NATCHEZ — The darkened rooms of the West Wing building at Jefferson College are a little frightening by themselves.

But add the cloak of the night sky and a classic horror flick and the setting is down right horrifying.

At least that is what Robin Person, branch director for Historic Jefferson College, wants for the inaugural Horror Week Film Festival.

“It gets a little creepy sometimes during the day,” Person said. “At night, it is the perfect setting.”

Person said that while the movies are frightening by themselves, the fact that they will be shown outside the comfort of a private living room should make the moviegoers a little more uneasy.

“You can’t just get up and go to the kitchen and turn the light on out here,” Person said.

For the film festival, Person chose six classic horror films.

“I had about 100 from the film vault of Edward St. Pé,” Person said. “They are classic films that people might remember from the 60s or 70s or that they saw on late night TV.”

Person stressed that while the event is intended to be a fun, the films are not suitable for young children. Person, however, couldn’t pinpoint an exact age for attendance.

“It is really up to the parents,” she said.

The week begins on Monday with “Asylum” and “Hands of a Stranger” being projected onto the empty walls of the West Wing.

Attendees are encouraged to bring folding chairs and blankets since there is no seating or heat in building.

But Person said that shouldn’t deter anyone from coming.

“It kind of enhances the setting,” she said.”

Two different movies will be shown each night beginning at 6:30 p.m. There is no fee for admission, and snacks and soft drinks will be for sale.

Capping off the three nights of frightening flicks is the annual Ghost Tales Around The Campfire in the “bowl” behind the visitor’s center at Jefferson College.

Attendees should follow the lighted path to the event site. And, like the film festival in the days before, Ghost Tales Around the Campfire is free.

The storytelling session has happened each year since 1985 with local storytellers telling “true stories and stories that could be true.”

Ghost Tales will start at 6:30 on Thursday night.

Kay McNeil, a historian and event coordinator at Jefferson College, said that while the event is fun and entertaining it also serves a bigger cause.

“The purpose of the event is to promote the art of storytelling,” McNeil said. “We don’t want the art to die.”

Unlike the film festival that precedes it, the storytelling session is family friendly and open to listeners of all ages.

“The stories are not too, too scary,” McNeil said. “They are just scary enough that, if something jumped out of the bayou, we would all scatter.”

The group of all local storytellers will each tell several regional stories.

“We have several stories from Louisiana,” McNeil said. “We like to keep it between 6:30 and 8 p.m. so sometimes they will look over and ask if they have time for just one more story.”

McNeil said the event would be moved inside to the West Wing building if it rains. Blankets and folding chairs are also recommended for the storytelling.

“So far, I don’t think we’ve had one rained out,” McNeil said. “If it does rain, we will move it to the West Wing which is kind of spooky at night with maybe just one light burning.”