MINEOLA, Texas — An East Texas city got into the Halloween spirit by transforming their downtown area into a spooky paradise.
Multiple areas hosted various celebrations, but residents of Mineola pulled out all the tricks and treats for a long weekend of chilling entertainment. In the heart of the city's historic downtown area is where you can catch a movie or a spooky experience at The Historic Select Theater & Lake Country Playhouse.
"Sometimes when you're sitting in the dark and one of these seats you'll feel something kind of brush up against your shoulder," said Pam Thurman, a Mineola resident. "Like somebody's sitting behind you and they're usually not."
The theater celebrated 103 years in business last March and has been entertaining Wood County residents for generations with new or classic movies and possibly with an eerie feeling. George Jones, executive director of the theater, said the building is haunted and has experienced several paranormal situations before.
"There's definitely a few spirits in there," Jones said. "My office is upstairs and I've gotten to the point where I have to turn on my music really loud when I'm in there by myself because I hear people walking around upstairs and hear voices coming from the auditorium."
If you're not a fan of horror films, Jones said visitors should check out his shop across the street called Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe. It's where he sells various items that you may not find in your regular retail store.
Adjacent to the shop during the Halloween season is a haunted house named The Annex of Terror, which has been scaring people starting the weekend before the season up until the actual day.
Thrill-seeking teenagers Victoria Kinder and Estrella Torres said they look forward to the scary experience every year.
"I'm a bit of a horror fan," Kinder said. "I'm hoping to see a bunch of blood and maybe like pig heads or something but that's just my personal preference."
"I just want to be like scared like I don't want to sleep tonight," Torres said.
There is much to see in Mineola during this time of year, and thanks to the historic theater they will continue to host several special showings and events throughout the holiday season.
"It's important to me and to the board members to do things for the community," Jones said. "Especially to do things for kids. We wanted to be safe and want them to have a good time and we want to be a part of that and provide as much as we possibly can."