Upper Southampton Resident Prepares Halloween Maze

Behind a door at Dennis Grabert's home sits the stuff of nightmares. Dozens of zombies, monsters and creepy dolls have taken over the den inside the Upper Southampton home, waiting for Grabert to put them in their proper place along the homemade Halloween maze located in the backyard.

Grabert is scrambling to make the final preparations for the popular neighborhood attraction that offers a free, 15-minute walk through terror to those brave enough to make the trek. The maze, located at 1447 Rosebud Rd. in Upper Southampton, will be open between 7 and 11 p.m. Thursday night.

"It started as something small in the front yard about five years ago," said Grabert. "Last year, Hurricane Sandy forced us to push it back two weeks, and we still had 300 people come out."

The recent, untimely death of a close friend has put Grabert behind schedule. Owner and operator of D-Siding Construction, Inc., Grabert has taken Wednesday and Thursday off to finish installing the wooden frames and tarps of the passageways and placing the large collection of animated and truly frightening setpieces.

During a quick walkthrough of the winding maze, Grabert points out the main areas that will feature a mixture of decorations and live volunteers dressed up in costume, including a zombie room, werewolf room, chainsaw room and, perhaps most terrifyingly, the clown room.

"That's the one that always gets people," said Grabert. "There's just something about clowns."

Along the way to each hub, fog machines and strobe lights will greet the visitors, along with a few surprises hidden in the passages. Grabert promises that nobody will be grabbed, but the 20 or so friends that are helping him out will do what they can to make the maze memorable.

"People love checking it out every year," said Grabert. "We get teenagers, adults, all running out the exit. We have some candy set aside for the little kids that don't want to go inside the maze."

The Halloween Maze is located at 1447 Rosebud Road in Upper Southampton, off of Davisville Road. It will be open Thursday, Oct. 31, between 7 and 11 p.m. The maze is free, but a donation box is available for anybody willing to make a contribution.