I love me some Halloween decor, but I do not consider myself a haunted house person. Growing up, my experience with them was largely going to the pool a few minutes from my house, which hosted a haunted house inside the locker rooms. It took approximately 30 to 45 seconds, and then we’d eat a hot dog at the concession stand afterward. Very scary stuff, as you can imagine. So, when I went to check out Bat City Scaregrounds this year, I knew I was in for a surprise (or several).
You’ll note I called this an Austin haunted house; technically, Bat City Scaregrounds is in Buda. For a south Austinite like me, it was a quick 15-minute trip down some back roads—Google wanted the haunting to start before I even got to the haunted house—or approximately 18 minutes taking I-35. Your mileage will vary (literally) if you’re coming from up north, but it’s still close enough to Austin that we’re considering this an Austin haunted house. Let’s jump inside.
The Bat City Scaregrounds
Parking is free and ample, which are both terrific bonuses. Once you park, take a short walk to the entrance of Bat City, and you’ll immediately see all of the scaregrounds. I was grinning like a silly goose as I took everything in. They do not scrimp on the designs here. A friendly witch with a cauldron of candy invited me to take a treat. Naturally, I took a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, as they are the best Halloween candy.
The entertainment complex has a handful of vendors peddling their wares; I ended up buying a couple of Halloween-themed ducks, which are now lovely accouterments in my home.
There’s also some food and drinks if you need to recharge after one of the houses (or, you know, if you’re hungry or thirsty). A stage provides some live music, which can range from rockin’ tunes to eerie soundscapes. I also don’t know what you’d call this guy—an angry gremlin?
Or this guy—Pumpkin Chalmers?
But I thoroughly enjoyed them both, and I’m glad they’re here. No matter where you’re hanging out, you’ll likely come across one of the actors, who are decked out in such impressive costumes and do an amazing job of staying in character. They’ll let you take a picture with them, too. And if you’re polite enough, you might even get to hold a staff.
The Bat City Haunted Houses
The haunted houses are the main attraction of anything like this, and Bat City Scaregrounds delivers a trifecta of spooky situations, whether you’re with a ton of friends or adventuring alone. The Ancient Mall was my favorite, perhaps because the group ahead of me—a mother, her daughter, and her daughter’s friend—invited me to come with them. The daughter said the mother only invited me because a lot of the characters like to frighten you from behind, and I was providing an extra shield. Turns out I was a bad shield because most of the “monsters” went right by my stoic self and attacked the very obviously scared woman ahead of me.
I also enjoyed Castle Orlock, a two-story romp with very entertaining actors. They made me jump a couple of times with some good ’round the corner scares, and I even got frightened once by someone hanging from some sort of floating paraphernalia. Quite impressive balance!
The newest attraction, Slaughter Mall, was probably my least favorite of the bunch. That was largely due to it being a 3D haunted house, and I’m not really a fan of donning 3D glasses. The frights were still there, and perhaps you’d enjoy the disorientation the 3D glasses cause. This house did have my favorite interaction with any actor, where one woman in shackles begged me to help free her while another woman screamed at her to be quiet. I apologized to the shackled woman that I couldn’t help, and the other said, “You don’t have to apologize to her.” Great improv.
But, Like…How Scary Is It, Really?
As I noted in the intro, my legitimate haunted house experiences are minimal. Feeling wet grapes as eyeballs and spaghetti as brains is nowhere close to what Bat City Scaregrounds provides as far as entertainment value.
Are there some frights? For sure! Every Buda and Austin haunted house delivers those. I got my biggest scares from turning a corner and catching someone leaping out at me from the corner of my eye. I also felt bad because I noticed a few folks who were standing or sitting still and just waiting for me to turn around so they could sneak up behind me, but I’d spin around and catch them before they got to me. Whoops!
The good news: The actors can’t touch you, so you don’t have to worry about, like, someone latching onto your leg and you having to drag them the entire time.
But here’s a little secret: You just need to be braver than one person in your group.
I discovered that with the group that invited me along for the ride. When I was alone, I was more susceptible to spooky shenanigans. Plus, if jump scares make you scream, it’s a nice bonding experience to do it with others.
Bat City Scaregrounds Cost, Location, All That Good Stuff
Individual tickets start at $25 on Thursdays and Sundays and $30 on Fridays and Saturdays. You can get a Fast Pass to skip most of the line for $15 extra. Grab them through Tixr.
If you have a ton of people joining you, snag a slight per-ticket discount for groups ($2 off for 15-19 people, $4 off for general admission). The tickets are for the haunted houses; you can visit the midway without spending any money.
Hours:
Fridays and Saturdays: 7:30 – 11 pm
Thursdays and Sundays: 7:30 – 10 pm
Location:
Bat City Scaregrounds
14101 S Turnersville Rd, Buda, TX 78610
What to Wear:
Bring clothing you’re comfortable moving around in. I was in a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, and that worked great. Running isn’t allowed, but you might get spooked and jump or skip out of the way, and you don’t want to be doing that in a sandal.
You can feel free to dress up, though masks aren’t allowed. And really, the characters in the place are all dressed so impressively that you should just let them do your thing and stay comfy.
You also can’t take photos or videos inside the haunted house. Personally, I love that—why take yourself out of the immersive experience by being distracted by your phone?
Bat City Scaregrounds is a delightful romp that’s definitely worth checking out. Whether you visit an Austin haunted house or not, I hope you have a wondrously spooky Halloween.