Howl-O-Scream, Virginia’s Best Halloween Event, is Back in 2021

As the end of October approaches, fall festivities are in full effect here in Hampton Roads! From pumpkin patches to haunted farms, there’s no shortage of fun activities to fill your days here. But for fans of chills and thrills, nothing quite matches up to Busch Gardens’ Howl-O-Scream event!

Last year, Howl-O-Scream was effectively canceled due to COVID-19. However, the event is back on with several brand new haunted houses, shows, and Terror-tories to explore! It is slightly smaller than the 2019 event with only five haunted houses and four Terror-torries, but there is still plenty to do and see!

Just in time for Halloween, I’m here to share the details on this year’s event and let you know what’s happening in each of Busch Gardens’ 9 zones!

Zones with new events are marked with *.

Get a Sneak Peek at Howl-O-Scream in My YouTube Video! Spoilers

Watch the YouTube video for sneak peeks inside the haunted houses and shows!

Britain: Ripper Row

Ripper Row at Busch Gardens Howl-o-Scream event — *Britain is now Ripper Row.*

Once again, Britain is tipping its hat to the infamous Jack the Ripper by transforming the area into Ripper Row. The traditional British flags have been replaced with blood-splattered panels in black, red, and white, and ghoulish characters in Victorian-era clothes lurk within eerie clouds of mist.

Monster Stomp on Ripper Row

The Monster Stomp show is back, featuring a dramatized musical about Jack the Ripper. This year’s Jack and his tormented love have fantastic voices, and the drumline percussionists are incredibly talented as well! But caution: this is definitely the darkest of the park’s shows and has a parental guidance label with good reason. While the musical performance is catchy, there is a lot of stage blood, and it does have a very grown-up theme to it. (a.k.a Jack fighting his urge to kill because he’s in love).

Scotland

Scotland doesn’t have any unique Terror-tory theme, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t decked out for the event. To access Ireland or Italy, you’ll have to walk beneath and beside cobwebs filled with giant spiders!

Ireland*

Irish Festival at Howl-o-Scream with Jack-o-lanterns everywhere — *Killarney is filled with scarecrows and jack-o-lanterns*

Ireland doesn’t have a Terror-tory them this year either, but the entire location is decorated with jack-o-lanterns and scarecrows. Why? Because jack-o-lanterns originated from an Irish legend! So you’ll see plenty of them stacked around the courtyard and projected onto the walls.

Jack is Back

The Jack is Back dance part is here for another year, featuring Jack O’the Lantern as your party host. In this 8-minute show, you’ll see Jack make another appearance and command all of Killarney to get down and dance. The rest of the show has optional crowd participation in dancing along with scarecrows and pumpkins while Jack DJs.

Killarney Diner–NEW

Howl-o-Screams Killarney Diner haunted house sign — *The Killarney Diner is inside the Killarney Castle*

The brand-new Killarney Diner is one of Busch Gardens’ best haunted houses yet! Travel back in time to a gruesome 60’s diner where the zombies have taken over! The creepy twist of happy music and screaming zombies sets a fantastic mood for many jump scares and gory scenes.

France

Decapitated heads at Howl-o-Scream — *Off with their heads!*

France is decorated to a bare minimum with only a few guillotine-themed items in the courtyards. However, they also put up some spooky blue and purple lights that set the mood for occasional dance parties with some scary bourgeois.

Zombeats–NEW

zombie percussionists at Howl-o-scream's Zombeats show — *The show uses everyday* items like buckets and trashcans.

Zombeats is a new percussion show that takes place right in front of the Griffon! These three zombie percussionists were supposedly unfortunate casualties of a radioactive spill at the new Pantheon, but they’re putting their janitor equipment to good use! Watch them make foot-stomping music with everyday items like buckets, shovels, and garbage cans. I highly recommend catching a show at night for cool light effects.

New France: Meat Market*

New France has a brand new Terror-tory this year called the Meat Market! Take care not to get carved up by the menacing figures with blood-splattered aprons and buzzing saws! The area is outfitted with lots of dreadful props, like a meat van massacre and body parts for sale.

Germany: Hexed Hollow*

Germany's Hexed Hollow entrance — *Hexed Hollow entrance*

Although decorations are pretty minimal here, Hexed Hollow has a high concentration of witchy characters and trembling victims around every corner! Be sure to come back at night, when everything is accented with spooky green and red lights.

Oktoberfest*

Oktoberfest is pretty calm this year, with just a few basic decorations like pumpkins and scarecrows in the space. It has more of a fall festival vibe than Halloween. While this was a massive hub for haunted houses in 2019, you’ll only find one behind the Festhaus. However, all the games have switched out their prizes with cute pumpkins and Halloween-themed stuffed animals, so it’s still a fun fall stop.

Nevermore–NEW

*Nevermore is inside NewKastle’s dark halls*

NewKastle has a brand-new haunted house this year: Nevermore. Based on Edgar Allen Poe’s classic works, a cacophony of cold-blooded residents and raven-esque monsters await within the castle’s dark halls. You’ll have to navigate through dungeon-like rooms, past masked nobles, and around terrifying statues that just may be real…

Phantoms of the Festhaus–NEW

The new Festhaus show puts a spooky twist on singing competitions! Watch five ghostly singers battle it out as they perform songs like Bad Guy, Yummy, Sucker, and more. At the end of the show, the audience gets to vote for their favorite singer!

Witch in the Woods–NEW

I have to admit that Witch in the Woods looks suspiciously similar to Lumberhack…but it’s still great! You’ll have to brave the (almost) deserted cottages in the woods despite the screams of terrified villagers while you travel ever closer to the witch’s lair! Whatever you do…don’t get caught.

Italy: Garden of the Souls*

The Garden of the Souls is back again, highlighting the traditional Italian All Souls Day, and at the center of it all is a giant white skull decorated in neon drip paint. The lampposts have eerie blue lights right now, and dozens of garlands decorated with skulls hang overhead. But beware: the area is swarming with characters in skull-like face paint that seem to appear right out of the fog!

Skeletones–NEW

*The Skeletones put on a jazzy concert of scary songs.*

Another of Howl-O-Scream’s new shows is a jazzy brass trio accompanied by a pair of soulful singers! This performance takes place on the Il Teatro di San Marco stage in front of a giant, gold-painted Calavera and neon lights. The instrumentalists perform a few numbers independently, while the duet chimes in for favorite macabre melodies like Ghostbusters, the Adams family, and Thriller.

Dystopia

Italy’s Dystopia is back again inside the Pompeii ride! Be prepared to face any fears of alien abduction and dissection you have as you walk past a variety of monsters and their screaming victims. If you’re not careful, you just may be their next experiment!

Festa Italia

Festa Italia’s Slideshow Square did not make an appearance this year, although a circus-themed party zone has been set up near Turkish Delight. Despite the lack of scary circus performers, the area is still dressed with extra circus-themed decorations and a chilling music-box soundtrack. There is also another dance party here throughout the evening, run by a ghoulish ringmaster.

Circo Sinistro

The popular Circo Sinistro has made another appearance at Howl-O-Scream! Your path will lead you through tent after tent filled with eerie circus performers and fearsome creatures, not to mention a maze of tarps that hide whatever lurks around the next corner…

Head to Howl-O-Scream by October 31, 2021!

For those who want some roller coaster thrills mixed in, you’ll be happy to know that almost all of the rides are currently running, including the Loch Ness Monster, which is usually closed by now, and even the long-closed drop tower!

Thanks for checking out this sneak peek of Busch Gardens’ Howl-o-Scream 2021! I hope you enjoyed the post and that you’ll have a fantastic time at Howl-o-Scream this year!

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