Six Flags's 30-Hour Couples Coffin Challenge Is the Ultimate Relationship Test

Last year, Six Flags celebrated Fright Fest by daring guests to spend 30 hours trapped in a coffin alone. The theme park is tweaking the challenge slightly this Halloween season in a way that will make it either more or less terrifying, depending on how you feel about sharing personal space.

From 4 p.m. on Friday, September 27 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, September 28, six couples will get cozy in six coffins at Six Flags America in Woodmore, Maryland. The couples can consist of any two people who are willing to split a cramped casket, whether they're friends, family members, romantic partners, or total strangers. They should also fit (relatively) comfortably together into the 6-foot-by-5.4-foot space [PDF].

Couples can bring pillows, sleeping bags, and anything else they need to make their tomb feel more inviting, just as long it fits inside the coffin when the lid is closed. After settling into their temporary resting places late Friday afternoon, contestants will have a few more chances to see daylight before the challenge ends. They'll be allowed to leave for designated bathroom breaks and sit up in the coffin to take meal and phone breaks. Each contestant also gets a “Get Out of the Coffin Free Card" they can use to rise from the grave for six minutes at any point in the challenge.

To keep things interesting, and to ensure one couple is left laying when the 30 hours are up, contestants will face mini-challenges throughout their trial. Some possible tasks might include fishing a mysterious item out of a bucket, laying in a coffin covered in worms, or retrieving a prop from a haunted house. Both halves of the couples must complete the challenges together; the only exception being if a contestant wants to use the one “Skip the Challenge Card” they receive at the start of the contest.

The couple that survives to the end of the competition will be rewarded for their bravery. The grand prize consists of $600 split two ways, two 2020 gold season passes, and a Fright Fest prize package. If you and a loved one are up for the challenge, you can fill out the online application form with your personal information and a short essay explaining why you want to take the 30-hour coffin challenge. Applications are due by midnight on September 20.

Spending 30 hours in a coffin isn't for the faint of heart, but people have endured worse. Several people have survived being buried alive for days—though, granted, they didn't have to share the experience with anyone else.