The old brick building, formerly a cotton gin and industrial site over 100 years old, is easily found in downtown Scottsboro. If not for the façade of the building, the line of a hundred people, all waiting patiently in the crisp Autumn air will alert you. There is something special hidden inside—something that often sells out, and something that is meant to leave you with nightmares. The Fright Guys’ Harvest is a full-contact haunt in Alabama.

The Fright Guys’ Harvest is an hour-long haunted house, a theatrical experience, and an obstacle course all rolled into one jam-packed event. The Fright Guys’ Harvest tells the story of an illegal experiment they call Rehabilitation Through Resurrection, which is conducted at the Harvest Institute. Yet, the experiment spirals out of control when an inmate, who was believed to be dead after being exposed to the experimental virus, gets loose in the facility, killing and infecting everyone he encounters. Patrons of the haunt are combined into groups of up to thirty and assume the role of staff members trying to escape the Harvest Institute before they are infected by the virus and perish to it.

A Full Contact Affair

The Fright Guys warn that Harvest is a full-contact experience. Two types of tickets are offered: $25 general admission and $35 VIP. General admission means that guests will be touched and grabbed by the actors. VIP doesn’t mean less wait time at The Fright Guys’ Harvest. It simply means you volunteered for extra attention, such as additional actor contact and more participation in the story.

The contact consists of the zombified and mutated monsters grabbing guests. This added touch has the aim of further immersing audiences and giving them just a dash of consequence and realism to the experience. This is not an experience in which guests should worry about being taken or hurt—or worse.

Don’t worry about mixing VIP and general admission tickets. You stay with your group the whole time—in case some members of your group don’t want the additional contact or attention.

A Layered Narrative

In addition to the basic story line of the impending zombie apocalypse, there are some parallel stories: a detective searching for his brother, the tension and contention between members of the staff as their work disintegrates around them, and the transformations of the inmates of the Harvest Institute. This adds layers to this haunted house and gives all walks of life a character to root for or to see themselves in. No matter who you are, you have an ability to immerse yourself in the world through these characters.

As such, The Fright Guy’ Harvest’s goal is to immerse its guests in these overlapping stories. While most of these characters are real actors you may engage with, the backstory and some layers are conveyed via video feed. These videos are mixed into the walk-through, illuminating the ongoing communications between various personnel within the facility.

Zombies and Obstacles

Accompanied by a rotating set of guides, consisting of the detective, Harvest Institute security officers, and a clinician or two, the group is shepherded past active and in-your-face zombies, caged monstrosities, and transformed inmates wielding knives or chainsaws. Yet, it’s not just the actors that guests need to survive—they also must overcome various obstacles, always with one or more ominous mutated humans in pursuit.

The security personnel and the detective were frequently forced to defend their flock with gunfire and hand to hand combat. The group members farthest back are normally the targets for the grabs and rare taunts from the zombies. By allowing the actors to touch customers—which consists of mainly variations on being grabbed at, or grabbed by, the zombie horrors—the customers become an interactive part of the show. This adds a sense of frightened urgency for the participants that culminates in the story’s climax with the civilians racing for the exit and the plot lines resolved, though not necessarily with happy endings for all.

The actors did an excellent job of staying in character and handling the immature or determined smart mouths in the group. One of our group particularly enjoyed the actor who told the kids, “Do not sit on the desks!” in a no-nonsense, stoic tone that cemented her in the role of prickly boss for the rest of the show.

Highs and Lows

The large group size guaranteed a variety of responses to the show. This had its ups and downs. The upside is there’s a lot of energy in the scenes as the reactions seem to feed off of each other. The downside is there’s more likelihood of having a wise guy or two in the group whose reactions don’t contribute to the fun.

Another high point is that there is so much energy in this particularly kinetic show, as enthusiastic participants struggle to avoid monsters or navigate dark and crowded spaces, that the rules briefing at the start of the event emphasizes safety with directives such as: No Running, No Shoving, No Touching the Actors (They Will Touch You!)

Finally, the use of stage prop firearms also caught us by surprise. Realistic looking weapons with loud reports were frequently a part of the pursuit scenes. Be ready to cover your ears if loud noises bother you.

Words from Operations

After the show, I had a chance to talk to the Director of Operations, Taylor, who graciously shared her time with me on a busy night.

I learned from Taylor that The Fright Guys’ Harvest has new and different events nearly every month. Following the Halloween show, there will be a Christmas haunt, a horror-film-themed tribute event, and a three-part event that is her personal favorite. Her advice was to like and follow The Fright Guys’ Harvest on Facebook to get updates and times for future events.

One of the most astounding things I learned from Taylor was that the actors are all volunteers, and that they all played multiple roles throughout the production, making a relatively small number of actors look like a much larger ensemble. Like so many other businesses, The Fright Guys’ Harvest has felt the labor shortage effects of COVID-19.

Final Thoughts

All five of my group enjoyed The Fright Guys’ Harvest and the crazy group energy the show created. While the wait times can be long, the experience is worth it. The ticketing and waiting area of Harvest has been nicely renovated, including a concession stand, a small theater playing horror movies, and a scattering of video games and merchandise racks.

A couple of the group had not been wild about the full-contact nature of Harvest, but afterwards said that it really did contribute to the experience and helped to immerse them in the narrative. The use of stage prop firearms was wonderful, if not a little scary; but the zombies proved to be more frightening. I’m looking forward to attending many more visits to The Fright Guys and Harvest in the future.

For more information about The Fright Guys, checkout their Facebook page or grab tickets here. For more immersive events, check out our Event Calendar.

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The Fright Guys’ Harvest is a contact Haunted House in Scottsboro, Alabama.