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Forget about brains, the hoard of zombies headed to Asbury Park this weekend are in search of one thing — a Guinness World Record.

On Saturday, Oct. 5, zombie enthusiasts will gather on the Asbury Park beach to be counted by an official Guinness World Record adjudicator before they shuffle down the boardwalk and invade the downtown.

Originally held as the Asbury Park Zombie Walk in 2008, the The New Jersey Zombie Walk, renamed in 2010, set the record for the “largest gathering of zombies” at 4,093 that same year. Last year, the record was usurped by the Zombie Pub Crawl in Minneapolis, Minn., which raised the bar to 8,027 participants, according to the Guinness World Record site.

This year, NJ Zombie Walk organizers want the title back. They seek it not only for bragging rights, but to prove the New Jersey zombies are “Stronger than the Storm.”

“Our goal is to set a Guinness World Record that can never be broken, said Jackie Pappas, executive director of the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce.

The 2012 walk drew over 12,000 participants, according to a release from event organizers. In hopes of taking the world record back, they have teamed up with the “Stronger than the Storm” marketing campaign to encourage people of all ages to participate in the event.

“Following the storm, Asbury Park made a promise to light the way to recovery for all of our neighboring shore towns – this year’s Zombie Walk is dedicated to keeping that promise,” said Pappas.

“The walk is one of the garden state’s largest Halloween gatherings,” said Jason Meehan, organizer and producer of the New Jersey Zombie Walk. “We are grateful to have Stronger than the Storm join our zombie family to promote thrills, chills and laughter throughout the community.”

The gathering will kick off on the Asbury Park boardwalk at 10 a.m., with an “Undead Festival” hosted by the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce featuring “vendors and artists dedicated to all things horror and zombie,” the release said. In addition, the Stone Pony will host a  ‘Bizarre Bazaar’ with over 30 unique and amazing tables full of “spooky goods.”

At the bizzare, author Jon Merz will be on hand to to sign his new trade paperback original, The Undead Hordes of Kan-Gul: Ninjas vs. Zombies.  Proceeds of all his book sales will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides services for severely injured war veterans as they transition between active duty back to civilian life, according to their website.

Move for hunger will also be on-site, collecting non-perishable food donations, the release said.

At 3 p.m., the zombies will be ushered from the boardwalk onto the beach to enjoy music and games while the official count for this year’s Guinness World Record takes place, the release said. After the official number of zombies is determined and announced, the zombies will be released to head down the boardwalk into downtown Asbury Park. There, festivities will continue in Press Plaza with a live performance by So Watt.

Many Asbury restaurants and shops will also be offer zombie-themed menus, dinner specials and discounts, the release said.

“The zombie walk is like everything else about Asbury Park, it just draws you in,” Pappas said.

[Photo at top taken from the New Jersey Zombie Walk website.]

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