In Senoia, Georgia, the sight of a man walking down the street carrying a head used to be odd. Not anymore, as the town has become a filming location for the hugely popular television show "The Walking Dead," resulting in not just strange zombie sightings, but in increase in tourists.
In this case, the head was a prop and the man was an actor filming a scene for the hit show. The town has only 3,300 residents and is located 25 miles south of Atlanta. After the local cotton and agricultural industries died off, the town had seen its economy decline. Tourism has brought it back, with a retail district that has grown from six to 49 businesses in about six years.
Frank Hollberg III, whose family has sold furniture in the small town since 1894, laughs about the sight of the actor carrying a head down the street.
"It's been a hell of a lot of changes in this town," said Hollberg, 77. "It's a different world."
"The Walking Dead" average seven million U.S. viewers ages 18 to 49, making it the top-rated drama for that category in history, according to AMC, the network that broadcasts the show. The third season finale aired Sunday night and drew a reported 12.4 million viewers.
Fans can pose for photographs by the fake Woodbury town hall and drink "zombie coffee" from a café that serves as the Woodbury Coffee House on the show.
"My daughter is going to be extremely jealous," said Ted Molnar, 60, who had driven with his wife to check out the show's filming locations. Their van had a sticker reading, "When the zombies come, I'll be ready."
The downtown development authority has installed sidewalk plaques to commemorate some of the many films and television shows filmed in the area, including "The Walking Dead."
The series has "forever redefined this town," said Scott Tigchelaar, a developer and president of Raleigh Studios Atlanta, the company that owns the studio in Senoia that serves as the main production studio for the show.
"Walking Dead' to Senoia is like 'Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil' to Savannah," he said, referring to a 1994 film and novel set in Savannah.
Tigchelaar and his brother-in-law bought a trolley to begin giving tours of various film locations, which he planned to start this spring.
"Ten years ago to talk about a four-star hotel in Senoia, people probably would have laughed me out of town," he said. "Today, it's feasible."
A store is selling licensed merchandise for "The Walking Dead" and is set to open when production resumes in May.
Georgia has brought an increase in film and television work in recent years by providing generous tax incentives and direct flights each day between Atlanta and Los Angeles.
The state hosted 333 films, television productions and music videos between July 2011 and June 2012, which generated nearly $880 million in direct spending by the entertainment industry, according to the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office.
In addition to the appeal of zombies, country music singer Zac Brown has opened a restaurant and live music venue on Main Street, and two home showcases by the "Idea House" section of Southern Living magazine drew approximately 30,000 visitors in 2010 and again in 2012, according to local officials.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
