As emerging COVID-19 strains such as the Delta variant have families facing concerns over how they will enjoy Halloween fun this season, leading creators in the local Halloween scene, Aurora Interactive, LLC have teamed with Chambers of Horrors NY/Fear Manor to come up with a festive, safe solution through the development of the exclusive limited time pop-up event, “Dark Night: Halloween Trail,” which opened October 1 at Long Island Community Hospital Amphitheater in Farmingville, is geared toward families and Halloween lovers of all ages.
Representing the first ever 1990s time travel mystery themed Halloween trail to come to Long Island, Dark Night: Halloween Trail is an outdoor extravaganza combining moderate scares with comedy that at the same time celebrates the nostalgia of vintage haunted trails through a post-modern twist on inspired characters from pop culture and horror movies of the 1990s.
Promoting health, safety and social distancing, only 1,000 tickets will be sold per night with members of each reserved party staying within their group as they are staggered apart from one another throughout the experience. People will travel back in time to 1999 as they participate in a fictional radio show marathon hosted by 131.3 WDIE, where movies, characters and popular music of the 90s come to life while they venture through an approximate 25–30-minute darkened trail to uncover hidden alphabetical letters that form the name of the character who has cursed the property, using only one flashlight. To make this the most authentic nostalgic experience, adults and children attending are encouraged to wear 1990s attire.
“It’s the perfect time to do a 90s-themed Halloween event, especially with Generation Z’s sense of fashion, music and interest in 90s pop culture that reflects their love for the era’s books, film and TV adaptions of such properties as Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz and R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps along with hit TV shows and movies like Barney, Are You Afraid of the Dark, and Jurassic Park,” says Eliana Puntarich of Aurora Interactive, LLC.
In contrast to Aurora Interactive, LLC’s past scarier and more intense Halloween events intended for teens and adults, this year’s Dark Night: Halloween Trail is scaled down in its thrills and chills to be inclusive for people of all ages. It has also added a special “Dark Night Trick-Я-Treat Adventure Trail” that is especially for younger children where little “boils” and “ghouls” will explore a fun, non-scary walk-through friendly meet and greet experience with Dark Night: Halloween Trail characters.
“With everything going on and the real-life fear people are facing today, the opportunity to do an all-ages, safe Halloween event is very exciting,” said Martin Arominski, co-owner of Chamber of Horrors NY/Fear Manor and co-producer of Dark Night: Halloween Trail. “We’ve gone retro to create a 90s style haunted trail, which to me is very inspiring. This theme is a breath of fresh air compared to other Halloween themes you see at other attractions that use overt and realistic violence or adult fear driven scenarios to scare people.”
Keeping in line with health and safety guidelines, all guests are encouraged to wear face masks. All actors portraying characters wear face masks under their costumes and are kept at a distance from guests participating.
Expected to be produced on a scale previously unseen in the New York area, Dark Night: Halloween Trail runs through Halloween, October 31. Its weekends of operation are October 8 – October 10, October 15 – October 17, October 22 – October 24, and October 28 – October 31. Hours are 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and are from 7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. on Sundays (including Halloween) and on Thursday, October 28.
Tickets for adults (ages 13 and up) start at $35 per person. Admission for children between ages four and 12 are discounted to $15 per child. There is no charge for children three and under. Admission for adults and children is the same for the Dark Night Trick-Я-Treat Adventure Trail. At least one adult, parent or guardian must accompany children for the Dark Night Trick-Я-Treat Adventure Trail. Adult, parent or guardian tickets for this must be purchased online in advance; children’s tickets for this must be purchased in person by the adult, parent or guardian at the attraction with the adult/parent/guardian ticket(s) in-hand. To purchase tickets, please visit, www.DarkNightLI.com.
Proceeds from tickets sold will be donated by Aurora Interactive, LLC and Chamber of Horrors/Fear Manor to Literacy Inc., a national charity that is dedicated to fighting the growing rate of illiteracy among teens across the United States through the use of such tools as motivational speeches, free Ereaders or Etablets, and reminder bands.
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Photos attached are from Dark Night: Halloween Trail. Photo credit and permission for all pictures are courtesy of Aurora Interactive, LLC, and Chamber of Horrors NY/Fear Manor
