Sometimes you just have to pack up your bags and run away to join the circus. But, seeing as I have a new-found fear of clowns thanks to my little incident in July, I decided to run away to join the crew at a haunted house instead.
The Grove boasts over 20 acres of fright-filled fun… and delivers on that hands down. Screams, shrieks, and yelps can be hear throughout the property’s three main haunted attractions: The Hollows haunted forest, Shadows Keep haunted hayride, and Bad Manor haunted house. In addition, the owners have added a few new twists and turns in the form of a ghoulish theatre troupe performing on the fire-lit midway, and the newest attraction opening this week; a zombie shooting gallery.
Visions of Land of the Dead type mischief danced in my head as I sat down with Tanamin Clark, one of the managers at The Grove, to get the scoop on what exactly would happen in their zombie shooting gallery.
For a few years the folks at The Grove have been toying with the shooting gallery idea after seeing something similar at another haunted house. “It looked like a lot of fun,” he commented. With that basic premise, they ran with it, trying out various ideas. One scenario had patrons racing to “kill” the zombies before they reached a bell in order to win, but in the end Tanamin and his crew realized the fun didn’t come in winning anything, but in simply shooting zombies.
I’ve got to agree with him there.
So how exactly are they bringing the zombie shooting gallery to life? Actors will be dressed in padded costumes, helmets, and masks designed to imitate the ravenous undead. The Grove will provide the paintball guns and patrons may purchase anywhere from 10 to 20 paintballs. The zombies are trained to attack patrons as they shoot away. We discussed for a long while how this sort of attraction tied in perfectly to the current zombie trend in popular video games. Who wouldn’t want to take the fantasy and make it reality for a little while? After all, that’s what we here at the Zombie Survival Crew are preparing for. It’s great target practice.
For now, they are starting with a small number of zombies and minimal equipment. However, the managers fully expect to expand on the shooting gallery, probably before the last weekend of the month, the busiest days out at The Grove.
Come on out, test your skill in the zombie shooting gallery. And if you’re brave enough, come find me inside the haunted house. Unlike the zombies, I won’t bite… maybe.
The event was bound to be crawling with UGA agents and others out to gather information on Zombie Survival Crew command, but when the call came through there was no doubt your Commander-in-Chief would attend.
The gauntlet of bright lights made it hard to keep track of the action, but I managed to catch some shots of Laurie Holden, Steve Yeun, Jeffrey DeMunn and other cast members before settling in for the much anticipated opening episode.
Now you’re not going to get any spoilers from me, so don’t even try…unless you happen to have a million bucks lying around and then maybe we can talk.
But I will say it was not what I was expecting – which is a good thing – and I almost tossed my complimentary popcorn onto the poor souls in front of me a couple of times – which is a great thing. And every time I thought “oh, there’s the ‘gotcha’ moment, thanks, let’s move on,” another one was around the corner, and it just got better and better. That’s not to say there aren’t some extremely telling character development moments that will shake viewers and touch their greatest fears, because…oof, The Walking Dead isn’t pulling any punches.
The opening episode will keep fans guessing and off-balance, confused and screaming (literally) for more. I could have sat there all night watching the entire season.
If you want to hear more than I’m willing to divulge, take a look at some of the production and cast interviews on the red carpet here.
Instead, I stumbled off, still nauseous from the viewing, to the after event where IronE snapped this picture with Steve Yeun that is just too cute for words. Him, not me. What a sweet, articulate, engaging young man he is….kind of reminds of Glen, actually.
ZSC Command not only survived the night, but came away from it having discussed future missions and creating updated strategies. Green brigade Commander IronE Singleton prepped a special mission for the Green Brigade and has the undying gratitude of ZSC Command in its entirety for his commitment to helping us all prepare for the onset of a zombiepocalypse.
We in Zombie Survival Crew Command are always supportive of the projects and causes of those on the crew. Today, we bring your attention to an independent movie that two of our command crew happen to be working on.
Our Li’l Gangsta Anthony Guajardo and Second Lieutenant Viviana Chavez have a new project on the horizon and they’re looking to raise donations to help fund it!
The Story:
It’s October 2001 and Andrew is a high school senior who has been in the care of his step-grandmother Stella for the better part of his life. He has no job, no friends, no girlfriend, no car and no money. Over the course of his life he has developed an anti-social personality largely in part to his Grandmother’s strict household and religious beliefs. Andrew has found an outlet in music and a girl he has a crush on named Rose. Our story takes place over the course of several days when Andrew’s routine life comes to a head.
October’s bony knuckles are rapping on our front door. Hundreds of thousands of people will be lining up, eager to have the wits scared out of them at local haunted houses. TV stations are running horror movie marathons designed to make sure you lose sleep at night.
And the Zombie Survival Crew has a few events in store for its members to make sure that y’all are ready to face your fears.
Don’t miss the chance to meet your ZSC commanders face-to-face in Florida:
Halloween weekend we have not one, but two events for crew members to participate in. We fully encourage your to gear up and take place in the 2011 Halloween Zombie Event, a live-action scenario where you can chose between playing a zombie or a survivor. This is the perfect opportunity to test your skills in a safe manner before the Zombiepocalypse catches you unprepared. Go to their website to find a participating city near you.
For crew members unable to make it to the live-action 2011 Halloween Zombie Event, don’t worry. Commanders LK and RC have been wracking their brains (mmm… brains…) and developed an online version of the event. For more information, read here and keep an eye on this site for rules, regulations, and suggested role-play strategies for the online 2011 Halloween Zombie Apocalypse.
You don’t need to carry your whole life with you. This is a short jaunt and you’ll be back in time to leave in your beloved truck for the next mission. Keep the truck packed and only bring essentials. Commercial airlines DO weigh luggage.
While it may pain you to leave it behind, it is best to remain circumspect with the airlines because the government is controlling the baggage, so leave the trusted crossbow at home.
You are not in control of the itinerary. The airline has commissioned pilots and they give the directions to the pilots. In fact, if you attempt to storm the cockpit to issue instructions, airplane security will detain you.
The other people on the plane are not all UGA plants (although I’m sure there will be one or two, so watch your back). Do not respond with any guerrilla warfare tactics learned from Neil Brown, Jr. if someone attempts to engage you in conversation.
Texting and calling is forbidden while in flight. This is non-negotiable. The rest of the commanders and I have taken up a collection to ensure that the regulation remains that way. It is the only time within the year where we can be certain of lack of communication from you. We’re all going to take a nap… after ensuring command is manned appropriately.
You will be involved in some social situations during your mission:
When someone reaches for you with open arms, do not run screaming the other way. They are trying to give you a hug, not chew your face off.
It is best not to enter the room throwing orders left and right to bystanders as you trundle through the crowd.
It is generally frowned upon in a social situation to run screaming in circles. If you feel the need, please excuse yourself and find an empty alley or bathroom (with lots of carpet to deaden the sound) to carry out this activity.
Smile and nod — this works in all situations.
Hopefully the chief will be able to remember these 7 simple rules… Otherwise, the next memo from the Command Center may be about taking up a collection for bail.
Zombie Survival Crew command has been working on the appropriate strategy for mobilizing the crew in the event of a Zombiepocalypse or other global cataclysmic event. Honorable Brigadier, JL Coburn (SAPPED), has amassed a great amount of data and provided it to the Oracle for her to sift through to come up with the best plan. Don’t be left out in the cold! In order for you to view the escape route plans, you must be registered for this site and logged in. If you are already registered and logged in, you’ll definitely want to check out where your closest resupply station is.
I told y’all the zombiepocalypse was coming soon! Now we have zombies living every day normal lives in music videos! *twitches*
My friend Jimmy Joyce and I have spent a few nights talking until sunrise because he’s cool like that, and it usually happens after a show I’ve gone to watch. We all know Jinxie is nocturnal, but hey, that’s when the zombies are active, people. Jimmy is in a few bands, and I mean like four or five…or I could just be thinking of Michael Mahoney’s multiple-band status, but whatever. The two of them are in Money Shot together, which is the cover band I tend to see.
Terrible People is one of Jimmy’s other bands, and I thought I’d share this awesome video with you. This is their song “Bill Murray” and it’s pretty damn good, if you ask me.
And for all you zombies out there? You even have your own Facebook-type site to mingle on, which you saw in the video. Zombiebook.org. Check it out. It’s run by Jay Zombie. Of course I’m a member. Someone has to keep an eye on the zombies over there!
Yes, this is really real and I can’t believe we found it! A zombie-proof house. Oh, yeah!
Let’s check this place out because holy crap, we have pictures!
This house is called “The Safe House,” designed by KWK Promes. After the CDC released their zombie apocalypse post Preparedness 101, I’d say we really need to take a look at this.
There’s a fortified fence around this incredible home. All the better to keep zombies off your property, unless we’re dealing with those zombies from Resident Evil: Afterlife, and man, would that ever suck. But look at how locked up tight that baby is!
I’d say the fence should be a bit higher, but this house is pretty close to the fortress type house I spoke of in my Yellow Brigade post. I do not, however, see a moat.
This must be remedied. Also, it is paramount that fresh water be available and I certainly don’t see anything pertaining to it, but perhaps that’s just not showing up in the photos. If it had it’s own underground spring, that’d be awesome. I know of a place like that in Arizona, and you betcha, that’s where I’ll be heading first when all hell breaks loose.
Take a 360 look at this most awesome zombie-proof house. If you click on the photos, they should enlarge. Then just hit your browser’s ‘back’ button to get back to the post.
That’s right, that is absolutely a drawbridge that you see in the fourth photo and it’s the only way to get inside the house once it’s locked down. THE ONLY WAY. Now let’s take a look inside, shall we?
And a few more shots of the outside, but all opened up.
Nice, huh?
Indoor swimming pool too? *gasps* Alright, so who has the land where we can build this baby?
Green Brigade Commander IronE Singleton explains the reasons for his choices of essential Go Bag items… But in order to see what the reasons are, you’ll need to login and if you are not a registered member, please take a few moments and register for the site. The links for both the login and the Member Registration can be found in the sidebar to the right.
The Chicago Comicon was a bit more than your commander-in-chief expected. Sure we in Zombie Survival Crew command pre-planned for massive crowds, sore feet, lost voices, and puffy bags under our eyes. We even had a strategic operation parameters in place for the zombies we knew would attend.
What I wasn’t prepared for was a battle to the near death with two of my co-Commanders, Blue Brigade leader Norman Reedus and Light Blue Brigade head Anthony Guajardo.
It all started early Saturday morning when I and Yellow Brigade commander Jinxie G noticed a significantly more obvious presence of walkers at the event than we had seen on Friday. We were bombarded at the temporary ZSC command post by groups of people eager to discover any survival tips they could use immediately. Quite a few people said they were ready to fight; a few even had weapons with them.
I calmly explained there was unlikely to be any actual battle inside the convention hall and most people seemed to accept that a bunch of walkers at a Con wasn’t too much of an immediate risk.
That all worked fine until the Zombie Crawl began. Pandemonium erupted as dozens of zombies converged near ZSC command. Their moans were so severe they almost drowned out the screams of everyone else. I tried in vain to explain to panicky humans that the zombies were under careful watch of the convention organizers. I rushed into the crowd of zombies to try and calm everyone down – and that’s when it happened.
I was bit.
Within seconds I found myself under assault from fellow Zombie Survival Crew commanders. Blue Brigade commander Norman Reedus grabbed me in a chokehold – taking care to cover his mouth and not breathe in any germs I might be spreading or inadvertently get hit on the mouth by flying blood specks.
I croaked that the bite had been from a panicked human and NOT a zombie. Norman let me go but stayed right behind me. For a moment I found the thought of his continuing concern to be really sweet, until I spotted Light Blue Brigade commander Anthony Guajardo coming at me with a katana!
I turned to yell at Norman but he was gone. I learned later he had sprinted off to make sure other ZSC commanders were out of harm’s way.
Anthony was already swinging by the time I turned back around. As the blade approached my neck I shouted “I’m not infected!!!” It was just enough to get Anthony to pull the blade to a stop, though he did not actually let his guard down until about three hours later. Instead he followed me around with the darned katana. And believe me, the guys over at Dragonsong Forge who made that beautiful piece of weaponry are going to hear it from me personally very soon.
After I calmed down enough not to want to seriously hurt my fellow commanders, I decided this little experience holds some valuable lessons:
Panic is the enemy and ZSC members should avoid entering a mob even if those they care about are inside it. You’re better served prowling the edges and picking off walkers, or hightailing it out of the area.
Stick to the plan. ZSC members have their own individual survival plans, and the official ZSC escape planning we’re revealing shortly on the site to help guide them. Yes the unexpected will crop up and you’ll have to deal with it best you can, but having a plan in place can save your life.
Sometimes a pause can save a life. If Norman and Anthony had not given me those few seconds to explain, well, I wouldn’t be writing right now. I’m not 100% sure I’d recommend it in the heat of battle, but I sure am grateful.
Help when you can but be cognizant of the risks. The ZSC firmly believes we fight together or die alone. Working together also means defending one another, and that could someday cost you your life.
Sometimes you just have to pack up your bags and run away to join the circus. But, seeing as I have a new-found fear of clowns thanks to my little incident in July, I decided to run away to join the crew at a haunted house instead.
Visions of Land of the Dead type mischief danced in my head as I sat down with Tanamin Clark, one of the managers at The Grove, to get the scoop on what exactly would happen in their zombie shooting gallery.
So how exactly are they bringing the zombie shooting gallery to life? Actors will be dressed in padded costumes, helmets, and masks designed to imitate the ravenous undead. The Grove will provide the paintball guns and patrons may purchase anywhere from 10 to 20 paintballs. The zombies are trained to attack patrons as they shoot away. We discussed for a long while how this sort of attraction tied in perfectly to the current zombie trend in popular video games. Who wouldn’t want to take the fantasy and make it reality for a little while? After all, that’s what we here at the Zombie Survival Crew are preparing for. It’s great target practice.
Priority Status: High
Instead, I stumbled off, still nauseous from the viewing, to the after event where IronE snapped this picture with Steve Yeun that is just too cute for words. Him, not me. What a sweet, articulate, engaging young man he is….kind of reminds of Glen, actually.
I ran into our new 
