THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510240562
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 154 lines
VAMPIRES AND WITCHES beckon from the fog-covered forest.
A maniac's chain saw cuts the night air.
Riders cringe in their seats as they brace for the next shock of evil.
Scenes from Hollywood's latest dose of horror?
Think again.
These images hit much closer to home.
The ghouls and goblins are found in the Vietnam Veterans Haunted Forest at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.
This is not just another Halloween show. The producers take their fright night seriously. So do the guests.
``I've been to Halloween shows across the country, and I've never seen anything like it before,'' said Ken Hawkins, a Chesapeake resident who takes his family to the production every year. ``But it is kind of scary. I don't recommend it for kids 6 and under.''
Held this year in the garden's Enchanted Forest - which is somewhat eerie even in the bright of day - the extravaganza is a two-mile, 20-minute journey on the ``Tram of Terror,'' a train ride through 37 horror scenes, complete with startling pyrotechnics and sound effects.
Some skits are takeoffs from popular movies such as ``Hellraiser'' and the ``Nightmare on Elm Street'' series that featured Freddy Krueger. Others are a little easier on the heart, like Leprechaun Valley or Blood Creek ghost town. The 100-yard ``Tunnel of Terror'' is a kind of no-monster-barred finale through a canopied corridor somewhat akin to a horror ride in an amusement park.
``It's not blood and guts, it's entertainment,'' said Frank Lipoli, the event's creator. ``But somewhere along the line we'll make you jump. There's also some levity.''
More than 15,000 visitors are expected for this sixth annual Haunted Forest show, which began last weekend and will run again Friday through Sunday evening. It is produced by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 48, along with the help of area high school students.
``It's the largest production of its kind in the East,'' Lipoli said, president of Haunted Forest Productions Inc. ``More than 250 people are involved.''
The show is a major operation. Work starts in February. At the Oct. 17 dress rehearsal, Lipoli and more than 50 vets - armed with two-way radios - moved about the garden with front-line purpose. Coordinating the scenes and train rides through almost pitch-black darkness brought challenges. At one point, two of the five trains were facing each other on the trail.
Although a bloody crash might have made for great entertainment, all the quirks were worked out by opening night.
``Everything ran smoothly except for a broken trigger relay on one of our smoke machines,'' said Fred McCall, who is in charge of logistics, a job that requires overseeing everything from having enough extension cords to ensuring that the flashlights have fresh batteries.
The show has been enlarged since last year. There are 10 more skits, and the former venue adjacent to Lake Whitehurst has been moved to the long and winding trails of the garden's Enchanted Forest. A very appropriate addition is the inclusion of the Red Cross' bloodmobile, which will be taking donations Friday and Saturday evening.
``What better place to give blood than in a haunted forest,'' McCall said.
If the vets are the operation's officers, then the students are the infantry. The Haunted Forest wouldn't be possible without some 150 high schoolers from around South Hampton Roads. The pupils are very much into their roles and help give the scenes creative teeth, designing many of the sets and costumes, and ad-libbing on Lipoli's and other administrators' scripts.
``It's like a reunion of friends - it's for fun,'' said Shannon Jaeger of Kellam High in Virginia Beach who in her third year with the show is playing an Indian in the ghost town skit.
Marianne Cassidy is a Maury junior in her second year at the Haunted Forest.
``You get to meet new people and support the vets,'' she said.
Some former students have stayed on with the show. Chris Froman, a Lake Taylor graduate, now 22, helped design the Monster Bar scene, providing his own strobe lights, black lights and smoke machines.
``I had electronics in high school - this is an adrenaline rush,'' Froman said.
One of the most visual displays is Club Inferno, where ghouls dance to disco beats between flash-pots of fire and green strobe lights.
Since its inception in 1990, the show has drawn an estimated 60,000 people. Every engagement has been a sell-out. It is Chapter 48's biggest fund-raiser, grossing more than $200,000 in five years. Monies go to support local veterans' homes and hospitals, veterans scholarship funds and local charities such as the Ronald McDonald's House and St. Mary's Infant Home.
``Some of this year's money will go to low-pay grade enlisted men on active duty who have children in the King's Daughters hospital,'' said Larry Burger, chapter president. ``We exist to help all veterans and their families.
Though Lipoli, 40, was in college and never served in Vietnam, he is an associate member of Chapter 48, which comprises 245 vets, family members and friends.
A Norfolk native, Lipoli was badly burned last year in a propane explosion while setting up a concession stand at Harborfest. The vets were among many people that came to his assistance.
``This year's Haunted Forest is very special to me in that I'm here,'' said Lipoli, who suffered second- and third-degree burns on his legs, arms, hands and face.
The Haunted Forest was brought to life by Lipoli. His family's business, ``My Dad's Catering,'' had a concession stand in the garden in the late 1980s, but he wanted to do more than just provide a food service. He wanted to play a part in the garden's revitalization.
``I'm in the special event business, and there were only ham-and-egg Halloween events going on,'' Lipoli explained. ``I wanted to do something in a big way. I approached director Peter Frederick with the idea for a train ride through a lineup of elaborate Halloween scenes and he said, `Go for it.' ''
The production of the show was offered to the local Vietnam veterans chapter, which took the broom and ran with it. The first year had 19 scenes and sold out every night.
``I never imagined it would get so big,'' said Lipoli, who expects this weekend's shows also to be sold out.
Despite being injured, the creator orchestrates his show at a madman's pace and with militarylike intensity. He has the energy and enthusiasm of a kid out trick or treating.
``This is kind of like a Halloween MTV on wheels,'' Lipoli said. ``It's a hell of a Halloween experience.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by MOTOYA NAKAMURA/The Virginian-Pilot
Scenes such as this are what visitors see on their two-mile,
20-minute journey aboard the ``Tram of Terror'' at the Haunted
Forest at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.
Frank Lipoli, right, is the man who brought the Haunted Forest to
life six years ago.
From left, Haunted Forest performers Charles Kline, Adam Gull,
Luanne Efird and Clifford Williams.
Terry Blount applies makeup to Elijah Smith, one of the many
performers.
Haunted train narrator John Daman prepares for his role in the
production.
ON THE COVER
The cover photo, taken by staff photographer Motoya Nakamura, gives
readers a close-up look at Ted Paulin Jr. wearing his skeleton mask
as one of the performers at the Haunted Forest.
Graphic
HORRIFY YOURSELF
The Haunted Forest at the Norfolk Botanical Garden is open for
admission Friday and Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 6:30
to 9:30 p.m. Tickets, available at selected Twin B Auto Parts
stores, are $5 per person. For more information, call 498-2541.
The Red Cross bloodmobile will be taking donations from 6:30 to
10:30 p.m. Friday and from 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
by CNB