Six Flags amps up scares for Fright Fest

The monstrous goings-on at Six Flags Over Georgia's Fright Fest may be howling louder than ever this year. The mad scientists behind the theme park's annual Halloween hootenanny promise the largest Fright Fest in Six Flags history. The haunting begins Sept. 27 and continues on weekends through Nov. 2.

The park enlists more than 200 Fright Fest monsters and scare actors this year, from boo-inducing zombies and werewolves to spooky singers and dancers. And Six Flags brass say they’ve been listening to guests by adding more haunted attractions and interactive experiences.

If the park’s regular identity is Dr. Jekyll, Fright Fest proves to be its Mr. Hyde. Machines pump out blankets of rolling fog, countless faux cobwebs drape the park, and over-the-top decor and theming run rampant. Yet unlike Jekyll’s quick change, this transformation doesn’t occur overnight.

“We’ve been working on Fright Fest for the last two months,” said Six Flags Atlanta Properties park president Dale Kaetzel. “It takes a crew of hundreds of people to prepare the park. … And brainstorming is a year-round conversation.”

Daytime frights and delights

Things prove to be more family-friendly by day with attractions and performances decked out in tot appeal. The Spooky Walk-In-Wag, a 1-mile pet parade through the park culminating in a costume contest, helps launch Fright Fest beginning at 10 a.m. Sept. 27. A walk-through corn maze debuts this year. The Lickskillet Harvest Festival located in Whistlestop Park brings the taste of a fall fling with pumpkin painting, arts and crafts, funnel cakes and other festival food staples. A special Trick-or-Treat Trail gives kids the opportunity to stock up on complimentary candy.

Bugs Bunny World, a kiddie ride retreat, becomes Bugs Bunny’s Spooky Town. The Bugs Bunny World Theater plays host to “Scary Stories,” a live show starring Looney Tunes characters that runs throughout the day. Kids are invited to share the stage with Bugs and company for the daily costume contest. Registration takes place at the theater entrance 30 minutes before each competition.

Scares by sunset

Fright Fest eases into its spookier side. Although some of the haunted attractions open earlier in the afternoon, the event hits its fevered pitch at 6 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. That’s when a production dubbed “The Uprising” takes place on a stage in the park’s USA section. Have your camera within reach, because all of Fright Fest’s creatures of the night gather here to kick off the evening.

Haunting season

Six Flags amps up its scares for 2014 with a longer list of haunted attractions. Guests who purchase the Haunted Attractions Pass upgrade can visit them all. The new ZX-1 haunt brings the zombie apocalypse to Axis Arena. The six other haunted attractions include Dr. Fright’s Frightorium, starring a cast of reanimated dead, and Terror Trail: Backwoods Bloodshed, where hillbilly cannibals overtake the Thunder River queue line. Guests with Haunted Attractions Passes can take the Last Ride, a coffin simulator giving the sensation of being buried alive, and hop aboard Terror Train. The latter takes visitors on a locomotive jaunt around Bloodtown, complete with a narrating conductor.

Scare zones and stage shows

When the sun sets, things go bump in the night. While visitors explore the park, they’ll find themselves stumbling upon an array of creeps. The encounters begin just inside the main gate at the Cemetery of the Undead. Classic monsters dwell in the Monster Graveyard located in the Lickskillet area; the Zombie Quarantine stirs to life around the British Arbor; and Hidden Horrors features a variety of creatures lurking near the Georgia Arbor.

The screams keep coming in the form of gratis stage shows. If walking cadavers had a variety show, it would play out like “Dr. Fright’s Dead Man’s Party “at the Crystal Pistol Music Hall. Other shows include the insult-laden stand-up comedy of Grouchy Griswold and the sinister sideshow spectacle, “Freak Show.”

Thrills

The park's roller coasters and other thrill rides get seasonal monikers for Fright Fest. Among them, the Great American Scream Machine becomes Scream Machine Cthulhu Surprise, and Goliath gets christened the Goliath Witch. The staff dolls up the queue lines in Halloween style. Guests can visit the Fright Fest website and read spooky backstories for each ride created especially for the event.