Belmont Lake State Park in North Babylon spends its October nights this year running a haunted attraction with a difference: nobody walks. Terrifying Trails, presented by the Long Island science fiction organization I-CON, sends visitors down the park's dark paths in what it calls Terror Carts, each one driven by a staff member while the woods on either side do what October woods do.

Two weekends remain on the calendar: Friday, October 23 through Sunday, October 25, and then Friday, October 30 and Saturday, October 31, Halloween night itself. Every night runs 8 to 11 p.m.

A sci-fi convention's idea of a haunted trail

I-CON has promoted science fiction, science fact and fantasy on Long Island for more than 30 years, and the group has built the event in its own image. Beyond the cart ride, each weekend adds a different slate: Scary Screenings of horror, science fiction and fantasy films, live performances, costume contests, and what the organizers describe only as more surprises.

The live calendar so far this season has included a Rocky Horror Picture Show performance by the troupe Flustered 4 Mustard and a one-hour Dark Side of Opera concert by soprano Nicole Oliva, whose rained-out appearance is rescheduled for Friday, October 23. This past Saturday ran as a Haunted Karaoke night, Saturday, October 24 is billed as Ghoul A GO-GO, and the Halloween weekend lineup is still being announced. Friday nights also bring Grindhouse Coffee and Cult Cinema's takeover of the event's outdoor Big Scream screen, and a gluten-free bakery called Grim Delights has been selling themed treats on various nights.

The organization is also recruiting: a volunteer sign-up sits at the top of the event page for anyone who would rather be the thing in the woods than the person riding past it.

The partner behind the carts was born on Halloween

Terrifying Trails is a joint venture between I-CON and Rob Guerra, an event producer many Long Islanders know without knowing his name: he is the Fudgie Wudgie Man, whose beach ice cream business dates to 1981. His company Beachside Valet, launched in 2012, rents surrey bikes, themed pedal boats and kayaks at Jones Beach, Robert Moses, Hempstead Lake and Heckscher state parks, and now at Belmont Lake, which is how the cart fleet found its second calling after dark. Guerra was, according to the event's own page, born on Halloween.

Tickets, prices and the weather rule

Admission is sold online in advance through the event's ticketing page, priced by night: $42 on Fridays, $45 on Saturdays and $42 on Sundays. Dates can sell out, and tickets are tied to the night chosen.

The event is outdoors and weather dependent, and the season has already felt it: the opening Friday of this past weekend was lost to rain, and this Sunday, October 18, the trail is dark for a staff appreciation night. If the organizers cancel a night for weather, that ticket is honored at the same price on a later weekend through the end of October, and weather cancellations on October 30 or 31 qualify for a full refund.

Going

Belmont Lake State Park is at Exit 38 on the Southern State Parkway in North Babylon. Terrifying Trails runs 8 to 11 p.m. on October 23, 24 and 25, and on October 30 and 31. Tickets are at iconsf.org/terrifying-trails, and the remaining live lineup is posted there as it is announced.

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