It may only be March, but Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is already looking toward the spookiest of seasons by offering Facebook fans a hint as to what the theme will be for Howl-O-Scream 2011.

Upon reaching 42,000 Facebook “Likes”, it was revealed that the annual Halloween event this year will feature… something grotesque.

From the Howl-O-Scream Facebook page:

The *hoards* have spoken, so I won’t leave you in a *lurch*: The suits at BG really put their *brains* behind this one, and are absolutely *infected* with excitement about *leaking* a hint as to this year’s theme. They’re looking to spoil our fans *rotten* by giving you the theme you’ve all been *drooling* for. I promise, you’re going to *eat* this one up.

Obviously the key words are hoards, lurch, brains, infected, leaking, rotten, drooling, and eat. I can only imagine what diabolical creature the creative minds behind Howl-O-Scream are conjuring up.

Could it be… zombies? We’ll see. That’s why they called it a “hint” rather than fully revealing the event’s plans, which likely won’t show up until summer.

Last year’s Howl-O-Scream theme surrounded rocker chick Sylvie and her band My X. That theme was initially teased on the Howl-O-Scream web site in June, followed by the full reveal in August.

(The photo accompanying this article is from Howl-O-Scream 2004 and does not specifically reflect the 2011 theme.)

So stay tuned in the coming months to find out more about Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Howl-O-Scream 2011! It’s guaranteed to be another frightfully fun year.