By Tina Chadwick
On various nights between Sept. 24 and Nov. 6, you can hear the screams, howls and ghoulish laughs coming from Netherworld.
Created by movie professionals Ben Armstrong and Billy Messina 14 years ago, Netherworld’s custom Hollywood-quality sets and special effects, hundreds of skilled actors and scary attention to detail has earned it the distinction of one of the top haunted houses in the world.
Each year the scare-fest hosts 50,000 anxious fans who dare to enter the two differently themed, self-guided environments. But aside from the fans all lined up to be terrified in the name of fun, who are the people behind the masks that make up the stuff of nightmares? Who are the people who return year after year to scare the screams out of so many of us? They’re called Netherspawn and they obviously enjoy their work.
In her ninth year with Netherworld, actor Jenifer Doran started as a screaming nurse in medical scene. “It’s pretty stress reliving. My job is to entertain the line as they wait to go in. I do what’s called a ‘gross out.’ While I’m talking, a trail of sugar blood comes out of my mouth. I have dentures over teeth to make my mouth much bigger…the blood comes through those and I kinda dislocate my jaw.”
When she’s not oozing blood, Doran is the office manager for a logistics company and works in a sideshow performance group called Thimblerig Circus.
Mike Kasiske is the client server design engineer for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. But when he steps on the lot of Netherworld, he’s a “slider” – in costume wearing metal knee and shin guards so when he runs then slides toward the crowd waiting in line, sparks fly.
“I like to catch people off-guard who are paying attention to something else,” he laughs. “There’s a big adrenaline rush when you really scare someone. People react so differently – some actually pee their pants, some throw up, most scream, some just crumple and hit the floor.”
When asked what takes a scare too far, Netherworld co-owner Ben Armstrong has a strong opinion: “We don’t like terrorizing. If someone is too scared or doesn’t laugh right after they scream, we back off.”
Netherworld does not use profanity and is especially careful when younger children are going through.
Armstrong adds, “Screaming is good for you. We’re all struggling through life and we have frustrations and sometimes you just want to scream. It’s like going down a roller coaster – you can scream and it’s okay to do it because you know your safe…that’s fun for us.”
To stay scary every year, Netherworld changes themes and scenes significantly.
“There is no off season,” Armstrong says. “Once we wrap up we then start planning for next year. We start conventions as early as November and before year is out, we’re already ordering the next phase of it all.”
And some of those skulls and bones you think are props are the real deal. They recently purchased display pieces from The Natural History Museum.
Netherworld constantly strives to change the experience from year to year. Using bungee cords they figure out different angles for people to come at the crowd, there are constant upgrades to costumes and props, as well as instructional talks with the Netherspawns on the psychology of fear, how movements can affect scarring, and a general attention to detail you don’t find in other haunted houses.
Armstrong’s voice gets excited as he talks about this year’s line up. “The Mangler is back but there is also a thing you go into that crushes you…there is a wall that moves and changes direction!”
Doran adds, “They’ll be people flying at you from all angles, too.”
And Kasiske says excitedly, “There are going to be these gigantic dolt-like monsters with horns – Krampen!”
Although Netherworld comes during Halloween, for the 350 or so Netherspawn, it’s seems more like a Christmas.
For more information about Netherworld, visit www.fearworld.com.
