Halloween comes in a variety of flavors, from sweet and mild to spicy scary. You can find go-and-do events during the season of the witch to please just about any palate. Here is a small sampling of Halloween activities haunting nearby:
For those who can’t get enough zombies: Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse
Having scared up national attention with its unique zombified concept coming to life inside and throughout the grounds of a defunct truck stop and motel, AZA puts the final nail in its coffin this year. With the property being sold, the cast of zombies soon will be homeless. But first there’s one more season of screams. The Zombie Apocalypse attraction drops guests in the middle of a disease outbreak with the brain-craving undead on their heels. Organizers claim this walk-through experience sometimes finds visitors soiling their clothes, and those with heart problems should pass. Want to fight back? Try Zombie Killer, the more interactive of the two attractions, which arms each guest with 100 rounds and a semi-automatic paintball gun. Pick off the attacking zombies while trekking through four acres of adjacent woods. AZA’s last season wraps Nov. 1 with Monster Bash, a dance party taking place inside Zombie Apocalypse, with bands, DJs, a costume contest, horror movies and more.
8 p.m. Oct. 17, 18, 24, 25, 30, 31. $25 for Zombie Apocalypse or Zombie Killer; $45 for both; $3 parking. Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse, 4215 Thurman Road, Conley. atlantazombie.com.
For young ghouls who want to show off: Goblins in the Garden
So your kid is dying to sport that Halloween costume? Atlanta Botanical Garden has an opportunity for young ones to suit up nearly two weeks early. They can even strut down the Goblin Runway for photo ops during a fashion show of the Halloween kind (10:30 a.m., and 12:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.). Kiddies also can get crafty with fall-themed projects, and Battina the Friendly Witch gives her broom a rest, telling stories at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in Day Hall. For $3 each, tots can hop aboard the ride-on train, and parents can pony up $4 for a kid-friendly pony ride. The Scarecrows in the Garden exhibit, featuring nearly 100 handcrafted scarecrows, and Imaginary Worlds, starring massive plant creatures, both will be in full effect.
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 19. $18.95; $12.95 ages 3-12; free for garden members and those 2 and younger. Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta. 404-876-5859, atlantabotanicalgarden.org.
For those who love spooky stories: Tour of Southern Ghosts
An endearing annual attraction produced by ART Station in Stone Mountain Village, this tour continues rattling its figurative chains at Stone Mountain Park. Take to the lantern-lined path in the park’s Antebellum Plantation area for storytelling in spooky style. Actors and actresses with a knack for twisting tales take turns sharing yarns along the way. Each visit features six performers from a rotating roster, so if you come back you might see something new. The 2014 cast includes Elizabeth Vitale, Lake Roberts, Sierra Swann and a host of others, each donning period costumes. Depending on the storyteller, the ghostly legends may be funny or pack an extra batch of boo. Some prove romantically sad, another remains grossly humorous and one features a monstrous dog-pig hybrid. A new tour, each lasting 45 minutes, materializes every 10 minutes.
7-9 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays; 7-9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Through Oct. 26. $16; $8 ages 12 and younger; $10 parking. Stone Mountain Park, 1000 Robert E. Lee Drive, Stone Mountain. 770-469-1105, 770-498-5600, artstation.org.
For those willing to brave the tunnel: Krog Masquerade
Commuters who regularly cruise past the Krog Street Tunnel, the graffiti-splattered spot that intersects DeKalb Avenue in Inman Park, may be surprised at its newfound use this Halloween season. It won’t need a full moon for its transformation Oct. 25. The tunnel’s interior plays host to an artsy Euro-centric masquerade ball for those 21 and older. As guests sip cocktails and shake their bones, DJ Salah helms the decks. Entertainers step through a velvet curtain displaying alluring body art, burlesque routines and sexy performance art. The performers, however, won’t be the only ones in costume, as partygoers must don masks. Admission includes two drink tickets. Those looking to celebrate to the max can spring for VIP admission, which allows early entry, five drink tickets and appetizers from the folks at 97 Estoria.
8 p.m. VIP entry, 9 p.m. regular entry. Oct. 25. $50; $100 VIP. Krog Street and DeKalb Avenue, Atlanta. krogmasquerade.com.
For those running scared: Atlanta Halloween Half Marathon and 5K Run
The runners hoofing it in this event prove it’s never too early in the day to show off your costume. More than half of the participants will chalk up miles while donning their seasonal best, so don’t be surprised to see Superman or Maleficent bounding along the course. Although awards will be presented to the top three finishers in each age group, organizers say this isn’t necessarily a race for those looking to break their personal best. Costumers will be eligible for prizes, too, and all finishers run away with a Halloween-themed medal. The run starts and finishes at the Cumming Fairgrounds, giving spectators a good spot to watch the costumed runners cross that line.
Half marathon: 8 a.m. 5K: 8:30 a.m. Oct. 26. $35 5K registration; $90 half marathon registration; free for spectators. Cumming Fairgrounds, 235 Castleberry Road, Cumming. halloweenhalfmarathon.com/events/atlanta.
For family-friendly frights: Halloween Night on Callanwolde Mountain
Kids and their parents have plenty to howl about at Callanwolde on All Hallows Eve. You won’t even have to worry about carting the brood around your ’hood. A total of 18 trick-or-treat locations will spread throughout the estate. While the tots dig deep into Lego-building tables, soak up live storytelling and compete in the costume contest, grown-ups can hit the cash bar and nosh at various food trucks. Callanwolde invites everyone to bring their own carved pumpkins for display and a shot at prizes in the pumpkin contest. The Callanwolde Concert Band joins forces with Atlanta Braves organist Matthew Kaminiski for two sets at 6:30 and 7:45 p.m. They’ll crank out fun and familiar tunes with a creepy edge, including selections from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, “Night on Bald Mountain” and “The Phantom of the Opera.”
6-9 p.m. Oct. 31. $4 online; $5 at the door. Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, 980 Briarcliff Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-872-5338, callanwolde.org.
For bat-biting Osbourne fans: Blizzard of Ozzy concert
By day, he’s an executive vice president for a mortgage company. Like Dr. Jekyll, however, Mack Mullins has a Mr. Hyde lurking beneath. At night, he’s known to take the stage as the dead ringer, physically and vocally, for Ozzy Osbourne. His band, Blizzard of Ozzy, bites the heads off Osbourne and Black Sabbath classics, spitting out spot-on renditions of “Crazy Train,” “Paranoid” and “Bark at the Moon.” What better night to rock than Halloween? Mullins and his head-banging crew perform at 37 Main Johns Creek for the Rock 100.5 Spooktacular. Fans can stop fist-pumping long enough to enter the $1,000 costume contest. And those who buy their tickets in advance are eligible to win a guitar like the one used by Osbourne’s late ax man, Randy Rhoads.
10 p.m. Oct. 31. $20 advance; $25 at the door; $250 table for four with select alcohol and mixers. 37 Main Johns Creek, 6000 Medlock Bridge Parkway, Johns Creek. 678-580-2329, johnscreek.37main.com.
