MONCKS CORNER — By day, Cypress Gardens is a quiet county-run park teeming with wildlife and known for being a movie backdrop . By night, it’s transformed into a nightmarish carnival for its Halloween in the Swamp event.

Different-pitched screams could be heard throughout the swamp the night of Oct. 16, mixed with the echoes of chainsaws, eerie carnival music and a constant honking of clown horns.

There is no shortage of thrills, frills and chills across the Charleston area leading up to Halloween, but Cypress Gardens does something a little different.

Chris Heironimus wasn’t donned in clown costumes like the rest of the event’s actors — he wore a wetsuit and hellish-looking face mask. He’s one of several divers who take the art of a jump scare to the next level.

Right before the g

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