Darkness Rising Halloween haunt comes to Westbury for limited 7-night run

Darkness Rising Haunted Attraction is rising from the ashes this Halloween season. The Copiague-based haunt was shut down by the Town of Babylon in September when its original building at 800 Chettic Ave. was condemned following a fire marshal inspection. It has now relocated to Samanea New York in Westbury. The attraction is set to open on Oct. 23 and run Oct. 24-25, 29-31 and Nov. 1.

“Someone who had a business in the Samanea Mall messaged me and suggested I reach out because they were looking for more entertainment,” founder and operator Kevin Baird said. “We called and they had a space that was available. The fire marshal was cool with everything we were doing and we were able to put this together in three weeks.”

INITIAL SHUTDOWN

Production in Copiague hit a snag when the Town of Babylon, in a statement, said, “The haunted house was operating inside a building with no certificate of occupancy for that use and without the fire protections required of a special amusement under the fire code.”

At the time, Baird said, “There’s a big sign in the lobby that says that it has occupancy for 300 people. We were under the impression that it was totally OK. We need a specific variance on the use of the building. The building has public assembly permits, but there’s a difference between public assembly and special amusement.”

But Baird found it easier to get approvals at the new location.

“Being in a mall is way different than being in a warehouse, which is something we’ve learned very quickly,” he said. “Samanea has a great relationship with the Town of Hempstead and pop-up events are something they do all the time. It’s been easy to work with Samanea, the town and the fire marshal. Everything so far has been great.”

GOFUNDME TO THE RESCUE

After experiencing a severe money loss by not being able to open for the season in Copiague, Baird launched a GoFundMe campaign and raised $11,000, which helped pay the rent at Samanea and moving costs.

“Hopefully, we can make back some of the money we lost this year,” he said. “That’s the goal.”

Baird has been framing out the entire haunt himself while workers transport set pieces from Copiague in a 26-foot U-Haul truck. 

“It’s a small team and it’s nonstop,” he said. “Friends and family have been helping out to fill the gaps.”

NEW STORYLINE

The theme of this year’s haunt changed to a zombie mutant outbreak on Mars via Gentec Labs using as many as 30 actors. The experience has been shortened to 20 minutes and the ticket price lowered to $32 from $40.

“The outbreak happens while you are in there. Everything starts to go haywire,” Baird said. “We play around with the suspense like a horror movie.”

Although the haunt has a limited seven-night run, Baird hopes to do more in the future at Samanea.

“I would love to stay there. But we have to see if the space is available. We are going to sit down and talk about some ideas for year-round stuff,” he said. “There’s a possibility we could be back for a Christmas thing, as well as some other events.”

Baird is simply pleased to have salvaged part of this year’s Halloween season.

“I’m so tired but super happy,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to do something this year.”

By David J. Criblez

david.criblez@newsday.comDavidJCriblez

David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.