The Z(ombie) train
Subway H’ween party too real for tots
#HalloweenFail. Transit cops tried to bring some fall fun with a Haunted Subway attraction at the Union Square station — but they made it so realistic that kids who walked through were left bawling their eyes out in their parents’ arms.
Confronted by bloody zombies, deranged clowns and chainsaw-swinging killers, many tots were left completely traumatized by the ordeal.
“That is not for 5-year-olds,” said Cat Sarno, of Manhattan, who went through the darkened maze with her son.
Footage from Thursday’s opening night showed one transit worker in full uniform — with half of his disfigured and bloodied face chewed off and bone protruding from a grievously mangled wrist.
The frightful chamber — which took about a minute to traverse — also featured classic maniacs like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees jumping from the shadows.
“My legs were shaking but I didn’t pee my pants,” said a courageous Jonziel Rosa, 6, of Harlem. “Jason was my favorite part but Freddy was the scariest.”
Even some older kids struggled to keep their composure af- ter being swarmed on all sides.
“I thought I was having a heart attack,” said Kimberly Torres, 17, of Brooklyn. “It was so scary I had to catch my breath when I got out.”
One sergeant with the AntiCrime Unit dressed up as Pennywise, the chilling clown from Stephen King’s “It,” while another officer donned a baby mask and brandished a pair of machetes.
But while many kids enjoyed the scare, traumatized smaller kids could be seen being consoled by staffers and parents Friday evening.
NYPD officers were on hand to calm some of the clearly shaken thrill-seekers as they poured out of the darkened, smoke-filled room.
“This is not a terrifying, horrifying experience,” NYPD Sgt. Carlos Nieves said Friday, adding that kids are warned about what they were going to encounter beforehand. “But for a child, it could be. Most kids were really into it and came out laughing.”
In light of the content, children under 7 had to be accompanied by an adult.
“We talk to them and say, ‘Listen, everything in there is not real,’ ” said Nieves. “It’s just trying to have fun on Halloween. All the people dressed up in there are police officers.”