Busch Gardens Williamsburg Howl-O-Scream Behind the Scenes and Full Event Review

Busch Gardens Williamsburg has once again unleashed the fog and welcomed back haunt enthusiasts for their annual Howl-O-Scream. We spent the weekend at the park, and have our full thoughts on the event, which included a behind the scenes tour, all houses, scare zones, and shows. In short, we felt that this year’s Howl-O-Scream was a step up from the past few seasons, but still left a bit to be desired. 

Behind the Screams Tour

We began our day with the Behind The Screams Tour: 

“Ready to face your fear? Join us for ultimate Behind the Scenes immersion! Starting with a “behind the mask” experience, our talented make up artists will reveal their spine-chilling transformation secrets - you might even leave with a scar! Then, get a ‘Lights On Reveal”  of an iconic haunted maze or house without the scares plus a one-time, priority access to that same location, experiencing the full fright.” 

The tour costs between $31.99-$35.99 depending on the date and lasts roughly an hour and a half. We were the only ones on our tour, so it felt very private and definitely justified the cost. However, I could see almost $40 feeling like too much if you had a full tour and a less personalized experience. There’s a big difference between having every moment and experience catered directly to your party verse spreading it out between a larger group. 

This year’s tour is a slightly altered version of the same experience they’ve offered in previous years, with the biggest change being the make-up tour. While it was really interesting to see the make up tent and watch the scare actors transform, this part of the experience felt a bit incomplete. The website promotes someone in your party having the opportunity to “leave with a scar”, but both our party and the tour ahead of us didn’t have this part of the experience. With the event starting in just a few hours, all of the make-up artists were hard at work getting the actors ready and none were available to do a demonstration for our group. While I completely understand the artists being busy, I find it hard to believe that the tour will ever find them free for a demonstration. If I were the park, maybe just take that line out of the description and leave it as a fun surprise in the instances where it happens. On a more positive note, we did have the chance to speak with a head make up artist for 10-15 minutes while getting shown around the tent, and really did get a nice insight to how it all works.

After the make up tour, we made our way to Werewolves: The Wolf’s Revenge for a lights on tour. Last year, we toured Lost Mines in the Pompeii section of the park, which featured rich, detailed sets and design. Unfortunately, and more on this later, The Wolf’s Revenge was by far the least decorated and least interesting house at the event. With many rooms and hallways that are basically undecorated, it really took away from the wow factor of our tours from previous years. The highlight was getting to interact with the multiple very detailed and well crafted Werewolf puppets around the house, but aside from those this house left much to be desired. There were some really fun details, like a containment board featuring all of the areas at Busch Gardens and a control panel in one room being repurposed maintenance controls from a defunct coaster in the park (Our guide said it was either Big Bad Wolf or Drachen Fire). It was admittedly sort of thrilling to push all of the buttons and switches imagining what power they used to hold. 

Overall, I really wish that you could choose the house you wanted to tour or there was an option to see all five, because after finishing we couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed with what we experienced. That feeling only grew after we did the houses later and realized that this was by far the least interesting option of the five that we cold have toured. 

You do conclude the tour by getting a fast pass for later that night, which is especially helpful on a Saturday. One final note, we were disappointed that we did not get a free drink to take on the tour with us like we did last year. It was really enjoyable to have a free beer while exploring the catacombs of Lost Mines. 

Shows

I am very pleased to report that the shows this year were an upgrade from last year. The performers themselves were exceptional, and we were consistently impressed with the vocal performances in every show. Not just that, but after 3-4 years of the same offerings at most locations, there were some really refreshing new shows this year. 

Jack’s Witching Hour

Not so much a show as it is the opening ceremonies, Jack O’the Lantern welcomes guests from the outdoor balcony of Festhaus and unleashes his monsters on the unsuspecting crowd. Short but sweet, it sets a really fun tone for the night ahead.

Skeletones: In Your Closet

I really enjoyed the previous Festhaus show, Phantoms of Festhaus. It was an upbeat and well performed show that brought the spooky fun vibes, but it was light on substance and had been there since the events return from Covid, so it was time for something new. Not only did the park provide a new show this year, but it is a much more well rounded performance than its predecessor. The plot revolves around a girl being visited in the night by the Skeletones, who guide her on a musical adventure through her inner dreams and wishes. Honestly, this reminded us of a PG version of Nightmare Fuel at Halloween Horror Nights, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it drew direct inspiration from that. The entire show crescendos to a show stopping performance of Dream On where the protagonist belts her heart out, both performances of which that we saw received uproarious applause. While Phantoms of Festhaus was a fun performance to catch if you had some free time, Skeletones is a must see. 

Fiends

Fiends is Fiends. It’s a terrific show with terrific performances that keeps the crowd laughing for the entire run time. For those who haven’t seen Fiends before, it is located in Ireland’s Abbey Stone Theater (Celtic Fyre location) and centers around the misadventures of Dr. Freakenstein and their trusty sidekick Igor. This year's performance revolves around reaching life on another planet, and as always is chalk full of music and topical pop culture references. It was great to see both actors from last year reprise the two main roles, as they inhabit their characters convincingly. Be warned, this is definitely the most risque show at the park, both in costumes and content. 

Monster Street Party

Monster Street Party takes place on the performance stage in France, and once again features Jack O’the Lantern as he welcomes a hoard of monster friends to join him in a dance party. This show takes place mostly during the daytime, and encourages a lot of interaction, especially with the younger crowd members. This is definitely the best performance to go to with your little ones, as it gives them a taste of Howl O Scream without going full scare. 

Spirit Spellabration

Another brand new show for 2025, Spirit Spellabration was a breath of fresh air in the San Marco theater after the original iteration of Skeletones resided there for multiple years. This was a very interesting show in its premise, and another great option for younger park goers dipping their toes into the haunt well. Spellabration involves two characters trying to summon the spirits of their ancestors in order to channel their performing talent. In doing so, they recruit the help of some willing park guests (who get a free fast pass for their participation) to engage in each awakening ceremony. It was definitely a little silly, but once again featured some very talented performers who elevate the material throughout. 

Monster Stomp

Unfortunately, this show doesn’t begin until late September, so once again we were not able to make the trip to Ripper Row. It’s disappointing, and I’m not sure why they always hold off on this one. I’m sure it’s due to staffing, but Saturday night was absolutely packed, so waiting for the October crowds to roll in can’t be used as an excuse. 

Terror-Tories

This year featured six terror-tories, but honestly I would consider there to actually be more than advertised. Ripper Row in England likely won’t and shouldn’t ever go away. As the gateway into the park, a Jack The Ripper terrorized, plague infested English village sets the perfect tone for the night.

Heading clockwise, you would next get to Fest-Evil in Festa Italia. This scare zone has just never quite worked for me, and this year is no different. The whole theme of it just seems muddied, and the pathways in Festa Italia are so wide and varying that you never quite feel like you’re “in” it. It’s just fog and some carnival lights/decor spaced throughout the area.

Gorgon Gardens in Italy is one example of why I’m giving them credit for more than six this year. This was not advertised as a terror-tory this year, but all of the decorations were still up, and every time we went through, Medusa or one of her statues came to life was still present in the area. Not much difference from prior years, just less scare actors, so I’m counting it!

The first new scare zone for 2025 was Bavarian Bloodshed in Oktoberfest. Tied into the new Big Bad Wolf coaster/house, this featured werewolves and villagers terrorizing people in the main hub around Festhaus. This was a really fun area that consistently had great decor and a lot of actors roaming around. I honestly wish the vibe of this scare zone was replicated in the haunted house, but more on that later.

One really cool detail about this area were the wreaths hung along the exterior of Festhaus. Our behind the scenes tour guide pointed out that each wreath is decorated to represent one of the scare-tories or haunted houses that year.

Wicked Wunderland in Germany was my favorite scare zone of the event. Spooky Christmas and Krampus are an aesthetic I very much vibe with, and the gingerbread house looking buildings in Germany fit perfectly with the overlay.

Along the pathway is the now completely open to the public Burgermeister’s Hideaway. I really miss the reservation based performances that they used to do here, but I was very happy to see that with the bar now open they decorated it to the nines, making it extra spooky. In a perfect world, they would put those decorations to use in a once a day reserved performance like they used to do. They could easily sell out one premium experience a day.

Stalker Street in New France was a bit of a downgrade from last year. We often found it to be sparsely populated with scare actors, and really missed the bungee scares from last year, where actors would leap from platforms at guests in the pathway, only to be yanked back up by a bungee cord they were tethered to. Honestly, just bring back Meat Market please.

The final official terror-torry was the brand new Disgrotesque in France. Not a lot of scares to be had here, but we had a BLAST every single time we walked through. If you came through dancing to the music that they had pumping through the land, you would immediately have a scare actor coming up to join in on the fun. Considering most areas are specifically for scaring, I’m all for one being specifically for fun.

Bonus shout out: Killarney had a really fun zone set up with retired costumes from haunted houses past lining the streets. More than once, we encountered the roving band of monsters from Jack’s Witching Hour in the area. So again, I would technically count this as an unlisted Scare-Torry. It’s definitely not an area safe from scares. 

Haunted Houses

Now for the main event. I am very happy to report that overall we found the haunted houses to be an upgrade from recent years. The returning houses all had improvements to their decorations, performers, and sets, and one of the new houses was our favorite of the event. You can check out our full walk through video below:

Bloodshot

What a complete and total success this house is, especially being in its first year. This house felt so lived in, and all of the scare actors did a terrific job selling the story. The diner in Killarney Diner has always been my favorite set piece at Howl-O-Scream, but the bar in Bloodshot gives it a run for its money. I also loved that as the house went on, you seemed to move further out of the realm of reality and more into the world of vampires, concluding with a very sinister looking throne room for the leader of this nest. Clear story, beautiful sets, and memorable characters are the winning recipe for house of the year. And shout out to the fun vampire themed pop up bar that they had outside of the entrance. It wouldn’t have been right to have a house themed around a dive bar and not actually fulfill that promise.

Death Water Bayou

This house is long. Our walk through video came in at six minutes, and that was early in the night when nothing was stacked up. In a busy congo line I could easily see this house pushing 7-8 minutes and there is really no dead space. As the night goes on, it becomes more populated with actors and every room has really high quality decor. This is always a highlight for us and has only gotten better over the years. 

Werewolves: The Wolf’s Revenge

This location is cursed. Not in a good haunted house way, but in a “they can never really figure this space out” way. The premise of a werewolf haunted house is so strong, and for the life of me I don’t understand why instead of doing folk horror they opted for an asset containment lab. They were definitely attempting something like the raptor scene in Jurassic Park but with Werewolves, but it just didn’t play. The space feels sparse compared to the densely decorated sets of the other houses, and is way too brightly lit. Some rooms have fully illuminated fluorescent lights above them. It also seemed like the actors themselves were a bit confused on the tone of this house, which I don’t blame them for. For it being a werewolf house, there were shockingly little actual werewolves, and way too many armed guards telling you to keep moving and scientists yelling about the containment breach. I actually think there are significantly more werewolves in the scare zone than the actual Werewolf haunted house. It was just a big miss, just as Monster Mansion was last year. I would be all in favor of a resurgence from Edgar Allen Poe and a new version of Nevermore to turn things around next year. 

Clown Town

Clown Town was a fun and energetic house last year, and continued its crowd pleasing tendencies into 2025. As long as you provide the atmosphere, a demented circus will always work. Just as last year, the highlight of the house was the full outdoor carnival set packed with spooky characters, games, and booths. 

Killarney Diner: Condemned

Another fantastic example of improving upon a returning house. I am fine if they never get rid of Killarney, it works for me every time. I love the sets and overall retro vibe. If it is going to remain, I’m very happy that they always seem to add a few new elements each year. This year, the bug characters seemed to get a glow up, with especially icky costume design. 

Final Thoughts

I couldn’t help but feel a little more fulfilled this year upon leaving the park. Last year was not a bad experience in any sense, but it just felt like a bit more effort and expense was put into the event this year. The houses felt like they received a glow up, the performers were consistently impressive, and the overall vibe just felt more positive. Hopefully it’s a sign that Howl-O-Scream is going to continue to up its game and become the premier haunt event in the region.