Jeeps and Scary Monsters "Invade" Ocean City Boardwalk

There was a pretty creepy cast of Hollywood characters roaming around the Ocean City Boardwalk at the Jeep Invasion show on Saturday.

Shotgun at the ready, the killer cyborg from “The Terminator” glared menacingly at anyone who dared to look at him.

The snarling dinosaurs from “Jurassic Park” were on the prowl for their next human victims.

Also making an appearance was “Beetlejuice,” the obnoxious, devious poltergeist from the movie of the same name.

And there were enough skeletons to fill a Vincent Price movie.

Altogether, a colorful and eclectic procession of 380 Jeeps – and a host of scary monsters – lined the Boardwalk from Fifth to 14th streets. Beautiful weather on the last day of summer provided an ideal backdrop for the Jeep Invasion show and the thousands of spectators it attracted.

As summer says its final farewell and attention turns to the fall, many of the Jeep owners clearly had Halloween on their mind – with an array of ghouls, ghosts, goblins and Hollywood creatures decorating the vehicles.

Did you know that skeletons can drive? Well, there they were, sitting behind the wheel or riding in the passenger seat of some of the Jeeps.

Jeep owner Chris Patterson, fully costumed as Beetlejuice, was a fan favorite as he posed for photos in front of his white 2012 Wrangler decorated with sand worms, snakeheads and other monsters from the movie.

“A lot of people have been asking for my picture. You can’t possibly imagine how many pictures have been taken,” Patterson, 53, a resident of Quinton, N.J., explained of his Beetlejuice fame.

Jeep Wrangler owner Michael Bishop, and his 13-year-old son, Andy, who live in Doylestown, Pa., laughed when they took a photo of Patterson in his Beetlejuice regalia.

“Really cool,” Andy said of Beetlejuice.

    Jeeps of all colors, including pink and lime green, grace the Boardwalk.
  

With each photo, Patterson comically shouted out, “It’s showtime!” to repeat the line Beetlejuice says when he is summoned from the afterlife in the 1988 version of the hit movie. Patterson said he has not yet seen the new version of Beetlejuice now playing in theaters.

When he bought his Jeep Wrangler eight months ago, Patterson said he had no idea of how to decorate it. But since he is a huge Beetlejuice fan, he eventually decided on that theme.

“The movie came to mind, so here it is,” he said, pointing to the Beetlejuice Jeep.

Jeeps of all models and colors lined the Boardwalk. Many were highly customized to fit their owner’s personality.

April Lloyd, of Mullica Hill, N.J., showed off her white 2021 Jeep Wrangler trimmed in purple accents and nicknamed “Country Crawler.”

“Purple is my favorite color, and I love country music,” Lloyd explained of the Jeep’s color scheme and nickname.

    April Lloyd calls her 2021 Jeep Wrangler "Country Crawler" and has trimmed it with purple accents to reflect her favorite music and color.
  

Lloyd’s husband, Tim, bought her the Wrangler three years ago for her 45th birthday. She said she had a 1979 Wrangler CJ5 when she was a teenager and had always wanted to own another Jeep as an adult.

Jeeps run in April Lloyd’s family. Her daughter, Amber Lloyd, also has a Jeep, a 2017 Wrangler.

Among U.S. buyers, the Jeep brand is riding a wave of stronger sales and resurgence in popularity, according to a CNBC national story.

Michael Bishop, the Jeep Wrangler owner who, along with this son, Andy, took a photo of Beetlejuice, said he wouldn’t want anything other than a Jeep.

“Absolutely. It would be a Jeep Wrangler,” Bishop said of his favorite vehicle.

Jamie Longmuir, of Blinker Fluid Productions, the company that stages the Jeep Invasion each year, said Jeep owners are known to be dedicated – and lively.

“This is a very colorful and eclectic crowd,” he said.

    The killer cyborg from "The Terminator" movie scopes out the Boardwalk from a Jeep.
  

Jeep owners from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., were part of the 12th annual Jeep Invasion show on Saturday.

Longmuir, who lives in Ocean City, noted that the show also features a lot of local Jeep owners from New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“It is the locals who have been with us every year,” he said.

Longmuir’s production company started the Jeep Invasion in Ocean City in 2012, but took a year or two off at the height of the COVID pandemic.

His company also produces the annual Jeep Invasion on the Wildwood beach in July. Now in its 10th year, Wildwood’s event features about 2,500 Jeeps and is the largest Jeep show in the Northeast.

Although it is smaller than Wildwood’s show, Longmuir said Ocean City’s Jeep Invasion has been a big hit. One major reason for its success is the Boardwalk location, he pointed out.

“The Boardwalk is a great venue,” he said. “It’s built-in entertainment. There are rides, shops and food here. To try to duplicate this location is impossible. Plus, driving on the Boardwalk is something special.”

    A skeleton takes a ride on the front of this customized Jeep Wrangler nicknamed "Wicked."