Visitors prepare to shoot zombies from the back of a vehicle on the Zombie Paintball ride at Grace Hill Farms.

Looking for something different than a traditional haunted house this Halloween? How about shooting zombies? At Grace Hill Farms in West Limestone, visitors have an opportunity to do just that. Zombie paintball is a fun outing for all ages, and don’t worry, the zombies can’t shoot back.

Grace Hill Farms is owned by Preston and Heather Green, and they first opened their farm to visitors at Halloween four years ago.

“We lived and grew up on this farm. We were trying to figure out something for my kids to get involved in. We were looking at different agritourism ideas and came up with this,” Heather said.

Visitors are driven through the zombie-filled woods on large military vehicles hooked to trailers. The vehicles and trailers are equipped with mounted paintball guns, and it’s up to the guests to stop the zombies. A ticket includes a bucket of 100 glow in the dark paintballs.

“We can haul up to 40 people at a time. We’ve got black lights, music playing, and the commanders on the truck that is sort of like your tour guide telling you what to do. It’s about two miles roundtrip and you are shooting at zombies that are hiding out at different places throughout the woods,” Heather said.

A core group of dedicated zombies help the Green family and endure being pelted with paintballs while others volunteer to do it for their own reasons.

“It started out with people who love me dearly. Then, we started recruiting, and I have a great base group that has been with me for four years,” Heather said. “They are super padded up, and we do look for groups that are looking to raise money. They bring in volunteers, and we give them a flat rate or percentage off of sales for them for that night.”

According to Heather, there are some great shooters who have come to the farm. “My zombies will call up sometimes and say, ‘That was a trailer full of sharp-shooters that time.’ I have a group of police coming through this weekend or next weekend. There is probably going to be about twenty of them. I thought, ‘my poor zombies!’”

There are other activities returning to the farm this year. A glow in the dark shooting gallery is available for a $5 ticket. Movies will be playing, t-shirts and sweatshirts are available, and a concession stand is open. New this year is the zombie walking trail.

“It’s a 300 yard path in the woods and shoot zombies. It’s like pump-action paintball gun. It’s a low key thing — a fun add-on to do while you are out here. Tickets are $15,” Heather said. “It’s more of a thrill than it is scary. It’s more fun to me than anything,”

Zombie Paintball at Grace Hill Farms is open Friday and Saturday evenings beginning the last weekend of September through the first weekend in November. Tickets are available online at gracehillfarmsal.com and are $25 per person, which includes the ride and 100 paintballs. Reload paintballs (100 ct.) are available on the ride for $10. Add-ons are available online or at the farm. Rides are wheelchair accessible.

Grace Hill Farms are located 12 miles west of Athens at 22611 Grace Hill Lane.