing, wriggling insects have infested Motel Shellburn and the exterminator is determined to extinguish all signs of life, including the guests. Every room in this motel from hell brings new skin-crawling horrors as you try to escape his noxious attacks and check out alive.
Let’s face it: Motel Shellburn hasn’t had the best of luck over the years. First, it was never the most luxurious of resort accommodations. Then part of the neon sign burned out mislabeling it “Motel Hell.” And then the mythical Sandman moved in and turned it into his base of operations for capturing unsuspecting victims while they sleep. But all of that is in the past. Now, Motel Shellburn is overrun with… every type of creepy crawly you could possibly imagine.
From stale cigarette smoke to the feel of cheap carpet under your feet, this is every seedy motel you kept driving past on the interstate. And now, it’s even worse. Did you see that roach? Well, if you missed it, there’s hundreds more on every wall. Spiders hang from the ceiling, casting webs that dip right into your face. And if you didn’t pack enough clothes, the laundry room is available, although it’s infested with maggots.
A crew of exterminators have been called in to fumigate the facility – albeit with you still inside. With these hazmat-suited thugs lurking in the shadows, you might be left to wonder if you’d be safer with the bugs.
Your path through Motel Shellburn will take you both inside and out, including a visit to a recreation area complete with a jacuzzi and games court, as well the motel’s parking lot full of cars.
Although on paper, the Infestation overlay to Motel Hell is truly just the existing maze full of thousands of rubber bugs, in execution it really, really works. Motel Hell: Infestation feels fresh and new again – and perhaps more importantly it now has a solid identity that helps it stand out amid Howl-O-Scream’s other heavy hitters.
DEATH WATER BAYOU: Wrath of the Queen
The decrepit backwoods house facade instantly evokes a Louisiana bayou mood – the perfect setting for the home of a Voodoo Queen. Throughout the experience, the theme and storyline of journeying through the bayou and encountering all manners of the Queen’s minions is clearly apparent. New this year, the opening scene inside the shack has been modified to feature a ritualistic human sacrifice performed by the Queen herself. It doesn’t quite carry the wow of past years’ where the Queen sat in a floating chair over her fortune table, but it does help add a sense of danger. Beyond this ever so slight modification, Death Water Bayou: Wrath of the Queen exists as it has for several years.
The swamp scenes have a stylized neon art-style to them, but still bring an immersive nature to the experience. Natural sound effects surround guests and make it really feel like a twisting swap. And those who make it out of the woods will find a swinging New Orleans street scene that gives this house a real variety.
The one stand-out negative element is the inclusion of the spinning tunnel near the beginning of the haunt. These are rarely used in innovative ways and in 2019, we wish haunts in general would just stop using them entirely. They hinder the flow far more than they help, especially in a decently story-driven haunt.
Death Water Bayou: Wrath of the Queen remains one of Howl-O-Scream’s best haunts, and we’re never disappointed to see it return again and again to the event. We certainly, however, wouldn’t turn down a few even minor alterations to the flow or scare tactics that could help the experience feel fresh for returning guests.
THE BLACK SPOT: Bloodshed
An infamous pirate has you marked for death and he has you right where he wants you.
When Saw Tooth Silas, an infamous pirate, decides that one should no longer exist, he marks them for death. Victims are then sent to The Black Spot, where they meet their horrifying end. The trick lies within the dimly-lit corners of the mysterious hideaway, holding the secret to escape… or demise.
Guests journey through a cursed land of pirates – with danger – and treasure – hidden around every turn. It’s a satisfying storyworld to become immersed within, feeling fresh and original, despite having been part of several consecutive Howl-O-Scream event years.
The scenic quality of this house is mostly top notch. Secret cave hideaways, and the interior hulls of crashed and still moving ships immerse guests into this seafaring and moonlit world.
Pirates and creatures from the depths of the sea hide behind every crevice and barrel. Some may even taunt and seduce before revealing their true nature.
Although The Black Spot: Bloodshed felt virtually unchanged from prior years, it remains one of Howl-O-Scream’s best haunts in quite some time, and as such, is consistently a highlight of our annual visits to the event.
Howl-O-Scream’s Scare Zones are a mix of nine officially themed areas, as well as some unadvertised free-roaming hoards to keep you on your toes. There is no safe space throughout the entire, massive theme park. Expect to run into monsters anywhere and everywhere, even if the area you are in is not explicitly listed as a scare zone on the park map. Howl-O-Scream’s actors are always seem to go the extra mile to create personalized interactions with guests on a level that many other big chain park events fail to do. Below, we’ll look at each official scare zone:
First Fear
The horrors of Howl-O-Scream’s haunted past are the first frights to greet you, rising from the dead and bringing 20 years of fear back to life.
Interestingly, Howl-O-Scream’s entry statement scare zone actually exists OUTSIDE the park’s gates. While this creates a compelling first impression, the downside is simply nothing going on (besides some rehashed projection mapping effects from 2018) immediately inside the turnstiles.
Scenically, First fear is little more than a series of stacked crates – but its the characters that inhabit it that make this scare zone special. In celebration of Howl-O-Scream’s 20th year, First Fear is jam-packed with literally every recognizable icon of the event’s two decade run, from Scarlet to the Raven Twins, Sylvie from MyX and more. Best of all, the cast in this scare zone takes their time to offer photo opportunities -something rarely seen at major Halloween events.
Little Nightmares
Take a creepy walk down memory lane to the bygone era of papier-mâché masks and homemade costumes sure to stir up the nightmares of your childhood.
Little Nightmares is perhaps the most misleading scare zone description of the event. The pathway that boarders Sesame Street Safari of Fun is simply littered with bloody doors. Just doors. A very small collection of scare actors stand in front of them, in implied trick or treating vignettes. Arguably most disappointing of all, the “bygone era of papier-mâché masks and homemade costumes” is, in actuality, off the shelf items quite literally purchased from a local Spirit Halloween store. (Look, we’re Halloween nerds; we shop there a lot.)
Carpe Noctem
The eerie quiet of this gothic Romanian cemetery is shattered by the triumphant screams of vampires and the sobbing moans of their victims. Climb into a coffin but your photo may be all that comes out.
There’s a reason why your photo may be all that comes out – and that’s because this wall of coffins photo op is quite literally the extent of what you’ll find within the Carpe Noctem scare zone. A small crumbled wall and implied tomb on each side bookends the section – in what may be among the smallest scare zones we’ve ever seen. Carpe Noctem is certainly a contender for “we’d much rather have this here than nothing” – and there is definite quality in what little props that are in place; there’s just not very many of them.
MEAT MARKET
Watch a band of sinister and cannibalistic creatures feast on the weak. With chainsaws and sheer disregard, they might just smell your fear and add you to their monstrous menu.
Meat Market remains among Howl-O-Scream’s very best scare zones, full of great, and highly interactive hillbilly butcher-type scareactors. There’s also some nice little vignette set pieces in this area leading to Gwazi Park, home of of an accompanying haunt of the same theme. Tying this area into the Simon’s Slaughterhouse maze makes it feel far more “complete” than other scare zones found at the event.
Even better, this scare zone also features several highly themed food stands and carnival-type games – each so well crafted that they feel like a natural fit in the storyworld.
Maniac Midway
Join Sparky and his carnie crew as they force you to be part of the “scariest show on earth.” Clowns have overtaken the midway and will scour Pantopia looking for the newest stars of this horrid attraction.
A massive scarezone full of demented clowns takes over the Pantopia section of the park. Though light on scenic (aside from a few broken down magic tricks left over from the circus they attacked) this section has a lot of scareactors. Like, a lot. They’ve everywhere – and they spill out much further than the marked scare zone itself as seen on the map.
Cleverly, beyond the gates to Pantopia, a lone ticket booth sits in the middle of the path, offering tickets to The Greatest Show On Earth, despite the fact that it never quite made it to town. Although light on scenic, Maniac Midway remains high on interactions, making it a highly enjoyable section of the park.
CAMP DOA
Dare to enter through the perils of the post-apocalyptic Wasteland where scenes of past and present atrocities still linger in an abandoned strip of roadway. Rush through the rusting and rotting piles of debris because those who remain will do the unimaginable to survive and make escape nearly impossible for newcomers.
A tight passage from the Congo section of the park sets the scene for a very thematically appropriate scare zone – a campsite in a state park. A mix of rangers and monsters (and rangers turned to monsters?) this area has a very unique feel and offers an enjoyable backdrop for the long walk from SheiKra to Kumba.
Cabins, tents, teepees and even a ranger’s station set the tone and bring the world to (after)life around us. Although they’ve clearly seen better days after being ravaged by a recent fire – the smoke still lingers thickly in the air, making it difficult to see several feet in front of you at times.
A full scale – and fully furnished RV sits parked at one end of the camp. Peer in its windows and you might just get scolded for being so nosy by its long-time resident – just another reason Camp DOA remains one of our favorite Howl-O-Scream scare zones.
Deadly Toys
Childhood memories will be crushed as the horror comes to life in Howl-O-Scream 2018. Lock up your toy box because life-size toys are heading out on a murderous rampage and no one is safe from their deadly wrath.
A scare zone that could have / should have had a whole lot of promise – a world where evil toys come to life and stalk the kids who once played with them falls flat. We said it last year, but it bears repeating; it is our hope that perhaps at the time of our visit they were short-staffed, or something prevented it from being finished on time, because if what we saw was the final product, this long walkway adjacent to the park’s main train station featured a guy with a teddy bear mask, a guy with a panda mask, a crashed toy train and, well, not much else.
Lack of content not withstanding, the cast of Deadly Toys put in extra effort to bring their world to life. Each has a devilishly playful demeanor, almost child-like in their own right while still being entirely foreboding.
Hell on Wheels
Attempting to approach this apocalyptic arena? Think again, as a motorcycle gang protects the food and supplies that guarantee survival. With this gang in charge, the path to survival is looking grim.
One of the first scare zones guests will encounter, Hell On Wheels occupies the area up to and around the forthcoming Iron Gwazi roller coaster. This is a sort of post-apocalyptic wasteland overrun by a menacing Mad Max-inspired biker gang.
Hell On Wheels area is full of crashed vehicles, chain link fence obstacles blocking your path and a lot of fog accented by swirling lighting. It really does create a sense of “city” in the middle of an African jungle.
DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS
Spirits and souls have been asked to return for a one-of-a-kind celebration. This spooky festival includes a parade to honor those who have gone before us.
A scare zone that’s much more about atmosphere than actual scares, Día de los Muertos is, appropriately inspired by the Hispanic culture. It’s much more a party full of Sugar Skull-faced mariachis and their swirling dance partners, as well as a few really tall, really compelling skeleton puppets.
We found this section of the park much more willing to pose for photos with guests (though this makes a lot of sense, as they’re not exactly “evil” spirits in this world.) Día de los Muertos is different from what you’d typically find at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Howl-O-Scream, and for that respite from the constant onslaught of monster attackers, it actually works really well.
FIENDS
Is there a doctor in the house? These captivating creatures of the night will infect you with dance fever and keep your pulse pounding with their deranged dance party. But when Dr. Freakenstein’s naughty nurses start operating, the diagnosis is always “code pink.”
We opted to skip this show in favor of more haunt time. Although a long running feature of Howl-O-Scream, it’s not our preferred style of entertainment.
Though unquestionably done on a bit more modest budget than Central Florida’s other Halloween heavy hitter, there’s just something about Howl-O-Scream that often feels more gritty and satisfying – and sometimes, dare we say it, a bit more scary. The park’s naturally dark setting shrouded in ominous trees only serves to add to the mood, creating something that on Howl-O-Scream nights feels much more like a different place than simply “Busch Gardens in the dark.”
In stark contrast to Howl-O-Scream’s competitor just down I-4, the vast majority of actors in houses do not have sound or light triggers and instead rely on their own voice or objects to create startle stares. While this does allow for more interactive and personalized moments between guest and actor, most of the talent is either not experienced enough or directed well enough for these moments to truly work. Dialogue is often a mixture of all the cliché haunted house expressions. “Get out,” “Get over here,” “I’m going to get you.” Over the past few years, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has thankfully been integrating more triggered, pre-recorded audio for the actors to utilize, so in due time, this issue will most certainly solve itself.
But while Howl-O-Scream may not have the massive spending budget of its Orlando competition, its guest experience oftentimes far surpasses expectations. While elsewhere, multi-hour waits and crowds so heavily that it’s difficult to even walk through the park are the norm, here, a much more modest, well-managed theme park awaits. Lines are short by comparison, and haunts tend to pulse through small groups at a time rather than constant conga-line style flows that any Halloween aficionado is surely not a fan of.
Howl-O-Scream brings a haunting style different from other events in the Florida market that instantly makes it stand out. There’s a distinct “home-grown” feeling about Howl-O-Scream — and we mean that in the best possible compliment. It feels like a “neighborhood tradition,” and it’s always a fun, memorable, enjoyable evening that is a highlight of every Halloween season.
You can find an extended photo gallery from our night at Tampa’s 2019 How-O-Scream in this exclusive album on the Escape Authority Facebook page! While there, why not give us a “LIKE” if you haven’t already? We’ll give you candy!
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Venue: Busch Gardens Tampa
Location: Tampa, FL
Dates: Select Nights September 20th – November 2nd
Hours: 7:30PM – 1AM
Cost: Prices vary from $39.99 – 49.99 if purchased in advance online, but significantly higher if bought after 6 pm the night of your visit.