Last year, Halloween was a wash for many Long Islanders who spent the holiday in their own dark houses during the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. The story's devastation brought down power lines and trees, making navigation treacherous for trick or treaters, and one of the biggest haunted attractions saw extensive damage. This year, Long Islanders are faced with several options for getting in their annual dose of Halloween thrills and chills.
To the east, Darkside Productions will host its fifteenth annual haunted house tour. Located on a 100-year old potato farm in Wading River, the weathered grey farmhouse goes barely noticed to drivers along Route 25A throughout most of the year. By October, the old house and property have been transformed into the most frightening haunted house in Suffolk County. Mike Meola, whose lifelong penchant for the macabre inspires him to create increasingly frightening scenes for the house of horrors each season, operates the Darkside Productions haunted house. Production for the haunted house and village commences in July. A carpenter by trade, Meola and his crew get to work, constructing spectacular, movie-quality sets. Frightening props are designed and created, and a cast of approximately fifty actors are hired and coached to deliver perfectly timed terror that is guaranteed to elicit blood-curdling screams from the thousands of guests who dare to enter. Animatronics, strobe lights, black lighting, fog machines and sound tracks complete the eerie, frightening images. Evening tours, which are not recommended for children under the age of 12, begin at 7:00pm on Monday through Friday and at 6:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. While there are considerable lines, haunting begins on line as you make your approach toward the house and tour the 10,000 square foot haunted village and cemetery. For children between the ages of 10 and 12, daytime tours are available on Saturdays and Sundays from 1:00pm until 5:00pm. During these tours, the house lights are turned on and there are no actors present. In keeping with Meola's goal to produce a haunt that's bigger and better each season, this year's production includes the addition of 8 more rooms to brave and an expansion of the haunted village. For directions and more information, visit http://www.darksideproductions.com
Further west, prepare for heart-skipping, adrenaline surging terror at the Bayville Scream Park. Every October, Bayville Adventure Park transforms and descends into a town of fright as vampires, zombies and all other manner of the undead take up residence and roam the park. After sustaining destruction and water damage from hurricane Sandy's wrath last season, the park has had almost a year to rebuild and is now open for your petrified pleasure. Reputed by some as the scariest haunted house of Nassau County, the Bayville Scream Park features an entire haunted town with multiple havens of dread: the Bloodworth Haunted Mansion, Uncle Needles' Funhouse of Fear in 3D, Temple of Terror, Curse of the Zombie Pirates and Evil in the Woods. This year, more actors have been hired to fill the roles of characters. The Bayville Scream Park haunting begins at 6:00pm nightly. Visit http://www.bayvillescreampark.com/ for directions and more information, including the tale behind the annual haunting of the park.
For more options of thrilling fright fests of haunted Halloween horror:
http://www.spookywalk.com/ located in Moriches, a 45-60 minute spook walk that has been scaring Long Island for 25 years.
http://schmittshaunt.com/ located in Melville, a haunted mansion, nighttime haunted corn maze and this year’s new addition: The Experiment, a film that takes visitors into the torture chamber of the mansion’s evil and sadistic doctor.