SAN ANTONIO ā Nightmare on Grayson, a San Antonio Halloween institution, will close its doors for good on Halloween night as the building owners look for permanent tenants to move in.
"With the Pearl Brewery growing as fast as it is and the rise in the real estate value per square foot, it just makes sense to change over," said Gordon Wise, the director of operations. "Sad to see it go but we're kind of happy that we're finally getting to develop the building and try to find something positive out of it."
Wise, who's been with the haunted house for 18 years, remembers when they first moved in, there was hardly any development in the area.
"After the haunted house shut down, you could step out on Grayson street and count tumbleweeds," he said. "This was a ghost town."
Wise said many of the staff members have volunteered hours over the last few years just to keep the haunted house operating. Most of them heard the news about three weeks ago.
"A lot of the staff is heart broken," he said. "That's the hardest part. They want to keep going."
He shared the news on their fan Facebook page and has received mixed responses.
"People think we're turning our back and we're not," he said. "We just can't keep carrying ourselves."
The house will open on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and will open every Friday through Sunday through October. The house will also be open every night during the final week of October.
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