Workers say three real ghosts roam the 13th Floor Haunted House
It's San Antonio's 13th Floor's business to scare its customers. But three spirits lurking in its halls may have turned the tables.
At first, it sounds like the perfect page from a marketing plan for a thrill-based experience. San Antonio's 13th Floor uses props, actors, music and more to create an atmosphere where screams are typical.
"It's more or less a community of getting scared," Blaine Skreenock said. "A lot of people like to look for that thrill--that extra adrenaline."
Skreenock, 13th Floor General Manager, has worked at the haunted attraction for ten years. During that time, roughly 50 actors a night execute the choreography of horror amusement.
According to Skreenock, some actors and even customers have experienced scares not on their payroll.
"And we look at them and say, that's not us," he said.
Trece 'The little girl'
He believes three ghosts are dwelling in the 117-year-old building. One is a little girl who wears a white dress.
"She's not sinister at all, but she is creepy. And we've heard her on radios a couple of times," he said.
The girl has been called 'Trece,' but he said most call her 'The little girl."'
"You'll hear, like, the pitter patter of footsteps kind of scurrying around," he said.
The Shadow Figure 'The tall man with a hat'
Skreenock said a second presence sometimes has them on edge. He calls the apparition "The Shadow Figure."
He said people encounter the figure in different ways.
"A lot of people know it as the tall man with (the) hat," Skreenock said. "A lot of our actors have seen that ."
The 13th Floor GM said he had a frightening face-to-face meeting with the shadow figure.
"Late at night, I've been working---where I'm building a scene, and in the corner, you can see somebody, Skreenock said. "Then, it looks like this figure ducked down and started running at me."
The Mimic 'The Chameleon Spirit'
The third spirit is the one that gives Skreenock the creeps. They call it "The Mimic."
He said the presence is a chameleon spirit---duplicating the form of anyone in the building, and its clothing may differ.
"You see someone, they might even be wearing a different shirt," he said. "But it's the same person that you know, and that's not them."
Paranormal experts have been brought into the 13th Floor, where audio and video recordings are supposed to demonstrate existence.
Orbs are floating as ghost hunters scour the building. Multiple audio recordings range from "I'm scared" to "Get out."
Skreenok said the stories are not a stunt to drum up business at the East Commerce site, and he said they start seeing activity long before Halloween.
"We're a little on edge whenever we're scared," Skeenok said.