These 6 People Will Lie In A Coffin For 30 Hours

JACKSON, NJ — A woman who beat cancer. A mom who nearly died in childbirth and donated a kidney. Two self-described Halloween fanatics. A mother-daughter duo.

Those are the contestants in the second annual 30-Hour Coffin Challenge at Six Flags Great Adventure. The theme park announced the six people who were chosen, along with an alternate, for the contest that is set for Oct. 13 and 14 at the theme park.

Nearly 6,000 people from all over the country entered the contest to be a coffin dweller, said Kristin Fitzgerald, Six Flags spokeswoman.

The 2019 contest will begin Sunday, Oct. 13 at 2:30 p.m. with a "Laying to Rest Ceremony" and will finish at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 14 with a "Raising from the Dead Ceremony," Fitzgerald said.

The contest includes some new rules and will include a special visit from Butch Patrick, better known as Eddie Munster on the 1970s TV show "The Munsters," who will serve as guest emcee. He will host challenges, "The Munsters" trivia and the Raising from the Dead Ceremony on Oct. 14.

The six participants will lie in a fully-covered wooden coffin for 30 hours, receive brief bathroom and phone breaks every three hours, eat their meals in their coffins, endure creepy challenges and receive unannounced visits from Fright Fest freaks and live critters like snakes, spiders and skunks.

A new point system will tabulate one grand prize winner and the runners-up. Challenges will offer coffin dwellers the chance to earn points, and penalize them if they waive a challenge.

Fitzgerald said the six coffin dwellers were chosen based on the creativity of their essays:

Amanda Roberts, Hopatcong: Roberts, 31, eats, sleeps and breathes all things creepy and is a Halloween fanatic. She’s a makeup artist for haunts, plays in a horror-themed punk band, works at a Halloween store and suspends herself from hooks through her flesh (known as body suspension). "Who WOULDN’T want to spend time in a coffin?! I’m so excited," she said.

Michael Markawicz, Ridley Park, PA: Markawicz, 32, was inspired by a strange happening in his youth: while attending a family viewing and paying respect to his loved one, the body sat up. Death fascinated him and for the last 13 years he has been fighting to saving lives as a paramedic. Also a self-described Halloween fanatic, he survived being lost in the woods in freezing temperatures. Can he survive the cold, lonely coffin?

Deborah "Cricket" Alanis, Bayshore, NY: Alanis, 53, is a mother of three who has survived cancer. She worked as a funeral director for many years. "I’m not scared of premature entombment – bring it on," Alanis said.

Kerri Platt, Forked River: Platt, 47, nearly died in childbirth, and last year donated a kidney to save her mother’s life. This is her second year applying for the challenge and she is ready to show she is "the coolest mom ever."

LynnAnn Joyce and Alairra Craven, Seaside Heights: This mother/daughter duo is engaging in some unusual family bonding time. Joyce, 44, is "petrified of death" and coffins but wants to prove that she can confront her fears like her daughter, Craven. Craven, 18, just completed U.S. Army basic training at Fort Jackson,South Carolina, and was most nervous about training in the gas chamber. Joyce also has lupus and wants to show others that "I have it, but it will never have me."

If a contestant cannot fill his or her place in the coffin, an alternate has been selected:

Ashley Allen, Willingboro: Allen, 26, is studying to become a mortician. She says she is Halloween-obsessed and is a huge fan of Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe and horror movies, and says that her personality resembles that of Morticia Addams of The Addams Family.

This year's Coffin Challenge includes some new wrinkles:

• Fully-covered coffin lid with just a small mesh hole for that ultra-claustrophobic feeling;
• Games that include live bugs, pungent food items and trivia to earn points, penalties and a "Get Out of the Coffin" card;
• Fewer bathroom, stretch and phone breaks: coffin dwellers will only be permitted to leave the coffin once for 13 minutes every three hours to use the restroom or their phones;
• Sleep deprivation with Yacht Rock and songs like "Baby Shark" on repeat during overnight hours;
• Scores will be tabulated throughout the event, and the grand prize winner will receive $600, two Six Flags Gold Passes and two Fright Fest Haunted Maze Passes. Runners-up will receive items ranging from Fright Fest day passes to season passes.

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