30 hours straight in a coffin? Six trying it at Six Flags Great America

Three men and three women got a head start on death in the name of fun Saturday at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee.

Gurnee cemetery employee Wayne Allison, Park Ridge embalmer Nathan Tamayo and hearse enthusiast Lynn Johansen of Franklin Park were among the competitors in the 30-hour coffin challenge as part of the theme park's annual Fright Fest.

All six participants, who have tombstones with their names on them, can win $300, two 2019 gold season passes to Great America, two express haunted house wrist bands, their wooden coffin and a shot at being in a parade. They'll be eliminated if they leave their caskets outside designated breaks.

Tamayo, 39, is an embalmer for funeral home and cemetery chain Service Corporation International. He works the night shift making body pickups along with his embalming duties at funeral homes across the Chicago area.

"I didn't practice for this (contest), but I have been inside caskets before," Tamayo said with a laugh.

Allison, 51, tends to the grounds and handles burials for Warren Funeral Home Cemetery and Mausoleum. The longtime gravedigger lives at the cemetery and even got married in a funeral home, which he said was "a blast."

He shared how he prepared for the 30-hour coffin challenge.

"I come home after work every night and take a nap," Allison said.

Johansen, 70, is a member of Hardcore Hearse Club, which celebrated its fifth anniversary in June at Brauer House bar and grill in Lombard. She looks forward to receiving the coffin for her hearse if she makes it to 7 p.m.

Covered to about their shoulders, the contestants entered the coffins at 1 p.m. Saturday. Under the rules, they get a six-minute bathroom break per hour, periodic time to eat sitting up in the coffin and other allowances.

Participants were allowed to bring blankets, pillows, sleeping bags and whatever else necessary to keep warm. They need to be in their caskets at 7 p.m. Sunday to win the prize package.

Nearly 3,000 applicants who submitted essays wanted to be in the 30-hour coffin challenge, Great America spokeswoman Tess Claussen said. The staff read the essays and "really looked at" who wanted to participate, she said.

Also starting the contest Saturday were teacher and paranormal investigator Allison Jornlin of Milwaukee, DeKalb resident Rachael West who is studying to become a funeral director, and Michael J. Finn of Madison, Wisconsin, whom Great America lists as a coffin dweller claiming to be part zombie, part vampire.