Folklore Acworth became one of the most well-rated and visited haunted houses in Georgia with its origins in Dallas, Texas. Folklore only opens during the Halloween season, starting September 24 and carrying on through November 5. Visitors consider Folklore as a professional haunted house with post-college actors and professional FX artists with fully immersive sets.

Folklore trained and taught the actors how to keep in character and avoid “got you” moments during the “haunt”. Folklore staff call the haunted house a haunt when the haunted house opens. Actors take around two hours to change into their costumes and apply their makeup. Visitors try to throw the actors off character, so actors must adapt and seem unaffected by the visitors. Folklore added sophisticated hallway systems for the actors, so they can move around the attractions quickly and efficiently.

“It’s fun! I’ve loved spooky attractions and movies since I was little and working here. To be perfectly honest, when I was little, haunted houses scared the life out of me. I grew up in a time when Jaycee haunted houses were popular. Local Jaycees would put on little haunted houses for charity with skits, but it was nothing like it is now. Horror and scary movies have always inspired me at this job and I always love watching them,” general manager Ryan Kasnick said.

Kasnick also shared that Folklore receives hundreds of visitors each night, but only uses around 25 actors total, and features several different attractions each season. The two newest attractions, The Manor and Maximum Overload became featured this season. Maximum Overload includes a space theme with several new costumes and monsters. The Manor features classic monsters and a haunted mansion theme.

Folklore exhibits several events such as Grindhouse and Blackout. Each event includes a special twist to make the attractions terrifying. What they call Blackout occurs two days out of the season when they turn off all lights and send the groups of visitors in with a single glowstick. The Grindhouse event features a single night out of the season and shows an invasion of different decades and monsters.

“The haunted house was terrifying and exhilarating. It was packed with amazing props and great actors that made my experience feel real. It was so much fun to go with friends, but I was so terrified by all the effects and monsters. It is definitely the scariest haunted house I’ve ever been to,” NC freshman Lena Gray said.

The establishment opened 13 years ago in a warehouse just off Main Street in Acworth, and continues as one of the leading haunted houses in Georgia. Folklore plans to make this season the best and most terrifying season yet, calling it a Mega Haunt, replacing or expanding all attractions.