A promo video for the Haunted Theater, which once again invades the Brookdale campus for three weekends beginning this Friday.Â
We’ve said it before, but while it sometimes seems that the shambling zombies and vamping bloodsuckers of a walk-thru haunted house can’t hold a candle to the horrors of the real world, we do take a strange comfort from the annual appearance of those hooded goblins and snooded ghouls.
So it is here on the Greater Red Bank Green, where Brookdale Haunted Theater creaks open its doors this weekend on what’s become one of the more bizarre local rituals of the calendar year.
The ever-helpful staff of the Haunted Theater is standing by to serve at the annual walk-through attraction. (Click to enlarge)
A gory corollary to the school-year activities of the Theater Club program at Brookdale Community College, the indoor flesh-and-blood fright factory presents a shiversome showcase for the performing and design skills of some 100 local actors, technicians and members of the BCC student body. And this year, the Performing Arts Center on the Lincroft campus hosts an “eek-spanded” edition that runs for three big weekends, with family-friendly “no scare experiences” offered for four of its 13 scheduled sessions.
Beginning at 7 p.m. this Friday, spookhouse spelunkers can park in Lots 1 or 2 at BCC’s campus off Newman Springs Road, then proceed to the PAC building, where groups of 10 to 15 patrons are ushered to the auditorium and “invited to navigate a sprawling haunted maze stretching throughout the PAC complex and brave an army of zombies, evil clowns, mad scientists and other creatures.”
Boasting a labyrinth of manned dioramas and scary skits, the Haunted Theater tour “also features an interactive 3-D blacklight maze and other obstacles designed to scare even the bravest of Halloween adventurers.”
Haunted Theater hours are from 7 to 10 p.m. on Fridays (October 14, 21, 28), Saturdays (October 15, 22, 29) and Sundays (October 16, 29, 30). General adult admission is $12; seniors, Brookdale alumni and staff can attend for $10, while ages 17 and under can attend for $8, and current Brookdale students get in for $5. Large groups are welcome.
Young children and their adult caregivers are welcome to visit a friendlier version of the haunted house during daylight hours for the interactive experience entitled “The Mystery of the Missing Candy,” presented from 2 to 4 p.m. on the Saturday and Sunday afternoons of October 22, 23, 29 and 30. Admission to the “no scare” tour is $5 for everyone.
Tickets for all tours are available at the creaking door, and more info can be had by visiting the website, or calling the PAC box office at (732) 224-2411.
