SeaWorld Orlando’s Howl-O-Scream is bringing four live entertainment productions to the stage for 2026, ranging from a hellish dirt bike musical and a Jack the Ripper spectacle to a nostalgic ’90s boy band and a freak show. While haunted houses may get most of the attention, some of the night’s most impressive performances happen under the stage lights. We watched all four shows, and after experiencing everything from Throttle’s high-energy stunts to Monster Stomp’s spectacular choreography, we’ve got plenty to talk about.
Throttle
Throttle is a hellish rock musical complete with dancing, familiar rock songs, and stunt dirt bikes. It doesn’t waste much time getting started, either. The music is loud, the dancing starts almost immediately, and the energy rarely lets up. The performers are a major part of why it works, with contagious enthusiasm and chemistry that makes the show feel like one giant, chaotic rock concert staged in a junkyard. That’s also about the best way to describe the show’s visual aesthetic: gritty, loud, and deliberately rough around the edges.
The pacing is excellent, and the storyline is easy enough to follow without bogging the production down in exposition. However, our biggest improvement this year is Pestilence. Adding the character helps piece together Havoc’s story in a way we didn’t even know the show needed. More importantly, Pestilence connects Throttle to Howl-O-Scream’s larger ’90s storyline, rather than leaving the show feeling like a standalone motorcycle spectacle. That addition changed the show enough that Throttle became a personal favorite this year.
The audience during our performances was equally invested, with guests cheering, getting hyped, and feeding off the energy coming from the stage. We couldn’t identify much we’d personally change about this show. If you’re looking for something loud, distinctly Halloween, and packed with energy, Throttle deserves a stop.
Monster Stomp
If Throttle was our personal favorite, Monster Stomp remains the show we’d tell a first-time Howl-O-Scream guest not to miss. We’ve seen Monster Stomp quite a few times, and the premise will be familiar to returning guests: a dark musical built around the story of Jack the Ripper. The experience actually begins before the show does. Roughly ten minutes before performances we’ve attended, actors make their way into the audience, beginning to transform the theater into the streets of London before the first proper musical number even begins.
Once that first song hits, the energy changes quickly. Monster Stomp straddles an interesting line between dark Halloween theater and a full-blown concert. Popular songs give the audience something familiar to latch onto, and people often sing along. Our favorite remains “Wicked Ones,” but the music isn’t what makes Monster Stomp exceptional. It’s the performers.
The acting is phenomenal, and the choreography is mesmerizing. Of all four shows, Monster Stomp may be one of the best opportunities during Howl-O-Scream to watch SeaWorld’s entertainers really showcase what they’re capable of. The live singing, dancing, acting, and character work are remarkably well balanced. We particularly enjoy the butcher sequence and the live guitarist. We’ve heard some guests express confusion over the butcher scene, but personally, it’s one of our favorite parts of the production.
The costumes, makeup, lighting, and effects complete the atmosphere without overpowering the people onstage. Monster Stomp maintains its momentum throughout, and the audiences we’ve watched have responded accordingly, with plenty of cheering and even some guests standing at the end.
However, there is an elephant in the room: Monster Stomp has become extremely familiar. We haven’t noticed any substantial changes to the show beyond some casting differences, and returning fans’ opinions seem divided. Some are fiercely loyal to Monster Stomp exactly as it is, while others are ready to see Howl-O-Scream introduce something completely new. We’re somewhere in the middle. We love Monster Stomp and would happily watch it again, and have, repeatedly. However, we also wouldn’t mind seeing SeaWorld shake things up eventually. Until then, it remains our must-see show of Howl-O-Scream.
Dead Air
Then there is Dead Air, which feels less like a traditional Halloween production and more like stumbling across a very short live radio session that somehow escaped directly from the 1990s. Three men emerge in bright neon windbreakers and baggy pants, immediately hyping the crowd before launching into familiar ’90s boy-band music. There’s a loose implication that these guys have been stuck in this era for quite some time, but don’t arrive expecting an elaborate storyline. Dead Air is a boy band, and that’s really all it needs to be.
The vocals are live, while the choreography largely mirrors the familiar moves associated with the original songs. Is it the strongest choreography you’ll see at Howl-O-Scream? No. Did anyone around us seem to care? Also no. Everyone was too busy singing.
That’s Dead Air’s greatest strength: nostalgia. If you grew up loving ’90s pop and boy bands, you’ll probably recognize the music, and the crowds we’ve encountered have been extremely responsive. Even better, the songs can change between performances. We’ve watched Dead Air three times and heard different selections, so this show has real repeat value.
Production-wise, there isn’t much happening. The stage is simple, the lighting is basic, and the three performers work best as a group. We’d certainly be curious to see what Dead Air could become with a full five-member boy band, but the smaller lineup doesn’t ruin the illusion. Its connection to Halloween is equally thin, making Dead Air easily the least frightening way you could spend a few minutes at an event called Howl-O-Scream. Odd? Maybe. But Howl-O-Scream isn’t only about being scared. It’s also supposed to be fun.
Dead Air gives guests a chance to sit down, grab a drink, and take a breather from houses and scare zones. We wouldn’t necessarily cross the park just to catch it, but if you’re nearby, have run out of things to do, or simply need a break from the scares, it’s a ridiculously fun place to scream-sing to your heart’s content.
Hellzapoppin
And then we come to Hellzapoppin. This is the difficult one. We’ve been watching Hellzapoppin in the area since 2013, and the sideshow has historically delivered the sort of dark, dangerous nighttime entertainment that makes a Halloween event. Unfortunately, this year’s version left us underwhelmed.
At its core, Hellzapoppin is a classic freak-show-style sideshow built around unusual and uncomfortable feats. Sword swallowing is part of the equation, as are acts designed specifically to make you squirm. And squirm we did. One particularly memorable sequence involved a performer using a drill as part of an act involving a condom being passed through his nose. It was easily the moment that grossed us out the most, while another act involving a bear claw was new to us this year.
The performers appeared professional, and the show delivers the freak-show atmosphere it promises. If that’s what you’re looking for, you certainly know what you’ve signed up for. Our problem isn’t really with the concept. It’s the scale.
The version we watched featured only two performers, Bryce Graves and Willow, on a small stage with basic props. There is some storytelling and chatter between the acts, but compared with Hellzapoppin productions we’ve experienced over the years, this one simply felt small. Previous versions we’ve seen have featured more entertainers, more stunts, and even singing. There are too many past acts to reasonably list, but those larger acts created an atmosphere that felt unpredictable and dangerous.
Our impression is that Hellzapoppin has gotten smaller over time, and this year’s incarnation was the first where that reduction really affected our enjoyment. It doesn’t help that the production feels somewhat tucked away compared with Howl-O-Scream’s larger entertainment offerings. After seeing what Hellzapoppin has been capable of in years past, two performers just weren’t enough for us.
For a guest who has never experienced a sideshow, some of these acts may still be fascinating, and possibly horrifying. However, for returning guests familiar with larger Hellzapoppin, this year’s presentation may be a tougher sell. For us, it was one and done. Hellzapoppin once felt like a dark and dangerous nighttime scene. This year, it felt more like a two-man traveling circus just trying to survive.
So, Which Howl-O-Scream Show Should You See?
Ideally, don’t skip the shows. Throttle was our personal favorite this year, largely because adding Pestilence gave Havoc’s story another piece and made the larger ’90s connection click for us. Monster Stomp, however, remains our must-see recommendation. With live vocals, phenomenal acting, and some of the strongest choreography of the event, it’s a chance to see what SeaWorld’s entertainment team can really do.
Dead Air gets our vote for music. It’s hard to compete with an entire crowd singing familiar ’90s songs alongside live performers, and the rotating song selection gives guests a reason to stop by more than once. Hellzapoppin was easily our weakest of the four. The concept still has potential, but we’d love to see more performers and more acts restore some of the scale and unpredictability we remember from previous years.
Taken together, this year’s entertainment lineup fits surprisingly well with Howl-O-Scream’s larger ’90s theme, with Hellzapoppin being the obvious outlier. The one thing we still miss is a nightly comedy offering. An updated comedy skit, perhaps even worked into Dead Air, could bring another completely different kind of energy to the lineup.
These shows deserve more than being treated as filler between haunted houses. At their best, they’re every bit as much a part of the Howl-O-Scream experience as the houses and scare zones themselves. More than anything, this year’s lineup really shows you how strong SeaWorld’s entertainment department can be. The choreography across these productions is spectacular, and shows like Monster Stomp and Throttle give performers room to show their talent.
The SeaWorld Orlando Howl-O-Scream entertainment lineup offers something for nearly every type of Halloween fan, whether you’re looking for high-energy music, theatrical storytelling, nostalgic fun, or traditional sideshow performances. We recommend seeing them all at least once.
Howl-O-Scream 2026 Reviews
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