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Ryan Seacrest gets 'chills' after 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant solves a tricky puzzle on Halloween

The Halloween-themed special episode had a lot of sound effects for jump scares.
PUBLISHED MAY 1, 2025
Screenshots showing Seacrest getting spooked on the Wheel Of Fortune (Cover image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshots showing Seacrest getting spooked on the Wheel Of Fortune (Cover image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)

Halloween on "Wheel Of Fortune" isn't just about trick-or-treat, and the show's producers transform the entire set with spooky sound effects and a creepy look. During one such special episode, the new host, Ryan Seacrest, was himself caught off guard by the effects. Apart from getting spooked by the set, Seacrest also got 'the chills' from the way that a contestant named Mallory solved a puzzle. 

Screenshot showing the winning moment (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshot showing the winning moment (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)

Mallory put up a great performance throughout the show, dodging all the jump scares along the way. She made it all the way to the 'Bonus Round' of the show with more than $40,000 in winnings and a chance to win up to $100,000 more. She was joined by her two young sons on stage before she spun the wheel alongside Seacrest. After the host picked out the Golden Envelope for the player, he actually got spooked by a sound effect. He looked around and waved the cue card to bat off any scary cats on the set. As he seemed to be  caught off guard when the contestant told him to “Watch out!” The host played along and said, “I was not expecting that myself,” before escorting the player to the center of the stage to take a look at the final puzzle.

Screenshot showing Seacrest getting spooked (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshot showing Seacrest getting spooked (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)

For the Bonus Round, Mallory chose the category “Thing” and was faced with a two-word puzzle on the board, presented by the co-host of the show, Vanna White. With the show's standard letters "R, S, T, L, N, E" on the board, Mallory chose "D, B, M, and A" as her additional letters. With everything filled in, the final puzzle for the player read, “_ _ BEAT’      M_ S_ _’. While Mallory did not have much to work with, she seemed confident before the ten-second timer started.

Screenshot showing the puzzle (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshot showing the puzzle (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)

After Seacrest wished her good luck and kicked off the timer, Mallory did not waste a second to guess, "UPBEAT MUSIC," which was the correct answer to the puzzle. The mom of two celebrated her win with a loud cheer, and to add to her delight, Seacrest revealed that she had won an extra $40,000 from her Golden Ticket. Mallory then ran over to her sons and gave them a big hug. The host called the family back to reveal that Mallory had won a total of  $81,248.  As they all celebrated, Seacrest said, “I have chills!” referring to the great solve. 



 

The clip of the impressive win was shared on YouTube, and fans took to the comments section to celebrate the player's win. "Ryan is a great host great personality and fun to watch congratulations to her she’s a smart contestant! Well deserved," @Rose07013 wrote. "I thought Mallory picked disaster with THING. I was dead wrong. She was smart with the letter picks!" @richardhernandez4490 admitted. "Even if she got it wrong, she still had 40,000 plus in the bank, which is no easy feat either," @lunamelody2025 explained.

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