Town enjoys frightening fun in a local haunt
Halloween hayride, trails raise funds for South Brunswick causes
BY CHRIS MURINO Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - It was a typical Halloween weekend in South Brunswick: ghoulish creatures walking around, a bonfire raging, kids dancing and playing, and of course, Dardani's Haunted Trail and Hayride scaring the daylights out of thousands at Woodlot Park last weekend.

"It started out with Tom and Caroline Dardani, who set up trails at the back of Woodlot Park," said Bonnie Bruccoleri of the South Brunswick Department of Parks and Recreation. "It grew through the years."

About $10,000 or more was raised over the entire weekend, according recreation department Director Tom Morris.

"It's reached a lot of the teenage population," Bruccoleri said. "A lot of kids go through a lot of times."

That was certainly true on Saturday night. The teenagers heavily outnumbered their older counterparts, with many kids getting dropped off by their parents in the long line to enter the park.

It was a Saturday night out for many, and they didn't only enjoy the scary stuff. There was tons of food, music and a freaked-out car show, featuring cars decked out in spider webs, skulls and other ghastly accessories.

But the macabre was certainly the most popular.

"How many times have you gone through?" one child yelled to his friend before getting on the hayride.

"Don't sit in the back," another screamed.

The hayride was a 10-minute trip into the woods that featured appearances from masked marauders with chain saws, many of whom jumped on the wagon, a huge flying spider that came out of nowhere, and even "Michael Jackson," who may have been the scariest part of the ride.

David Landy, 12, of South Brunswick, enjoyed himself.

"They did a good job with it all," Landy said. "When the people jumped out at the right moment, it was all pretty nice."

The walking trail was also a venture into the woods and had a variety of creepy sets and tons more clowns and chain sawwielders lurking and waiting for pop-out scares. There was even one member of the Skull Crew (the volunteers who dress up and scare their victims) covered entirely in leaves, who shrouded himself in the trees.

"The clowns, definitely the clowns for me," Nicole Traves, 12, of South Brunswick, said when asked what the scariest part of the trail was. "I hate clowns."

The event was sponsored for the first time by the Municipal Alliance, according to Morris. South Brunswick's Project Graduation sponsored the hayride and will receive its proceeds. Mariann Long, chairperson of the Haunted Hayride, said they made between $4,000 and $4,400 after expenses. The hayride attracted about 440 people on the rain-soaked Friday night and around 1,300 people on Saturday evening.

Proceeds for the walking trail will go to Amanda Callagy, 16, and Ryan White, 11, who are battling Sandhoff's disease and muscular dystrophy, respectively.

A new addition to the event this year was the Little Vikings Fun-Time Forest Trail, a tamer trail for the little ones, sponsored by the South Brunswick High School dance and softball teams. It was held Saturday and Sunday.

A tailgate trick-or-treat, where kids get to ask for candy from people tailgating from their cars, was also held on Sunday.