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Zombie farm opens in Athens, GA

The MacDonalds have a farm. And on this farm, they have ZOMBIES!!!

Cynthia and Patrick MacDonald co-created Zombie Farms, which opens today in Athens.

The farm depicts a post-apocalyptic society in which zombies roam freely among humans, but instead of coming up with plans on how to kill them, one farmer discovered the secret to repressing their craving for brains and put them to work.

“The idea is that zombies are a part of our natural society and we are figuring out ways to use them instead of shooting them on sight,” Cynthia MacDonald said. “This farmer has a secret that makes zombies not attack humans every time they see them.”

Zombies differ from other monsters in that their affliction is the result of a medical condition, noted Patrick MacDonald.

“It’s not their fault,” he said. “That’s why at Zombie Farms we provide a safe environment for them to explore their new unlives.”

While visiting Zombie Farms, guests can walk through the zombie’s natural habitat, which includes a half-mile trail through the woods in the dark where the zombies often rest. To help ensure that everyone makes it out alive, human farm workers will give guests tips on how not to attract the zombie’s attention.

Although they are domesticated, the zombies do sometimes fall victim to their natural urges, but Cynthia MacDonald said zombie seekers should not be afraid because the farm’s quality control staff will be on site to make sure the zombies behave along the trail.

The idea for a zombie haunt is one Patrick MacDonald has had in mind since he was in high school, but never had the space to create. So he teamed up with Highwater Farm farmers Alex Simpson and Heather Randazzo, who had wanted to host a Halloween attraction on the property, but didn’t know where to start.

Patrick MacDonald always has been drawn to horror in general, he said. As a boy, he said he dreamed of filling up an abandoned warehouse with his own private zombie horde.

“What I was going to do with the undead army I had no idea,” he joked. “I just knew that I wanted one.”

Zombies are his favorite monster because they are slow, stupid and easy to defeat individually.

“I bore of lightning fast monsters with cunning, intellect and Superman strength,” he said. “What (zombies) lack in speed, strength and intelligence they make up for in persistence. They never give up. You can cut off both arms and a zombie will keep trying. I admire their persistence.”

Athens has had haunted houses and trails over the years, but what makes Zombie Farms original is its theme. Often each room in a haunted house will have its own theme and story with monsters that jump out to scare people, but the MacDonalds wanted to make sure their attraction had one story and that the same theme was present throughout the experience.

“In general, haunted houses and trails are a series of unrelated scenes,” Patrick MacDonald said. “It doesn’t matter (to the creators) that scene one is an Egyptian mummy room and scene two is a serial killer’s basement.

“That bothers me. I like my monsters and scary attractions to have a direction and a destination.”

For their attraction, the MacDonalds wanted to create an experience, not just an attraction.

“Zombie Farms has a whole back story,” Cynthia MacDonald said. “You understand why you’re going through the trail. You understand why the zombies are there.”

Thanks to such Hollywood hits as “Zombieland” and “The Walking Dead,” the popularity of zombies has grown in the last few years. While Cynthia MacDonald admits that zombies are a current pop culture hit, she insists that’s not the reason she and her husband chose zombies to run the farm.

“We liked zombies before they were cool,” she said. “There are other popular things out there. We could have chosen vampires, everybody loves vampires these days, but to us, zombies are a lot more fun and interesting because they’re almost believable.

“The idea that (a zombie apocalypse could happen) is fun and entertaining to think about.”

Zombie Farms
8 p.m. to midnight each Friday and Saturday in October
Highwater Farm
4965 Lexington Road
www.zombiefarms.com
Tickets are $16 person
Tickets are $13 per person for groups of 10 or more
Tickets are $13 person for those dressed as zombies on Oct. 5, 6, 12 and 13
Tickets for return visitors are $13

~onlineathens.com