Why you are missing a local seasonal art found only in Athens

I am the designer and owner of Zombie Farms : The Ghosts of Smithonia Road. I believe the Zombie Farms event is somewhat misunderstood.

Athens Georgia is a multi-cultural / multi-lifestyle canvas of self-expression. This is part of what drew my wife and I to the area 20 years ago. I grew up in a very small farming community in Middle Georgia. College was the only escape I knew. I came to Athens thinking gay people should be avoided, art was for hippies, and if you weren't watching football every weekend you were a social outcast. Then I made friends with some gay people and learned they weren't the boggiemen I had thought they were. My wife dragged me to a showing of Cats at the Classic Center... and I actually liked it. Maybe art wasn't so bad. I must admit I do still feel a bit of a social outcast because football doesn't do anything for me, and this is dawg country.

Halloween was always my favorite holiday. But unlike some of my friends, I didn't use it as just an excuse to egg the teacher's house. I also wasn't interested in scaring off the neighborhood kids. I created sculptures of scarecrows for my front porch, and the highlight of my season was watching trick-r-treaters rejoice that at least one house in the neighborhood was decorated.

For me, Halloween has always been a time to display dark art. A time to express my "dark passenger" as Dexter called it. But creating the art isn't enough. Someone else has to partake in the experience. There's magic in the sharing of it.

Zombie Farms is about to start weekend three. Week two was great, and we had a good showing. I want more than appreciation for startle scares though. Most other haunted attractions are what I would call startle factories. I want more out of Zombie Farms. For starters, there is no clear cut "bad guy". The zombies aren't even all bad. Zombie Farms is a zombie refuge after all. This year's storyline, The Ghosts of Smithonia Road, borrows directly from the real history of the area... a dark history. The dark trail is itself a story. I want my guests to experience it as such, savoring scene by scene. Sure, we've thrown in some scary action here and there with over 35 actors each night to give you your adrenaline rush. But I want you to experience Zombie Farms for what it really is: a dark art. I hope you enjoy it.

Happy Halloween!
Patrick MacDonald
Zombie Farms Designer