Years ago, Eric Riley was asked by a friend to be an actor at a haunted attraction in Arab. He wasn’t expecting to fall in love, but he did– twice! First with the world of haunted attractions and next, with a girl in line at the haunted house named Hannah.

Now, Eric and Hannah are busy creating a safe and entertaining venue in Athens for kids and families to enjoy. Doomsday Haunt, known for its scary haunted trail, is excited to bring paintball, ax throwing, and other fun activities to the area just in time for the warmer weather.

Walking through Doomsday Haunt in the light of day, the incredible work and detail put into the attraction by the Riley’s and their staff is easy to see. However, it is in the darkness that one is wowed by the special effects and all the moving parts of the haunted town and woods on the property.

“This used to be a paintball field for many years where they did tournament play and you could come out here, rent a gun, and shoot each other. It closed down about the time of COVID. The paintball guy left and we ended up being able to lease the property to bring the haunted attraction in,” Eric said.

Hannah added, “The property was perfect for the vision we had of what we wanted to do. At our old locations, we’ve had stationary paintball shoots and paintball rides where you have live actors coming at you. The paintball and the haunt really compliment each other very, very well.”

Besides loving haunted attractions and being in the business for 14 years, Eric describes himself as a “paintball fanatic” and has always had an interest in the Athens location. In April, the Riley’s plan to reintroduce paintball to the activities they offer as well as axe throwing, bonfire pit, movies, a paintball pro shop and more.

He said, “There was a little town of shacks and buildings people would play paintball in– like a mini town. It goes way back into the woods so its just a really cool piece of property to be so close to town.”

The Riley’s were able to use the buildings left behind and incorporate them into their haunted attraction. They have converted the buildings and woods into a haunted into a 1950’s post-apocalyptic, nuclear war era concept. They have added new buildings, military vehicles, and bombs to enhance the experience.

The midway portion of Doomsday Haunt has axe throwing, food trucks, and a variety of entertainers.

“We’ve had fire breathers and fire spinners and things for people to be entertained while they are waiting in line.” Hannah said. “We have food trucks come in and our son, Aiden, he is 13, he has his own little concession stand. He wants to own his own food truck one day. He runs his concession stand and axe throwing for us.”

“The venue and what we have here strongly appeals to much more than just paintball players and haunted house enthusiasts,” Eric said.

Recently the North Alabama Search Dog Association brought their cadaver dogs for training at Doomsday Haunt. The challenge of the unique and difficult terrain and obstacles made the training session a huge success.

Patriotism is also incredibly important to the Riley family as well as supporting local law enforcement and other first responders.

“We always start our haunted house with the National Anthem and a flag carrying of a 50 foot American flag. All the actors carry it down the line to our fire pit midway where we have an opening ceremony every night. That’s a huge part of what Doomsday is,” Eric said. “We are very supportive of our troops, law enforcement, and first responders.”

Hannah is happy to see Doomsday Haunt become more than a seasonal attraction. “We are working around the clock to get that open,” she said. “We’ve had people calling for birthday parties, bachelor parties, and all kinds of occasions. This is something we want to get going very soon and we are working around the clock to get that open.”

The Riley’s are constantly using their imagination and coming up with new ideas for the Doomsday Haunt and they plan to continue growing the venue they love.

“There is so much and it’s hard to explain until you are there. It’s like a big haunted house party in the woods,” Hannah said.

Doomsday Haunt is located at 24952 Hwy 72 in Athens approximately one mile east of Isom’s Orchard. For more information and times of operation, visit doomsdayhaunt.com or call (931) 637-7537.