Bear man to spend 30 hours in a coffin for Six Flags Great Adventure Fright Fest contest

Jessica Bies
The News Journal
Contestants spend 30 hours in coffins during Fright Fest at Six Flags in St. Louis, Missouri.

The standard casket is 84 inches long by 28 inches wide — just enough room for a body and some padding. 

As creepy-cool as sleeping in a coffin sounds, it's not exactly the kind of place you'd want to spend the night in. And yet, Brandon Hardy, of Bear, will spend 30 hours lying in a wooden box this weekend for a contest at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. 

After submitting a short essay, Hardy was selected from more than 4,300 people across the country to be one of six "coffin dwellers" during the amusement park's Fright Fest. The contest will start at 1 p.m. Sunday with a "Laying to Rest" ceremony and conclude at 7 p.m. Monday with a "Raising from the Dead" event. 

A former paranormal investigator, Hardy is the only participant with previous experience sleeping in a coffin. He said he climbed into it in an attempt to entice a spirit or supernatural presence. 

"I didn't get anything, but it's one of those things you try," he said, comparing it to spending a night in a cemetery. 

Hardy said it's a little-known fact that Six Flags Great Adventure is haunted, too. In 1984 a fire destroyed the Haunted Castle attraction, trapping and killing eight teenagers, according to media reports. It's said their spirits still roam the park. 

"I kind of want to do some paranormal investigation at Six Flags while I'm there," said Hardy, who grew up in two haunted houses and has investigated paranormal activity all over Delaware, in the Elkton area and in Pennslyvania. 

“You can watch these things on TV, you can be a critic, but until you get out there and investigate you’d never know there’s a lot of lives out there … there’s a lot of lost spirits.”

What will he win? 

Those who complete the 30 hours will receive two 2019 Gold Season Passes and dining passes, two Haunted Maze Express Passes, $300 and … they get to keep their coffins. 

Hardy, who is confident he will win the contest, said the only disappointing thing about the caskets is that the lids won't cover the contestants' faces. The covers will come up to their chests, allowing them to sit up and eat, as well as talk to each other. 

"I guess they don't want you to suffocate," he said. "Me, I wanted a challenge." 

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What are the rules? 

The six participants will lay in a wooden coffin for 30 hours, receive a six-minute bathroom break each hour, limited cell phone usage, meals in their coffins and unannounced visits from Fright Fest freaks.

To stay in the running, contestants must remain lying down with all their extremities inside the coffin and the partial lid completely on at all times, with the exception of designated meal times, bathroom breaks or when doing one of several challenges.

The challenges could net them extra bathroom or phone time. Contestants also can bring pillows, sleeping bags or blankets to make themselves more comfortable, as long as everything fits inside their cramped wooden boxes. 

The contest itself will take place outdoors. In the event of severe weather, the coffins will be moved inside until the threat has passed.

Who's he competing against? 

Hardy will be up against (Six Flags' writing, not ours): 

  • Vincent Gatens of Staten Island, New York – This adventurous Navy veteran has extensive experience living in dark, cramped spaces without daylight.       
  • Leticia Gomez of Howell, New Jersey – No stranger to coffins, she has worked as a funeral director for 25 years. Will her embalming skills help keep her composed during the challenge?
  • Jennifer Gorden of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – This Halloween fanatic declared that her dream job is to become a mortician.
  • Shane Madak of Groton, Connecticut – Currently active duty in the US Navy on a nuclear submarine, he spends 70 percent of the year underwater and without cell service, internet and daylight, sleeping in “coffin racks” — tiny, cramped beds surrounded on all four sides, accessed by only a hole at the foot of the bed.
  • Dan Murter of Levittown, Pennsylvania – With a name reminiscent of the macabre, he was destined to make “the three H’s” his life’s passion – Halloween, haunts and horror. His parents met at a Halloween party, and he met his wife while both were acting professionally in a haunt. Now, their children are helping to keep the family tradition dead, er, alive.

Looking for a scare? 

Hardy said one of the best places to experience the paranormal locally is Fort Delaware, where people have reported hearing drums, music, cannon fire and gunshots. 

“You always will hear sounds coming from that place," Hardy said. "And it’s funny because if you grew up in Delaware, you’ve been to the fort.”

“It’s getting to experience living history, history that may have passed in time, but is still there, is still present, is still permeated in the ground, the structures," he said. 

The haunted houses he lived in as a child were in Brookside, Delaware, and Landenberg, Pennsylvania, which are both considered paranormal hot spots.

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Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.