Acres Of Darkness
There’s a reason why nearly half of all scary movies take place in the woods at night. Guided by nothing more than a glow stick, Acres of Darkness forces daring visitors to give up the air-conditioned comforts of a normal haunted house and trek through a half-mile of dark trails in Audubon Acres.
When first entering, you’ll learn very quickly that the provided glow stick is not enough to light the dark trails ahead of you. Instead, a rope wrapping from tree to tree guides the majority of a dark and foggy experience between each cleverly crafted scare.
The entire experience revolves around a central eerie theme. Essentially, a crazed mine owner has driven his crew to their breaking point in the pursuit of silver and riches. Guests walk through the aftermath of a small abandoned mining town, sometime after the events of this overworked mining crew, who’s insatiable mining unearthed a strange sickness that turned the entire town into blood thirsty fiends.
Unlike an indoor haunted house, the Haunted Trail keeps thrill seekers on edge from beginning to end. Actors hide in the shadows of the towering trees and use the deafening sounds of a local train station to cover their movements and sneak around where you’re least expecting it. Disorienting mazes, powerful fog machines, and extremely creepy child actors were enough to make me rethink my own visit, but there are many more surprises and scares I encourage you to discover on your own.
Outside of the Haunted Trail, the Acres of Darkness provides a plethora of kid-friendly activities to keep the entire family entertained. Pumpkin decorating, inflatables, hay rides, face painting stations, and even a kid-safe haunted trail (with no jump scares) are all included upon entry.
On top of all of this, all proceeds from this season's events benefit the environmental conservation and education programs of the Chattanooga Audubon Society. Benefit the local environment and seek a few thrills at the Acres of Darkness, Chattanooga’s truly unique outdoor haunted experience.