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Boo! Haunted Ridgewood Maze Now Open

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. — Shrieks resonated around Ridgewood Monday afternoon.

The Stewart's haunted maze is now open in Ridgewood.

The Stewart's haunted maze is now open in Ridgewood.

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine
One of the many animatrons in the Stewart's haunted maze in Ridgewood.

One of the many animatrons in the Stewart's haunted maze in Ridgewood.

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine
"You can really be silly, over the top and have fun on Halloween," Nancy Stewart said. "We have a good time."

"You can really be silly, over the top and have fun on Halloween," Nancy Stewart said. "We have a good time."

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine

That's because the Halloween-themed loops-and-traps maze that Greg and Nancy Stewart build every year behind their Sheridan Avenue home opened for another year.

The Stewarts created the maze after their then-4-year-old son, Tyler, asked for an obstacle course in 1995. The idea stuck and even influenced the Stewart's search for a new Ridgewood home in 1999.

"We wanted a house with a trick-or-treat approach, and a backyard big enough for the maze" Nancy said.

"You can really be silly, over the top and have fun on Halloween. We have a good time."

The family gives their maze a different design each year, so people don't become too familiar and memorize it. Every corner has a different animatronic clown, zombie, rubber snake or human body part.

All of the wrong traps lead back to the main entrance, but the Stewarts often send neighborhood children in as "sherpas" to rescue adults who get stuck.

"I like that we're bringing an old-fashioned idea to Ridgewood," added Greg Stewart, who dresses up as a clown and chases people around when he's not watching from his deck. 

"People can just come in and have fun and let it become part of their traditions."

Warning: maze creatures come out at night.

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