TikTok is thirsting over Hersheypark’s hot scare actors: ‘Maybe I’m not scared of clowns’
Not everyone visiting Hersheypark is hoping to escape the monsters.
Hersheypark’s Halloween scare actors are supposed to make visitors scream. But TikTok has found another reason to pay attention to the men in face paint. Being chased by a monster is one thing, but having a crush on one is another. Some visitors are traveling more than eight hours just to see its Halloween scare actors, while others even bought season passes after discovering the performers online.
Archer and Fryboy, members of Hersheypark’s Decayed Brigade, have become familiar faces in TikTok videos featuring their haunt-sliding performances. The stunt involves performers gliding toward guests on modified knee pads and gloves, but online, their frightening characters have become unlikely romantic leads.
One viral edit from TikTok user @itsmekimmy44 pairs footage of Archer and Fryboy with 10cc’s I’m Not in Love, turning a Halloween performance into an unexpectedly romantic montage. The video has drawn more than a million views, with commenters making their feelings clear. “Oh maybe I’m not scared of clowns,” one user wrote.
It is not an isolated case of someone finding a costumed performer attractive. Archer and his fellow performers like Fryboy have built sizable online followings, with fans sharing clips, debating their favorites, and even traveling to Hersheypark to see them in person.
Fans are turning a Halloween performance into a meet-and-greet destination
The attention extends well beyond comments and edits. In an interview with Business Insider, Fryboy said visitors have told performers they traveled more than eight hours to see them. Fellow performer Valkyrie also described fans spending entire evenings watching the group.
That enthusiasm has created a real-world destination out of a social media fixation. The performers hold meet-and-greets after shows on weekend nights, a practice that has continued for three years. Some fans wait as long as an hour to meet them, while Hersheypark’s professional photography service took more than 4,000 photos for fans during the 2026 season.
Hersheypark spokesperson Quinn Bryner shared that some people have purchased season passes after discovering the performers through viral videos. The spokesperson also cautioned that the park could not attribute the Halloween event’s growth entirely to the haunt sliders. Still, the reported purchases suggest that the videos are doing more than entertaining people scrolling through their feeds: for some viewers, they have become a reason to visit.
Archer (@itzarcher on TikTok) and Fryboy (@fryboydb) have become familiar faces on fans’ feeds, with viewers turning clips of the Hersheypark performers into edits that look more like romantic montages than Halloween promotions. One TikTok post gives fans another look at Archer in character. They are among men who inspired a wave of thirst online. Their characters are designed to be intimidating, but the mysterious aesthetic has also made them popular subjects for TikTok edits and thirsty comments.
The ‘hot’ sliders aren’t trying to be anyone’s Halloween crush
The irony is that sex appeal isn’t the Decayed Brigade’s stated objective. Fryboy said that the crew is there to perform and have fun, not to make being sexy the point of the job. The attraction is built around scaring guests, even as some fans have decided that getting frightened by a performer is part of the appeal.
TikTok has made crushes out of plenty of unexpected people, from actors to strangers caught in viral moments. But Hersheypark’s haunt sliders offer something fans can’t get from a conventional celebrity edit: the chance to see their favorite performers in person, watch them work, and potentially meet them afterward.
Fans hoping to see the Decayed Brigade in person will have to plan accordingly. Hersheypark’s Dark Nights event runs through November 1, leaving just under two weeks for visitors to catch the sliders this season.
Still, TikTok has other ideas and a way of turning unexpected encounters into romantic material. Between the dramatic costumes, the fan edits set to love songs, and the growing crowds eager to meet the performers, the Decayed Brigade has found an unexpected way to make Halloween a little more romantic.
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