The Slow Rewrite: How Parks Are Updating Their Cast of Characters
The Plot Twist Halloween Needed
Every September, as PSLs return and the days start folding into earlier darkness, theme parks begin a different kind of transformation. Haunted houses bloom like poisonous flowers, monsters take the night shift, and characters—both classic and cliché—creep out of fog machines and into our hearts. But lately, it feels like something more intentional is happening: the monsters are evolving. The damsels are rewriting their arcs. The "final girls" are becoming "final theys." And most thrillingly of all? The horror hosts are finally fabulous.
Case in point: this year, Knott's Scary Farm handed the mic to the gloriously gothic, drag-drenched Boulet Brothers, making them the official hosts of its Nightmares Revealed event. It's the kind of casting change that feels less like a publicity stunt and more like a long-overdue rewrite in the Halloween canon. Suddenly, the parks aren't just spooking, they're speaking our language. And with Boulet-branded meet-and-greets and merch on the way, the shift feels even more permanent.
The Boulet Brothers Take Center Stage
For the uninitiated (and where have you been hiding, darling?), the Boulet Brothers, Dracmorda & Swanthula, are a performance duo who've spent the last decade redefining what horror looks like in heels. They're best known for their groundbreaking competition show Dragula, which showcases drag artists pushing the boundaries of glamour, filth, horror, and queer artistry. Think RuPaul's Drag Race meets Hellraiser, if Clive Barker wore couture and judged on charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and necromancy.
In the horror world, the Boulets aren't guests; they're royalty. They've graced the covers of Fangoria, appeared in Dead by Daylight, and turned their twisted sensibilities into an empire of podcasts, music, specials, and live events. Bringing them into the haunted heart of Knott's feels like a natural evolution. It's like handing the quill to someone who knows exactly how to bleed ink.
Rewriting the Maze: Old Scares Exit, New Terrors Enter
But this spooky season isn't just about who's hosting, it's about what stories are being told. In a move that felt part eulogy, part passing of the torch, Knott's announced it would be retiring two fan-favorite mazes: The Grimoire (a choose-your-own-nightmare through a cursed book) and Mesmer (a disturbing walk through psychological manipulation and sideshow terror). If those mazes were haunted chapters, then their endings mark a thematic turning point.
And the new pages? They're gory and gorgeous. The Zoo introduces a militarized horror where animal DNA splicing turns soldiers into monstrous hybrids—a bloody mashup of Frankenstein and Jurassic Park, if both were dressed in camouflage and existential dread. Then there's Mary: The Haunting of Worth Home, which dives into haunted-house gothic in a way that would make Shirley Jackson sit up in her grave and sip tea. It's eerie, it's emotional, and, if early buzz is correct, it might just become the queerest haunted maze since Crimson Peak stopped pretending it was a straight love story.
The Queer Rewrite We've Been Waiting For
It's hard not to see this shift as part of a bigger cultural rewrite. For decades, theme parks played it safe with their horror tropes: the butcher, the witch, the zombie prom queen. But now, we're seeing nuance. We're seeing style. We're seeing representation that isn't just token—it's titular.
For fans like us, this means more than just better photo ops. It means we're being written into the narrative. Not as side characters or comic relief... but as stars, as hosts, as monsters, and as final ones who get to survive (and slay) the night.
So if Halloween is a story we tell ourselves every year—about fear, transformation, and identity—then this year, the story just got a new author. One with sharper cheekbones, darker eyeliner, and a better sense of plot.
Written by Daryl Marez | Hiya! Subscribe to my author newsletter to receive news & project updates—Check out my other links for more.