Let the fright begin: 5 things know about Netherworld opening this weekend

Prices: $23 Monsters, $28 Monsters and Meltdown, September 23-24 and all Sundays–Thursdays except Halloween.  $25 Monsters, $35 Monsters and Meltdown, Fridays, Saturdays and Halloween after thise weekend.

Speed Pass: $55 any night grants front of the line access to both Monsters and Meltdown

For more information, visit the Netherworld website.

The wait is over, fright fans.

Netherworld Haunted House in Norcross will creak open once more on Friday for a 20th season of screams.

It's going to be horrifying, dark, very real and yet unreal. Spooky, creepy. Got that?

Now, you're ready for five other "need to know" facts about Netherworld:

The theme changes each year. Think of it like a sequel, a really good sequel to a horror movie series. This year will be "Monsters" in the main haunted house, complete with mortal combat from "Gargoyles" and "Dead Ones", and nuclear meltdown in Vault 13. The latter can only be reached by elevator. Just another reason to anticipate unabated fear.

The world knows they're screaming in Norcross. Netherworld isn't just a local fad. It's custom monsters, props, artifacts and crazy-horrifying special effects have made it one of the premiere haunted house locations in the world. Some of that heaping praise of Netherworld in recent years has come from Travel Channel ("Best Halloween Attractions 2015") and the creepmeisters at Hauntworld ("America's Top 15 Scariest Haunted Houses 2015.)

The shriek-loving readers of USA Today also voted Netherworld No. 9 of the "10 Best Extreme Haunted Attractions: Reader's Choice." The voters gave Netherworld chops for "incredible sets, animatronics, special effects and make-up created by professionals in the film and television industry."

The acting goes on all year. Ben Armstrong, who co-created Netherworld with Billy Messina, worked in television news for 18 years but is now super-focused on Netherworld's fictional role playing. He told Hauntworld that he usually portrays new icon characters for each new Netherworld season for live television and onsite media promotions. Then, the group makes multiple suits so that other actors can portray the character for the life of that year's show.

The other actors make quite a commitment, too, according to the Hauntworld interview. They meet monthly for acting classes, go on trips to act in other haunts and work on the characters they'll play in October all year long

Plan your photo ops for the parking lot. Don't even think about breaking the ban on photos or videotaping inside Netherworld. If knowing the flash hurts the actors' eyes and the fog inside will mess up your photo anyhow isn't enough to dissuade you, consider that Netherworld has sophisticated security and will toss you out without a refund if you're caught. A far superior idea: do your shooting in the parking lot.

Actors in full Nether-regalia hang out and greet you outside and they're usually happy to pose for photos. If this is a repeat trip for you, look for old favorites among the outside greeters, and also check for some new faces. Netherworld adds at least a couple of new characters each year.

You can beat the waiting game. A line forms outside as groups wait to go forward. They try to keep it to 30 minutes' wait, but the wait time is much longer than that weekends at the end of October and on Halloween. Still, even impatient people can be part of this fright fest, with some maneuvering.

The least expensive idea is to come in late September and early October when it's not as busy. Anytime you buy online, you can skip the ticket line, too. Or try buying a Speedpass. For $55, so you can move to the front of the line for either the Haunted House "Monsters" or Vault 13's "Meltdown."