With one of the most active horror scenes in the country, there’s never a shortage of frightful fun to be had in the Atlanta area. But with Halloween just around the corner, there are even more haunts than usual around town. From newer attractions that look to shock and repulse to more established scares appropriate for any age or spook level, here are some of the ways you can get a good-natured scare this Halloween season.
Netherworld
Consistently ranked as one of the country’s top attractions, Netherworld brings its Hollywood-level effects back for another double dose of demonic fun. In Gargoyle, various creatures of the night (including its winged namesake) attack from above, below and any other angle as you traverse haunted cemeteries, dingy landscapes and a steampunk finale. In Dead Salvage, the deranged Mangler wreaks havoc with human experiments gone awry.
7 p.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays, Oct. 31; 7 p.m.-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, Nov.5-6. $22-$27. 6624 Dawson Blvd., Norcross, Ga. 30093. 404-608-2484, www.fearworld.com .
Terror in the Square
From the folks behind last year’s Stadium of Screams comes this dual downtown Lawrenceville attraction. Insanity offers a look into the experimental treatments and electrocutions in an 1800s psychiatric ward. From there, Torment offers encounters with tortured souls looking to escape their agonizing fates.
7:30 p.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Sundays, 7:30 p.m.-11 p.m. Thursdays. Oct. 15-Nov. 6. $15-$35. 250 Nash St., Lawrenceville, Ga. 30046. 770-995-6285, www.terrorinthesquare.com .
13 Stories Haunted House
Returning for its seventh year, 13 Stories is a journey through a house where the master has gone missing and the servants are out to inflict the hardships they have previously endured. In Maximum Evil, the subjects of a secret experimental facility try to prevent you from getting out alive.
Dusk-midnight Fridays-Saturdays, Oct. 31; dusk-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; dusk-11 p.m. Oct. 27-28, Nov. 5-6. $22. 2975 Ring Road, Kennesaw, Ga. 30144. www.13storieshauntedhouse.com .
Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse
This innovative new Halloween attraction takes you through an abandoned truck stop, military compound, outdoor wasteland, underground laboratory and other post-apocalyptic scenes with reanimated corpses attacking you every step of the way. You’re led through this gruesome adventure by armed (though somewhat unstable) soldiers who fend off attacks with realistic machine guns. If you survive the main attraction, you get to take aim at attacking zombies yourself in a paintball firing range.
8 p.m.-midnight. Through Oct. 31 (closed Mondays). $15-$30 (additional $3 for parking). Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse is at Safety Wolf Recreation Outpost (a paintball facility) at 4215 Thurman Road, Conley, Ga. 30288. 404-665-3992, www.atlantazombie.com .
Chambers of Horror
After making its debut last year, this in-town haunted attraction aptly ranked as the 13th must-see haunt in Haunted Attraction Magazine. But with sights, smells and other sensory assaults of a grotesquely graphic nature, Chambers of Horror is definitely not for the easily offended. Expanding on last year’s secret society-like premise, this haunt is a tour through TortureCo, a fictional facility where victims are maimed for the sadistic pleasures of those who can afford it.
8 p.m.-1 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.-midnight Sundays-Thursdays, 8 p.m.-3 a.m. Oct. 31. $15-$45. 695 North Ave. N.E., Atlanta, Ga. 30308 behind The Masquerade. 404-577-8178. www.chambersofhorroratl.com .
Haunt Atlanta
Another new in-town attraction, Haunt Atlanta offers two treks through terrifying madness. In Madhouse, your goal is to escape the fictional Boyd Avenue Asylum, which has been overrun by the inmates. In Count Von Mortis’ Creature Feature, vampires, werewolves and other mythical creatures are on exhibit, hopefully in a secure manner.
7 p.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays, Oct. 31; 7 p.m.-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays. $25. 1329 Boyd Ave., Atlanta, Ga. 30318. 678-720-8764, www.hauntatlanta.com .
For those looking for a less frightening alternative to haunted houses, churches offer their own seasonal attractions with a different purpose. Bringing morality tales and Bible stories to life, here are a couple of local dramas aimed at promoting Christian values.
Fright Fest
Six Flags’ annual Halloween celebration takes place all over the park with kid-friendly shows such as Dr. Fright’s CarnEvil and Bad Bob the Bone Butcher. As night falls and monsters begin to emerge amidst the roller coasters, you can experience two other ghoulish treats. The Last Ride is a simulated hearse ride to the graveyard – while locked inside a casket. And Dr. Fright’s Frightorium is a 17-room haunted house with shrieks and terror around every corner.
6 p.m.-11 p.m. Oct. 22, 29; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Oct. 16, 23, 30; noon-9 p.m. Oct. 17, 24, 31. $49.99 for adults, $34.99 for children shorter than 48 inches, free for children ages 2 and younger. Six Flags Over Georgia, 275 Riverside Parkway, Austell, Ga. 30168. 770-948-9290, www.sixflags.com/overgeorgia .
Tribulation Trail
Beginning with a conversation between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, this long-running attraction progresses through the present day and into the years following the rapture. From the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to the final battle between Jesus and Satan, Tribulation Trail brings the Book of Revelation to life before offering you the chance to change your ways.
7 p.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. Through Oct. 30. $10. Mount Vernon Baptist Church. 2178 Highway 138 East, Stockbridge, Ga. 30281. 770-474-6700, www.tribulationtrail.org .
Judgement House
Illustrating the horrors that can happen to those who choose to live outside Christian values, Judgement House returns this year with Dead End. Dead End is about three people whose lives have been negatively impacted by drugs, depression and suicidal thoughts. By the end of this journey, these dead end paths are remedied by Christ’s promise of eternal life.
6 p.m.-10 p.m. Oct. 22-24, 29-31. $5. Mountain View Church, 520 Casteel Road, Marietta, Ga. 30064. 770-422-9335, www.mvconline.org .
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