# SeaWorld's Sexy Halloween gamble > SeaWorld Orlando opened a BookTok-themed scare zone featuring romantasy bad boys, sparking viral debate and record ticket sales. - Title: SeaWorld's Sexy Halloween gamble · WIRED | Shortify - Summary: SeaWorld Orlando opened a BookTok-themed scare zone featuring romantasy bad boys, sparking viral debate and record ticket sales. SeaWorld Orlando's… - Keywords: seaworld orlando, howl-o-scream, booktok, romantasy, halloween event, scare zone, jessie kinsey, SeaWorld's, Sexy, Halloween, gamble, WIRED - Source: WIRED — https://wired.com/story/seaworld-wants-to-make-you-horny - Author: Ej Dickson - Published: 2026-09-24T10:45:00+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: seaworld orlando, howl-o-scream, booktok, romantasy, halloween event, scare zone, jessie kinsey ## SeaWorld's unexpected pivot SeaWorld Orlando opened Just One More Chapter on September 11, a BookTok-inspired scare zone at its annual Howl-O-Scream event featuring romantasy bad boys instead of traditional horror. ## What the zone looks like Young men with floppy hair and painted-on abs wear black denim, loiter by brick walls, and gift roses to guests. An oversized book set piece reads: Good Girls Go for the Bad Boys. > Good Girls Go for the Bad Boys ## The internet reacts Videos from the zone went viral with mixed reactions. One X user wrote that dark romantasy is ruining heterosexuality by turning eros into cringe. The absurdity was heightened by SeaWorld's association with orca documentaries. > Booktok dark 'romantasy' cancer is RUINING heterosexuality ## A creator's perspective One content creator at the scare zone declined to name themselves to protect their SeaWorld relationship. They said the zone left them with a good feeling, a sexy feeling in a way. > I guess you could say a sexy feeling, in a way ## How the idea came about Jessie Kinsey, art director at SeaWorld Orlando, created the zone after seeing romantasy bestsellers like Lights Out and Haunting Adeline go viral on TikTok. She texted her production manager: Don't judge me, but I have an idea. > Don't judge me, but I have an idea ## The romantasy boom Romantasy fuses mythology and supernatural figures with explicit sex scenes, exemplified by Rebecca Yarros' Onyx Storm and Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses. The genre pulled in an estimated six hundred ten million dollars in two thousand twenty-four alone. ## Why the bad boys work Eight scare actors represent the MMC, the male main character archetype: mysterious, vaguely threatening, morally gray antiheroes like Rhysand from A Court of Mist and Fury and Xaden Riorson from Fourth Wing. ## Safety concerns addressed Critics worried about guests sexually harassing scare actors. Kinsey says actors receive extensive training for harassment and security is always present. Being a scare actor comes with risks regardless of the area. > Being a scare actor, it does come with risks regardless of what area of the park you're working in ## Record-breaking success SeaWorld Orlando reports that Howl-O-Scream enjoyed its biggest month in the history of its six-year run. Kinsey says the viral attention translated into an explosion in ticket sales, though she did not expect the size of the reaction. ## Key takeaway SeaWorld Orlando's BookTok-themed Halloween scare zone featuring romantasy antiheroes went viral, generating controversy and record ticket sales for the park's Howl-O-Scream event.