Spook-tacular Halloween Events

The Haunted Hotel

Named one of “America’s Top Haunts” by “Haunted House Magazine, The Haunted Hotel has been providing scares and screams for 40 years. Striving to keep you on your toes, they have added a new feature – the Rosehill Asylum – a building that mysteriously and abruptly closed in the early ‘80s with no explanations given. Once you check in, you may never check out. Tickets available online at hauntedhoteltx.com. Oct. 26-31, Nov. 4, 7 p.m. Beaumont TX. $25-$140.

Big Thicket

Get wicked in the thicket with two events this weekend beginning with a Halloween Night Hike on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. What kinds of critters live in the darkness? Find out on this all-ages free hike. Call (409) 951-6700 to reserve a spot. Neches Rivers Adventures will host “The Flying Dutchman: A maritime Legend of a Doomed Pirate Ghost Ship” aboard the Ivory Bill at Collier Ferry Park on Sunday, Oct. 29, at 4:30 p.m. The event is limited to those 21 years and older. Price is $40 per person. To register, call (409) 790-5399. Wear a costume. 

Classic Movie Night

“13 Nights of Halloween” concludes Oct. 30-31 with four movies in two nights including a double-feature Monday, Oct. 30, with the 1960 film, and Vincent Price-led, “House of Usher” and Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 “Psycho,” at 7 p.m. Halloween night includes John Carpenter’s “Halloween,” from 1978, and the 2007 flick, “Trick ‘R Treat.” All films are Rated R. Oct. 30-31, 7 p.m. Jefferson Theatre. Beaumont TX. $6. 

Autumn Fair

The Scarecrow Festival, which culminates with the Autumn Fair, features more than 80 hand-crafted scarecrow exhibits displayed throughout the gardens. The day is filled with family fun such as outpost tours on the boat, hay rides, plus hands-on activities like scavenger hunts in the garden space that allows both parents and their children to interact together while experiencing fall festive activities. Enjoy more than 5,000 pumpkins and admire the garden’s fall colors – crotons, marigolds, and, of course, plenty of orange. Saturday, Oct. 28, 10:30 a.m. Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center. Orange TX. Free.

BPD Trunk or Treat

Wear your costumes and join the Beaumont Police Department for their annual “Trunk or Treat” party, which is their biggest Cops & Kids event of the year. Dozens of booths, which will be managed by fellow officers from different divisions such as traffic, SWAT, K9 as well as other agencies. Get up-and-close and personal and interact with some of the community partners who protect this city, all while gathering candy and treats in a fun, safe environment for all ages. Sunday, Oct. 29, 2 p.m. Beaumont Police Department, Beaumont TX. Free. 

Family Fun Day Spooktacular

Come one, come all, don those costumes, and enjoy three hours of fun activities for the whole family during the Museum of the Gulf Coast’s Family Fun Day. There will be costumed characters, free balloon animals, a live snake education experience, the Mobile Dairy Classroom, Stable Spirit Horses, Laura & Abe’s Ice Cream Truck, Lamar University’s Robotics Club, the Happy Jester, spooky photo backdrop for selfies, plus the opportunity to receive a library card from the Port Arthur Public Library as well as donate to LifeShare Blood Center. Saturday, Oct. 28, 10 a.m. Museum of the Gulf Coast, Port Arthur TX. Free. 

Day of the Dead Festival

Day of the Dead, or “El Dia de los Muertos,” dates back to the Aztec custom of celebrating ancestors with All Souls’ Day, a holiday that Spanish invaders brought to Mexico starting in the early 1500s. Festivities were presided over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The entire community is invited to enjoy music tacos, ballet, bread of the dead, offerings and altars, plus a Catrin y Catrina Contest, cookie decorations, face painting and more. Sunday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m. SuperAntojo de Hidalgo, Beaumont TX. Free. 

Harlyween

It’s a “Harlyween” for all ages. Costume contests, for both young and old, a combat veteran chili cookoff and live music from Beaumont band JT Reserve. If you like Texas country mixed with a little Southern rock, then check these guys out. They have performed alongside Pat Green, Tracy Byrd, Kevin Fowler, Cody Canada and William Clark Green. Saturday, Oct. 28, 11 a.m. Teddy Morse’s Cowboy-Harley Davidson, Beaumont TX. Free.