Six Flags Great Adventure's annual Fright Fest event kicks on Friday, Sept. 16. Watch video
JACKSON - Six Flags Great Adventure's popular Fright Fest event kicks off this weekend, with the theme park promising that it will be its "biggest and scariest" ever.
Before visitors can get their pants scared off, however, Six Flags must first find the perfect zombies for the job.
Starting in July, undead wannabes took part in Fright Fest auditions that asked them to make a first impression on a panel of judges by screaming things, such as their favorite ice cream flavors or favorite animals.
The applicants were also asked to show off their acting talents by performing certain tasks, including pretending to be an animal or acting out a death scene, and of course, demonstrating their ability to scare others.
"For our zombies, we're really looking for creative people who are willing to go outside of their comfort zones and be able to go out night after night and deliver that terrifying scare that people come here looking for," Six Flags Great Adventure spokeswoman Kaitlyn Pitts said. "And we are looking for people who are able to do it throughout Fright Fest, because it just keeps getting scarier the farther we get out of September and into October."
In all, approximately 250 zombies are expected to make the cut.
"Fright Fest is one of our most popular times of the year," Pitts said. "With the abundance of Halloween obsession that keeps growing with things like "The Walking Dead", we really see more people coming out to see what we have to offer and we also see an influx of people auditioning who want to be zombies."
South Brunswick resident Jessica Stanislawczyk said she has visited Fright Fest for as far back as she can remember and always wanted to try out to be a zombie, but finally had to opportunity to do so for the first time this year.
"I really like the idea of scaring other people rather than people scaring me, because I'm a scaredy cat," said Stanisalwczyk, 21. "And I think they do a really good job of having a variety of monsters here, because not everybody is scared by the same things. So they have a mix of the type of people who will jump right out and scare you, but also the people who will just follow you around until you get creeped out."
Point Pleasant resident Frank Adao decided to audition for Fright Fest as something different to for his 40th birthday.
"I've never done this before, I've just been here as a guest. But I do the Zombie Walk in Asbury Park every year, so I figured for my 40th I might as well try out for Fright Fest," Adao said. "I just think that Six Flags does it really well here, as opposed to some of the other places that you'll go to. The makeup is done well, the scare factor is pretty good and it's just a great time."
This year's Fright Fest - which begins Sept. 16 and runs through Nov. 6 - will feature 10 shows, seven "Terror Trails" and five "Scare Zones", Pitts said.
The event will feature four news shows - The Skeletones, Slash, The Donniker Bros. Worlds of Mirth and the Bilkum, Burnham & Haugh's Side Show Spectacular - as well as a new prison lockdown-themed Terror Trail, called Cell Block 6.
On Saturday, Sept. 17, Six Flags is scheduled to host its annual Fright Fest Blood Drive, during which up to 200 guests who are at least 16 years old can donate a pint of blood to earn a free ticket to Fright Fest between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Reservations must be made by visiting: www.sixflags.com/greatadventure.
Six Flags will hold its final Fright Fest zombie auditions and technician calls on Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. in the park's employment center. For more information visit: www.sixflagsjobs.com.
Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.