By Daniel Arimborgo
They weren't always that way. And once Halloween is over, they'll revert back to the nice teenagers they were before the witching month arrived.
The spook-house, which opened Sept. 29, has been a tradition for the past four years, said Chris Lewis, who mans the entrance and collects the $3.50 admission tickets. He said he played Frankenstein the year before. “So now when I'm out front, people say, 'Hey, Frankie!' because they remember me from last year,” he said.
These Garden World employees love their job – which is, of course, to scare the living daylights out of young and old alike. It is definitely NOT for the faint of heart, or the very young.
In fact, during a recent visit to the house on a Friday evening, two families were seen changing their minds about entering. The advised age is 12 years old, and two young children were just too intimidated by all the live growling and really creepy music.
These teens really take their scaring seriously, and revel in it. One toddler never made it past the entrance, too scared of the music, lighting and growling coming from inside. Another woman turned back with her young daughter saying, “It's too gross.” Inside the doorway, the performers even keep a tally of those who had turned away – at one point, at least a dozen.
At the entrance Jonathan, a thoroughly eviscerated demon, passively greets you at the door He appears to be dead, but don't be so sure.
The darkness combined with the way the performers shock unsuspecting visitors as they turn corners can make people understandably jumpy.
“I got punched last week,” said Judy, one of the actors who pops out of the ceiling.
“We've all been hit at one point or another,” another adds.
Visitors who make it at least part-way through, also encounter Sean, who describes his character as a “closet case.” Lisa, who lives in the wall; Josephine who is a flourescently camouflaged demon and does what she calls a “double scare,” and Nicole, Julia, and Charlie who just “hang” around (you'll have to see for yourself).
Walking quickly through a slaughter house complete with hanging body parts and fake smoke, you arrive at the end of the tour, a junction with a couple of doors. But which one will get you out?
“Are you a Mets or a Yankees fan?,” the demons demand to know. The frightened Qguide reporter tells the truth, hoping those at the door are like-minded. “Mets!” he yells.
He's allowed out.
