Everyone’s in the Halloween spirit this month, especially big restaurant chains — because nothing screams “buy me” like a dinner or drink that plays off All Hallows’ Eve. Take, for instance, Applebee’s bright blue Zombie cocktail with a gummy brain garnish. Now Burger King is joining the fun with the Nightmare King, a Halloween burger that reportedly gives you bad dreams.
Don’t worry, though, it’s supposed to taste good.
What’s in the Nightmare King Halloween burger?
This Halloween burger comes with a quarter-pound of “savory flame-grilled beef,” a fillet of 100 percent white meat crispy chicken, American cheese, thick cut bacon, mayo and onions.
To make it extra spooky, everything is served on a green sesame seed bun (unlike the 2015-released Halloween Whopper with a black bun).
When can we get this Halloween burger?
Participating locations will sell these Nightmare King burgers starting Monday, October 22, for $6.39.
A Burger King rep tells Metro that the Halloween burger will “be available as supplies last” and did not indicate an estimated end date. (Though Elite Daily reports it will disappear from stores on November 1.)
Also, Postmates is set to deliver the Nightmare King starting October 22.
Burger King says the Halloween burger causes nightmares
Burger King teamed up with the Paramount Trials and Florida Sleep & Neuro Diagnostic Services, Inc. and Goldforest Inc. to test how the Nightmare King affects people in their sleep.
The study was conducted over 10 nights with 100 participants who ate the Nightmare King before bed. After monitoring these consumers, the clinical sleep study concluded that, by eating the Halloween burger, they had a 3.5 times greater chance of having nightmares.
One subject said they had a dream where someone “transformed into the figure of a snake,” and another claimed aliens attacked.
A company news release states that the combination of proteins and cheese in the Nightmare Burger interrupted the subjects’ REM cycles.
“According to previous studies, 4% of the population experiences nightmares in any given night,” specialized somnologist Dr. Jose Gabriel Medina, the study’s lead doctor, said. “But, after eating the Nightmare King, the data obtained from the study indicated that the incidence of nightmares increased by 3.5 times.”
Watch Halloween burger study footage below:
Science has, in the past, corroborated the theory that certain foods — like dairy and spicy substances — affect our sleep. When we asked the Burger King rep if there’s any accuracy to the above findings, we got a simple, “Yes.”
So, try this Halloween burger if you dare, dear friends. Good luck and stay safe out there.
