What happened to the host of Halloween Wars? Why is Halloween Wars different this year?

What happened to the host of Halloween Wars? Why is Halloween Wars different this year? Find out what we know about the significant changes, including how it became Halloween Wars with Zak Bagans.

What happened to the host of Halloween Wars?

From 2016 to 2020, former Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett hosted the reality competition. Fans loved Bennett because he was charming and enthusiastic, always pulling pranks and doing bits with the judges along with interacting with guests. He genuinely seemed happy to be on the show and excited to watch the teams compete each week. But this year, for the first time since 2015, Bennett is not hosting the show.

Halloween Wars with Zak Bagans

Paranormal investigator Zak Bagans took over hosting duties for the show this year. While Bagans does have a big fanbase, it doesn’t necessarily extend to the viewers of this cooking series. Bagans is better-known for the show Ghost Adventures, which now airs on Discovery Plus.

Discovery, Inc. owns the Travel Channel (where Ghost Adventures used to air) and Food Network, so by introducing Bagans to Halloween Wars, they were able to cross-promote the shows and the new streaming service. But fans aren’t happy with a few things about Bagans’s hosting duties, mainly because he isn’t even there in person. It feels like he’s phoning it in by just appearing at the beginning of each new episode via pre-recorded webcam footage.

The reasoning is likely due to the pandemic, but still, it makes it seem like the Food Network just doesn’t care as much about the show. Beyond that, many fans are displeased with the constant promotion for Bagans’ Las Vegas museum since the whole season is based on created challenges from various rooms housed inside it. Changes like these make it seem like the network is using the show as one big advertisement for the museum.

Why is Halloween Wars different this year?

It’s not just the host or lack of pumpkin carvers that has upset fans about Halloween Wars, either. Several other significant changes were made, including the prize money being cut down from $50,000 to $25,000. While that might not impact fans, it does show that Food Network appears to have slashed this show’s budget.

The judges have also changed. This year the show is hosted by long-time judge Shinmin Li (one of the few things that haven’t changed), but Shinmin is joined by Aarti Sequeira and Eddie Jackson. While Sequeira and Jackson are Food Network stars in their own right, they don’t have the Halloween pedigree fans are used to. In the past, Li provided all of her cake expertise while director Todd Tucker was the resident horror expert.

Then each week, the show would feature a surprise guest judge, usually an actor from a big scary movie. Over the years, the show featured people like Rob Zombie, R.L. Stine, Derek Mears, Elvira, Don Mancini, and Charlaine Harris. All of this was done so that Halloween Wars felt like a genuine tribute to horror and the holiday season.

As if that wasn’t enough change, Food Network also axed the Small Scare challenge. Instead, this season focuses on just one challenge per episode that feels less interesting because it fills the entire hour.