Photograph by Stephen Schmidt
Woodstock is known for its charming downtown, outlet shops, and proximity to Lake Allatoona, but if Robert Morris has his way, it won’t be long before it’s also known as the home of Scavenged Souls. “I want people to say, ‘That’s the place with the crazy people running that great haunted house!’” he says.
It could happen. Since 2016, Robert, his wife, Nichole, and their neighbors Mike and Tracie Clark, have staged a wildly popular haunted house each October at the Morris’ home. What began as a fun, one-night offering has turned into a massive, seven-day event that attracts thousands. The four neighbors spend months planning every aspect of the haunted house, from the annual theme (think “creepy carnival,” “ancient tombs,” and “evil orphanage”) to the props to the professional sound effects and movie-quality makeup and costumes.
Photograph by Stephen Schmidt
Last year, they spooked even haunted-house aficionados by leading them through a dark basement and sending them through the back of a hacked up, six-foot freezer. When attendees pushed the freezer’s door open and stumbled into the dimly lit kitchen, every cabinet began opening and slamming closed, courtesy of air-powered pistons. Screams could be heard around the block, and Mike—who had planned the freezer/cabinet stunt for years—couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. “Having your own haunted house is kind of a dream,” he says.
It’s a dream he luckily shares with his neighbors. He and Tracie had lived in Woodstock’s Bradshaw Park neighborhood for years before the Morris’ moved in, and the Clarks had always been a little over-the-top with their Halloween decorations (rows of hand-carved gravestones, dozens of life-sized clowns). “We’re Halloween people,” Mike shrugs. In 2014, the Morris family took up residence across the street, and around Halloween, they took notice of the giant barrels of “toxic sludge” on the Clarks’ front lawn, complete with colored smoke pouring out the top. Robert, who says he and Nichole have long been “very into Halloween,” was thrilled. “I said, Okay, we’re in the right neighborhood.”
Photograph by Stephen Schmidt
As the two families got to know each other (turns out Mike and Robert went to Georgia Tech together), they decided to join forces and create a haunted house. To make props, they scoured construction sites and dove into dumpsters to collect materials—hence their name, “Scavenged Souls.” The Morris family also enlisted their five kids to help spook visitors. That first year, about 100 people showed up, and “we thought that was amazing, especially for a word-of-mouth event,” Mike says.
Photograph by Stephen Schmidt
Photograph by Stephen Schmidt
Instead of charging admission, they decided to ask each attendee to bring a can of food for two local nonprofits, Never Alone and Bascomb Mission Thrift. The first year they held the haunted house, they were able to fill five bags with the cans they received. Last year, the donations weighed more than a ton. Tracie says she loves the look of shock on the faces of the food-pantry volunteers when they drop off the cans just in time for Thanksgiving season. “We’re helping a whole lot of people,” she says. “We never could have imagined this.”
They’re hopeful they’ll have an even bigger haul to donate after this year’s haunted house, which promises to be bigger and more interactive than ever. Twenty amateur actors will be part of the scary fun, plus all five of the Morris teenagers. As the year’s theme is revealed and people post about their experiences, Woodstock may indeed become one of metro Atlanta’s Halloween headquarters. “This haunted house brings people together who would otherwise be strangers and lets us have fun and play make believe,” Robert says. “For me, it’s that community aspect that makes this the most fun.”
This year, Scavenged Souls is open October 11-12, 18-19, 25-26, and 31. It’s located at 512 Osprey Lane in Woodstock. More info is available here.
