Halloween Horror Nights Wiki
Boris Shuster Window

A picture of Boris Shuster's office.

Boris Shuster is a private detective and supernatural investigator. He is often regarded as Bloody Mary's nemesis. He investigated the disappearance of his friend and case partner, Charlie McPherson, and eventually Dr. Agana's herself after seeing other patients go missing. He presumably is Mary's killer, resulting in the final step of her becoming Bloody Mary on August 27th, 1958. He founded Legendary Truth: The Collective in the 1960s (evidence pointing to 1963 as the exact year). His involvement in the supernatural started from discovering the Baccanoid totem on his doorstep, and subsequently hunting down the remaining Legion's totems.

Halloween Horror Nights 2008

Boris's first appearance at Halloween Horror Nights was not a physical appearance, and only his presence in the lore and game leading up to the event in 2008. He was introduced as the detective that was investigating Dr. Mary Agana for her missing patients, which started due to the disappearance of his photographer friend who was working on a divorce case (of another patient). His involvement prior to August 27th had been simply observing the doctor and her ever growing list of missing patients, before he took matters into his own hands and booked an appointment. It is still unclear what happened the day of his visit and during his appointment, but it is speculated that he had a hand in killing Dr. Agana due to him being arrested for it but let off on the testimony of an ex con who worked for the doctor.

Halloween Horror Nights 2021

Boris appears and narrates within the haunted house Case Files Unearthed: Legendary Truth. The house follows his novels about discovering the totems of the Legions of Horror and dealing with the monsters that were results of the totems' powers. His first in house appearance is when he discovered the Baccanoid totem in October 1948, and subsequently learned of the supernatural world and the Legions of Horror. His second appearance is 9 year later in 1957, where he is attempting to retrieve the totems from a police station, where the totems reside together and have opened a portal. He is successful and hides them in an attic in New Jersey, where they are later found by Tim Foyle. He narrates throughout the house, as if he is reading the novel we are entering to us, giving information about the scene as we enter into it.

Boris also appeared in the mobile game for the year as one of three different stories that varied depending on the night.

Appearance at Halloween Horror Nights Orlando

Pictures

Trivia

  • It could be possible that Boris Shuster was inspired by old-fashioned, film-noir gumshoes from the early 1920s to the late 1950s. Also, his choice of slang in his e-mail notes compared the the words of Peter Falk's characters, Columbo, from the 1970s television show and Sam Diamond, from Murder by Death, and Humphrey Bogart's character, Sam Spade, from The Maltese Falcon. The atmosphere surrounding Boris (such as the Kitty Kat Club), are inspired by Orson Welles' character, Police Captain Hank Quinlan, from Touch of Evil (which was released in 1958, the year when Dr. Mary Agana transformed into Bloody Mary). Also, Shuster's transformation from private detective to paranormal investigator due to the Legions of Horror could have been inspired by Darren McGavin's character Carl Kolchak from another 1970s television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
  • By 2008, he owned a summer home in Amity, New York, and apparently still uses it (Until the Amity area was closed, resulting in the house's disappearance).
  • Shuster was the only suspect with a file in the Legendary Truth Vault whose personal information has not been revealed, instead clicking on his file allows one to print a paper 3-D model. This angered many who had waited weeks for closure to the case.
  • On the 2010 Legendary Truth website, Boris Shuster had gone missing from the staff page. He did not appear at the event, but a document with his name on it was seen in Legendary Truth: The Wyandot Estate, and a plaque with his name was in Horror Nights: The Hallow'd Past.
  • In 2012, he was revealed to be a member of The Baccanoid Legion, most likely because of his intellect as a detective.
  • His favorite restaurant was revealed to be Louie's Italian Restaurant during the mobile game in 2021.
  • According to Michael Aiello at a 2022 panel at Spooky Empire, Boris is considered an icon.
  • In the summer Tribute Store, themed to 80s movies, there was an easter egg on a bulletin board at the end: An advertisement for his services and a newspaper article referencing a supposed disappearance.
  • He appeared as the main character in the fictional comic book "False Idols Part 1: A Boris Shuster Mystery" where he is working with his brother, Jake, who has died, supposedly at the hands of fish people who worship a Cthulhu like creature. The comic book was created as part of the HHN 32 Tribute Store and is not canon to the main storyline, and instead exists as a "what if" type alternate universe story.

See Also

Halloween Horror Nights: Reflections of Fear
Characters: Bloody Mary (Event Icon)  • Boris Shuster • Alice • The Gentlemen • Charlie McPherson • Samhain • John Michaels
Haunted Houses: Body Collectors: Collections of the Past  • Creatures!  • Dead Exposure  • Doomsday  • The Hallow  • Interstellar Terror  • Reflections of Fear  • Scary Tales: Once Upon a Nightmare
Scarezones: American Gothic  • Asylum in Wonderland  • Fractured Tales  • The Path of the Wicked  • The Skoolhouse  • Streets of Blood
Unofficial Scarezones: Dark Reflections  • Doomsday: The Infected  • The Harvest  • Zombies!
Shows: Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure  • Brian Brushwood   • The Rocky Horror Picture Show Tribute
Halloween Horror Nights 30
Characters: Jack the Clown (Event Icon)  • Beetlejuice  • Bent-Neck Lady  • The Bride of Frankenstein  • Leatherface  • The Caretaker  • The Director  • The Storyteller  • The Usher  • Lady Luck  • Chance  • Fear  • Tooth Fairies  • Pumpkin Lord  • Boris Shuster  • Eddie Schmidt  • Terra Queen  • The Controller
Haunted Houses: Beetlejuice • The Haunting of Hill House  • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives  • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre  • HHN Icons: Captured  • Welcome to SCarey: Horror in the Heartland  • Case Files Unearthed: Legendary Truth  • Puppet Theatre: Captive Audience  • The Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin  • Revenge of the Tooth Fairy
Scarezones: 30 Years 30 Fears  • Seek and Destroy  • Crypt TV  • Gorewood Forest  • Lights Camera Hacktion: Eddie's Revenge
Shows: Halloween Nightmare Fuel  • Marathon of Mayhem: Carnage Factory
Other Experiences: Jack'd Up Experience  • Halloween Horror Nights Tribute Store  • Chucky's Good Guys Toy Box Photo Op