Blue Light Cemetery
Babies' cries are heard accompanied with the feeling of being watched, and a blue light has also been spotted.
Austin Pizza Garden
There are reports of faces appearing and disappearing in the walls.
Austin State School
There are several buildings in which employees have had sightings and heard sounds. This old place was built over a cemetery. The cemetery is for the patients that died there in the early part of this century. Recently, a coffin popped out of the ground right next to one of the condemned buildings.
A building was built over the graves of deceased patients. A coffin recently surfaced next to the condemned building. Staffers experience apparitions and ghostly sounds.
There are numerous reports of hauntings here. The building was constructed over an old cemetery and it was thought all of the coffins had been moved but at one time a coffin popped from the ground next to one of the condemned buildings.
There are several buildings that have had sightings and sounds by staff members. This old place was built over a cemetery built for patients that died in the early part of this century. But recently a coffin popped out of the ground right next to one of the condemned buildings.
Austin MHMR
My mom used to work for MHMR in Austin. She said that she almost got the job at Austin State School. Well I am glad she didn't. Anyhow, at MHMR one night, my mom and her co-worker were cleaning up one night, and they were going to open these two doors. She said that when they were trying to, somehow something was blocking it and that they were the only two people in the whole building. She said when the two of them finally pried it open, there was some furniture or something moved around in front of it. Weird, huh? In addition, the place was getting remodeled, and when they started on the basement, they found those big ole wrist chains; you know the ones when they tie someone up to the wall and stuff? Well yeah, those. Also, found there were some mouthpieces. They were put in people's mouths and protected their teeth from breaking, when they got electrocuted.
Bedicheck Middle School
Billy, a student, was playing the Phantom in the Phantom of the Opera. He was on the new catwalk in the auditorium and the rope slipped. He fell, and hanged himself. Billy is said to push students off the catwalk, and also to help them remember their lines.
Crockett High School
The story is said that there is a little girl roaming the basement of the school in search of her family. At night by the big gym it is said that you can hear a little girl crying walking up and down the hall.
Garrison Park
This park is located on Manchaca Road next to Crockett High School. It is said that if you drive down the road that takes you around the park, you can see kids playing on the basketball court and see people putting flowers on the graveyard that are in the back of the park before the football field. There are three graveyards in the back, where there are historic people.
Harris Park House/Landon Lane
The family living in this house began to see objects moving above them at night, hearing loud thumps in their attic, and every time the husband would come near his wife he'd feel an odd force pushing him away. They went around looking for old historical facts and information about their house. They found out that in 1985 a little girl named Doan was abused by her uncle and was raped by her cousin. She was later murdered by her uncle for telling her mother about it so now the family believes that she hovers around, protecting any girl that is touched by a male.
The family began to see objects moving above them at night, and heard loud thumps in their attic. Facts and information on their house cannot be found.
Logan's on 6th Street
The ghost of a man who died when the building was a coffee refinery haunts this business. Now glasses swing by themselves, doors swing open, and a loud cackling can be heard on the second floor in the middle of the night.
Swinging glasses and doors and loud cackling on the second floor are attributed to a man who died when the building was a coffee refinery.
Metz Elementary
This elementary school east of I-35 is haunted by the students. Construction workers on site heard the kids laughing from the walls. Mysterious events would happen to the crew who were working. Some had minor injuries.
Demolition of this old brick school building released a frenzy of ghostly activity. Work on the seventy-five year old school began in 1990, but progress was hampered by equipment problems and unusual accidents. Bulldozers broke down just as they approached the building, men fell off ladders pulled away by unseen hands, tools disappeared, and freak accidents happened every day. Some thing would shake the bottoms of ladders when workers climbed them. After workers encountered the ghosts of children writing on blackboards in the classrooms or hiding in the washroom stalls, half of the crew quit and the rest refused to work inside. The Torres Construction Company contacted a Catholic priest who performed an exorcism, but shortly afterward, one of the owners was killed when a wall "exploded" on him. The work was finally completed, nearly six months behind schedule. But that may not be the last of the ghosts. Foreman Joe Torres transplanted a tree from the site to the front yard of his daughter's home. Now, people claim to hear the voices of children coming from that tree.
Construction workers have seen images of school children playing at the blackboard. Also, a nasty spirit has been harassing workers, hiding and halting machinery, and has even killed one person by exploding a wall near him. The school is located at 84 Robert T. Martinez, Jr. Street.
A construction crew heard laughter coming from within the walls.
Previous students haunt this site. Construction workers on site experienced mysterious events, accidents and heard the sounds of laughing which seemed to emanate from the walls.
Omni Hotel
A man committed suicide by jumping from balcony. His name was Jack. Since he never paid for his room, his name still stays in the computer. Night maids have been said to hear him in his room still moving around when the room is not occupied, and guests report noises at night.
Richard Moya Park
There is an old bridge by the park that people say is haunted by ghosts. The bridge is closed because it is very old, but people still risk it for the chance of seeing these ghosts.
Spaghetti Warehouse
It is said that the second floor of this building is haunted. This was where the employees' break room was. As some employees would walk up the stairs to the break room, they would hear strange noises coming from above them. Some of them were so terrified they refused to go up there again.
An entire family of apparitions has been spotted after closing in one of the trolley cars. It is right next door to the Bitter End—maybe they share more than walls...
St. Edward's University
Doyle Hall: This all female dorm is haunted by the ghost of a nun. She's nice though. Sometimes the showers will turn on by themselves and you'll hear someone taking a shower but when you look, the showers are dry.
Mary Moody Northern Theatre: There are reports of the shadow of a young man who committed suicide haunting this theater. He hanged himself by the sandbag ropes and if you pay attention, not only can you see the shadow of the body swinging across the stage (even when the ropes are missing) but you can also hear the creaking of the rope.
Premont Hall: This all male dorm is haunted by the spirit of a former resident assistant. During spring break, he came back early and slipped and fell in the showers, dying instantly. He was left there for a week. He slams doors and windows and turns on all the showers at once.
Tavern Restaurant
This restaurant on North Lamar Boulevard has a female ghost nicknamed Emily. She has been seen through the upstairs window at night after closing, has broken dishes and glasses and loves to change the channels on the television.
University of Texas
Littlefield House: The daughter of Littlefield, for whom this dorm was built, is said to haunt the halls of her former college home. She plays practical jokes on the current residents such as turning lights and stereos on and off.
Littlefield House: Notes being played on the piano and footfalls heard in the hallways have been reported in the Littlefield House. The house is located on the University of Texas campus at 24th Street and White Avenue.
Littlefield House: The ghost of Mrs. George Washington Littlefield is said to haunt her former home. Her footsteps have been heard in the upper hallways, and she is said to haunt the living room where she sometimes picks out a few notes on the grand piano.
Music Auditorium: A spirit presence has been detected in the music auditorium.
Jensen Auditorium: Pianist and professor Dallis Franz still visits with the students.
The UT Tower: From July 31 to August 1, 1966 Charles Whitman went on a rampage that resulted in the deaths of 17 people, including himself. On the night of July 31 he murdered his mother in her apartment, and in the early hours of August 1 he stabbed his wife to death. By 12:00 PM on the August 1, he had made his way up to the observation deck of the tower and began to open fire on the South Mall. Fatalities occurred on the South Mall, by the computation center to the east of the Tower, on the drag section of Guadalupe, and inside the tower itself. At 1:24 PM, Whitman was shot to death by Austin police and DPS officers, ending the massacre. In 1975 the Observation Deck was closed to the public due to the number of suicides. It was reopened in September 1999 with high fencing and metal detectors. Now, the lights have been known to turn themselves on when the building is vacant, but they will turn off again if guards ask Charlie to behave.
Treasury Department
Employees report seeing chairs move without explanation. They also say that they can hear their names called but when they ask around, they find out no one called them. Weird stuff has also happened in the library.
Capital City Playhouse
[See also entry for Fado's Irish Pub]
Malevolent inhuman spirits are said to haunt the Capital City Playhouse. These spirits delight in moving furniture, playing with lights, and hiding objects when most needed. The playhouse is located at 214 West 4th Street. The playhouse is now Fado's Irish Pub.
An energetic ghost haunts this theater. The unidentified spirit rearranges furniture, moves stage lighting, and displaces small personal items.
Driskill House Hotel
The playful spirit of a ladies' man still entertains young women who visit this building.
Colonel Driskill smokes cigars and turns on the lights in upper floor guest rooms. The deceased daughter of a senator bounces a ball and giggles down the grand staircase. Mrs. Bridges rearranges invisible flowers in the lobby. Be careful getting off the elevator—you may run into Mr. Lawless checking his watch. Suicide Bride One has been spotted in the balcony level ladies' room peering under stalls. Suicide Bride Two, who recently died in the hotel, has been seen emerging from the elevator on the fourth floor of the traditional side, her arms loaded with packages. The elevators are the focus of all kinds of paranormal activity. The Driskill is probably the most haunted hotel in Texas.
The flirtatious ghost of a Texas man is said to haunt the top floor of this majestic hotel where he entertained his lady friends. The old elevator still makes calls to that floor for no reason, and female guests have reported the playful spirit in several rooms on that floor. The rock group Concrete Blonde encountered his presence when they stayed at the hotel on a road tour.
Visitors claim that they hear people playing upstairs. They also claim that they feel something touching their face and arms. Some people even say that they see figures in their windows and sitting in chairs. On the third floor of the Driskill Hotel, in one of the hallways, there is a painting of a little girl holding flowers. Witnesses report when they looked at the picture, a weird sensation came over them. It was like something was lifting up the heels of their feet. It was a tingling sensation, causing their equilibrium to be off for the next few hours.
The Driskill is a world unto itself; it is a world which transcends time and place. Located in the heart of Texas, this was once the proud showplace of a cattle baron. Lovingly and luxuriously transformed into something far more enticing, the Driskill has become a private haven of opulence and comfort. It now stands apart as a landmark of refined hospitality with a rich appreciation of the past and an elegant vision for the future. Legend has it that a playful ghost haunts the top floor here.
Governor's Mansion
The impressions left by a young man who committed suicide can still be heard in the room where he died. His crying can still be heard on Sundays. Also, the spirit of Sam Houston can be found in his old room. The mansion is on the corner of 10th and Colorado Streets.
The small north bedroom here is haunted by a governor's nephew. The mansion was built in 1853 by the fourth governor of Texas, Elisha Pease, but the ghost is Governor Pendleton Murrah's nineteen year old nephew, who committed suicide in his bedroom in 1864. The lovesick lad put a pistol to his head when a niece of Mrs. Murrah refused his hand in marriage. Afterward, servants refused to enter the room, which they said was haunted by the boy's anguished spirit. No one could sleep in the ice cold room because of unexplainable banging sounds, so Governor A.J. Hamilton had it sealed after the Civil War. It was re-opened in 1952 and the muffled sobbing of the heartbroken boy can still be heard, especially on Sundays, the day on which he tried to end his misery. The Houston Bedroom in the mansion is said to be haunted by none other than Sam Houston, the third governor of Texas. The statesman's shadow lurks in the corner of the room. His restless spirit was encountered by both the wife and daughter of Governor Mark White in the 1980s.
The nephew of Governor Murrah still haunts the North Bedroom where he committed suicide.
Zachary Scott Kleberg Theater
A malevolent inhuman spirit has been reported here. Things get moved about and lighting changed, not to mention performers missing objects when most needed. The spirit is considered not too dangerous but annoying. The theater is at 1510 Toomey Road.
Unidentified spirits haunt the stage area at this theater. The mischievous spirits are blamed for moving props, changing lighting, and stealing the actors' personal possessions and then returning them.
B Side Bar/Bitter End Bistro & Brewery
Dark figures are seen moving between the bar and the bathroom. One night, when the manager was alone and closing the bar, all of the bar stools that had been pushed under the bar were mysteriously pushed a couple of feet away from the bar.
Bertram's Restaurant
This restaurant is at 14th and Guadalupe. The building used to be a general store and the ghost of the former owner doesn't seem to want to leave.
Carrington's Bluff
A television without a remote turns on and off, and one guest got his hair shampooed by the ghost.
Clay Pit
The sounds of a ghostly party have been heard coming from an upstairs banquet room.
David Grimes Photography Studio
An apparition of an elderly woman has been seen here. A remote control car has operated by itself, and the ghost split a glass in half while the owner was holding it.
Fado's Irish Pub
[See also entry for Capital City Playhouse]
This pub is located at 214 West 4th Street. It was formerly the Capital City Playhouse Theater. Doesn't every theater have at least one ghost? Activity may have stopped now, though, since it's an Irish pub.
The Hideout
Faucets turn on and off, locked gates open, and the main breaker was tripped during renovation for no apparent reason.
Highlife Café
An apparition appears in both blue and white. A stereo system has turned itself on. Also, a mysterious light show appeared during a bachelor party.
Inn at Pearl Street
Lights have come on even when there was no power to the building. An apparition, believed to be Stella Snider, has been seen carrying and rocking a very ill child.
Littlefield Building
This building is next door to the Driskill Hotel. Elevators operate by themselves and quit for no reason. Footsteps are heard on upper floors at night when no one is there. At the moment, we do not know who might be haunting the building, but perhaps the Driskill ghosts are paying a visit next door.
Neill-Cochran House
Colonel Neill has been seen riding his horse around the mansion, and having tea on the porch with a specter identified as Robert E. Lee. Footsteps have also been heard at night when no one is there.
Old Stone Ridge Road
[See also entry for Old Stone Ridge Road in San Antonio. There is a Stone Ridge Road in both cities, so it is unclear where the story originates.]
When driving toward the children's cemetery with lights off, strange things happen, including door locks going up and down (even the manual locks).
It is a children's gravesite. Many stillborns or toddlers and infants who died are buried here. The funny thing is that the children come from only a few families. The loss of so many children one after another had to be devastating. Car locks, manual or not, go up and down and headlights flicker. There are orbs and things that float around and have been captured on film.
If you drive down this street at night with your lights off en route to the old children's cemetery, strange things happen. Once, the locks on the doors of our car went up and down. And they weren't automatic locks. Supposedly, the Donkey Lady is responsible for the hauntings. Killed and badly mangled in an auto wreck when some friends of hers were driving down the road with no lights on one night, she haunts the woods around the area and protects the souls of the small children buried in the cemetery.
Paramount Theatre for the Performing Arts
Strange lights are seen in the projection room, and one employee reported an "old hag" experience there.
Speakeasy's
The front doors bang, followed by the sound of someone rushing up the stairs, then there is a knocking on the walls followed by a scream. Sometimes the scream is heard by itself.
State Capitol Building
One of the oldest hauntings in the state, the apparitions of an ill-fated scout and his Indian maiden lover have been seen on the land since before the current building was erected. The apparition of a suicide from the 1980s has been seen on the rotunda.
The Tavern
This building is on 12th and Lamar and is haunted by the ghost of a prostitute named Emily.
The Jealous Boyfriend (Location Unknown)
It all started when I decided to take a part time job as a bouncer. The rest of the guys there were bigger so they started making fun of me for being the smallest and the shortest out of the group. The manager saw how one day I roughed up this guy; this guy was tall, 6'4" at least, and I'm only 5'9". He saw how I never backed down from him and how a couple of the other guys didn't want to jump in and help. But I roughed him up good. My boss pulled me to the side and told me that I can be a lot better and maybe get the respect of the other guys if I got bigger. The next day I decided to go out and buy some exercise equipment, and in a couple of weeks I started to get ripped. I was already strong as an ox but didn't have the size. I was getting there. One night as I worked out I felt as if someone was watching me, I thought it was my girlfriend at first, but when I turned around, there was nothing there. I felt this presence every time I worked out. Nothing else out of the ordinary was happening so I never mentioned it to my girlfriend. About two weeks after I first felt that presence, I started to smell perfume and felt someone or something get on the bed with me after I took a shower and went to bed. I got so used to it after a while, that I started greeting her when she got there and saying goodnight to her before I went to sleep. She would always get in on the side my girlfriend slept, and since my girlfriend worked nights, it was always available. After growing up in a big family, I got used to closing my bedroom door. My girlfriend would always tease me about it, saying that there was nothing for me to hide anymore. So one night after taking a shower and going to bed, I felt the presence get in the bed with me. Joking around, I said. "About time you got here; I was starting to feel neglected." And with that, I felt as if it wrapped its arm around me the way spouses do each other. I blew it off, since nothing ever happened, until one day, my door was violently flung open, the way someone would open a door when they're very upset. I looked up expecting to see my girlfriend at the door, but there was nothing there. Then the room got very cold. I could see my breath; that's how cold it was. Whatever was at the door wasn't friendly. I then heard two footsteps, and then everything was quiet for about two seconds. That's when I felt something come down and hit me square in the chest and almost knock the wind out of me. It knocked me back into the bed, and then, as I was trying to catch my breath, my pillow came crashing on my face with such force that I felt as if it had broken my nose. It was holding the pillow down with so much force that I started kicking and swinging my arms, hoping to hit whatever was on top of me. After what it seemed an eternity I managed to grab hold of something, and I somehow knocked it off me, but it was not letting go. I got off the bed and started walking toward the door when I walked right in front of my mirror. I looked up to see myself standing in front of the mirror with a bloody nose and with my arms stretched out, but somehow you could see hand prints on my clothes as this thing was trying its best to get away. I freaked out and threw whatever I had in my arms into the mirror. I heard the mirror shatter as I got out of the room and closed the door behind me. I grabbed the key and locked the room. The thing kept on slamming itself on the door and it also had this evil-growl like laugh that sent chills through my spine. I started to walk towards the living room when the front door opened and my girlfriend walked in. Seeing the blood on my face, she started to ask me if I was okay, when the door to my room broke into a million pieces. I quickly grabbed my girl, got in her car and drove out of there. We moved out the next day.
Unidentified Apartment Complex
At this unidentified apartment complex, residents have experienced a wide variety of unexplained happenings: appliances broke and malfunctioned far more often than normal, the apartment lost power when no other apartment in the building did, strange mists were seen along with several apparitions.
Read a first hand account of the frightening haunting of this apartment.
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
Pressor Hall: A girl was killed by her boyfriend at Pressor Hall. Now people hear a piano and footsteps, and the elevator malfunctions on the top floor.
Pressor Hall: The spirit of a murdered girl haunts Mary Hardin-Baylor. The top floor has now been converted to only a storage area due to the many unexplained events there. Piano music, footsteps and elevators that malfunction have been reported.
Pressor Hall: The ghost of a girl who was killed by her boyfriend haunts this university. The top floor has been converted to storage due to unexplainable events like hearing a piano, elevator doors closing and opening, and the sound of footsteps. A campus police officer only locks the building from the outside because of the phenomena he witnessed here.
Pressor Hall: There is a building in University of Mary Hardin-Baylor called Pressor Hall that is said to be haunted by a young woman who was murdered. They say you can see her in the window as you walk by at night. Many students have actually come in to close contact with this ghost.
Wal-Mart
A nighttime manager was walking by a toy aisle and saw a woman with a Wal-Mart smock on when no one was supposed to be in the area. She stopped and went back to the aisle and the woman was nowhere to be found.
A night associate was in the receiving area. She turned to find a little boy. She heard a noise and turned her head away for a moment, but when she turned it back, the boy was gone.
BLORA (Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area)
A soldier in PT uniform appears in the early morning hours, skipping rocks across the lake. He seems to take no notice of you, and disappears when the sun starts to rise.
Back Road
NEW: My best friend, one of her friends and I were out one day driving around and we all jumped to the idea of buying a Ouija board. We thought it'd be fun to just play around with it and laugh and scare each other. So we got one and I thought of a freaky place out on a back road near Belton, Texas, where my brother used to live. So we went to the bridge there. And we fooled around with it a bit and then came back to my house to "play" with it. Beforehand, we'd read up on Ouija boards and stuff to know what we were getting into, so we could keep everything "under control." But that wasn't our luck. About a week later, my best friend and I could be driving separately or together and we'd see someone or something all in black in our rear-view mirror that wasn't there before...going across the road. The first few times we blew it off. But then the night before last, we were in Killeen waiting at a red light and we saw "it" again - but in front of us. We just watched it walk...and the thing had disappeared, with no where for it to go.
Blooming Grove (Navarro County)
Lone Oak Cemetery
Down on the old dirt road about two miles, there is a small cemetery. Late at night you will here whisperings and here the barbed wire near the cemetery flick. I have encountered these strange noises myself.
NEW: Wow! I ran across the web site while searching for ghost information. The cemetery in Blooming Grove, is it the old abandoned one? I used to camp out in Frost on my ex-boyfriend's property. On one occasion we went to one of the abandoned cemeteries there off of a dirt road. There were bluebonnets planted and I saw a single white bluebonnet. I thought it was odd and took a photo, hoping to catch some ghost activity on film. I took some pictures at the camp earlier in the day and replaced the film, took a whole roll of the pics at the cemetery. We went back the next morning to take more pictures. Weird thing was, when I had the film developed, the first roll from the camp site came out just fine. The other two rolls were developed at different times (two weeks apart) and both of those with the cemetery photographs came out completely BLANK! There was NOTHING on them. Have you ever had this happen?
Boerne Public Library
Many feel the ghost when inside the library. If you drive by late at night you can see lights in the building going on and off.
Lights turn on and off by themselves at night. Joseph Dienger is reported to haunt this building. There are also rumors of underground tunnels connecting it to Ye Kendall Inn.
The Dienger building, which is now the library itself, was originally a grocery store with the Dienger family's quarters upstairs. It is a Texas historical landmark building and is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. If you drive by here at night you can often see the lights flashing on and off within the building long after everyone has gone home.
Country Spirit Restaurant & Bar
Country Spirit is now a restaurant. It is haunted by three ghosts. Their names are David, Augustine, and George. Sometimes you can even hear doors opening on the top floor.
The basement is haunted by a middle-aged man named Fred who likes to pretend to eat food left by patrons. A young teenage boy named David frequents the men's bathroom and likes to flip potato chips off of plates and push wineglasses off of the bar. Augusta likes the green couch near the bathrooms.
Meyer B & B
The apparition of a red-haired girl named Julia is reported in the cottage, an a Native American woman is seen in the Maternity House. Ghost steps are heard in the hotel.
Ye Kendall Inn B & B
The apparition of an elderly lady has been spotted, someone sits on the bed in the Marcella Booth room (she's still alive and living in town), there are electrical disturbances, doors rattle and slam, ghostly footsteps are heard, and pieces fall off of a chandelier.
Soldiers Watering Hole
There's a historical marker outside of Brady demarcating an old water hole used by soldiers at war. The story goes that the soldiers were camping by the water hole one night and were attacked by Indians. The Indians burned the soldiers' wagons, stole their horses, and killed all the women and children. Now if you go there at night, you can hear cries. You can also you can hear arrows flying by. On occasion you can see campfires glowing out in the woods. One night a group of friends were trying the legend out. While all the friends were talking a couple of girls walked off on their own. When the girls were walking back one of the girls noticed that her friend had not said a word while walking she would just nod her head to everything she would say. Then she heard her friends calling her from a distance, but noticed her best friend was not with her; she was with the group of people off at a distance. So she gasped and started to run towards her friends knowing she had been accompanied by an unknown figure, not her friend.
Bryan/College Station (Brazos County)
A&M Consolidated High School
Rumors abound of a very nasty metaphysical presence that walks (or rather floats) in the career technology wing of this newly renovated high school. This presence is supposedly named Toby and several young students have tried unsuccessfully to document this scary and mysterious haunting.
Plantation House
Doors slammed shut in the middle of the night to trap a feral dog that was wandering through the rooms where my family slept. Also footsteps have been heard in the attic and in dead space between the rooms.
Schulman Theater
The upstairs projection rooms are said to be haunted by the ghost of a young man. The man was supposedly closing alone one night when he heard a knock on the door. The theater was closed but he went downstairs to see his partner at the door. He let his partner inside, where they began to fight. The partner fled in anger, only to return to kill the man. The opening crew discovered the body the next day. The haunting is said to take place upstairs, which consists of projection rooms and an office. The man will appear behind you and whisper. He is also seen standing next to projectors. The partner/killer is said to be in jail serving his sentence as we speak.
Texas A & M
Corps Dining Hall: Poltergeist activity has been reported here.
Agriculture Building: There are reports of a ghost that haunts the elevator. Supposedly, the ghost involves the victim of a murder.
Agriculture Building: The Agriculture building has a haunted elevator supposedly linked to a murder victim.
Lewis and Turner Dormitories: Cold spots and the eerie sensation of being watched have been experienced in both the Lewis and Turner Dormitory Halls, both thought to be haunted by students who killed themselves.
Old Animal Sciences Building: A haunted elevator operates of its own free will. Although originally I was told that it was the site of a murder, a kind viewer who is at A & M did some footwork for me and discovered that this is not the case. The building housed the location where deceased animals were disposed of (A & M has a world-famous veterinary school) and one of the workers whose job was to cut them up, well, he missed and severed a major blood vessel. He died of blood loss in the building.
Old Animal Sciences Building: A friend and I were roommates at Texas A & M University. We heard the rumor that the Agriculture building was haunted. We did a little walking after dark. The now Agriculture building is situated on what is referred to as West Campus. This building was certainly not haunted. The next day, while walking to class, I noticed that one of the buildings near the O & M building had the word "Agriculture" inscribed across the front. After class I rushed back to the dorms to inform my roommate. That night we convinced another friend to come with us to investigate. We wandered around aimlessly for about an hour. Just as we were about to call it a night we ventured into the auditorium; to our surprise there was a professor there. He asked us our business and we told him forthrightly. To our surprise he knew the story. In the late 1950s, a student was up late working on a project that involved an animal carcass of some kind. He was alone in the building and was working in the basement area known as the kill floor. It was called that due to the animals that were killed there. Just to give a description, there is a small room in the center of the underground level that has tile floors and multiple drains. There is a stainless steel double door directly across the hall from a decommissioned elevator shaft. As the story goes this student, who was working with a blade of some sort, somehow slipped and severed his femoral artery. He struggled to get to the elevator, which was a cargo elevator for handling the large loads associated with the study of large animals such as cows and the like. The man made it to the elevator and no further. Supposedly the elevator bore his body up and down throughout the entire night. The elevator remained in service until 1963, according to the professor, but janitors complained that during the night it sporadically went between the floors. Currently the shaft is filled with old filing cabinets on the kill floor, and the holes where the doors would have been on the ground level have been covered up. If you look closely you can tell there is a difference between the wall finishes. So, we thanked the professor and proceeded to the kill floor. There was nothing worthy of note, actually, no matter what, we never felt uneasy. We even pushed aside the filing cabinets and climbed into the old shaft. We forced our way into the kill room, which is now storage, and no uneasy feelings arose there, either. So I must report that the Texas A & M Animal Husbandry (that is what the inscription on the building says) is not haunted. It is now called the Animal Industries building.
Caldwell High School
Located on Highway 21 (basically in a field of cows) sits Caldwell High School, a fairly new building (less than 30 years old). The spotlight projection room in the auditorium and the sound booth are haunted by an unknown spirit the theatre troupe referred to as George. The soundboard and light dials will move and the lights will dim or flicker during rehearsals (but never during actual shows) despite the electrical wiring being checked repeatedly. Folks working in the spotlight room have reported chills and strange noises.
China Spring (McLennan County)
Copper's Crossing
Copper's Crossing gives you a feeling of being watched. The closer that you get to the river, the stronger the feeling gets. There are also feelings of something brushing up against you.
Patrick Cemetery
There is a little graveyard just outside of Waco in China Spring. I have been out there a few times and get a really creepy feeling. Cold chills are common, pictures get interesting, and animals act weird. Rumor has it that if you knock on a certain headstone at midnight, an apparition appears and runs at you, screaming extremely loudly. Also headstones tend to move around frequently.
Navarro County Courthouse
Late night users of the law library and people in the courthouse have heard footsteps descending from the second and third floors. The sounds are rumored to be the ghost of the old district clerk who was shot by the county sheriff after a political dispute on the courthouse steps.
Late night users of the law library have heard disembodied footsteps descending from the upper floors. This is believed to be the ghost of the former district clerk who was shot and killed by the county sheriff after a political dispute.
Almost a century old, the courthouse is said to be haunted. Late night visitors in the law library report the sounds of footsteps descending from the second and third floors. Some think it is the spirit of a district clerk who was shot to death by a county sheriff after a political dispute.
A ghost has been heard on the stairs between the second and third floors. He may have been a man shot by the sheriff after a political dispute.
Old Navarro Regional Hospital
The building is now torn down, but it is said that the area is extremely haunted because of the many lives that were lost there. You can still hear voices and other hospital noises if you sit, close your eyes, and listen for a while.
Coupland Dancehall
The owners report strange occurrences here, including an unplugged electric fan turning on. A liquor deliveryman stated that three ghosts climbed into his truck with him. There are also reports of paranormal entities appearing on photographs taken inside the dancehall.
St. Olaf's Church
When a certain hymn is played on the organ, you can hear a ghost choir singing in the background.
The voices of a congregation singing can be heard but so far have not been recorded. The abandoned church can be found in Cranfills Gap, near Norse, 16 miles west of Clifton.
A ghostly congregation fills this deserted church. Their voices and singing are often reported in the empty building, which was constructed in 1886 and abandoned in 1917 when another church was constructed closer to town. The site was investigated in 1977. Everyone present could hear the eerie voices, though nothing turned up on tape.
According to legend, if you enter the church and sing Psalm 56 you will hear angry Norwegian voices coming from the neighboring cemetery.
The story goes that if you enter the church, be sure it's for the right reason, such as to worship, or to take yourself back a century or more, for nostalgia's sake. If you try to entice Norwegian voices to speak or sing, music seems to accomplish it. Also, no specific melody is necessary. The voices have been heard, not in a soothing way, but angry. Some people believe the voices rise from the old cemetery outside the church. But the windows are closed. Perhaps the spirits could be inside the church. Many Norwegians were buried in the graveyard.
The story goes that a father and son visited the church once. The son played the piano that sits by the altar and played "Claire de Lune." From behind him, voices began to mumble. The men weren't sure if the voices were speaking or singing. The son couldn't hear them as he played, but his father could hear the voices coming from the back of the sanctuary. The father then took the son's place at the piano, thinking the voices were speaking to him in answer to the instrumental accompaniment. The son went to the balcony and also clearly heard the voices, but neither man could pinpoint the origin. The son said the voices were more sweet than angry.
A young woman visited the church and felt chills go through her body. The day was still, but the gates still rattled at the cemetery entrance. She saw shadows of people walking through the sanctuary, and there were more shadows than there were people.
The caretaker of St. Olaf's is apparently opposed to visitors seeking the ghosts. It is not said whether the caretaker is ghostly or alive. Maybe he is the one rattling the gates when unwanted visitors come.
NEW: I thought I would give you some additional information. I have visited the church many times, and not once has it been quiet. I have heard everything from footsteps (when no one was walking) and have seen shadows approach from the cemetery, lights from the steeple, and very strange noises. I am yet to experience hearing people sing. I have also heard the gate and flagpole line rattle with no wind at all. The caretaker is not ghostly. He lives on the adjoining property about 100 yards from the church. Eerie place.
NEW: A friend of mine is a film student and wanted
to do some work out at the church and first got ahold of the caretaker...as
far as he said the caretaker is an older man who lives on top of the hill.
If you look off to the right of the church while standing at the gate.
from what he said the caretaker will gladly give a tour of the property.
however if you tresspass he will try to run you off. I also have another
friend whose mom told me she is related to the original St. Olaf that came
over and
started the church. She says they hold a midnight mass at the church around
Christmas time.
Devil's Backbone (Hays/Comal County)
Devil's Backbone
From the Handbook of Texas Online: The Devil's Backbone is a narrow ridge five miles northwest of St. Jo in east central Montague County (at 33°44' N, 97°30' W). The ridge, with an elevation of 1,225 feet, was used between the 1850s and the mid-1870s by Comanches and Kiowas as a military lookout to monitor the movements of the Anglo-Americans who moved into the county and established the nearby settlements of St. Jo, Bonita, and Capps Corner.
One of the most scenic drives in Texas is also one of the most haunted. The Devil's Backbone is a line of large hills that stretches along southeast of Austin in and around Wimberley, Texas. Although very beautiful, there have been many horrific deeds here to Native Americans and settlers alike. There have been apparitions seen at many different ranch homes ranging from 16th century Spanish monks, native spirits, and even an entire company of Confederate soldiers traveling on horseback. The hooves were said to sound like thunder and shook the walls of a bunkhouse. Campers report smelling campfires (in places where fires are not allowed) and being followed by people unseen while hiking. Hunters talk about hearing footsteps at the bottom of their deer stands. The strangest reports come from a few that say they were possessed by the spirit of a wolf. The wolf spirit is said to set the person in a trance for hours. A strange baritone voice comes from the possessed talking about how the Natives where robbed of their homes.
Ghosts of monks and Native Americans have been seen. At one time, a large group of riders who looked liked Civil War soldiers rode by a group of men. Their cabin shook from the force of the horses' hooves hitting the ground. When they had passed not one plant had been damaged.
An occasional visitor has spotted a ghostly re-enactment of the battle where R.N. Wall died, including Wall's great-grandson.
An American Indian called Drago has seen by ranchers herding cattle through the backbone.
A woman and child have been seen wandering in search of a Christian burial for her miner husband who was killed when the shaft collapsed.
Purgatory Road: An apparition has been known to show up on the hoods of cars as they drive down this road near Wimberley.
Jacob's Well: The well is actually a huge hole in the rock, with a natural spring forming a convenient swimming hole. It has many caverns and cave-ins are common. Of the nine divers/spelunkers who have tried to enter the third cavern, only one has come out alive. The other bodies have never been recovered. It also has its own ghost light.
The television show Unsolved Mysteries aired a story on the haunted Devil's Backbone in January 1996. Read a transcript of that story here.
Elgin Elementary School
The girls restroom is said to be haunted. Students are advised not to go in alone.
Allphin Cemetery
There is an unknown grave marked the year 1870, and once a year there will be a single fresh rose laid upon it.
Goatman Tunnel
[See also entries for Italy and Burkburnett.]
Visitors report hearing footsteps and women screaming and seeing odd lights and blood dripping from the top of the tunnel.
It was spring break and my friend Jason and I were walking to my house where he was going to stay the night. We had been looking forward to this for a while, and as we walked around town on the way to my house, we began talking about legends, myths, and ghost stories. I told him about one town legend. He had never heard it before. I said, "Ever heard the legend of the goat man? Down at the bike trail years back, there was a goat man that would capture kids at night and kill them. Now it is said that sometimes at night you can still see him walking around, looking for children." He was amazed by the story and wanted to go down there. I immediately replied, "No! Are you crazy? People still say they see him." Still, he wanted to go, so I finally said okay. The time was around 5:27 PM. I thought hey, there is still light out; what could go wrong? So we walked down there to see what we could find after first stopping at my house for supplies. We got flashlights, a little food, and a couple of knives just in case. We arrived down at the bike trail at 6:12 PM. It was still light, but I began to worry. We looked around the trail just like any one else would have, looking at trees, bushes, etc. Now there has always been a tunnel at the bike trail but no one ever enters it. That is where he is supposed to be. We knew if we wanted to see him we would unfortunately have to go in the tunnel. We had to crawl on our hands and knees about 15 yards in the dark. We had to use those flashlights a lot. We crawled and crawled, talking about if we would see it and we came to a turn. I saw a large figure at the end of a straightaway. I said, "Jason, you see that?" He said, "Yes!" I shined my light on it. It didn't move at first so I thought it was just a shadow. Then Jason and I were still, and it started to move into the light. I saw a humanoid figure with long wild hair a scraggly body. I began to cuss under my breath. We heard a scratch and I said, "That wasn't me, Jason! Run!" He replied, "I know!" We then turned and crawled as fast as we could to the entrance. My blood froze as I heard the sounds of heavy panting, and claws on the wall trying to catch us. I might be a heavy-looking guy but little to none can catch me when I am trying to escape something. When we made it to the entrance we were in a state of shock. The sun was all the way down. We could hear the creature stop when we got out of the tunnel. It seemed to have receded back into the tunnel. We fled back to our bikes and we rode hard into the night until our blood felt like it was going to boil, and then we rode some more. We went straight to my house. After getting inside we talked about every thing that happened. We told our friends and we have been there again and seen it more than once but that is a different story.
See the article on the Goatman that ran in the Waco Tribune-Herald on June 19, 1998
Stage Stop Ranch
If you go there between 12:00 and 2:00 AM, you will see a ghost of a man hanging from a large oak tree that is found to the left of the main plaza. He was hanged in the tree in the early 1800s for killing a sheriff's deputy. It is said his corpse was left to hang until the buzzards picked him clean. You will also hear the wheels of the wagons that once past through.
Fort Hood (Bell/Coryell County)
III Corps Headquarters Building
Personnel working security late at night have heard footsteps and doors opening and closing when no one else is in the building.
Walker Village
On post on Fort Hood in Walker Village there have been weird things going on in the kitchen of our post housing. The kitchen cabinets have been open and slammed shut multiple times. Also one of the handles of the drawers has been broken and then the next day it was fixed. Baby toys have come on or off when they have not been touched.
NEW: Read a first hand account of an intense haunting on Fort Hood.
Fredericksburg (Gillespie County)
Admiral Nimitz Museum
Some employees have heard footsteps late at night. They say you can see shadows of men walking throughout. Lights will suddenly go on and off when no one else is in the building.
Chuckwagon B & B
There are reports of electrical problems, window shades that roll themselves, disappearing and reappearing items, and odd wet footprints that are mostly attributed to the ghost of Mrs. Mueller.
Country Cottage Inn
Locked doors open themselves, ghost steps are heard on the second floor, cold spots are noted, and secure cabinets open themselves.
Flagstone Sunday House
The TV turns itself on and off, shuffling sounds are heard on the second floor, the closet door opens itself, lights turn on and off, and the shower comes on of its own accord.
Mt. View Correctional Facility
Hackaberry Unit 3B: This prison was formerly a state school for wayward boys. Guards and inmates have reported seeing young boys playing marbles and chasing each other. Update: A former guard claims to have been part of perpetuating a hoax by banging on pipes to scare other guards and inmates. But does that explain the reported sightings?
This is now a prison, but was once state school for boys. When you first start to work there, the prisoners will tell you that there are little boys haunting the dorms. I witnessed this first hand more than once. One night while working third shift, I was standing at the sink area of the dorm and was looking in the mirror when I saw someone walking in the dayroom area. I went to investigate and there was no one in the room where I had seen the movement. Also during a third shift watch, one of the female guards was making her rounds when something ran out from one of the small cubicles in front of her, causing her to scream and wake up the prisoners. She quit not soon after that.
Georgetown (Williamson County)
Annie Pearl Elementary School
Everyone calls her the nine o'clock ghost. A little girl was killed on the playground by her own mother because the mother could not take care of the girl. Now every night if you drive by with your lights off and windows down you can see one of the swings moving back and forth, and you can hear a small sweet voice sing "Ring around the rosy, pockets full of posies, ashes, ashes, will you come and play with me please?"
Cobblestones
The ghost of an old woman reportedly haunts this shop. The owners report hearing the sound of a rocking chair rocking upstairs after the shop has been closed for the day.
Adobe Verde
In the 1920s this Tex-Mex restaurant was one of the first electric cotton gins. Back in the early days of the cotton gin, a groundskeeper, known to present employees as Frank, supposedly hanged himself from the rafters of the vaulted ceiling. He couldn't bear to live without his recently deceased lover. Frank now roams the restaurant, playing practical jokes like turning lights on and off, throwing things off counters, and bumping glasses together. Sometimes you can even hear someone with boots on running back and forth along the upstairs dining area, but when you go and look around no one is there.
Soccer Field
It's said that there is a cowboy with red eyes who appears in what is now a soccer field near a sewage treatment plant. The cowboy walks across the field, then disappears into the sewage plant. He is said to be looking for the Indian tribe that killed his family in captive. When the cowboy disappears into the sewage plant, an Indian runs out of the trees in the direction of the sewage plant. Before he gets to the sewage plant you hear gunshots and the Indian falls in the tall grass. If you run over there you can't see the Indian but there will be a long dent in the grass where the cowboy dragged him. You can hear light screams from a distance.
Canberyvilla
In the laundry room there is a ghost who like to drink Coke. They say if you leave an open Coke, and go back, that it will be halfway gone.
Junior High Building
This old school is on Walnut Street. When this school was a college in the early 1900s, students often got into fistfights with each other in the cafeteria.
One day, a fight got out of hand when a student threw a tray at another student's head and cracked the student's skull open. The student died before the paramedics arrived. People have reported seeing him roaming the halls of the now deserted building.
The ghost of a college student killed in a cafeteria fight has been seen roaming the halls. The building was a college building years ago.
The Shadows
It is said that if you go into The Shadows late at night, park your car and turn everything off, you can hear voices and people walking around. After a while rocks will even be thrown at your car. There will be knocks on your back window. If you try to get out of your car, you will feel a cold presence even in the middle of summer.
The Tarlton House Bed & Breakfast
It is said that the builder of this house, Greene Duke Tarlton, hanged himself on the third floor after the death of his second wife. The house was built with love in 1895, and he spared no money creating a lasting legacy for his family. Rumor has it that Mr. Tarlton himself is said to be wandering the halls at night. Witnesses have heard the footsteps and felt cool brushes, like soft kisses to their brow. Eyewitness accounts can be read in the journals that are found in every room, left behind from the weary traveler or vacationer.
Green Duke Tarlton has been seen and felt in his old house. He surprised a maid, and the owner felt someone sit down on the bed next to her, only to look over and find an empty space.
Jake's Bridge
The bridge is located on Jake's Hill Road. To this day, if you go out to the bridge, turn your car off and put it in neutral, ghosts push your car across the bridge to safety away from Jake. The bridge is flat. If you put flour on the back of your car, you can see the handprints the children made when pushing your car.
The bridge is off a county road near a cemetery where supposedly a man killed his wife and kid then hanged himself off the bridge. Well the bridge is what is haunted; if you put your car into neutral he will push your car across the bridge, which is totally flat.
There is a bridge on a road beyond I-35 to the east, off of Wells Branch Parkway. If you put your car in neutral and turn everything off, your car will roll across the bridge. Supposedly the ghosts of two children who were killed by their father around the area push your car, away from their dangerous dad.
The story has it that a farmer named Jake killed his wife and two kids then hanged himself off the bridge. If you go to the bridge, put your car in neutral and put flour on the back of your car, the wife and two kids will push you across the bridge to save you from Jake. The bridge has been proven to be flat. Recently, the bridge has been visited and better directions have been given: go east on 685 to a road called Rowe Lane. Go down that way for a while until you reach Jakes Hill Road. Then after going down a hill you will come to a bridge, which is Jake's bridge.
[Editor's note: these directions work, but if you're coming from the north as we were, you may wish to exit I-35 at Hwy 79 and travel down to Hutto and turn right on 1660. Go down this road for about a mile and a half or so, and you will see a cemetery to the right. 1660 will curve around to the left, but you want to go straight at the cemetery. The bridge is just up the road, maybe half a mile or so.]
If you put your car in neutral, a man who hanged himself off of the bridge will push it across.
Read about a frightening encounter with a ghost truck on Jake's Hill Road.
Read an article from Texas Escapes on Jake's Bridge.
Jake's House
Stories says that it too is haunted with visitors reportedly hearing the sound of footsteps, kids screaming, and Jake yelling, "I am coming for you!"
Travis Lake
The lake is haunted by a woman killed in a car accident.
Joppa Bridge
Unexplained noises of someone running and breathing hard have been heard.
When you go onto the bridges at night, you are supposed to be able to hear something running and breathing hard underneath the bridge. There are two bridges, and they were both built in the 1800s. Many say that the noise from under the bridge comes from trolls.
Randall's Food Store (currently Hastings)
It was said by many managers that there was a ghost roaming the manager's office and the store aisles. This ghost would knock off magazines from the check stands onto the floor. Also, it was seen that the ghost would make pyramids of food cans on the aisles. There was also a door leading to the catwalk of the store in the manager's office. Late at night you would feel a cold chill and wind would blow papers off the desk.
Sulphur Springs
In the 1800s the only daughter of the richest man in the town fell in love and got pregnant by one of their slaves. She told her father and he had the slave hanged. After she had the baby she went and jumped into the Sulphur Springs with her newborn baby and drowned. But the body mysteriously floated up to the top of the springs 15 years later. It is now said that the ghost walks around the grounds where her house used to be. It is now a intermediate school. The ghost is said to wander around the old slave house with her baby looking for her lost love to show him the baby.
Liberty Hill (Williamson County)
Witch's Grave
Supposedly in the 1700s or 1800s, a black slave was accused of being a witch. She was hanged in a nearby tree (which is still there) and buried in the cemetery. Her grave marker says something like "whoever passes over this grave, shall die as I died." The words are so worn off that you can hardly read them. On Halloween night, people claim to hear the witch and sometimes see her hanging in the tree.
I live not too far from the cemetery and I know exactly what the words are that the tombstone states. "As ye walk by, ye shall die as well as I." Also, I have always believed her to be a witch and a horse thief who was hanged by the tree on the other side of the road. My friends have also told me something else that I don't believe. You take her headstone and throw it in the river (which is not far away) and it is back there the next day. If you are ever north of Austin, I would definitely recommend checking out the witch's grave. The tombstone is very interesting. People leave her stuff all the time.
Badu House
This bed and breakfast was originally a bank building built in 1891. It was converted into a home for Professor Badu in 1896. The good professor apparently loved his house and Llano so well that he has never left.
Six Mile Light
There are reports of a ghost light six miles from Llano creek, in the Llano uplift region, near or within the Enchanted Rock.
County Court and Jailhouse
Closed in the early 1970s, the jailhouse was made into a museum that is open on the weekends. The top three levels are what was formerly the jail. This section is filled with so much pain, sadness and death that it's hard to breathe. The whole place gives off bad vibes. You can sense that a lot of people died up there, and there was a lot of suffering. It's sad and creepy at the same time.
Some of the prisoners, the sheriff and his wife have opted to hang around.
Kung Residence
Phantom whistles, ghost steps climbing the stairs, self-operating faucets, doors that open themselves, and a male apparition in a blue shirt are experienced here.
The Banks of San Marcos River
An invisible thing haunts the marsh and surrounding woods in this vicinity. Hunters and fisherman have had numerous terrifying encounters with this entity. It is not visible to the human eye, but makes its presence known by weird sounds and the disturbance or "pressing down" of nearby foliage. Ghost? Elemental? No one really knows what this frightening creature is that haunts the desolate swamp and nearby woods on the San Marcos.
Edgar B. Davis Hospital
The ghost of the man who created the hospital (same name) haunts this hospital. Nurses and doctors have reports about doors opening and closing medicine being knocked on the ground when there is only one person in the room.
Sandy Creek
An unknown man was beheaded by unknown assailants in the creek bottom. Now a light hovers just off of the ground in nearby fields that is attributed to the victim.
Falls Hotel
There is no doubt in my mind that the Falls Hotel located in Marlin, TX is haunted by several ghosts. I've never seen any, but I don't have to. An eerie sticky feeling surrounds me like thick molasses every time I walk through the lobby to the restrooms there. The entire upper floors are abandoned, while the bottom floor is rented to several businesses and the ballroom is available for personal rentals. My hairdresser rents a portion of the building and I refuse to use the restroom by myself because I can feel so many eyes watching. It is truly the creepiest feeling I've ever experienced.
Maxdale Bridge and Cemetery
[See also entry for Oakalla]
The cemetery is haunted by an old man with a limp thought to be the previous caretaker.
It is believed that an old man with a limp haunts this very old cemetery; some say he was the caretaker. There is also a small old iron bridge you have to cross to get to the cemetery, which is also believed to be haunted. If you go at night to visit the cemetery and you stop on the bridge, turn off your headlights, count to ten, then turn them back on, there will be a man hanging from a noose. He is believed to have hanged himself when he could not save the life of his girlfriend, who had drowned in the river under the bridge.
A man committed suicide by driving his truck off a small bridge on the road to the right side of the cemetery. Witnesses report a phantom old truck appearing behind them and chasing them for a moment. There are also reports of a sad presence felt through out the entire cemetery.
My friend Diane and I drove out to Maxdale, passing numerous deer on the way. We drove around to the back side of the bridge so we wouldn't get caught. I was figuring we'd go to Maxdale, go outside and hang out, make a fire, cook marshmallows and then do something else. Well we pull up and I turn off the lights and step out to take a piss and get back in the car. I ask Diane if she wants to go look at the bridge. I point out the bridge because she doesn't know where it is, and I notice what look like two different lights flickering in sequence. I wondered briefly for a moment if they were the lights on top of a patrol car, but the lights were coming from the road that was on the side of the bridge near where the historical marker designator was, as I learned when I turned on my headlights to ascertain if there was something manmade producing the light. As I sat there I noticed that the lights were flickering randomly back and forth and there was a third spot where they were flickering between the two lights I first saw. The lights were lined up at an angle from me. Well I turned the lights on and I didn't see anything so I turned them off and noticed the lights had stopped. Then after a minute or two the lights flashed briefly again and continued flashing irregularly every few seconds in a sequence that altered each time they flashed. Well at this point we get out of the car to go look at what those lights are. I managed to get the girl to follow me when I pointed out she would be by herself in the car when I went off to look. I am unsure of how much she saw of the lights flickering because I was genuinely disturbed as to how there were these lights just flashing in the middle of nowhere before a bridge. We started to get closer and the lights started to flicker even more and I was like, umm, what the heck, why are these lights flashing like that? And then they flickered off in sequence, the one on the right flickering, then one to the left of that but slightly higher than that flickering next, then one to the left at the same level as the far right one flickering and then another left of that one flickering, all in sequence like that over the matter of about a second, and they did this once and then it looked like the lights were moving and it did indeed seem the whole time as we watched them that they were flickering in different spots each time and sometimes moving while flickering. Upon this last display of lights I remarked on how I didn't like being out there and the girl ran off for the car and I ran off behind her. I have no idea what was making those lights. I backed the car up so I could get light all over and shined my brights and lows and then both together all over out there and didn't see anything to be causing the lights.
I lived in the house by the gate of the old Parrie Haynes Boys Ranch when I was 7 to 10 years old. This house is about 300 yards from Maxdale Bridge and cemetery. I spent a lot of time playing by myself at that age because my brothers and sisters were all much older. The Boys Ranch is five or six thousand acres, and we had access to all the property from the man we rented it from, C.B. Hodge. I spent every waking hour walking (sometimes with my father) and playing as far as I could go on the property. During the time we lived there we all had odd feelings. I recall having them but do not have clear recollection. We moved away in late 1979. Now the ranch has been taken over by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. I work for a highway safety company and we had a job at the bridge for about six months. The bridge still stands but is closed to traffic. New bridges have been built a few hundred yards west. During an early morning (5:00 AM) inspection and repair of lighted barricades and warning signs, I started to have bad, strange feelings. The cemetery sits at a T-intersection and I was changing a light at the intersection. My adrenaline started to make me shaky and nauseated. I continued to the bridge where kids had thrown a sign to the river bottom about 35 feet below. I became more nervous at the thought of going in the trees that line the bank down to the river to retrieve the sign, so I got in my truck and drove away. This is not really a ghost story, but there are strange things there. I had never heard stories of the area as a kid but in high school at a nearby town kids would talk about going to "the Ozone." This was the name they had given the bridge. [Editor's note: locals state that the road leading out of Maxdale toward Oakalla is actually what is considered "the Ozone."] The night I finally went to the Ozone and saw that it was my old stomping grounds was the night I started remembering all of the cold chills and raised hairs I used to feel. The bridge is known to be a place where people (not ghosts) go to practice Satanism. Bloody chicken feet, symbols, and other evidence are left behind on a regular basis.
On December 21, 2003 at about 6:30 PM my friends and I were headed out to go and visit the "haunted Maxdale Bridge" in Bell County, Texas. So on the way there we were all making jokes, and we didn't think anything of it. We wanted to see if all the things said about it were true. So we got to the road where we had to turn, and on the way we saw the Maxdale Bridge, (the way it used to be accessed) and we were kind of tripping out because we saw lights over there, but we got over it. We got up to the bridge, and we started walking towards it and we saw a sign that used to explain what had happened there, but it was torn down so we continued on. [Editor's note: the sign that was either torn down or stolen explained that the bridge was a historical marker. The text of the marker can be viewed here.] So as we walked over there we noticed a light in the distance. We thought it was a house or something so again we ignored it. We walked on the bridge and it was wooden so we were kind of scared that it might break or something, but we walked and used a flashlight and looked down at the Lampasas River. It was creepy and we saw a car approaching so we freaked out and ran back to the van. We got in and saw the truck heading down the street that we were on, so we hurried and got out of there. Then we noticed that the truck was following us, and another truck was following them. We exited towards Florence, and made sure they weren't really following us. So they got off our ass and we went back so that we could go and see the cemetery that was right across the street. When we walked into the cemetery, we all got chills up our spine, and so we were again tripping out. Then we read the little sign that told about the cemetery and it said that it had soldiers buried there from the Civil War and World War I [view sign here], so we were feeling weird because the graves were like really way above ground and it scared us. My friend's boyfriend shined the light on a tombstone and we saw the name Wombat. [Editor's note: we were unable to locate a grave marked Wombat, and no such name is listed on the list of graves we obtained. There is, however, a large gravestone with the name "Walden" near the entrance of the cemetery, which might conceivably be misread for Wombat at night by an excited mind.] We were like whatever, so we continued to read other tombstones, and we looked to our left and saw a grave slowly getting higher and higher above ground. We ran back to the van and were stuck; for some reason we just couldn't move, so we finally got the hell out of there. We stopped on the new Maxdale Bridge and we decide to listen to the bridge. I was sitting in the front passenger seat. The driver and I rolled down our windows and turned the engine off. All we heard was a splash. Only the driver and I heard it. So we freaked out and drove off as fast as we could. I promise I am never going back there ever again! By the way, the Maxdale Bridge is the bridge that became haunted after a bus driver drove a bus full of kids off the bridge, and all the kids died and haunted the bridge. Shortly after, you could drive on it, and if you put powder on your bumper you saw handprints from the ghost children trying to help you pass safely.
I was going to tell a story I heard about a little town in Texas called Maxdale. The story goes that years ago a school bus filled with children was trying to get across the old iron bridge when a truck on the other side decided to play chicken with the school bus. Of course the two had an accident that caused both to go over the bridge. Everyone died. The story says that you can still go out there and hear the cries of the children. If you go to the bridge and put your car in neutral and let it be, you will hear the children telling you to hurry and get across and then they will help push your car across. Also right across from the bridge is a cemetery in which the tombstones glow. No one really knows why but they do. I know; I have seen it. That area is all kind of scary. Many things happen out there that no one can explain.
Several friends and I went to the Maxdale Bridge on different occasions. We always knew something wasn't right. When we would leave, there were always handprints on the car, but we always wanted to investigate further. So today we got brave and took a trip to the bridge. We got out and walked on it. While we were on it we started to get very nervous. Our ears clogged up. We began to get weak and dizzy. Out the corner of my eye I saw a white male with a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans on. I blurted out to everyone that I must have been going crazy. I then told them what I had seen. My friend then replied how she had just seen the same man walking in front of our car. We all began to run because the bridge began to move. All of a sudden the bridge began to make these horrible noises as if someone was banging metal together every which way [Editor's note: during our first visit to the Maxdale Bridge we heard the same sounds of metal on metal. In our case, it turned out to be the iron cables holding up the bridge hitting each other when the wind blew.] We finally got to the car and I looked back. I saw a white male kneeling behind a bush staring us down. We then drove around to the other side of the bridge. My friends again saw this man, but this time I did not see him, so I wanted to get out of the car to get a better look. They all began to scream and panic. "He is coming to the car! Go!" I have recently found out the bridge is called "the Ozone." [Editor's note: locals state that the road leading out of Maxdale toward Oakalla is actually what is considered "the Ozone."] We use to hear stories of a school bus that had wrecked and everyone died.
While serving in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, I had a life-changing experience, to say the least. I had just arrived from Germany (1993) and some guys I met wanted to show me around the area. They talked about a place called "the Ozone" (the reason it was called this, I never was told) where strange things happened. We went one night to a place out in the country between Copperas Cove and Lampasas off of Highway 195, which they referred to as the Ozone. The story behind the place was that years ago, a busload of children ran off of a bridge down this road, and they had never found the bodies. Sounded like horse crap to me. We parked about 200 feet from this bridge on this one-lane road and they poured Johnson's baby powder on the back of the car trunk. We walked about half way across this old wooden timber bridge and stopped. Everything was quiet for about ten minutes, and then I heard children's voices seeming to be coming from the dry creek bed. Then I could hear a few of them crying, and I said it was time to go. I hate to admit that I was scared, but I'm not going to lie! We then went back to the car, and there were tiny hand and footprints on the trunk lid, in the baby powder. Too much for me! We left, and I never went back again. The locals in Copperas Cove, Texas can give you directions. I remember it's just past an old wrecking yard that sits on the left, and the road is mainly dirt and gravel. The turn off is on the left as you leave Copperas Cove, heading toward Lampasas.
A friend of mine passed away in Maxdale. I know there is an actual cause of death; it's not as if there isn't an explanation for her death, but that explanation alone is not what killed her. My friend, along with several others, was driving around Maxdale at night and was in a bad accident. My friend was thrown through the front window from the back seat. Needless to say she didn't make it. Of course there was drinking involved and that was the cause of the accident, but since my own experience in Maxdale, I now know otherwise. I guess since my friend was cremated, leaving us nowhere to mourn, my best friend and I headed to Maxdale one day after her death. We stopped at her cross and talked to her, all the while fully knowing she was with us as we showed our remorse and wished time could be reversed. This confirmed to us that there truly are spirits that remain on earth; hers is of course a good spirit, unlike several others that have been seen. When we were done talking with our friend we decided to leave. In error, I took a wrong turn and had no idea where we were. It almost seemed like we were in a time warp; the same thing kept appearing regardless of which way we turned. That's when we came across what looked like the scene of an accident. We drove by slowly and saw men in EMT uniforms performing CPR on non-existent beings. It was weird; some men were plowing the ground, some giving life support to nothing, other just walking around aimlessly. The thing that made it so scary was that even as we drove by slowly not a one of them looked at us. It was as if we were watching a movie. I could tell that what we were witnessing was ghosts but at the time I was too scared to further investigate. My best friend has never gone back. She doesn't like to talk about it. If you don't believe that unexplainable things happen in Maxdale, then go. Don't go looking for anything; just go. Go as a believer, or at least with an open mind, and I bet you won't leave without having your doubts removed.
Several years ago two friends and I decided to go to Maxdale. I was reluctant, but the driver was a man and my friend and I are women, so of course he wanted to go and be the protector and show off how brave he was, and my friend and I wanted to be strong women and prove we were not afraid. We got there and all seemed well. We drove on to the bridge (which is now closed) and turned off the car. At that time it was thought that if you turn the car off then the ghosts would push you off the bridge. Well that didn't happen, nor did a man hanging on a rope appear, or school children pushing our car. It was scary though. The bridge looked like it had seen better days and there were sounds that even a true Texan like myself has never heard. Plus you just get a bad feeling out there. Almost like there are dozens of spirits watching you and waiting for you to piss them off. Well we turned around to go home, we were discussing how the stories are false and there is nothing really out there, when all of the sudden the car completely fogs over and the temperature inside the car had to have dropped 60 degrees. It was so sudden that none of us knew what to do. The driver turned on the defrost but with no luck. It's such an intense feeling. I'm not sure if it was just fear or something else that made us feel so frozen. But then suddenly, as suddenly as it appeared, the fog was gone and the temperature was back to normal. That was the last we spoke of that night and our preconceived notions of each other were gone for good.
On the night of the new moon in September, I went to Maxdale Bridge. I went with two older friends of mine who had just come to Texas from Mexico a few days before. I had talked to them about how beautiful the area was and how much respect I had come to have for it. They wanted to go and get a feel for what the place felt like. We parked near the road on the cemetery side of the bridge. The other side now has a dog in the massive yard to possibly ward off the young kids that come to party or prank out there. When we started walking up to the bridge, which was about 75 yards away, I smelled something that I associated with the Christmas season. I couldn't put my finger on it. I looked over at these two men who were intently walking towards the bridge. I thought it was just me. I noticed that it wasn't a light smell; it wasn't just on a breeze. This foreign smell permeated the air. I tried the best I could to ask the men about it in my broken Spanish. I wasn't able to understand what they were saying. We proceeded to walk onto the bridge and stare into the barely-there river. The rest of the evening was uneventful and I wanted to speak to my neighbor so she could translate for me. I was desperate to know what they sensed and smelled. When we arrived at the apartment, my neighbor explained that what they had smelled was a flower that was found in Mexico. It resembles a carnation and is bright orange in color. They used the flowers for the memorial services that are held for those who have died. The flowers would be placed all over the offering table, which held all the favorite foods and drinks of those that had passed, as well as scattered on the floor around the perimeter of the table. It is said that during the night of the offering, those that had passed would be permitted one more night in this realm to be able to feast on those gifts from their loved ones. The flowers are primarily used for this occasion. When we left that area of the bridge, we went to the cemetery across the street. I thought I would smell that scent again, considering what a cemetery is, but it seemed to be without any scent. It was an interesting sensation, the complete calm and silence. Sometimes, the silence was so loud that I had to cover my ears.
I was born and raised in Killeen, Bell County, and we used to go to the Maxdale Cemetery all the time. There are definitely unexplained things that happen out there. I never heard the story of the bridge, but the cemetery and the field around it are haunted. They also used to do Satan worshipping in that area. I know, I was there and almost got caught watching. The story of the bridge sounds like the story I was told about the bus full of kids that got stuck on the railroad tracks in San Antonio, and that's how the story of the handprints started. That's just what I was told. I have told my kids about the things that have happened in Maxdale to me and my friends, and they sure don't want to go! Also if you go to the back of the cemetery and climb the chainlink fence and walk down a trail, you will come to a little opening where they used to do Satan worshipping. Don't know if they still do, but they almost caught me looking at them! I was so scared!
Wal-Mart
A ghost keeps unstocking the shelves as you are stocking when no one appears to be in that part of the store. The new super center opened up a short distance from the old store and it still is happening. If you tell Oscar to leave you along and stop tearing the place up he will stop, and sometimes, he just may go bother some other stocker.
Moody High School
The new high school built on the road going toward Temple is said to have been built on an Indian burial ground. Teachers tell of times they were there alone at night, and would hear lockers slam or glass break.
The Hotel Faust
Newspaper articles have been written about the hotel ghost, who is noted for drifting in the hallways of an upper floor, entering closed doors, turning water and lights on and off, etc.
A young girl, a cat, the former owner, and a former bellboy have been known to show up. One guest in Room 218 had the water faucet come on in the middle of the night.
The Faust Hotel opened on October 12, 1929, just two weeks before the stock market crash. Conceived by community leaders to serve local tourism industry, the Faust was considered one of the best hotels in Texas. Many newspaper articles have been written about the hotel's resident spirit who drifts about in the upper floor hallways, roams through closed doors and turn the lights and water on and off.
Prince Solms Inn
A former waitress is said to haunt the bar, a jilted bride has been spotted at the top of the stairs, and the Huntsman Room is said to be haunted by a former Union soldier.
Karbach Haus B & B
This bed and breakfast is managed and owned by the descendants of Dr. Karbach and relatives of the ghosts. The sounds of children are attributed to Roy, the owner's son who died in an accident several years ago. Other ghosts include Katherine Karbach, the owner's mother, Marth Jo Karbach, the owner's sister, and Hulda Eiband, one of the original owners of the home. They straighten up, turn off lights, and rock on the porch.
Lawrence Chapel
Late nights corpse's candles can be seen in the graveyard behind the church. After dusk, the preacher who died while at the church can be heard.
The Ozone
[See also entry for Maxdale]
The Ozone is a long, winding road with lots of sharp curves, hills and bridges. It is said that the headlights of a truck will just appear out of nowhere and chase you till you run off the road. This is a road on which many people have died. There is also an old bridge that is still there but condemned now. There is a story that a school bus full of kids fell over the side down into the river, killing them in the process. Since then, they have a built a new road and bridge near an intersection by a white church leading away from the old creepy one, which is east of the new bridge. You will see a large metal roadblock next to a historical marker, which I think someone stole. In the midst of the trees you can see the metal beams of the bridge. You can still walk over the old bridge, of which the base is made from wood planks. If you're quiet and listen, you will hear the cries of the screaming children. There is also a graveyard across the road from the bridge, which has been rumored to have a witch's grave in it. The headstone glows a shimmering orange color like the reflection of flames from a fire when there is a full moon.
Peyton Colony Settlement
See photos of the manifestations at Peyton Colony.
Apparitions, self-moving objects, odd lights and voices, and doors that open themselves have all been reported. Note: the Peyton Colony Settlement is entirely contained on private property. We do not have the exact location.
This was my second trip to Peyton Colony to visit Ellen, the current owner of the Peyton Colony ranch. I took my wife and kids along this time. Belinda, my wife, started to experience strange phenomena right away. We were inside talking with Ellen, when she discovered that she left something in the van. She went out to retrieve it, and noticed that the satellite dish was buzzing and moving. Belinda came inside and said, "I'm glad that you have a satellite dish, I can get the cartoon channel for the kids." Ellen's reply was that dish is not even connected anymore. It hasn't been for years. Belinda said that's impossible, "I just heard the motor buzzing, and moving it. Go outside, and check it out." I went outside, and noticed that it was in a different position, but it was no longer buzzing. I took Belinda down near the barn to show her the fossils that are trapped in the limestone. She noticed what looked like human fossils. As we were looking at them we heard someone talking near the barn. We investigated, and there was nothing and no one there. Later that same evening, the lights started going crazy. I mean, everything was fine, and then out of nowhere, one light in the kitchen grew extremely bright, while the rest dimmed down. Ellen just had the place re-wired. We know for a fact it is not the electricity. All night the lights were playing games. One would grow intense and the rest would grow dim. I think that Ellen could sense that Belinda was getting nervous. She made a good attempt at calming her down when the cupboard in the kitchen opened. I was sitting at the computer when I heard a door slowly creak open. I didn't know where it was coming from. Belinda said, "The cupboard behind you just opened." Ellen tried to assure her it was the wind, but we both know better than that. If the wind did open it, it would have done so a lot faster. This was slow and intentional. We heard footsteps, almost a cliché when it comes to haunting, but what about the floor shaking? I experienced this before at Ellen's house. The entire floor will begin to shake. While sitting next to Belinda at around 2:30 AM., I felt and heard two very pronounced footsteps about six inches away from me on the floor. They were so close in fact that I could feel the floor move with the noise. And more light shows were to follow. The next thing I know, Belinda is screaming my name from the bathroom. She didn't think that I heard her the first time, so she screamed again. "There's someone out there talking, and knocking on the side of the house," she said. I looked, but there was no one. By this time Belinda said, "That's enough!" She was shaking. We had to leave. Poor Ellen, I woke her up and told her that we were going to leave. She was concerned, but knew that there was no stopping Belinda from leaving.
Peyton Colony is unique in the history of Texas Hill Country for it was founded exclusively by black freedmen after the Civil War. The founder, Peyton Roberts, and others came not from Texas but from former homes in the South. The blacks formed a settlement in a beautiful setting in eastern Blanco County. They constructed a number of homes, a church and a school, the first black school in Blanco County. The residents named the community Peyton Colony in honor of it founder, Peyton Roberts. As the years passed, the Colony declined in population although much of the land is owned by descendents of the original settlers. The school was integrated in the 1960s and, although it is now closed, it still stands, as does the Mount Horeb Baptist Church. Ruins of former structures may still be seen around the church and school.
I have seen first-hand what is at Peyton Colony near Blanco. I have EVP and recordings of men, women and children chanting.
Art Adams of South Texas Paranormal Investigations says that the Peyton Colony ranch is truly haunted. He says the owner, Ellen, has had several groups of ghost hunters at the ranch, but "no one has been able to give a rational scientific explanation to her ghosts, other than they're ghosts." Adams has a Web page dedicated to the ghosts at Peyton Colony.
Cinemark Tinseltown 20
Patrons report a feeling of being watched and cold spots. Cups, popcorn bags, and buckets are knocked over often. There are also reports of customer's items vanishing.
Old Elementary School
There are stories of an elementary school being burnt down, and when it was rebuilt, it burned down again nearly immediately. It is reported that children were killed in one of the fires. This must have been in the late 1800s or early 1900s, as when Fort Hood took over the school district around Pidcoke, the children were all moved to schools in Gatesville and there was no longer a school in Pidcoke. The site of the old elementary school is next to the Pidcoke Cemetery and is marked with more than one "No Trespassing" sign. It is reported that strange things happen here.
The Pike House
This huge, haunted hospital is on Belvin Street. It is said to have ghosts roaming in the halls. There are secret passageways that lead to operating and emergency rooms. It was built in the 1950s. From the road, there is a huge open field, and looming at the end of the field on top of the hill is a huge four-story building. It used to be an insane asylum, but was closed down. Years later, the Pike Fraternity bought the property, and made it the pledge house. During one of the pledge processes, some of the pledges were killed. The brothers had the pledges write down what happened in the pledge books, burn them, then nail them to the walls. If you go in there, you can see the pledge books, as well as Polaroids, blood on the walls, etc.
Job Corps
The graveyard shift has lots of stories of ghostly apparitions, and a lady in white who was murdered. Lots of ghosts are seen by the kids in barracks as well as the house aides. It was formerly an Air Force base. There are too many stories to even begin to tell. Just go ask anyone that works or lives there.
Old Main
The building called "Old Main" has two reputed ghosts; one is a blatant fake, but the other is seemingly real. The fake story is that the ghost of LBJ roams the halls. The other story stems from a time before the building was renovated. Before renovation (as it can be seen in the movie D.O.A. with Meg Ryan) the three-story building was open from the roof to the ground. Legend has it that a young student fell (jumped or was pushed) from the third floor and died on impact. Today, custodial staff has reported seeing the girl, still dressed as she was then, clutching her books, trying to get to class.
Southwest Texas State University
Theater building: A ghost referred to as Ramsey haunts the building. He supposedly hanged himself in the building. Random unusual events, such as lights turning off by them have been reported. It has also been said that since the building is round and surrounded by water, that it attracts ghosts.
Thompson Island Bridge
The Thompson Island Bridge in San Marcos is said to be haunted by the ghost of a long dead Confederate soldier. He died there at his post while guarding it during the American Civil War. It is believed that he still appears there, dressed in his grey and yellow uniform, cap, and cape, and armed with a Kentucky long tom rifle. Although sightings are very remote, it is reported that the dead soldiers ghost is more active before, and during wartime.
This bridge is haunted by the ghost of a Confederate soldier toting a muzzle-load rifle. His ghost has been reported walking near the bridge since the 1920s. In 1939, two men fixing a flat tire on the bridge were startled by the shirtless figure of a tall man wearing a rebel cap. Because the man was carrying a rifle, one of the two businessmen went for gun in the car, but the apparition disappeared before he could confront it. Legend says the ghost is a man who lived in a cabin near the bridge before the Civil War. When he and his brother went off to fight for the South, they promised each other that they would return home, no matter what happened.
Motorists have seen the image of a Confederate soldier. The bridge is located over the San Marcos River on the road between San Marcos and Nixon.
A Confederate soldier complete with muzzle-loader is said to appear on this bridge from time to time.
Millie Seaton House of Dolls
The former owner has been experienced in this museum.
Texas Lutheran University
Wupperman Theatre Building: This building is said to be haunted by a little girl in a blue dress who wants to play hide and seek. Also the stage lights flicker on and off for no reason and the trapdoor has been said to open on its own.
Trinity Building: There is a dorm room which is completely locked up, and no one is allowed to live there. Some say you can see the lights go on and off and the blinds fluttering.
The Sebastopol/Joshua Young House
A lady in white and a young boy with short hair are reported here.
Home Depot
Employees here at Home Depot call their spirit Fred. Some think he has wandered over from a turn of the century graveyard nearby. He can sometimes be spotted in the outdoor garden section.
Old Wichita Indian Village
In the early 1820s the Cherokees destroyed an entire village of Wichita Indians. Now, the old chief has been spotted, staring off to the west.
Scott & White Hospital
X-Ray Department: Employees report seeing the apparition of a leg walking near the x-ray file room at night. When an employee followed the leg, it went around a corner and disappeared through a wall.
Echo Station Apartments
I live at the Echo Station Apartments in Temple and would like to tell you about my "Old Hag" experience. At approximately 4:45 AM on August 25, 2004, I awoke to the feeling of a cat between my legs. I don't have a cat. I know I was awake because I could see my window above my head, and my headboard. I could see my room around me and felt fully conscious. I was on my stomach, with one leg bent, creating an area where a cat might nest. I felt the weight of a large, round cat there and heard what I thought was a cat purring, but deeper and more penetrating somehow. I remember thinking, "Oh! I have a ghost cat on my bed!" A few seconds later, I felt the cat get up and rest on my back. I didn't feel footsteps; it was more like the shifting of the weight between my legs moving onto my back, but I could still feel the weight between my legs, like if you really did have a cat sitting on your covers, and then he (the presence was male) got off, you could still feel the press of your covers against your leg, and his phantom weight there. It was like the cat was growing, and with a large rolling motion settling onto my back, and pressing down. That's when I realized it wasn't a cat, ghost or otherwise. The "purring" grew louder, and I guess could be described as having a growly feel to it, but not exactly a growl. It was sort of between a purr and a growl, with the same undulating sound of a purr, but with a deeper, "redder" feeling to it; there was also an element of the electronic, or robotic to the sound, deep down. The sound seemed to emanate from the presence himself. The weight pressed onto my back, and the sound moved up closer to my ear. The presence felt large and menacing, but not exactly evil, as in I felt like I was being attacked, but didn't feel in mortal danger. I was afraid, but not terrified. My eyes were open the whole time. My mouth was already open. I tried to close my mouth, but couldn't. I tried to move my arms, but I couldn't. I couldn't move at all. A small breathy sound escaped but I was frozen otherwise. That's when I began to get really scared. I remember thinking clearly, "You can move. Just move!" But I couldn't. I also remember thinking that this thing had control of me and I couldn't believe I hadn't really believed in evil spirits. The purr-growl grew louder and then a few seconds later I was able to move, and the sound and the presence disappeared. I'm mostly convinced it was a waking dream, or my first episode of sleep paralysis, but when I fully awoke, I verbally banished any lingering presence, just to be safe. I never felt like I was being suffocated; it wasn't pressing down that hard. It was just like someone lying on top of you, but not a human form. I sensed the presence was black and nebulous. It has only happened once, but I sometimes feel a presence, or see a shadow moving behind me when I'm looking in the bathroom mirror. I have also smelled non-existent flowers in the living room and bathroom.
Snively-Pope Cabin
The image of a yellow light has been seen between this old hermit's cabin and the river. The cabin is also said to be haunted, though it is now in ruins. The old cabin is just outside Thorndale on the banks of the San Gabriel River.
The banks of this river are haunted by the ghost of a man protecting a cache of gold that was never his in the first place. After a band of outlaws discovered they were being followed by Texas Rangers, they broke into a cabin along the river and murdered the old hermit they found there. Then, they dug a deep hole and buried their loot with the old man's body. Before long, a strange yellow light was seen moving between the cabin and the riverbank. Many believe it is the ghost of the murdered man guarding the outlaws' treasure.
Middle Bosque River
A witness reports that while on the top of this bluff he felt like he was being watched, or like someone was behind him. There seemed to be such a strong presence there.
Baylor University
Library: Some of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's original works are kept in the old library on campus. She has been seen walking the halls at night holding a candle, wearing a white gown. Residents have seen her in the top floor window peering outside at us. Also, a statue of her sits out in front of the library. Her arms are at her sides, however, some nights the shadow that was cast on to the library behind her showed her arms held up high above her head.
Library: On the old library on campus, some of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's original works can be seen. Some say you can catch Elizabeth herself walking the halls at night dressed in a white gown and holding a candle. She has also been spotted peering from top floor windows
Brooks Hall: At Baylor University, the oldest college in the state of Texas, exists a mysterious phantom. He resides on the abandoned fifth floor of the oldest dorm on campus. Violin music is heard in the dead of night and chilling sightings of a cloaked figure in top hat, illuminated by eerie candlelight, and staring down the hall have been widely reported by spooked residents. Investigations have yielded little in the way of facts, but the enormous number of eyewitness accounts and spine-tingling sightings have given the legend a grand following. One night during a storm, the shattering of glass was reported. The phantom reportedly peered down and paused his playing, and in a fit of apparent rage, struck a window. Come morning when level heads prevailed, and the storm of the previous night had passed, no damage was found. Still the unpredictable toiling of the phantom has attracted many audiences in the witching hour, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mysterious floating candlelight that often hovers from room to room, vanishing only to appear in the other wing of the building. In one unsettling account, a witness recollects seeing a noose, and from it dangling a shadowy corpse, after the phantom finished the evening's mournful serenade. Still more haunting is the episode on record of the lights failing the building and an ungodly tapping and cold sensation filtrating the doors of the fourth floor of the building. Only one resident dared investigate the unwelcome visitor's calling. It is claimed that he peered into pitch darkness to find the horrific silhouette of a cloaked figure in a top hat turn and stare him down through the darkness, and calmly vanish out of sight, as he glided down the corridor. Needless to say, the specter was not pursued. The university has failed to satisfy rumors of hauntings and has downplayed the events for close to half a century now. The Victorian styled villain who roams the corridors of the uninhabited floor and occasionally mingles with the living loves to make an entrance. A hoax of this magnitude would be too elaborate for any collegiate prankster and the tradition has endured for too long for it to be a fraud. Perhaps the only explanation is that the phantom is ultimately unexplainable.
Lindsey Hollow Road
Two alleged horse thieves use to hang out on Lindsey Hollow Road. The bodies of the two brothers were found hanging from a tree about 100 feet from the road, killed by vigilantes in 1880. Shadowy images of the hanging brothers can be seen in the old tree. There are also reports of reflections of an unknown person, a spectral party, hearing screams, feeling paralyzed, and apparitions.
Cameron Park
There is a place called The Witch's Castle in Cameron Park. If you go up to the house, you will see a road. If you turn right and go up all the way, you will start to smell something terrible. The smell is said to be from the bodies the witches killed. You can hear screams, gasps, and banging.
University High School
There are strange noises in the gym during basketball games. When somebody goes in the boys' restroom they can hear two boys talking to each other there but when they go in, there won't be anybody there.
Rainbow Lake/Creek
The whole Rainbow Lake area has been plagued with rumors of witchcraft, cult activity, and peeping toms. People from some of the homes that back up to the Rainbow Lake area have reported seeing paranormal figures, hearing shrieks during the night, and feeling cold spots in the heat of summer. Rumors of a dead body being found further upstream in the Rainbow Creek area have also turned up, as well as a sighting of a ghost-like male deeper into the woods. A few graves have also been found in the area, some marked with simple wooden crosses while others remain unmarked.
West Lake Hills (Travis County)
West Lake Hills
A phantom wagon rampages through this upscale suburb of Austin.
A phantom wagon driven by a ghostly cowboy roars through the hills of this modern housing project, where an old rancher's house is haunted by two ghosts from the 1860s. The teamster was bushwhacked by three men, and the wagon carried off into the prairie by the frightened horses. At Eanes-Marshall House, Howard Marshall's hearty laughter is still heard, and the figure of his wife Viola Eanes has been spotted along the banks of Eanes Creek. Both have been dead over a century. The exclusive housing development is called Lago Vista. It is near Austin on the old Fanes-Marshall Ranch. Follow Loop 360 west out of Austin to Westlake.
Wimberley Lights
Campers near Cypress Creek have reported run-ins with ghost lights that exhibit a form of intelligence, to include following people.
Site updated August 12, 2005