Time to get your spook on - Sept. 27-Nov. 2

Three haunted atractions open this weekend

photo Pidge is a horrible defect from earlier experiments at The Body Forge inside the Haunted Cavern at Ruby Falls, but the creature has proven useful in disposing of, um, leftover raw materials.

STILL TO COMEOpening weekends for other haunts:• Oct. 4-5: Lake WinnepeSpookah, Rossville• Oct. 4-5: The Haunted Barn, McDonald, Tenn.• Oct. 4-5: Haunted Hidden Hollow, Crossville, Tenn.• Oct. 4-5: Twisted Nightmares, Pelham, Tenn.• Oct. 4-5: Gates of Misery, Rome, Ga.• Oct. 5: Haunted Fun House, Altamont, Tenn.• Oct. 11-12: Haunted Adventure, Spring City, Tenn.• Oct. 18-19: Acres of Darkness, ChattanoogaAdd your haunted attraction to the online calendar at www.ChattanoogaNow.com.

Halloween is weeks away, but scares are closer than you think.

At least three haunted attractions will unlock their lairs this weekend for anyone who dares to venture forth.

Who knows what else is out there.

BLOWING SCREAMS FARM

• Where: Blowing Springs Farm, 271 Chattanooga Valley Road, Flintstone, Ga.

• Story: Fearing a public relations nightmare after whistle-blowers reveal the true intentions of their research, BSF Global leaves the hastily built laboratories at Blowing Springs Farm, disavowing all knowledge of the facility. As the labs and endless corridors slowly fall into decay, forgotten test subjects roam the halls, feeding on whatever -- or whomever -- they encounter.

• Schedule: Sept. 28, Oct. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19, 25-26

• Opening time: 7 p.m.

• Admission: $16 one-time visit; $25 unlimited visits (plus discounts on other activities), $20 Enchanted Maize/Blowing Screams combo

• Phone: 706-820-2531

• Website: www.blowingscreamsfarm.com

HAUNTED CARNIVAL

• Where: Sir Goony's Family Fun Center, 5918 Brainerd Road

• Story: The tale of the "Zombie Circus" begins in the fall of 1865, when a war-weary medic returns from the bloody field hospitals of the Civil War to his home in Tennessee. There, he finds his bride and the child he has never seen butchered by outlaw Union soldiers. Swearing revenge, he sells his estate to finance a traveling sideshow, Dr. Knight's Carnival of the Unknown, a ruse to enter the communities of the unsuspecting killers. With each act of revenge, he grows less human as he feeds on their life force in his search for immortality. Finally, using a new form of energy, electricity, the demented doctor invents a punishment that leaves mindless zombies that will follow his every command.

• Schedule: Sept. 27-28, Oct. 4-5, 11-12, 18-20, 24-27, 30-31

• Opening time: 7:30 p.m.; ticket sales start at 7 p.m.

• Admission: $20. Includes 19 holes of haunted golf anytime in October, three batting tokens, go-kart pass, Papa John's gift card. Discounts available on specially marked Coca-Cola products, Papa John's pizza and at Party City locations.

• Website: www.sirgoonyshauntedcarnival.com

HAUNTED CAVERN

• Where: Ruby Falls, 1720 S. Scenic Highway

• Story: In "The Body Forge," former billionaire Thadeus Krane has spent his life and fortune devising ways to beat death. With money running out, he relies on unscrupulous geneticists and necro-engineers to continue his mission. A team of Defex from ruined experiments roam the streets of Chattabooga, harvesting specimens to continue Krane's nightmarish research in the abandoned Krane Toy Factory, 26 stories underground.

• Schedule: Sept. 27-28, Oct. 4-6, 11-13, 18-20, 25-27, 31, Nov. 1-2

• Opening time: 8 p.m., but be in line by 7:30 (when ticket sales start) to see the nightly Freak Parade.

• Admission: $23 Fridays-Saturdays; $21 Sundays (additional savings if bought online)

• Phone: 423-821-2544

• Website: www.hauntedcavern.com

Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.

Upcoming Events