There will be terror on Oct. 31, as the Beaufort County Arts Council transforms the Turnage Theater into a ghoulish place to celebrate Halloween. Against a backdrop of classic black and white horror films, there will fortune telling, scary photo ops, a costume parade and contest and more — all to put the fun back in fundraising.

“People have been very excited,” said BCAC member Rebecca Clark. “Everybody likes to get dressed up and Halloween is an excuse to go crazy with that.”

The “Deadly Affair” will run from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Halloween night. At 9:30 p.m., the costume parade will ensue, with prizes made by local artist Carolyn Sleeper to be handed out to those with the best costume, best male costume, best female costume, best couple, most original, most frightening, most authentic and lamest.

The most intriguing aspect of the evening, however, is the small group tours, foraying into the old, and creepy, vaudeville theater. The old theater remains trapped in time, unlike the main theater that renovated and reopened in 2007.

“We’re hoping that the Turnage ghost will be making an appearance, because the Turnage is supposedly haunted,” Clark said.

The Halloween extravaganza was at Clark’s behest, with the help of fellow organizer Virginia Finnerty: “I’ve always had a Halloween party every year and it just got too big. We were talking about moving the party to the Turnage and we decided that if we were going to move it there, we may as well make a fundraiser out of it,” Clark said.

For Clark, “Terror at the Turnage” is also a way to bring BCAC volunteers together for a good cause and the larger community downtown for a fun event.

“It’s another way to introduce people to the Turnage and just get together and have a good time in a nice environment,” Clark said.

But “Terror at the Turnage” may not be for everyone, according to BCAC Executive Director Joey Toler.

“Because of the ‘terror’ associated with this special evening, this event is not recommended for young children,” Toler wrote in a press release.

Tickets for the event are $25 and can be purchased at the Turnage Theater Box Office, or at the door the night of the event. There will be a cash bar, and ticket holders will receive one free beverage coupon with their purchase. For more information, or to purchase tickets, call 252-946-2504.