in “America’s Got Talent,” but this time it took a turn to the strange. Season 19 hit a new level of bizarre on July 16. Enter Forest of Haunts, a zombie-esque troupe from Slovenia, who turned the stage into a live horror flick, leaving judges Simon Cowell and Sofía Vergara startled and perhaps a bit scarred.
As if ripped from the pages of a spooky Stephen King novel, the creature slinked up to the judges’ table, sending shivers down spines and setting the scene for an act that was more “Night of the Living Dead” than prime-time talent show. Before the audience could catch their breath, Simon and Sofía were summoned onstage for a game that looked like it was straight out of a haunted carnival.
And what a game it was. Simon was tasked with popping balloons over a blindfolded Sofía’s head. The catch? Nobody knew what would spill out once the balloons burst. Confetti rained down harmlessly at first, giving the ‘Modern Family‘ star a brief respite from the growing tension. But just when everyone thought they were safe, the final balloon revealed its ghastly surprise: maggots. Thankfully, Sofía was spared, but the horror lingered.
Forest of Haunts divides America’s Got Talent judges
Simon gave the macabre magicians a backhanded compliment. “That was repulsive, but brilliant,” he quipped, just as Judge Heidi Klum hit the “X” button in a desperate bid to end the nightmare. Howie Mandel, always the skeptic, suspected a setup, but his joke comparing the act to a scene from Sofía’s Netflix drug lord drama “Griselda” broke the tension. Sofía, bewildered and relieved, deferred to the cheering crowd, who loved every horrifying second.
Heidi, however, was less impressed. For her, it was simply “hideous,” but Howie saw a silver lining. “A win for the maggots,” he declared, with a grin that suggested he enjoyed the madness more than he’d admit.
The fans? They were enthralled. Social media lit up with reactions ranging from stunned disbelief to gleeful approval. One user on X summed it up: “Now this for me is a great act. I love scary type stuff. An the end yuk but love it.” Another added, “Loved it and to me they’re the Schengen Zone EU answer to the Maphilindo Sacred Riana AGT. Reason for it they’re both scary acts.”
So who exactly are these purveyors of paranormal performance? Forest of Haunts, or “Gozd Strahov” in their
