It's not Halloween yet, but some visitors to Rahway River Park have had quite a scare recently. Teenagers disguised as bushes have been hiding in the park, and then popping up to scare unwitting visitors.

Their leafy activity has drawn praise from some fans who say they appreciate the young men's creativity, but it has also increased the number of patrolling units of the Union County Police Department, which patrols the park that straddles Rahway and Clark. Union County Public Information Officer Sebastian D'Elia said the Bushmen would be arrested, if they're caught in action.

"It's great until the first person falls and sues the county," D'Elia said. "We never advise anyone to do anything of this nature."

The Rahway Bushmen pose for a picture in Rahway River Park with their faces blurred.





The self-proclaimed "Rahway Bushmen" are three high school students who live in Rahway. Two are dressed in bush costumes, and the third wears plain clothes and acts as a lookout. They declined to give their name for fear they could be charged.

Bored after school, the teens found ghillie suits, or camouflage costumes, and decided in early October to put the outfits to use in the park. It started out, they said, out of pure entertainment for them after school and on the weekends.

After a few trials, and a few debates on the Facebook channel the community voice of Rahway, the Bushmen decided to soften their act and instead of jumping up they to simply stood up and said "hi" to unsuspecting park goers.

Elisa Gonzalez. of Rahway said on the Facebook channel that she was walking her dog when she experienced the Bushmen's routine.

"We heard these funny voices and we didn't know what it was & hear ruffling. It was hilarious like a performance arts show," Rodriguez wrote. "We should applaud their creativity. They're giving up their time and providing something fun to the community. Rahway is an arts town. It's so great that it's happening in Rahway makes me proud to be a Rahway citizen."

Late Tuesday evening, the Bushmen were made aware of potential trespassing and harassment charges against them if they're caught. They said that may prompt them to put down their leaves.

"We were trying to be harmless," one of the Bushmen said. "It's more or less an idea to try to make people smile."

However, that all changed hours later when they were invited to Rahway's Trunk or Treat on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Rahway City Hall, 1 City Hall Plaza.

Still, they have a message for those insisting on them stopping their activities.

"Stop being afraid of people wanting to have fun," one of the bushmen said.

"We have great respect for the law and would hate to utilize law enforcement resources on us so we considered stopping, but the bushmen may not die after all."

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ladytiamoyo.

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