Coleby Hughes brandishes a bloody sledgehammer as the Athens Police Department prepares for its Cells of Terror haunted house in the old Limestone County jail.

Some say the victims were taken to the abandoned Limestone County Jail in downtown Athens and turned into zombies.

Their wrecked cars – a Ford Taurus resting on its hood and a Dodge Dynasty sporting the bumper sticker, “We’re the people your parents warned you about” – litter the rear parking lot of the old jail. Blood trails lead from the vehicles to a back door.

Former guards say the prisoners were not the only ones trapped inside the walls of the jail.

This is only a hint of the terror awaiting those who dare enter the old crossbar hotel during the month of October.

The jail will be open every Friday and Saturday night as well as on Oct. 30 and 31 for the Cells of Terror event. Sponsored by the Athens Police Department, the so-called haunted house is the perfect cover for diabolical officers gone mad.

“There will be plenty of blood and gore,” said Police Sgt. Jason White. “There will be monsters jumping out and scaring you. If your children can watch a horror (slasher) movie, they can come to this.”

But it isn’t just for kids.

“The monsters who will be working the event say they will be scared,” White said.

Tours begin at 7 p.m. and continue until about 1 a.m.

“The tour takes about 20 to 30 minutes and it starts at the dispatch desk,” White said.

Concessions will be available including pizza, hotdogs, soft drinks and water.

While you’re imprisoned, you can buy an authentic police mug shot of yourself or a commemorative T-shirt emblazoned with, “I survived the Cells of Terror.”

Parking is free.

Admission is $10 for all ages. Participants have to be able to climb stairs and crawl through a tunnel.

“There’s no way around it,” White said.

Officers said proceeds from the event will be used “to help maintain the Athens Police Department Reserve Officer and Honor Guard Units.”

For years, there have been stories about evildoings at the now-defunct jail. The Web site, www.cellsofterror.com, details many of the disturbing stories about the jail. One passage states: “Constructed in the early 1960s, the Limestone County jail was thought to be one of the more advanced containment facilities in the South…Within a few years, stories began to leak out about strange noises from within the building at night. Guards refused to use the rear-stair corridors after dark because of a ‘presence’ in or around the stairs. Prisoners complained of blood-curdling screams coming from within the walls just before dawn. Then there was the unexplained pounding that came from one of the ‘standing’ cells even when the cell was empty. Rumors began to make their way out to the streets of Athens, and investigations were conducted into the accusations that the prisoners were not the only ones trapped within the jail.”

If you want to learn more about the Cells of Terror event, hear strange jail stories or volunteer to help with the project, go to the Web site or join the network at MySpace.com/CellsOfTerror.