RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (1010 WINS) — When Greg and Nancy Stewart built an obstacle course for their 4-year-old son in the backyard of their New Jersey home back in 1995, they never imagined they’d still be building it 27 years later.
“It was a simple maze made out of tomato stakes and twine,” Greg told 1010 WINS. “And since then has grown into this.”
During the month of October, the couple’s Ridgewood home lights up with spooky animatronics and thousands of people coming out to see and go through their famed burlap maze.
“The neighbors really love it,” Nancy said. “The kids come back every night and it's a Halloween thing. So it's fun. It's a fall activity, you can decorate it and everybody really loves it.”
The structure is a loops and traps maze with 20 one-way doors which participants can go through but cannot go back out. Each year, Greg and his now 31-year-old son rebuild the maze in different ways to challenge returning guests. This year, Greg said, it takes guests about 30 minutes to complete, down from last year’s 50-minute completion time.
The Stewarts keep the maze free of charge which means they often get repeated crowds of excited little ones and rambunctious tweens. Greg and Nancy also rely on the neighborhood kids to help manage the event. Along with paid “Maze Masters” who lay down the rules and keep an eye on the operation, the Stewarts have some volunteer help from their more junior neighbors.
“We have younger children who are not quite in high school yet who are called “Sherpas,” Nancy said. “They get a badge and that means they know their way through and if someone gets stuck, they can help them get out.”
When the sun goes down, one Maze Master is responsible for donning a scary costume, most often it’s a clown, and wandering through the maze, surprising unsuspecting participants. For the experienced bunch who know when the clown is set free, they’ve figured out a trick of their own.
“As soon as the clown comes in, they all run up on the deck because they don't really want to be near the clown,” Greg said. “They just wanted to see everybody else get caught by the clown.”
On Halloween, the maze gets packed full of people with lines that spill out into the street. The attraction is loved by the town and also regulated with a visit from the fire inspector each year to ensure safety.
Greg and Nancy’s large back porch is high enough to see the maze from above where onlookers can gaze at confused participants desperately seeking the exit. They’ll occasionally use a megaphone to call you out if you are “hopelessly lost.” If all else fails, they’ll send in back up.
“I memorized it,” 9-year-old Maze Sherpa Charlotte tells 1010 WINS during a rescue mission as she effortlessly leads the way. “So we live down the street so we get to go in a day before it opens to test it. We all memorized it.”
Other ambitious maze-goers chose not to use the help of a sherpa, despite feeling perplexed by the burlap labyrinth, like 8-year-old Declan who visits every year with his family.
“There are lots of secret doors and passageways that you can traverse though,” Declan said as he came up to a dead end on the maze.
Greg and Nancy make no profit from the maze and despite the weeks of planning to execute the elaborate attraction, the long nights of corralling crowds through their backyard and dealing with the occasional defiant guest, they continue to build and run the event every year. The job is hard, yes, but getting to be apart of a family’s holiday tradition makes it all worth it.
“I do it because I know these kids are gonna grow up and remember one moment where they didn't have to go in their pocket to get something so they could have fun,” Greg said. “At the end, when we close on Halloween, I feel like Santa Claus after he’s delivered his presents. I'm exhausted.”
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