#SquadGhouls 👻

A crowd of people wait in line to get into the House of Torment

The House of Torment offers three terrifying attractions. | Photo via House of Torment

Looking for a howling good time this Halloween? To make this season even more spook-tacular, we’re creep-ing it real with a round up of all the haunted houses in Austin.

Bonus: We’ve also listed four local restaurants where you can head afterwards for some fang-tastic Halloween-themed food. Check out our interactive map here.

Get Your Scare On 💀

House of Torment | 2632 Ridgepoint Dr. | Opens 7 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday
The House of Torment has been scaring the pants off of Austinites for over 20 years — and for good reason — actors train year-round to finesse frights at the “scariest haunted house in America.”

Fatal Fear Haunted House | 3509 Cowden Dr. | Opens 7 p.m. Saturday + Sunday
This “pro-level” home haunt takes place in the dwelling of the nefarious James Mortis, his dreadful daughters, and Dr. Hans Necrostein, who dabbles in mad science and needs humans to experiment on.

Bat City Scaregrounds | 14101 S. Turnersville Rd., Buda | Opens 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday
Explore 15 acres of horrors, complete with three spooky haunted houses.

Scare for a Cure | 14219 Littig Rd., Manor | Opens 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
Go on an interactive haunt — put on by a team made up of 100% volunteers — that raises money for the Breast Cancer Resource Center.

Trick or treat (yourself) 🥂

Aba | 1011 S. Congress Ave. | Hours vary
Aba is serving up pumpkin hummus created by Chef Partner CJ Jacobson that will make you say ‘Oh my gourd.’

Amy’s Ice Creams | Multiple locations | Hours vary
There are 40+ flavors — although each location only carries a few — to try, including Apple Jacks, beer and pretzels, booger monster, ginger snap, pumpkin cheesecake, and ube.

Bakery Lorraine | 11600 Rock Rose Ave. | 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Don’t sleep on the seasonal macaron flavors, including pistachio, matcha peach, Earl Grey, honey, oatmeal cream, and dark chocolate cassis.

TLC Austin | 1100 S. Lamar Blvd. | Hours vary
If the haunted house crawl has left you spooked, consider winding down with a pumpkin spiked latte made with rum, oat milk, nitro cold brew, and pumpkin spice for only $5.

EVENTS

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Today

Seinfeld Trivia | Tue., Oct. 11 | 7 - 9 p.m. | Waterloo Ice House, 6203 N. Capital of Texas Hwy. | Free | Put that TV knowledge to the test at this all-ages trivia night with food + drink specials and prizes for the top teams.

Wednesday

Austin Motel Freaky Floats | Wed., Oct. 12 - Wed., Oct. 26 | 5 - 10 p.m. | Austin Motel, 1220 S. Congress Ave. | Dive into fall at Austin Motel’s infamous pool with your freakiest float for spooky moving screenings all October long.

Thursday

Me Nd Adam with Joshua Ray Walker | Thu., Oct. 13 | 7 p.m. | Antone’s Nightclub, 305 E. 5th St. | $18 | The Austin-based alternative rock duo is performing as part of Official ACL Fest Nights before returning to Zilker Park for weekend two. 🎸

Friday

Boo at the Zoo | Fri., Oct. 14 - Sat., Oct. 29 | 6:30-9 p.m. | Austin Zoo, 10808 Rawhide Trl. | $19.95+ | Ring in spooky season with a haunted house, train ride, and a magical puppet show at this family-friendly event — costumes are encouraged. 👻
Buda Bull Riding & Mutton Busting Rodeo | Fri., Oct. 14 - Sat., Oct. 15 | Times vary | Pinballz Kingdom, 15201 S. I-35 Frontage Rd, Buda | Have a good, old-fashioned Texas time with mutton busting and bull riding finals on Saturday. 🍗

We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

100+ MORE EVENTS

HEALTH

Celebrating what makes Austin healthcare great 🩺

Discover the good work our local healthcare professionals do for you and your loved ones. | Photo via Pexels

This week is National Healthcare Quality Week — a time to celebrate the sacrifice + hard work that healthcare professionals do everyday to keep us healthy. From mending broken bones and healing our loved ones to being there through life’s challenges and transitions, Austin healthcare professionals have our backs. 🩺

Check out what some local providers are doing to deliver excellent healthcare quality for all Austinites:

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NEWS NOTES

Weather

90º | Partly cloudy | 6% chance of rain

Today Is

The last day to register to vote in the November election. Check your registration status before heading to the polls — early voting runs from Oct. 24 - Nov. 4 and election day is on Nov. 8. 🗳

Development

A sustainably-designed mid-rise office building is in the works for East Austin at 1400 E. Fourth St., where Texas Coffee Traders is currently located. The cafe will move to 1138 Airport Blvd. and construction on the building is expected to be completed in late 2024. (Austin Business Journal)

Environment

AISD is aiming to make 25% of its school buses electric in the next year + go fully electric by 2035, after studies from the Environmental Protection Agency showed diesel fuel exposure can lead to long-term health problems. ⚡️ (KVUE)

Edu

More than 80 AISD campuses are hiring teachers to fill 200+ openings district-wide. Of the schools, Walnut Creek Elementary, Andrews Elementary School and Akins and Crockett high schools are in the most need. 🧑‍🏫 (KXAN)

Real Estate

Rent in Austin is high, but just how high is it? Although some reports say average rent is over $3,000 monthly, the most reliable estimate falls between $1,627-$1,720 per month. 💸 (Austin Monitor)

Answered

Austinites are festival fiends — last week, 36% of our poll respondents said they were going to ACL. Weekend one claimed 43% of the audience, 47% are attending weekend two, and 10% said they’ll be at both weekends.

List

Relive last weekend or plan ahead for weekend two with these 2022 superlatives, from Lil Nas X’s cover of “Pony,” to P!nk’s aerial performance, to the Red Hot Chili Peppers stepping down from the stage early. 🎤 (Austin Monthly)

Giveaway

October is National Pizza Month, and Tony C’s Pizza and Beer Garden is celebrating in a big way. Order a pizza from either its Bee Cave or Avery Ranch location to be entered to win a free trip to New York City.

DYK

Did you know you can set up shop in our online retail store? We’re looking to support local brands in our ATXtoday shop. We want to work with you. Send us an email to get started.

Trending

Fast-track those holiday shopping plans. For the first time, Amazon is hosting a second Prime Day with the Prime Early Access Sale running today, Oct. 11 and tomorrow, Oct. 12. Snag tech like earbuds or kitchen appliances at Black Friday prices — 45 days in advance.*

Biz

Hey, Austin business owners, ask yourself this question: “What’s my company knowledge base?” (Read: Your centralized information hub.) Can’t answer? Here are three reasons you need one to help your business thrive.*

Real Estate

The outcome of the generational battle between baby boomers and millennials just might wage on these very survey results. Learn more about how each generation feels about finances + real estate in this Financial Wellness Study. 🏡*

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Food

Skip the java, get some kava

A mango juice shot, wooden cup, and glass bottle full of Kava on the table.

Squarerut Kava Bar has two locations: One along Barton Springs and another along North Lamar. | Photo by ATXtoday

Ever heard of kava?

Kava is a drink or extract made from the Piper methysticum plant, which is native to Fiji and other islands in the South Pacific and popularly used in ceremonies for relaxation.

And relax you it does. Chemicals from the plant called kavalactones help promote focus and leave you feeling calm. The nonintoxicating drink is encouraged to be had at any time of day, and is often used for stress and anxiety.

We tried it for ourselves at Squarerut Kava Bar at 1601 Barton Springs Rd. last week — here’s what we thought.

City Editor London cheers with a wooden cup of kava. — We tried the waka and aolani strains.

Kava is named after the Polynesian word “awa,” which means bitter, well-named for its earthy taste. After a few minutes, you’ll start to feel a slight numbing sensation in your mouth, which lets you know its working.

One of our favorite parts was the tropical open-air bar it is served in. If you stop by, make sure to cheer “Bula!” with your neighbor.

THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Figi.

Editor’s pick: Phew, what a whirlwind weekend at ACL. Every muscle in my body is sore, but it was worth it for me to see James Blake, Oliver Tree, and Lil Nas X. Let me know who your favorite or least favorite performer was.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Kansas City and Austin are going head to head.

Connect with us.

Editorial: Laura Figi, London Gibson, Dayten Rose, Ashlea Hearn, Emily Shea, Josh Kranzberg | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

Sales: Camille McLeod | Advertise with us.

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