Creepin' it real

Get into Halloween's intoxicating spirit with Austin's spookiest bar events

The Craftsman is turning into a haunted bar for the Halloween season.

Photo courtesy of Craftsman

Some say alcohol is called spirits because of its roots in Middle Eastern alchemy, but we like to believe an alternate story. The Arabic word al-ghawl refers to an intoxicating demon, something very much in the, ahem, spirit of Halloween. Regardless of the word’s origin, this month we are setting out to put some boos in our booze with these four eerie events.

Bad Wolf Ghost Tours
Looking for a new way to explore Austin’s favorite haunts? Bad Wolf traipses through some of the most cursed spots in the city. This walking tour searches for signs of life after the grave while a guide tells tales of local history’s most gruesome events. In between stops, work up a little liquid courage with free cover and drink specials at each bar. The paranormal promenade runs every Friday and Saturday starting at 10 pm, but weeknights can be accommodated for large groups with notice.

The Boozery at Craftsman
With its historic bones and spare furnishings, East Austin’s Craftsman already looks like the kind of place where someone might wander into the odd specter or two. But now the bar is doubling down on the spooky with a two-week pop-up event transforming the space into a haunted tavern. The Boozery runs October 17-31 with scary surprises each night and a special cocktail menu inspired by Halloween lore. Highlights include the Hocus Pocus-themed Billy Butcherson with Jagermeister, pumpkin butter syrup, lemon, orange, and Grand Marnier foam and The Bride in Room #525, a Sierra Nevada pale ale and Dickel whiskey concoction paying homage to the infamous room at the Driskill rumored to be full of wedding day horrors.

Nightly Spirits
With frequent appearances of a woman in a white dress and pool cues that sometimes float of their own accord, the building that houses Sixth Street’s Buffalo Billiards is said to be one of the most supernaturally active in the region. And that’s just the start of this four bar crawl, which takes off Friday and Saturday at 8:30 pm The potentially traumatic tour then heads to The Gatsby, Russian House, and Waller Creek Pub, where you can hear hair-raising ghost stories while indulging in themed cocktails. The company also operates in other major Texas cities if you are into terrifying travel.

Torment Tavern at House of Torment
Believe us, after walking through Austin’s premier haunted house, you will need a drink. Luckily, this year the locally owned fright fest has introduced a bar with a chilling supernatural theme, running through November 10. The spooky libations include two signature Jekyll and Hyde drinks served in glowing souvenir cups and a seasonal pumpkin ale made in collaboration with 4th Tap Brewing Co-op. After a heart pounding evening, it will help get lull you to sleep. Now, what to do about all those nightmares ...

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MOVING ON UP

Texas rises through the ranks of most innovative states, says new report

Photo via Getty Images

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The Lone Star State has again taken a step up on an annual report that ranks the most and least innovative states in the country — this time cracking the top 15.

Texas ranked No. 15 in personal finance site WalletHub's 2023’s Most and Least Innovative States ranking. It's a steady improvement for the state, which ranked No. 16 in 2022 and No. 17 in 2021.

The report analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia and how each performed across 22 key metrics, including population of STEM professionals, venture capital investment activity, number of technology companies, patents per capita, and more. The data was pulled from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Science Foundation, National Center for Education Statistics, United States Patent and Trademark Office, and other records.

Here's how Texas performed at a glance:

No. 18 – for share of STEM professionals
No. 16 – for projected STEM job demand by 2030
No. 25 – for eighth grade math and science performance
No. 21 – for share of science and engineering graduates aged 25 or older
No. 13 – for share of technology companies
No. 31 – for R&D spending per capita
No. 18 – venture capital funding per capita

For the 11th year, Texas won Site Selection Magazine's Governor's Cup, the governor's office announced earlier this year. The award, which Texas has won 19 times since its inception in 1978, recognizes the nation’s top-performing state for job-creating business relocations and expansions.

"Texas truly is America’s economic engine, and we stand apart as a model for the nation. When choosing where to relocate or expand their businesses, more and more innovative industry leaders find themselves at home in our state," Governor Greg Abbott says in a news release about the award.

"I congratulate the exceptional economic development teams at the local, regional, and state level who have worked so diligently to attract and retain these growing businesses and the jobs they create in diverse communities across this great state," he continues.

The most innovative states included the District of Columbia, which ranked at No. 1, followed by Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland, and California, respectively. The least innovative state was identified as Mississippi, followed by Louisiana, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Arkansas, respectively.

Source: WalletHub

Access to quality education is a significant contributor to each state's innovation economy, the experts say in the report.

"Investing in education, particularly K-12 but also at the University level, it is no accident that innovative ecosystems develop in states with strong education systems and research universities," says David L. Deeds, professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. "These institutions build strong capable modern workforces that attract capital, and jobs and create innovations. The benefits do not happen overnight, in fact, they take years if not decades, but consider what The UC’s or the University of Texas at Austin have meant for the development of premier innovative ecosystems."

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