Spooky Walk

By Doug Geed

              It all started when Marcella Weiss heard the sounds of kids laughing from the other side of the lake where she lived in East Moriches more than 20 years ago. Turns out the sounds were coming from Camp Paquatuck, a non-profit summer camp for kids that are mentally and physically challenged.

   Marcella got involved in the camp and tried to come up with ways to raise money for it. At the time, she also worked at Clark Botanical Garden in Albertson which had a haunted Halloween exhibit. She brought the idea to the camp in Center Moriches and in 1989, the first "Spooky Walk" made its debut. It's a walk through some "haunted" woods and then a tour through some buildings with scary characters. That first year, they had 400 visitors paying 2 dollars each and they were very proud of their 800-dollar donation to the camp. Imagine how thrilled they are now that Spooky Walk has raised over a million dollars -- yes, a MILLION -- since that first year.

   They knew they had latched onto a big idea. The Moriches Paquatuck Squaws -- a group of very dedicated ladies -- have volunteered their time and made it their mission to make the Spooky Walk an exciting event for families -- the young, the old, the adventurous and even the scared.
    Okay here's the bad news -- the Spooky Walk is only open four nights of the year -- the final two this coming weekend, Friday the 24th and Saturday the 25th. (Again keep in mind, it's run purely by volunteers on a non-profit basis.) The good news is, you'll have a blast walking through it. And your 10-dollar admission helps a very worthy cause.
   Spooky Walk is open from 7 until 9 pm, but get there early. The lines can be long and it takes you awhile to walk through the whole thing -- maybe 45 minutes. No one is allowed on line after 9 pm.
   Check out the website for more information. And please check out my East End report this coming Sunday beginning 5 pm and Monday day for a story on this fun Long Island tradition celebrating its 20th anniversary!

http://spookywalk.com/FAQ.html