For 34 nights this Halloween season, Ben Armstrong, co-creator of Netherworld haunted houses in Stone Mountain, will be the ringmaster, nightly directing roughly 100 actors in elaborate costumes, 18 makeup artists, a team of costumers, special effects experts, lighting technicians and even a coffin-ride operator to pull off what can only be properly described as a full-scale production. Netherworld, which is open nightly between now and Nov. 3, plus two nights on Nov. 8-9, is an “all out assault on the senses,” Armstrong said.
At Netherworld, which has consistently been awarded with spots on national top 10 lists including USA Today’s best haunted attractions, visitors will be dizzied by enormous animatronics, moving floors, optical illusions, props on zip lines, pneumatic air puffers, smell machines, a cacophony of sounds, fog, monsters, mythical beings and a disorienting maze of Hollywood-worthy sets. The usual jump scares, chain saws and terrifying creatures are present; but Armstrong’s nightmarish worlds are far beyond the typical horror house.
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Where many haunted houses rely on popular culture like scary movies to build a theme, Armstrong is far more imaginative. His concepts are born from a mind seeped in, and obsessed with, ancient lore, Egyptian mythology, H.P. Lovecraft novels, Dungeons & Dragons and the outer realms of sci-fi and fantasy. He approaches his concepts far more like a novel writer than an attraction builder.
First, he crafts complicated plots and builds worlds. These universes and storylines birth his cast of characters. Then he manifests them into existence with a team of carpenters, special effects artists and costume designers. But it all starts with story.
And the story, Armstrong said, has continued for 28 years. Each year, Armstrong builds on his plot, pushing the narrative further. It will likely culminate, he said, in two years on the 30th anniversary of the Netherworld haunt.
“It’s kind of this apocalyptic situation that’s getting out of hand, and it is going to all build to a big conclusion,” he said.
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The storyline is essentially about a world — the Netherworld — where beings from other dimensions can enter into our world.
“They [all the haunts] have had this unifying connection,” Armstrong said. “Every year the story grows to the next step. … These monsters are doing this, and now these other monsters are fighting them, or these human groups are doing this. And so this is the deep backstory of the show. For us, it’s really powerful and effective. It gives our production design.”
The haunt is organized.
“It always starts with the town, Whyshburg,” Armstrong said. “There are always forces battling in the town of Whyshburg.”
Last year, in the town of Whyshburg, a creature with long tentacles shot up into the sky and got connected to the elemental realm.
“So we had a water section, an ice section, a fire section and an earth section,” Armstrong said. “There was a big eyeball that was swinging around with the tentacles. … The entire town was underwater … everything was covered in seaweed. There were fish people and there was a lot of mermaids and a kraken monster.”
This year, the town is attempting to capture the elementals.
“We’re going to seal them up and we’re going to drain all their power out,” said Armstrong. “So the very first thing you’ll see is cages, light tubes draining their power, a weapon to destroy the Netherworld … but the dead of the netherworld, they hunger for life. … They’re crawling out of the ground to come and feed.”
Armstrong doesn’t necessarily expect guests to comprehend the story while their senses are, as he said, “assaulted.” Instead, it’s like a fantastic dish a chef has prepared. A diner might not know the ingredients or cookery that went into crafting the dish, but they know it tastes good. Some visitors, however, do track the story.
“There was a guy who came up to me and introduced himself. I’d never met him before. And he said, ‘I went to your first show in Norcross 28 years ago, and I come every year’ … and he knew all this stuff. He knew the characters,” Armstrong said.
For most though, Armstrong just wants to create a memorable experience.
“The biggest thing we’re creating is memories,” he said. “And that is a success. If people come here and they go, ‘Wow, this was great, let’s go next year.’”
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For the actors who work in the show, Netherworld offers an opportunity to play a lot of elaborate characters. On a nightly basis, the casting director rotates most actors through different roles. When the actors report to work, they are given their assignment. They head to a makeup room first where one of 18 artists gets to work on their body. Then they head to one of several themed costume rooms. There’s a room with hundreds of latex masks, and another with a prop armory. Next, they might go to a wall where they can grab latex hands, claws and sound makers like clicker gloves. There’s electronics to be added too.
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Danielle Charbonneau
Credit: Danielle Charbonneau
The backstage area is almost as fascinating as the haunted house. So fascinating, in fact, that in December, Armstrong offers guests a behind-the-scenes daylight tour to show off his production. He also operates a prop museum and escape rooms.
Working at Netherworld is a point of pride for many of the actors, some of whom have worked at the haunts for decades. Custom patches are given to actors to add to their “Netherspawn jackets” when they reach new milestones.
“We have an elder patch which is five years. An ancient is 10 years. A primordial is 15 years. A megalodon is 20 years, and the trilobite is 25 years,” said Armstrong. “We have one for shock scares, one for the sliders (the actors who slide across the ground on knee pads to scare people).”
Credit: Danielle Charbonneau
Credit: Danielle Charbonneau
In Armstrong’s Netherworld, whether you’re staff or visiting prey, everything is immersive.
“Ultimately, it’s an entertainment. We’re here to entertain people,” he said. “That adrenaline rush, and all that dopamine … those things make people feel good. That’s why people ride roller coasters. That’s why people jump out of airplanes, and that’s why people go to haunted houses.”
IF YOU GO
The Netherworld haunted houses are open nightly from now until Nov. 3, plus two nights on Nov. 8 and 9. Tickets start at $35. Speed passes and other additional experiences are offered. Escape rooms and a museum are also on site. Netherworld is located at 1313 Netherworld Way, Stone Mountain. To purchase tickets or for more information visit fearworld.com.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled the name of the town in which Netherworld is set and the closing date.
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