Friday Fun at Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse

Friday night I did something I've always wanted to do. I went to a Halloween haunted house attraction with some friends. And this was not just any haunted house. Folks, this was an interactive, role-playing, undead extravaganza of apocalyptic awesome.

My awesome artwork.

The Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse.

I found out about this unique attraction when zombie author Carrie Ryan twittered about it, actually. I was instantly intrigued. Zombies? Guns? Military escorts? Gotta do it. I dragged my (reluctant) husband, my (extremely eager) brother-in-law, and a handful of their friends on board with the idea. We went Friday night and had a complete blast.

I should add that when it came down to it, I was the one being dragged. I don't really LIKE being terrified out of my wits. I generally don't watch horror movies. Never in a million years would I want to spend the night in a real haunted house. But this experience, which was described by one reviewer as "like being dropped into a live video game," sounded too fun to miss. So I went, fully expecting to chicken out at the entrance, but my husband got exasperated, declared "You're going," and bought a $20 non-refundable ticket. It was the point of no return. And at the time, while I stood staring at this wall of skulls with creepy music playing and creepy workers milling around, I really didn't know if I was going to make it out alive.

But the event was really enjoyable. The basic premise is simple. You're a group of survivors in the middle of a zombie apocalypse being escorted through an undead-infested city by two military personnel equipped with M-16s. There's a lot of running and screaming. The video available through the link at the top of this post makes it look nauseatingly scary, but the actual experience was closer to simply "adrenaline-pumping fun." We ran through dark corridors and up and down staircases with stuff jumping out from dark doorways and popping around corners while escorts were shooting everything that moved. We got chased by zombies down narrow hallways and through a nasty hospital with some undead nurses lurking in the shadows. A blood-covered doctor flung something in my eye--I think (hope!) it was water? I was nearly accosted by some freaky biker dude in the red light district of zombie town. The military people interacted with us and each other. I got called "bright eyes." There was a mad scientist with an evil plot.

In short, it was FUN. I'm a giant wuss and I did just fine, so if scary stuff isn't your thing I think you'll do just fine =)

So if you live in the greater Atlanta area, I suggest you check it out.

~ I am still, however, Team Unicorn ~