For the past year, the staff has been constructing a set that is meant to be bigger and better than anything they’ve done before. The attraction has moved to a larger building on 2076 W. Park Place Blvd. near Stone Mountain. “We really love this new building,” co-owner Ben Armstrong said of the new 70,000 square foot warehouse that he and his partner now own. Following Netherworld’s on-going model, there are two separate haunted houses, and depending on their ticket purchase, guests can choose to enter a single attraction or both.
Stepping foot in the haunt called “The Awakened”, guests will embark on a journey through the evil city of Whyshburg. They must pass through numerous layers of the disrupted town, including the village, a haunted forest, and a wicked mansion only to enter a portal that will transport them into the Netherworld. And to make it out to the other side, they must cross paths with numerous malignant creatures lurking in the dark.
With additional space on the property, the owners have added more outdoor revelries to the attraction as well. Once guests make it out of the first haunted house, they can take a breather and enjoy fun games, a gift shop, food vendors and music before heading to the next house.
The setting for the second haunted house is a covert facility where aliens have contaminated the entire base so that military characters and scientists are becoming mutants. Entitled “Subject: Unknown”, this attraction’s theme is sci-fi focused, and with its industrial set, the haunt is sure to have a unique appeal.
The owners of Netherworld are film and television professionals and go to extended lengths to treat their guests to studio-quality haunts.Many of the props in both attractions were made by local artists and by the Netherworld staff. Others are collectibles and artifacts from well-known movies like The Hunger Games.
Every night around 125 to 150 costumed actors hide amongst the props to jump scare the unsuspecting patrons. And with animatronics, revolving floors and other special effects, patrons are kept on their toes the whole time.
“There’s a lot of things in here to make you unstable,” Armstrong said.
Three escape room games are also housed at the new location. Collectively called “Escape the Netherworld”, these attractions are open on weekends year-round and by appointment to groups and parties. At least four participants must join in order to play, although the rooms can hold up to eight people. In October, they will be open nightly by appointment which may be arranged at www.escapethenetherworld.com.
There are three escape rooms at Netherworld collectively called “Escape the Netherworld”. Groups can reserve the rooms for parties and events on weekends throughout the year.Like the haunts, each room has its own unique story. “Nosferatu” is an escape game set in 1890’s Lon-don and a group must solve the clues of the room before a vampire awakes from his coffin. What makes the game more difficult is that each character has a back-story, and they must unravel clues about each character in the group in order to break free on time. The other games are “Sasquatch” and “The Haunted.”
The owners are considering opening the haunted houses for special occasions like Christmas and Valentine’s Day. They have also considered booking the space for weddings.
“Every year we handle multiple marriage proposals…, but we never had the ability to handle things like weddings. Now we have the facilities to do that, “Armstrong said. “So, if that opportunity came up, we’d certainly be into it. It might be challenging while we’re open but in off hours and in off times throughout the year, it’s an absolute possibility.”
Each of the characters at Netherworld was invented by the owners. While they create a new story for every season, many of the characters will return in following seasons and make appearances in the sets.In the “House of Creeps” museum, guests can see some of the history of Netherworld’s iconic characters. It includes oddities and collectibles enclosed in glass cases, and upon pressing a button, visitors will hear an eerie history about the artifacts. It also includes movie special effects pieces and other monster pieces that Netherworld has collected over the years.
Armstrong explained that ever since Netherworld opened in 1997, they have created a new story for each season. And while all it all connects in an ongoing history, the seasons are usually planned in trilogy formats. With the new location, they have even more room for creativity and to elaborate on their back-stories. The narrative they have created for the current year will take many seasons to unfold.
As always, the owners hope to create a unique experience for their guests each night the attraction is open this season. And on Halloween night, guests are welcome to wear costumes without masks and to snap selfies with any of the monsters roaming about.
“Netherworld itself really has become a Halloween tradition in the whole Southeast, “Armstrong said. “And we really want people to see this new location – we think they are really going to love it. It has the old aspects of Netherworld that they are familiar with, but it has new things that we think everyone is really going to enjoy. “
In each of the escape rooms at Netherworld, players must work together to solve the clues on time. Anywhere from four to eight players might play at once.Free parking is available to all patrons in three lots – the Green Lot which you enter by turning in at the traffic light and following the staff members, the handicap parking lot, which is located to the rear of the building next to the box office, and the lot across the street in front of SpaceMax.
Tickets for Netherworld Haunted House can be purchased online at www.fearwold.com. Additionally, parties can purchase tickets on-site at the box office which is located at the rear of the building or book the escape rooms at www.escapethenetherworld.com.
The owners are film and television professionals, and they go to extended lengths to treat their guests to studio-quality haunts.
“We just want people who love Halloween and haunted houses to come out, and we think they are going to be pleasantly surprised,” Armstrong said.
