“Scream in the Dark” and other vintage Halloween events

In 1973, the abandoned Veterans Hospital #48 in Brookhaven was the setting for a haunted house. The Peachtree and Osborne Road location became home to a veterans hospital in 1919, and before that it was Cheston King Sanitarium.

The U. S. government purchased Cheston King Sanitarium to operate a hospital for World War I and Spanish American War veterans. The cost was $90,000. (Atlanta Constitution, Dec. 24, 1919, “King Sanitarium, beyond Buckhead, purchased by U.S.”)

Veterans Hospital #48 was rebuilt in 1929 and remained in use until 1966 when the current Atlanta Veterans Administration Hospital was built on Clairmont Road. Today, the DeKalb Services Center and Brookhaven Park are located on this corner.

Franklin Garrett’s Atlanta and Environs Volume II indicates Veterans Hospital #48 was demolished in 1969, but readers who lived in Atlanta in the 1970s recall it still standing in 1973 and all the way up to 1976. Perhaps there were plans to demolish the building, but they fell through.

The hospital was located on property of the U.S. government until 1972 when it was part of “surplus government land” turned over to local government. In this case, it was turned over to DeKalb County. (Atlanta Constitution, June 27, 1972, “U.S. will give up VA hospital, 2 other sites”)

Still standing and abandoned, the hospital was the setting of “Scream in the Dark” haunted house in 1973, a project of the Atlanta Youth for Christ Campus Life Division. The haunted experience was “guaranteed to chill the blood in your veins.” The Atlanta Constitution announced the haunted house would be open through October 31. (Atlanta Constitution, Oct. 27, 1973, “Eeek, Screech, Scream”)

The event was also advertised on local pop/rock radio station WQXI 790 Atlanta, likely by popular morning disc jockey Gary McKee.

One reader who visited the haunted house remembers an operating room set up with ghoulish doctors and nurses and fake blood. Three years later, working with DeKalb County on a summer job, that reader returned to Veterans Hospital #48 site to check out a pollution source in a nearby stream.

Another reader remembers as a teenager visiting “Scream in the Dark” and being terrified by the strobe lights and hospital setting.

Both in 1973 and 1976, the hospital was overgrown with trees, shrubs, vines and weeds. In 1976, there were still metal hospital beds, metal cabinets, light fixtures, window blinds and curtains in the building. Furniture was thrown about on the outside of the property. Whether the actual hospital beds were used as part of the frightening hospital scene in 1973 is uncertain.

“Scream in the Dark” continued to be an Atlanta tradition through the 1970s. In 1975, it was held in buildings scheduled for demolition at E. Court Square and Sycamore Street in Decatur. Marta had purchased the property but had not begun construction yet. (Atlanta Journal, Oct. 29, 1975, “DeKalb students Scream in the Dark”)

For $1.50, guests encountered “live monsters, collapsing walls, and strange and dark corridors.” (Atlanta Constitution, Oct. 22, 1975, “Scream in the Dark to open Thursday.”

During the years 1978 through 1980, “Scream in the Dark” was set up in the empty space of a former Grant’s department store at Belvedere Plaza on Memorial Drive. It continued to be a fundraiser for Atlanta Youth for Christ Campus Life. The 1979 Atlanta Journal promotion of the event describes it as the ninth year of “Scream in the Dark,” an event which offers “an alternative to Halloween vandalism.” (Atlanta Journal, Oct. 24, 1979 “Scream in the Dark”)

After reading that it was the ninth year of the scary event, I searched for earlier locations. In 1970, “Scream in the Dark” took place at Inman Park Baptist Church, and in 1972 it was in a deserted apartment building near Phipps Plaza. The 1971 location is still a mystery to me.

The relocation of DeKalb Services Center from Glendale Road in Scottdale to Peachtree Road in Brookhaven was planned in 1977, with an expected completion date in 1978. (Atlanta Constitution, Feb. 17, 1977, “School needs a new home”)

Perhaps you were among those who attended the 1980 “Hall of Terror,” presented by the Atlanta Jaycees and WQXI radio. “Hall of Terror” took place at the Omni in Atlanta. That same year, Tucker High School band and drill team set up their “Trail of Terror” at 4700 Hugh Howell Road. (Atlanta Journal, Oct. 16, 1980)

A more kid-friendly Halloween celebration took place in the children’s treehouse at Good Ol’ Days restaurant at 5841 Roswell Road. Good Ol’ Days unique and delicious flowerpot sandwiches are remembered fondly by Atlantans.

Another place remembered fondly is Playland Roller Skating Center, which was at 4404 Buford Highway. In 1980, the skating rink hosted a Halloween celebration with a costume contest, races, and games. I imagine this was not the only time Playland celebrated Halloween!