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Last August, I had the distinct honor of being able to attend a Zombie Apocalypse Live event (more specifically, the House of Torment event in Austin, Texas.) It was AMAZING and you should totally go too if you have a chance. Here’s a picture of my team, right before we entered a post-apocalyptic zombie-fighting crazy awesome world:

Why am I waiting to write this review now, when I attended back in August? Well, I was reminded that I needed to share my experience after getting an email that Zombie Apocalypse Live is hosting new events THIS month. The weekends are being hosted in Austin, San Antonio, Denver and Chicago.

In a nutshell, I absolutely LOVED my zombie fighting experience. We bought the “deluxe” package that included two rounds of fighting through two separate “mazes.” You go in groups of 4 to 6, get guns for fighting the zombies, a brief intro, and you’re OFF. It’s VERY realistic. As you walk through the maze inside a zombie-infested building, there’s a lot of fog, everything’s dark, and zombies pop up at you from EVERYWHERE. Sometimes they’re easy to spot, but sometimes they hide and run at your group from behind, or pop up from behind furniture or a hard-to-spot nook or cranny. You have to shoot them enough times to get them to stop chasing you, so it’s realistic in that way too. One shot won’t be enough!

At one point, we stumbled upon a lab where a doctor had been infected… Crazy!

The mood is very lifelike. My heart was beating fast in my chest and I was in stealth mode, trying to shoot each zombie before it could get to me, while simultaneously hiding and running for my life.

Of course, not everyone takes this seriously, and a big part of the experience corresponds with your attitude going in. While we were waiting in line, people dressed as zombies would wander through the line and try to scare us. A couple of, shall I say, tipsy girls were in line in front of us… And they were actually hitting on one of the zombies. :-/ (Ya, as a post-apocalyptic enthusiast, I don’t get THAT at all… Umm, what?)

But if you’re serious about enjoying the fun, then you can really get in a good zombie frame of mind, pretend you’re in the apocalypse, and fight fight FIGHT! The great thing about the way they have The House of Torment set up is that no matter where you are in the group (whether you’re at the front of the line, the end, or the center), you’ll have zombies that run after you and threaten you. No one is safe!

And that’s a big part of the fun. 🙂

If Zombie Apocalypse Live isn’t in your area, I encourage you to look for similar events and give them a try. When I was in south Texas one year, my husband and I attended a paintball zombie hunt where we rode on an apocalyptic truck through the darkness and shot at zombies who tried to attack us as we drove by. That was a little less intense, since we weren’t actually running through a maze and up and down stairs, but it was still a lot of fun. 🙂

Stephanie

Stephanie Dwilson started Post Apocalyptic Media with her husband Derek. She's a licensed attorney and has a master's in science and technology journalism. You can reach her at [email protected].

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