By day, the building at 521 Oak Street in Copiague washes cars. On October weekend nights it does something else entirely. Johnnie's Car Wash on Oak has turned its wash tunnel into Oak Street Asylum, a haunted drive-through that runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from 7 to 10 p.m. through Sunday, November 1.

The premise is simple and the business states it plainly in its own announcements: you drive in the way you would for any wash, except the tunnel is dark, and the things moving around your car are not brushes. Costumed characters work the length of the tunnel while you roll through with the windows up and the doors locked. You never leave the car.

How it works

Admission is per vehicle rather than per person, so one price covers everyone in the car: $35 per car booked in advance through a direct message to the business, or $40 at the door. The car wash takes bookings through its Instagram and Facebook accounts, where it posts the season's dates, and by phone at (631) 891-6111.

The business pitches the ride as something a whole family can do, and the format is the reason: the scare comes through a closed window, and anyone who has had enough can look away until the exit, which puts each passenger in charge of their own dose.

Two weekends left

The season opened October 9 and runs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night through November 1, which leaves the weekends of October 23 to 25 and October 30 to November 1, the stretch that carries Halloween itself on Saturday the 31st. Hours are 7 to 10 p.m. each night.

Johnnie's announced the return of its haunted season on its Instagram account in mid-August, and this year's edition carries the asylum theme and a new cast of props and characters in the tunnel.

If you go

Oak Street Asylum runs at Johnnie's Car Wash on Oak, 521 Oak Street, Copiague, Friday through Sunday nights, 7 to 10 p.m., through November 1. Book ahead for $35 per vehicle through the business's social accounts or pay $40 at the door, and bring a car full of people who think they cannot be scared with the doors locked.

Sources