Hotel Ella Haunted Mansion Tour Returns In Austin

AUSTIN, TX — There's something about a stately mansion that happens to be haunted that does the trick in scaring the bejesus out of a person. It's that creepy vibe against the incongruous setting of stately architecture — not to mention the untold history of occurrences within over the decades — that combines to up the creepy quotient.

But maybe that's just us after following an ill-informed suggestion to watch "The Shining" as a child that left us forever scarred. Yet with that concept in mind, Ella's Haunted Mansion at Hotel Ella is back for another year of frights and delights. To that end, a full day of Halloween tricks and treats for the whole family is scheduled on Sunday, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 pm. at Hotel Ella, 1900 Rio Grande St. Naturally, costumes are encouraged.

The annual spook-tacular features a full day of ghastly good times including outdoor games and activities, brunch buffet from Goodall's and boo(zy) specialty cocktails, and live music. (Did you see what we did there with the word boozy?).

Guests and ghouls are invited to join spooky tours of the historic mansion in 20-minute intervals during the event and available via reservation. Witches and wizards of all ages are invited to Hotel Ella's sprawling front lawn for pumpkin & ghoud decorating; face painting; cornhole & lawn games; live music; and the aforementioned spooky mansion tours.

Make reservations HERE. Additional tour spots will be open on the day of the event, depending on availability. But, oh wait, there's more:

• Brunch buffet specials, $40 for adults, $15 for kids 12 and under, reservations HERE, walk-ins welcome upon capacity.
• Boozy specialty cocktails, mulled wine & spiced cider.

Muah ha ha. Muah ha ha ha ha! MUAH HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!