Scare Grounds of the South brings new faces to Treutlen horror staple

New operators are aiming to revitalize a long running horror attraction in Treutlen County, bringing along experience from a lifetime in the industry.

Devin Hayostek was born up north in Pennsylvania, where he became involved in horror-themed attractions from a young age.

“I went through my first haunt when I was about eight years old, started acting in one when I was 14,” said Hayostek. 

According to Hayostek, his interest in horror attractions is not so much an interest in horror – although he does have an interest in horror – but rather an interest in performance and entertainment.

“What I do as my career and I’m really passionate about, you know, creating a really immersive and fun Halloween experience for everyone,” said Hayostek.

Hayostek would work in several roles at these attractions, and would work for multiple attractions in Pennsylvania. While he worked in the horror entertainment industry into his adult life, he never owned an attraction of his own until a location in Treutlen County, titled Scare House of the South, came to his attention.

Scare House of the South was a somewhat notorious attraction in Treutlen County which remained in operation for 15 years, described by County Manager Joseph Glenn as an “adult gore fest.” The site utilized a 100 year old house as the home of its main attraction.

“It’s a pretty high barrier of entry to get into the industry, and we saw the opportunity to come into a turnkey operation that was already running and put our spin on things,” said Hayostek.

He purchased the site and moved to Georgia in the beginning of summer with his fiance, Julie Downs, to begin renovating the business into the attraction of Hayostek’s dreams: Scare Grounds of the South. 

Hayostek and several staff members, including Tedford Braswell, who carried over from the previous attraction, worked during the off-season to ready the site for the Halloween season, building scenery by hand.

Hayostek even built the first game in the attraction, a ball tossing game where players aim to break bottles, by hand.

“It’s not just a business,” said Downs. “It’s a passion.”

Scare Grounds of the South features two main horror attractions for guests to walk through. Both are walk-through attractions with a linear path for “safety and flow reasons,” leading guests through a series of curated scares.

The first is “Nightveil Manor,” a haunted house utilizing the over 100 year old house on the property. Guests are shepherded through dark, claustrophobic corridors to multiple rooms evoking classic horror tropes, such as serial killers, haunted dolls and even ghosts wearing bedsheets.

“It’s kind of your classic haunted mansion,” said Hayostek. “It’s actually an almost 125 year old house on the property, so we really went in there, improved the scenic decor, made it kind of appear to be a real abandoned haunted mansion.”

Meanwhile, the second attraction – titled “Chronophobia: Terror Through Time” – takes guests through a time-bending experience, utilizing the previous operation’s more “eclectic” scares.

“The previous operation was pretty eclectic over there, so there’s… werewolves, and, you know, some zombies, aliens, all types of themes over there,” said Hayostek.

For Hayostek and the other organizers, Nighveil Manor was the main priority for the current season in terms of preparation and set-up, with plans in place to focus on Chronophobia through the upcoming off-season.

“Nightveil Manor was really our really big push this year creatively to put tons of effort, and money and hours into creating a really cool scenic experience in there, and next year is Chronophobia,” said Hayostek. “We have lots of cool stuff planned there.”

The open area between attractions is titled “Midnight Midway,” where guests can purchase drinks and food from the Muddy Coffee food truck or play games. Actors will also roam through this area, occasionally chasing guests with chainless chainsaws.

Scare Grounds of the South offers a tamer experience than its predecessor, with a recommended age of 12 and older, but according to Hayostek, this has led to some mixed reactions to the attraction. While many guests were glad to have an attraction the whole family could attend, some also reported dissatisfaction with the loss of the more intense thrills of the previous operation.

However, Scare Grounds of the South does have an option for more adult-oriented scares in its “director’s cut” event on Nov. 7, an event where “participants may be touched by actors, separated from their group, forced to navigate challenges and puzzles, and subjected to immersive interactions not featured during standard operating nights,” according to the business’ website.

“That is kind of our more hands-on, adult oriented attraction where some folks still look for that kind of extreme experience,” said Hayostek.

That memory of the more intense predecessor still exists in guests, with one family traveling from Milledgeville on Oct. 24 to attend for the first time in 10 years. However, that memory also lingers for local lawmakers, leading to delays in Scare Grounds of the South’s business license.

The Treutlen County Board of Commissioners first received the business’ application in September, which was tabled due to a negative connotation with the previous establishment. The board was more accepting of Hayostek’s application during their October meeting, as he made the operation open for first responders to inspect.

“The folks from the county came out and we talked, and I was able to share our vision for the property and kind of clear the air that that kind of experience isn’t going to be here anymore,” said Hayostek.

The board also tabled the application in October, however, over further questions regarding the operations.

According to Hayostek, he aims for Scare Grounds of the South to be a piece of Treutlen County the community can be proud of.

“This is kind of a dream come true for me and my fiance, Julie,” said Hayostek. “She knows that I’ve been working in this industry for a long time, and, you know, our commitment is to continue to invest in this property, continue to upgrade things, and really create a place for Treutlen County to be proud of.”