The Masquerade is known for assaulting the senses with some of the best punk, metal, hip-hop and rock shows in town. But this Halloween season it offers a totally different type of onslaught with Chambers of Horror, a brutal new haunted attraction located in the building formerly occupied by Mellow Mushroom directly behind the venue.
Operating under the guise of a fictitious company called TortureCo, the deviant minds behind the Plaza Theatre’s Splatter Cinema and Atlanta HorrorFest, along with local artist Rene Arriagada, have created a very realistic new haunt inspired by films like “Saw” and “Hostel,” as well as real-life horrors that play out in news reports each day. Chambers of Horror is one of many super-secret facilities where wealthy people can pay to watch innocent people being tortured and slaughtered for their own decadent pleasure.
Those brave enough to enter the 5,000-square-foot complex will see the inner workings of this hellish torture club, with room after room of surveillance screens, disturbing mutilation, incineration and blood-spattering frights. The only monsters are large men in jumpsuits and welding mask wielding various devices of torture and, at times, dragging fresh corpses to their dismal disposal.
Recommended for ages 13 and up (but open to anyone who dares pay the price and enter), Chambers of Horror becomes even more adult-oriented after 10 p.m. when an 18-and-up age restriction is enforced due to the more graphic and titillating nature of the horrors that take place inside. And on nights when there is a wait to get inside, the Splatter Bar & Lounge, located up the hill inside the Masquerade Music Park and open every night, offers drinks to help numb the pain, as well as DJs and bands on weekends.
Chambers of Horror opens Oct. 4 as the closing party for the HorrorFest and Zombie Walk. Those still in zombie makeup get a $3 discount during the grand opening and festivities will also include performances by the Red Phantoms Misfits tribute band and DJ Chico. Other bands and DJs will perform at the Splatter Bar each weekend.
