Zombie Walk may live again in Asbury Park

It appears the New Jersey Zombie Walk will rise again in Asbury Park.

A month after founder Jason Meehan posted on Facebook that the event has "died," the Asbury Park Sun reports that John McGillion, the owner of the bar and restaurant Johnny Mac says he will purchase the rights.

“We’re looking forward to taking it over and getting involved,” McGillion told the newspaper. “It’s a tremendous asset to the City of Asbury Park" that he did not want to let get away to another interested community.

A meeting is scheduled Thursday with Asbury Park's Urban Economic Zone to work out the final details with police, fire and public works. The Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce and Madison Marquette would continue their involvement with the Walk along with Meehan.

If all is worked out, McGillion says that this year's Walk, which Meehan had scheduled for Saturday, October 3 as a "funeral service," will instead be a regular event.  “It may include extending the route by one block,” Gilmour told the Sun.

In 2013 the Walk drew 9,592 participants to its sixth annual walk, setting the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of zombies in the world.

Meehan had decided in August to end the Walk because it had become too successful and expensive to handle on his own.

"As the Walk became larger, so did the list of requirements placed before us by the city of Asbury Park," wrote Meehan, who said he was determined to keep the event free for participants."Each year our budget has seen unavoidable increases, making it increasingly difficult to raise the funds required to produce the Walk without turning it into something more akin to a ticketed convention or festival."

Dan Alexander is the Digital Operations Specialist for NJ101.5 and Townsquare Media NJ. He can reached via email at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com on Twitter @danalexanderNJ or at 609-359-5358