Fort Phantom Lake
I grew up in Abilene, Texas. The area has a lake called Fort Phantom, so named because when it was actually an operating fort in the 19th century, soldiers reported seeing all kinds of "phantoms" during the night watch. It was also a main rail stop for trains in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the city was even named for historic Abilene, Kansas since there was much important railroad activity there as well.
The lake is located near a historical site, Fort Phantom Hill. According to local legend, Comanche warriors once encountered a platoon of cavalry near the lake. The Comanche fought them and won. But as the victors were returning back to their camp, a furious storm broke. As the tribe's women, children and old men watched, a flash flood consumed them, sending the warriors to their deaths in the lake. The lake, angered by the blood that had been taken, avenged itself according to the legend. An Indian maiden named Nadassa was one of those who watched the young men die. Grief-stricken, she threw herself into the water to rest beside her lover.
The wife of an officer who was stationed at the fort once waited for her husband's return. After an attack from the Comanche, she could not locate her husband, and set out to search for him. Her search continued on the lake where she was caught up in a sudden storm that capsized her boat. She drowned and still searches for her lover to this day.
NEW: In 1978, when I was in college at Abilene Christian University, the local paper ran a story about a cemetery outside of town near Fort Phantom Lake called the Round Mound. (I'm not kidding). The story said that if one were to visit the cemetery at midnight each night on October 29th, 30th, and 31st (Halloween), they were guaranteed to see apparitions of some of the people buried there, on Halloween night.
Not one to turn down the chance to see a ghost, I went with a couple of friends to the cemetery when instructed. The first night only a hand full of others were there to claim a spot in the 150 year-old graveyard. The cemetery had a wrought iron arch at the entrance. The headstones described many there as Civil War era veterans who protected settlers against warring American Indians. The graveyard was quite creepy.
On the 30th, there were quite a few more cars. People milled about reading the headstone's inscriptions by flashlight. An odd kind of festive feeling hung in the atmosphere of the cemetery. On the following night, Halloween, we got there at about 11:30. The place was packed. Cars were parked in every available space in and near the graveyard. Literally hundreds of flashlight beams illuminated the area. Whatever eerie feeling one might have had by being in the cemetery at midnight just didn't happen. Our enthusiasm for this endeavor had pretty much evaporated when we saw all the people. Midnight came and went. The laughter and excited chatter of all the kids that had come with their parents began to die down, and many people began to leave. My friends and I wandered around the graveyard resigned to the fact that we were wasting our time. Mary, one in our group, pointed out a truck that was driving around in dense growth of trees just behind the cemetery. It was a minutes or so before I pointed out that was no road back there. Nor was there a truck. Just lights. We peered into the dark and saw that other lights were moving about the trees and hovering on the edge of the graveyard. They were not casting beams as from headlights or flashlights. Mary approached one of the lights. She looked at it closely for a few seconds, then turned and ran back to us.
"Let's go", was all she said. She was, for lack of a better word, unsettled.
As we were leaving we noticed that only a few people were pointing at the lights. They were the ones who had been there since the first night.
Iron Horse Tavern
A very good friend of mine became a bartender at a newly opened pub entitled the Iron Horse Tavern in the mid 1990s. The pub was built from an old train depot. He told me this story about what happened to the owners in that location. First, when they were refurbishing the old depot building, it was in a very empty part of town. Not a lot of things going on except for cars going by outside. The owners heard frequent mumbling voices and parts of low conversations when there would be no one around. This happened day and night.
One night, the owner was doing the books in the back office when he heard a loud tapping noise in the bar area. Upon entering the main bar, he saw the CD covers in the jukebox flipping back and forth. This really freaked him out. Shortly thereafter, he was on the phone in the same bar area staring into a large India Pale Ale mirror, which hung on the wall, telling his wife what he had seen. As he stood talking on the phone, he saw a floating head staring back at him in the mirror. I personally asked him a few weeks later about this. He wouldn't talk about it at all but just indicated that it scared him. I personally never saw or heard anything there of a weird nature, but don't doubt his testimony.
Expo Center
Strange footsteps, voices and noises have been heard late at night in the cow barn.
Travel Lodge Motel
Three connected rooms in this motel are haunted. In one of the rooms the light in the bathroom will flicker on and off throughout the night (the switch is sideways, making a loud clicking noise). In another room a specter plays with the visitors' belongings. It likes to use their credit cards, money, and driver's licenses to play a game of poker under the bed. In the last room, during the hours of 12:00 and 2:30 AM, a foul smell is present in the room, which is said to be the same spirit that likes to play with the lights and belongings. There was also a case where a mysterious man was seen wearing all green and a cap that concealed all of his face except for his red beard. He was working in the office in the early morning hours; the next day it was discovered that no men were employed at this motel, yet the mystery man in green had a set of keys and checked in customers. There were no other employees at the establishment at the time.
McDow Hole
It is said that you can see the ghost of a headless woman walking the creek bed with her head in one arm, looking for her baby. The story goes that she, her husband, and their baby lived in a small house near the McDow Hole in the late 1800s. Her husband left her and the baby there while he was out farming. Indians attacked while he was gone, killed the wife, and threw the baby into the creek. Now, people report that their cars stall, and that they hear banging on the out side of their cars. Visitors also report of a ball of light chasing them.
Read detailed accounts of the frightening history and haunting of the McDow Hole:
McDow Hole – Story 1
McDow Hole – Story 2
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Allen (Collin County)
Eagle Stadium
It is said that an ex-football player who died 65 years ago haunts Eagle Stadium. There have been sightings of a shadow running down the field at midnight, but the ghost has only been seen on Friday nights after a game.
KCIT-TV
This building is not really open to the public, but it is a very haunted building. For nine months in 1994-1995, I worked for KCIT-TV in Amarillo. This is a fairly new building situated downtown on South Fillmore Street. This building now houses three television stations: KCIT, KAMR, and UPN13. When I worked there it was a lot emptier, maybe twenty employees total. I worked the overnight master control shift. This meant that after 1:00 AM or so, I was alone in the building. I was often creeped out and scared several times. I heard footsteps walking on the second floor almost every night. Sometimes I would hear the sound of something heavy falling, and then footsteps. Call me a wuss, but I never investigated. Even in daylight with friends, the upstairs portion of this building felt "off." It was always cold and creepy. At the time I worked there, the upper floor was mostly empty, and generally used just for storage. This building also had a "ghost light" in the studio. This was a light that would just turn itself on and off. Several employees witnessed this, including me. This light was plugged in, but not hooked up to the light board. It was an extremely bright light. One night it blinked on and off about eight times and scared the crap out of me. This light acted up so frequently that we often wrote up equipment reports on it and turned them into the engineers. They could never find anything wrong with it. I also sometimes saw a man in a white shirt and pale pants wandering around. I would see him as a reflection or out of the corner of my eye. When I turned to look at him fully, he was always gone. One other employee said he also saw this figure. That employee also reported that stuff on his desk (little toys and knick-knacks) jumped off and hit him on the head more than once. This seemed to happen especially if he made a joke or comment about the ghost. Once someone walked up behind me (I could feel the footsteps on the floor) and tapped me on the shoulder. When I turned around to see what they wanted, no one was there. The only other people in the building were across the room from me working on a project. I could see them through a closed glass door. One of my co-workers told me that something would often pat her cheek when she worked the overnight shift. I felt the phantom footsteps several times; the floor was springy and gave a little when you walked on it. Once they walked past me and I could see the floor moving slightly, but nothing else. It was a very interesting (and stressful) place to work. I think the building was built in place of an older building sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s. As far as I know, no tragedy ever occurred in the building that now occupies the site.
Here is a sort of update on the KCIT-TV haunting in Amarillo. Apparently a paranormal investigation group has started up in the Texas Panhandle. They saw this story and decided to investigate the building. Surprisingly enough, the TV station agreed. KCIT ran the story about the investigation on their 9:00 PM newscast, Friday 11/01/02. My mom watched it and called me. She can't remember any of the cool details like the name of the paranormal group, or the name of a member who also witnessed the ghost when he worked in the KCIT building before me. I was also disappointed in KCIT's website, because they posted no information on this story, so this is all second-hand, but you might find it interesting. Here is what my mom told me: the group confirmed that no one has ever died in the current KCIT-TV building. However, an old hotel used to occupy that site. They are still researching this original building. The group took their equipment into the building but found no signs of a haunting. No one that currently works there will admit to feeling a ghost. So, are the ghosts gone? Due to the recent combination of KCIT, KAMR, and UPN65 into the building, there are not many original FOX14 employees left. Of those original 20 or so employees, not everyone saw the ghosts. Usually it was just the overnight people who saw or felt anything. The building is very crowded now with no unused rooms. Also no one is left alone in the building, there are always at least three master control operators at all times. Maybe the ghosts have moved on because they dislike all the noise. I like to think they are just biding their time.
Gebo's (Formerly Bonanza Supermarket)
Back in the 1980s, before Gebo's ever opened a second store, a supermarket called Bonanza was there. People say that an employee there was killed in the meat department one night. Present day stories say the ghost haunts Gebo's, moving items and misplacing them at night. Since then, the employees try to avoid night inventory.
Summit Elementary School
The school shut down because of asbestos. It was a long time ago, though. Supposedly, the janitor in the boiler room murdered four boys attending the school. It's easy to find the boiler room; there's a big smoke stack nearby. Supposedly, if you go there at night, you can hear voices, the swings will be swinging by themselves, and weird things might happen to your car like the doors locking and unlocking, windows rolling up or down, radio turning on, etc.
Andrews Middle School
They say that if you go to the school when it's dark and park your car in front of the school at an angle with your headlights on, you can see a shadow that spells out "Thirteen." The legend goes that a young boy use to always tag drawings and that he died on his 13th birthday on the 13th of the month.
Shafter Lake
Just north of Andrews, Texas, west of Highway 385, is the location of the original county seat of Andrews County: Shafter. It was named after a Confederate general of the same last name. The town was almost completely wiped out by a smallpox epidemic around the turn of the last century, possibly sometime before 1910. Up until about ten years ago, the cemetery where the victims were buried was located on the near edge of the small lake (which comes and goes as it pleases), but the bodies were moved and reinterred elsewhere. Legend was that a "lady in white" haunted the graveyard, possibly the reason for its removal. Sometime during autumn, you may also see a troop of Confederate soldiers and their horses galloping across the lake, usually during a full moon. Most think it is General Shafter and his men, who did patrol that area before it was settled, trying to escape Comanche Indians pursuing them. By the way, the lake wasn't (and isn't) always there. It just appeared sometime in the 1940s, according to my mother, who lived in the area from 1948 on. The water is very salty, not good for anything, and there is no explanation for its being there at all.
Anson Lights
Mysterious blue lights have been seen flying around Anson, but if you get too close, they fly away.
The story was covered by the television series Unsolved Mysteries. Many residents from Anson and the nearby town of Abilene have gone to witness these phenomenal lights. My own father and sister witnessed these lights. The cemetery is located going towards the country. The lights are viewed by driving down the dirt farm road about a half-mile or more. As you drive closer to the cemetery towards the lights they disappear. As for the actual story for this occurrence, is unsolved. Local myth says that this light is the ghost of a mother carrying a lantern looking for her missing child. The child had left the house on cold winter day and was lost and froze to death. The mother's spirit still searches for her child.
[Editor's note: this web site may offer the explanation for the lights: http://www.sgha.net/anson2.html]
Haunted Bridge
A hanging victim supposedly haunts an old metal bridge in the outskirts of Anson. The bridge is extremely loud if you drive on it, and if you walk on it, footsteps can be heard underneath. You can also hear wind blowing on one side yet it will be calm on the other side.
Flagship Inn Resort
The ghost of a disgruntled security guard reportedly haunts this resort. After being fired, he set a ballroom on fire, and then died in the ensuing blaze. The fire also killed several homeless people who had taken shelter in the building, so perhaps they are there as well. Update: according to more recent information, no one was killed in the fire, but investigations at the location have provided photographs, temperature shifts and EMF spikes.
Grey House
In the 1960s, a man shot himself in the basement of the house. Neighbors hear a man's screams, then a gunshot sound. The property even freaks out the dogs.
Johnson's Creek
[See also entries for Six Flags]
A young girl was supposedly killed here in the early 1900s. Her yellow home is now incorporated in an amusement park and some claimed to have seen "Annie" on the nearby railroad tracks or in her old room.
Legacy Park
Screaming Bridge: If you sit on the bridge on the closed county road, you will see a fog come up from the Trinity River, and ghostly headlights will come at you as a long-ago collision replays itself.
Screaming Bridge: One night after a high school football game, a carload of kids were driving fast on a country road just outside of the park. Coming to a narrow bridge over the Trinity River, they met their fate when they did not see another car coming and hit it head on. Both cars erupted into flames and plummeted into the river below. All involved were killed, and since then the road has been closed. It can only be accessed on foot through the park. Legend has it that if you find the bridge, you will see the dates of the occurrence and the names of the deceased glowing as tombstones in the water. If, after that you still dare, you can sit in the middle of the bridge on the night that it happened, and at midnight you will witness a heavy fog coming up from the river as you see headlights approaching from either side of the bridge.
Screaming Bridge: Every now a then I come across an article someone has posted about this local favorite. They get it so wrong. Here's the story: my foster mother went to Arlington High School and graduated in 1960. While she was attending the school, there was a terrible car accident. Two carloads of kids (one boys, the other girls) had been chasing each other around the area, trying to scare each other. Back then, this area wasn't built up as it is now. No one is sure exactly what happened. The outcome was that the girls were going over the bridge while the boys were coming at them from the other side. Some say they were playing chicken. The boys said they weren't. The car with the girls went over the side of the bridge, killing everyone in the car. The boys went through hell, as you can understand. The bridge remained open for a few years after that. After a flood (that area flooded a lot) they decided to build a newer bridge down the creek about one mile from the old one. The road to the old one was closed down and the bridge passageway over the creek was removed. It became the hangout for kids to drink beer, and to test each other's courage by daring each other to stay on the bridge. I don't remember being scared, but I don't remember staying either. Years go by. Then for whatever reason, they close the new road completely and they build a new bridge not 40 feet from the old. When you drive over the new bridge you see the old. After another flood, there was a 1950s era car found in the bottom of the creek between the two upright structures left from the former bridge. I haven't been through there in years. I doubt that it's still there. The legend is that there are times when you can see the lights, see and hear the wreck, hear the girls screaming, hear screaming breaks, hear the boys yelling, and feel your car being nudged. I know about the lights, the voices, and the nudging. Can't swear about the other. There is also a section of railroad where Fielder used to cross across the tracks before the overpass was put in. Several lost their lives at that spot. Hence the overpass was built. People use to talk about that spot being haunted. Since no one actually drives or walks about there any more, rumors about that little area have stopped now. Just because no one is there doesn't mean it isn't haunted.
The Hobo: The ghost of a hobo interrupts anyone in their cars after closing, especially if they are parking. He does this because he was killed by a male parker who was beating up his female companion.
The Hobo: Near the park are some railroad tracks that run through an area called Mosier Valley so the park is a good getting-off place for the train hoppers since the train has to slow down here. One night an old hobo was staying in the park and was awakened by the sounds of screams. Wandering to the edge of the woods from where he had been sleeping he saw a car parked and what appeared to be a man and a woman fighting. Walking closer he saw the man hitting the woman and the woman knocked unconscious. Opening the door he grabbed the man but in the struggle that ensued was shot. The next day the woman was found wondering through the park delirious and half naked but the hobo lay dead next to where the car had been. However, lovers parked late at night still catch a glimpse of the old hobo. Legend has it that late at night if you are still in the park after closing you will hear a tap on your window and there will be an old man standing there in rags.
Hell's Gate: Hell's gate is a pair of old gateposts that lead to a tree where Union spies were hung during the Civil War. It is said that you can still hear their sobs and prayers in the area.
Hell's Gate: It is a long trail with swamps on either side and shaded over by large trees. At the end of the trail is a large mound of dirt and two fence posts that were once a gate. As it is said this was the trail walked by captured spies of the Union army on their way to be hung. This gate was the last thing they saw before being led to the tree that stands beyond the gate where they died. Walking the trail one can still hear the sobs and whispered prayers of the men and some women who walked there last steps here.
Hell's Gate: Walking on a narrow path away from Hell's Gate you will see what was once a clearing. There are reports of moaning being heard, and sightings of a red-haired general clad in a Confederate uniform.
NEW: Hell's Gate: In reference to the Hell's Gate story that is about the two wealthy brotherss murdered off Highway 287. I lived in north Texas (three miles from the Tex-Ok border) my whole life and subsequently married a man from Clay Co., the location of the above mentioned Hell's Gate. His mother was even born just a few miles further towards Henrietta on the infamous "Boddy Ranch" on Boddy Ranch Rd. The way that she told the story was that there were indeed wealthy people that lived there but that it was a family that consisted of parents and three children not sure how many boys or girls. Anyway, they were burgularized by three unknown men. During the heist they supposedly raped the merchant's wife and tortured the other family members in order to get the man to reveal where the "real" valuables were located. Refusing to cooperate, the entire family was killed one at a time in front of the man until he was the only living one. Then desperate to save his own life, he struck a deal with the robbers. After the man gave up the location of the "real" valuables, the thieves gathered up what they wanted, and were to be on their way. Well, one of these men had not been as active in the raping and the torturing as the other two men and apparently had more of a conscience than even the merchant because upon leaving the farmhouse he questioned the merchant as to how he had let his entire family perish just to save his valuables. The merchant then replied something along the lines of being able to replace the wife and children quicker and easier the the valuables that they were taking with them that night. In disgust of the answer, the robber raised his pistol and shot him between the eyes. The other two men then began to set fire to the house. The hauntings revolve around the fact that he put wealth above his own family. It is said that the mother and her three children walk around the burnt remains looking for peace. However, don't expect to see a ghost that resembles a father or adult male, because he was shot straight to purgatory (hell) by that single bullet. I am not sure of the validity of this version but I thought you might be interested.
University of Texas at Arlington
Sigma Chi Fraternity House: The apparition of a small girl has been spotted in this frat house, but she is only seen on one side.
Sigma Chi Fraternity House: Before Greek Row was built, there was an orphanage on this property. It burned, and most of the children died. One girl named Mary still haunts the place and likes to play tricks on girls that come over.
Six Flags Over Texas
In the Texas Candy Store, which is the oldest building in the park, is the spirit of Annie, a young girl who died in Johnson Creek. She can often be seen walking the railroad tracks or switching the lights on and off in what was her room many years ago. Security staff often reports that when Annie is feeling playful, they have trouble locking up the candy shop at night.
In the Texas section next to the entrance of the Texas Giant is a yellow candy store. It is the oldest building in the park. It was said that in the early 1900's a young girl (8 or so) drowned in Johnson's Creek. She supposedly can be seen walking the railroad tracks or in her room in the yellow house turning the light on and off or opening the curtain and then closing it.
Speed's Billiards
I work in a billiards and sports bar in Arlington. There have been rumors about this ghost for years. The employees have dubbed him "Scotty." Most of the time, the establishment has a warm feeling to it. But at night, after closing, you can hear what sounds like someone playing darts, and your hair will stand on end without explanation. Many of the employees have heard it and joke about Scotty playing darts. He seems to be harmless, playing practical jokes and such, with no real harm coming of it. We have had glasses are thrown off racks, pitchers that fall down from the shelves, bar stools that move at night, and even a fryer door that came off of its hinges and landed in the middle of the bar floor. We have a light behind the bar that stays off during business hours, and during a shift all of a sudden it will come on by itself. It's unsettling, but fun. Employees have seen a flash of red out of the corner of their eyes and turned to see no one standing there. We have pictures of parties held here, where orbs are very visible, next to the employees. Also, one night, when the night manager was leaving, she saw the reflection of a man in a red shirt standing behind her as she was walking out the door. She never looked back. Makes you wonder. But it's harmless because Scotty is just part of the family here.
Bowie High School
It's rumored that a man was either killed during the building of the school or was a custodian there, and we have nicknamed him "Leonard." He lives in the catwalk in the auditorium, and has reportedly thrown small rocks onto the stage. Noises have been heard like machines going off in the shop room, and bells chiming in the catwalk. One student was spit on during a rehearsal for "Grease" in 2000. The left side of her face was wet, and no one was standing on that side of her.
Arkansas Lane House
This is a big house on a hill where a boy murdered his family in the 1990s. It's said that if you go into the house mysterious people run out, and weird noises are heard like footsteps, doors slamming, and windows breaking. Update: the house was built in the 1940s. The whole area around it was a ranch, and that's where the family lived. The murders happened in the 1960s or early 1970s. There are two stories: the first being that the family had a retarded son they kept in the cellar, but not abusively. He lived down there and had everything he needed: bathroom, bed, and television. There was a large walk-in freezer down there too. Apparently, he murdered his parents and kept the bodies in the freezer, and eventually died himself. The second story is that the kid that lived there wasn't retarded, and that after his parents died of natural causes, he lived there. It's said he was a pedophile and a child murderer and would kill children and hide their bodies in the freezer. Right now it's zoned for commercial use, so companies keep buying the property with plans to level it and put a building there. About two or three weeks later, they'll sell it. There are reports of a family who bought it and started to renovate it. They put up new shingles and new windows, but three weeks later, all work on the house stopped. Right now there is a fence around the property, and the road has been lowered, but you can still see it.
NEW: I just went to the Arkansas Lane house this past weekend with three friends. It feels like you're walking into an air conditioned house in the middle of summer. The house is definitely interesting. I've never seen a house with no hallways or one that changes. The only way in is the back through a slit in the fence and up through the garage due to the fences. The stairwell is the only "hall". There are two lower floors that have aparently been filled in. There is however a giant hole in the back that can be seen from an open doorway leading to a balcony that no longer exists. I believe this is the only way to get to the other floors. It was too dark to actually go down there. The house does change so you have to be very aware of your surroundings or you will freak out. We walked through and had just come from the room with the balcony, the next room had nothing...it was open. I turned around because I thought I saw something and there was a completely different room there. It had a booth like thing in the corner across form the door. Everyone wanted to leave so we made our way back towards the stairs. In the living room I turned to my friend and told her that there were children there. I hadn't heard the children story. I knew nothing about the house, only what others had experienced there. We went one behind the other down the stairs, but about halfway down the guy behind me disappeared. I stayed at the stairs and everyone else went separate ways. We searched for about 5-10 minutes...screaming for him. The next thing we knew he was outside behind the house saying we had to go. He said that on the way down behind me he hit a wall, had to turn around and go for the front. He said that the second he crossed out of the house something started hitting him. He has marks on his body like someone hit him with some kind of hard stick or something. We left right after we found him. What I find so interesting is the fact that the city won't tear it down even when no one will keep it for more than a few weeks. For personal use or commercial use. It's also never the same construction company going in to do the work. I'm determined to go back and really have a good look around at everything. Hopefully I'm passing on some interest.
Arlington High School Auditorium
A boy named James committed suicide in the drama room, and if you are alone in the room you can hear a boy's voice even though nobody is there. The drama room is in the backstage area. You can hear him talk as if he is reciting something and then just stop. James died by shooting himself while he was reciting a monologue. Also if you do not leave him a seat on opening night for each play in the auditorium, then the play will go bad very quickly, so the theatre crews always leave him a front row seat.
Cinemark Tinseltown 9
Supposedly, during the construction of the theater, a construction worker died while making the sixth theater. Customers say they have seen a chair move or actually see a guy sitting next to them when there wasn't before. He gets up, starts to walk away, and disappears. Many employees have reported objects being moved when their back was turned, and weird banging sounds, and the door shutting in the projection room when there was nobody around.
A ghostly male apparition has been seen sitting in theater number six, but will get up and leave when he is noticed. Objects move, doors open and close, and banging sounds can be heard. A construction worker who died while building the sixth theater supposedly haunts the theater.
Martin High School
Two years after the school was built, a boy who was in the theater department was dismissed from his duties on the play. He loved the theater program there so much that he hanged himself from the catwalk. Another story says he went naked to prom and was taken off the theater crew so he hanged himself in the auditorium catwalk. If you are on the catwalk alone, you can hear strange voices and footsteps along with winds that come from nowhere.
Parklane Apartments
There are reports of noises in bedrooms, hearing babies cry, and faucets that turn on and off.
Dunston's Steak House
The ghosts of two men who died right after leaving haunt this restaurant. One was an older man who had a heart attack on his way home. The other died in a motorcycle accident when struck by a car. Both apparently enjoyed the food so much, they decided to spend eternity here.
Wilson Home – Highway 67
After witnessing a bizarre murder-suicide, this home has had strange lights and apparitions. On Christmas Eve there is said to be a yellow glare coming through the door. You can drive by and see it. The story goes that a man killed his wife and kids and then set the house on fire not very long ago. It didn't completely burn down, but you can see the damage. Drive by on Christmas Eve and you will see!
Bank One Processing Center
The automatic doors open with no one there. Cold spots have also been noticed around these times.
Highway 283
Twenty miles south of Baird, Texas on Highway 283, there are reports of a green light being sighted making a figure eight in the middle of the field. There are also reports of cold spots.
Hell's Gates
A presence is felt, always cold, and a black figure of a four-foot man with glowing red eyes has been spotted.
Witnesses claim to have seen the figure of a four-foot man with red eyes that glow like fire. If you see him, it is said he will chase you.
I once went there with some friends. We went and parked our cars about 40 yards from an old wooden bridge, which is about 30-40 feet long. It was around midnight to one in the morning. We walked across the bridge (the story goes that once you have crossed the bridge you have just gone through hell's gates and entered the demon's domain) and went up a small foothill covered with tree branches. As soon as we got to level ground, we were on a dirt road covered by tall grass about 10 to 12 feet high on each side. At the time it was very warm. We walked about 30 feet and we were past the tall grass. As we walked further down the road, it got colder and colder and we could sense a presence. Well I decided to look to my right, and in the open field just in front of a wooded area, there was a small black figure in the shape of a man, about four feet tall with glowing red eyes. As we walked further down the road I could see him keeping up with us in the pasture. Once we got quite a bit away from the bridge, we came up on a log going across the road. The log was very long and covered the entire road. Even with 10-12 people it was much too heavy to move. (Keep in mind that it was cold enough to wear a heavy jacket at this point, but the strange thing is it was the middle of the summer in Texas) so we left it there. Well a couple of friends and I decided to walk back to the bridge, and the others wanted to keep walking. So we turned around and starting heading back for the bridge. I then looked to my left and noticed the figure that was following us earlier started walking with us. And that kind of freaked us out a little. So we started running. But the figure kept up with us the entire time. And as soon as we got to the tall grass it was gone. I then turned around and walked past the tall grass to see if I could see it but it wasn't there. So we went to the bridge and waited for the others. After about 45 minutes they returned. So we all decided to leave. We got in our cars and went driving around some. We turned down this road and that road. Then turned down the same road we were walking on. And all of the sudden we stopped at the place where the log was across the road. It was gone. After that we then drove down to the bridge and got out and decided to go somewhere else. So we turned the cars around and started leaving when all of the sudden we stopped. So I got out of the car and looked ahead and saw that the log was once again blocking the road. I thought we were trapped in and I got scared. So we turned around once again and drove back to the bridge. We all got out and decided to go back and try to move the log with one of our vehicles because one was a big 4x4 truck, but when we got to where the log was it was gone. So we left in a hurry. And since then we have returned a few times and seen the log in the road but we never drove our cars down the road ever again.
Keys Crossing
It is said that three ghosts kneel by the river at night, throwing roses into the water, reportedly because they lost a family member. Everybody that goes down there at night has to drive really slow or they will flip exactly three times and die or get severely injured. People say the Indians cursed it. When you just go down the road you will see shadowy figures staring at you.
Don't drive down there or your car may flip three times. Some say you will see shadowy figures staring at you.
Lake Brownwood - Flat Rock
Many people have experienced problems with their boats while they attempt to load or unload using the boat ramp here. People have also mentioned damage to their boats as if they hit a large rock, but no rock would be anywhere near the location. Several people have also drowned in the swimming area around this portion of the lake. Legend has it that a small girl drowned in the Pecan Bayou before the lake was built. Some residents in the area have mentioned hearing a little girl laugh at night. Another resident said they have seen a little girl run down the walk to their dock and jump in.
Goat Man's Bridge
[See also entries for Italy and Files Valley]
Gilbert's Creek has a bridge out past the golf course between Burk and Sheppard Air Force Base. We used to party down there all the time. It was nicknamed Goat Man's Bridge. There was a man who was human from head to waist and goat from waist down. People say if it's really quiet you can hear him. And if you park your car in the middle of the bridge it will not start. They say you can hear children screaming. A friend of mine said he was out there alone one night and he saw someone standing by a tree. He threw his pocketknife at the man and it went right though him and stuck in the tree. I have also heard that a few miles back behind the bridge is a church. Not just any church but a satanic church. A lot of strange things happened out at that bridge. If you're from Burk and want to go out there ask anyone from Burk they can tell you right where it is. But don't go alone!
Burkburnett High School
NEW: Burkburnett High School is said to be haunted. The English Wing was said to be haunted by longtime teacher Mrs. Page. The wing is actually name Page Hall, I believe. Teachers and janitors have reported hearing sounds, voices, and doors slamming in the English wing. I haven't experienced this first hand but we did try to stake it out one night, and only had weird feelings like someone was watching us. Janitors won't go down that hall by themeselves.
Haunted Bridge
[See also entry for Clara's Screaming Sheila Bridge]
Somewhere near Burkburnett, there is a little bridge out in the middle of nowhere. In the 1920s, when the oil boom hit, several small "tent towns" popped up, and the oilrigs and people traveling to and from work used this small, wooden bridge. A woman caught cheating on her husband was bound, beaten and taunted by her husband and his friends. After torturing her, they set her on fire and burnt a hole through the bridge, allowing her to fall to the water below. The bridge still stands, hole and all, and is rumored to be a very spooky area.
Bethesda Road Railroad Tracks
A school bus full of children was driving down Bethesda Road one day and got stuck on the railroad tracks and an oncoming train hit the bus. Most of the children died. On most nights you can go there and drive your car on to the tracks, stop it, put it in neutral, and the children will come and push you off the tracks to keep you out of harm's way.
West Texas A&M University
The lobby is known to be haunted. A girl got murdered there a while back. There is also the ghost of a young lady who walks in the dormitories. She has also been seen on the elevator. It is said there is one dorm room that has an underground tunnel or route that leads all over the dorms. At midnight if you park your car at the Wal-Mart parking lot you will see a light go on and the girl will be standing there looking out the window. Also if you live in the dorms you will smell popcorn at 12:30.
DeWitt-Perry Homestead
Rumors say that the former residents may be still around. On different nights, nearby railroad crossing lights would flash and no trains would be there.
Newman Smith High School
Abigail reportedly died while storing boxes under the stage. Now she is sometimes seen on the catwalk, and plays with the gels on the spotlights. Students hit the stage with a hammer three times to keep her from interfering with a show, and sometimes, when reviewing a tape of a show, they can spot her standing in the set's shadows.
Pleasant Valley
It is said if you go there late at night and carry a book of matches with you, that you will see a little boy who is unknown sit in the passenger seat and talk to you. Also your radio starts changing stations suddenly, and the car jumps into drive and then doesn't move.
Screaming Sheila Bridge
[See also entry for Burkburnett's Haunted Bridge]
Bordering an old ghost town, about five miles from church, there is a bridge. The town of Clara was established in the 1800s. Sometime in the mid-1800s there was a woman put to trial and convicted of practicing witchcraft. She was burned alive on the bridge. The whole bridge is burnt, but in one particular spot, there is a perfect circle burned all the way through. She can still be heard screaming at night.
The Town
In Texas, there is the ghost town of Clara, notated as such by the words on its historical marker. In the late 1800s, German immigrant Herman Specht married Clara Vogel in Galveston, and invested in land in Wichita County. Clara was a wealthy widow and the land holdings eventually exceeded 20,000 acres. Calling himself Colonel Specht, since he admired the way German army men dressed and carried themselves, he had a dream of creating the perfect little town with no crime or anything of the sort. Naming the town after his wife, not much was built here. The oil boom drew potential residents off to Burkburnett and Wichita Falls and Colonel Specht's perfect little town was a perfect little ghost town before he knew it. All that remains of the town today is the huge Lutheran Church and the cemetery just down the road. Ghost activity is reported to be very heavy in the area. Many children died in the town, said to have fallen victim to experimental crops and growing procedures. The historical marker also indicates the water became polluted. Pleasant Queen, the first person buried here, has been photographed as an apparition standing atop her grave. Unexplained lights, orbs, vortexes and ecto have also been reported here.
A resident of the area writes: "The long time inhabitants of this area, and the members of the local church, have no knowledge of this haunting. The church was established a century ago and the members are almost all descended from the founders who were raised in this community. They know absolutely nothing about any haunting at the cemetery. However, [web sites reporting the story] may feed vandalism and trespass. The state history marker only refers to the decline of the community to another. This is a modern myth, probably fed by the Internet. You may be interested in knowing that the sounds people here out here are the sounds common to areas with significant oil well production. Clara is on the distant edge of what is known as the Clara Oil Field. Depending on the price of oil these old fields are pumped. Oil is also pumped from pumping stations. These cause squeaks and sounds that can be heard a mile or more away in open hilly country. I grew up in an oil area and find these both peaceful and reminiscent of my childhood. There are also several large owls in the neighborhood as well as other wildlife (coyotes, turkey, roadrunners, etc.) We are also on the training flight route for the Air Force base in Wichita Falls, which is another regular source of noises. One of my favorite pastimes is to sit on my porch, or the front steps of Trinity Lutheran Church, and look out over the horizon and listen. I think the city kids from town don't know what its like to be in the country and actually live here. You are privileged to hear the sounds that towns drown out."
1896 Railroad House Hotel
The owners hear footsteps.
Wright Place
A woman who was supposedly pushed out a window has been seen on the second floor. The smell of oranges has been reported, even though there are none around.
The vision of a woman can be seen in the upper floor windows and the scent of oranges can be detected.
Many experts have claimed it to be haunted. The first floor is still a small restaurant, and the second floor is rarely used. People have seen the figure of a young woman near a window and have claimed to smell oranges. Legend says that she was pushed out of a window and killed by an angry boyfriend.
Old Foamy
When you go to this little water stream at night, turn off your headlights and honk three times. A goat man will appear in front of you. Others say strange things happen to your car.
Coahoma Junior High
This school is supposedly built on Indian burial grounds. People have reported the opening and shutting of doors, and hearing footsteps and mysterious voices.
Junior High Gym
During cheerleading practice about 15 or more years ago, the lights mysteriously went out in the gym. The girls saw the headlights of a car approaching, and heard the car as well. As the girls tried to run, the phantom vehicle chased them.
Mansion on Crider Road
At the site where a three-story mansion recently burned (the mansion was the site of serial murders), screams can still be heard, and people often see apparitions.
The three-story mansion, which burned down at the beginning of 1999, was without ownership for ninety-nine years. Allegedly, a serial killer murdered over 10,000 men and women in this home. Many reported hearing screams and seeing flashing lights and ghosts when driving down Crider Road. The house was so scary that it was never searched.
It's The Colony, not Colony. Colony is a city two hours southeast of Austin; The Colony is one hour north of Dallas. The Colony is in the southeast corner of Denton County, in North Texas. Crider Road is off of State Highway 121. Well, it used to be, but then they built a new road and now it's kind of off of FM 423, just south of State Highway 121. They connected FM 423, which stopped at State Highway 121, and Josey Lane, which is in north Carrollton, just south of The Colony. Crider Road used to connect directly to State Highway 121, but they had to move the entrance to the short road in order to connect the new road to State Highway 121, so now Crider Road is actually off of FM 423, literally just about 50 feet south of State Highway 121. I've lived in The Colony all my life. I am fairly familiar with the Crider House. The Crider House was on Crider Road, which is a back road connecting The Colony to neighboring Carrollton. The house was the only thing on the road, now there's nothing except trees and a field. The Crider family lived in the house at one point. They were one of the founding families of The Colony. In The Colony Public Library, in their city history book, it says that Mr. Crider's daughter married the son of Morris Griffin (another founder of The Colony). The house was said to be haunted, but I've never seen or heard anything. I've driven past it several times, both at night and during the day. At least one episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger" was filmed at the house. In the episode, Walker and the others go to the house to look for a man they need to arrest. The house in the show had a graveyard, but actually there is not graveyard. I heard a story that a few years before it burnt, a group of kids broke in and had a party in the house. They vandalized the house some and they were arrested for vandalism and trespassing, I think. The house was burned down in 1999. The Dallas and local newspapers reported on it and didn't say who did it or if they even had suspects. One theory is that it was just teenagers. Another was that people from Walker, Texas Ranger were asked to burn it down to rid the city of the old, decrepit, and "haunted" house. I don't believe this theory because I think that we would have heard on the news or something if the city had it burned down. And why would they get people from a television show to do it? Why not the fire department, or why didn't they just tear it down? And, the house wasn't hurting anything. It's not like they needed the land. The lot is still there, and absolutely nothing is in its place. It's been four years. I don't know who burned it, but it wasn't the city. I think it was just kids. I never saw ghosts or flashing lights, and never heard screams. I don't know if there really was a killer who killed people in the house, whether it was the Crider family or someone else. All my life, I heard a rumor that parts of the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were filmed at the house. But I don't think that's true either. I think people who lived in The Colony then would remember them filming in the house. There weren't many people living in The Colony in 1974 (my parents moved there in 1977 and they didn't even have a fire department, post office, or any schools), but there were some. But if they filmed a movie there, I'm sure I would have heard that for sure, not just as a rumor. Now there is nothing on the road except trees and fields. The road is probably not even a mile long; it's a very short road. It was named Crider Road after the Crider family who lived in the three-story mansion. I liked driving past it when I was little. I would always say, "There's the Crider House." Some people called it the Big White House because it was big and white.
Colorado City (Mitchell County)
Ruddik Park
There is supposed to be the ghost of a woman searching by the river for her baby, whom she buried alive because her mother forced her.
Bethel Cemetery
Bethel Cemetery is a historical cemetery established in 1853. The location is just east of Moore Road just north of Beltline. There is a grave that is supposed to be haunted. It is marked with odd symbols. Apparently, the gravesite does not like its picture being taken because the submitter went through a roll of Polaroid instant film with every picture of the headstone overexposed. Only one picture was normal: a picture of the landscape away from the gravestone.
Capital Building
There are reports by employees of people walking around during the night hours and sightings of ghostly shadows.
Flag Pole Hill
Near Flag Pole Hill on Northwest Highway there is a narrow horseshoe shaped road with lots of trees and a few obscured houses in between. Once you start down this narrow road, you must continue. There is no place to turn around. Mysterious events such as rocks flying from impossible angles towards cars and sudden unforeseen vehicular body damage, etc., have occurred. The local police department will verify this as far back as 1976. Do not drive down this road at night.
Eckerd's Drug Store
On the corner of Ferguson Road and Gus Thomasson is an Eckerd's that is haunted by a man named Wayne. It is said that this man was a late night loader and unloader. He was a good, honest, family man. One morning at 6:00, while going home after finishing his shift, three men assaulted him for his money. These men had been doing this for a while now. Wayne finally decided to defend himself this time, not knowing the three men had a gun. He was shot three times in the heart and three times in the head. Employees say that the upstairs part of the building, where Eckerd's keeps its boxed products, is haunted by Wayne. They say boxes mysteriously fall down, the radio is turned on, cold areas are felt, and footsteps are heard going up the stairs.
Old Hospital
Across from the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, there is a shut down hospital. Voices have been heard here, and the apparition of a girl by a tree has been seen. The girl says, "You're too late to help!" She then screams, and vanishes. There is a story of a little girl that fell out of the tree and died.
Lake Highlands High School
Supposedly sometime in the early 1970s, a girl named Elizabeth jumped out of one of the second story windows of Lake Highlands High School off of Church Road and White Rock Trail (near Flag Pole Hill) and killed herself. Most sightings or strange occurrences have taken place in the auditorium; however, the technical theater teacher claims he can sense her presence throughout the school. Tools have been found missing from a locked tool room. Trashcans and other large objects have been thrown across rooms, and doors (with hydraulics to keep them from slamming) have been slammed shut. Also random cold spots have been felt throughout the room. Some kids from LHHS made a movie about it this summer, called Ghostlight.
Lawrence Hotel
The Lawrence Hotel opened in October 1925. Now, people report hearing the sound of crying and shadows on the tenth floor. They are from when a woman allegedly jumped or fell from the Presidential Suite back in the 1940s. People have often heard voices and footsteps and felt many cold spots. They hear high-heeled footsteps back and forth across the lobby between midnight and 6:00 AM. There have been sightings of a gentleman gambler on the second level, where there used to be an illegal casino during the late 1920s and 1930s. There are reports of lots of movement in the basement areas, too.
LBJ House
Supposedly there is blood on the walls and some areas of the house where a wife and her children were sacrificed, and there is a really cold feeling if you stand in a certain place, but I've never talked to anyone who has experienced that personally. Also the property has been abandoned for several decades and no one will buy the lot.
Millermore
A two story Greek revival home completed in 1861, Millermore is currently the centerpiece of Old City Park Museum. Over the last 30 years there have been continual stories of a haunting in the house. Many unrelated individuals (museum guests, volunteers, and staff) have sensed the presence of a female spirit in the house. The activity seems to center around the former nursery and master bedroom on the second floor.
This 1860s mansion was the home of the same Dallas family for over 100 years before becoming part of the museum. Consistent stories are told of a ghostly female presence in the second floor area around the former nursery. Visitors, docents, and staff have all felt the presence over the last 25 years.
Old City Park features more than 30 restored buildings, some dating back to the 1840s. Their original sites were all within a 100-mile radius of Dallas.
The Millermore Mansion was completed just as the Civil War broke out. Many people report a ghostly female presence centered on the second floor by the former nursery.
Turtle Creek Center
A successful businessman worked at this building through the 1980s. His name was Harold and on September 13, 1989, he died from unexplained reasons in his office at approximately 9:00 pm. His spirit has been seen in the fire exit and stairways by a few working in the building. They have reportedly seen a man walking between the 13th and 14th floors with blood falling from his eyes and a look of sheer death on his face. When they follow him into the hallway, he disappears without a trace.
Combs Creek Street
This is about a little girl on a bike that haunts a street called Combs Creek by the railroad tracks. The story is that a little girl was riding her bike on the railroad and supposedly she got stuck and got run over by the train, and now she haunts this little deserted street by the railroads.
A little girl was hit by a train while riding her bike, and now her spirit is seen on this street as she rides on.
Wilbur Street Playground
They say in the 1920s that a little girl got permission from her parents to go play in the playground of Wilbur Street around a creek. A drunk driver was out of control and hit the girl, who was happily playing on the swing. People now say that if you look closely at the swings you will see the happy little girl swinging.
Pleasant Grove Christian Church
Sightings of children who run by and disappear have been reported. There are also reports of banging and howling noises from all over the grounds. One witness has taken pictures with a digital camera at this site and obtained pictures of floating orbs, a child's face in what was an empty hallway, and what appears to be an adult hand holding an axe. The children spirits are not too intense but the adult spirit seems very angry and seems to want to be left alone. There is a rumor that the adult possibly murdered the child.
Rylie Academy
There are reports of the lights turning on and off, and strange sounds.
Snuffers Restaurant
Numerous people have seen this unidentified ghost. The image of a man can been seen traveling from the old section of the building to the new section. He reportedly showed up after the building was remodeled.
An unidentified ghost has been seen by guests and employees in this popular restaurant. The phantom emerged after remodeling and usually appears in the hallway that connects the old building with the new addition.
White Rock Lake
The Lady of the Lake or White Lady has been seen here and on the road by the lake dressed in a 1920s evening gown and soaking wet. She asks drivers for a ride to a house on Gaston Avenue where she disappears, leaving nothing but a wet spot on the seat. The story is that she was the daughter of a wealthy family in the 1920s. She was on her way home from a ball when her car wrecked in the lake. She drowned, but the others lived.
The ghost of a woman in a white evening gown dripping with water has terrorized residents here for many years. The ghost often appears to young couples parked in cars along deserted roads, although she has also appeared at residents' homes. In September 1962, Dale Berry answered the doorbell twice to find no one there. On the third ring, he opened the door to see the screaming apparition, who disappeared, leaving behind only a puddle of water. The wandering ghost's identity has never been discovered.
Back in the 1950s on West Lawther Drive at White Rock Lake, a young girl and her boyfriend were traveling home from the prom. While driving on the road, he went off the road and landed in White Rock Lake. He managed to swim to safety while she drowned. People claim to see her wet, dressed in a prom dress along this road. She hitchhikes and will get in your car. She gives an address. When the drivers arrive at this address all that is left of the woman is a puddle of water. If you go to the door at this address it is claimed her family still resides there and they will tell you the story. In addition, there is said to be an old abandoned cemetery right near, where it is said that she is buried. Many claim her blood is splattered on the head stone; however, it has been pointed out to me that this is merely paint.
The Lady of White Rock Lake is something of a vanishing hitchhiker, reportedly visiting amorous couples parked in the area. The DeGolyer estate is also rumored to be haunted.
On Lawther Drive, if you stop you car on the bridge, the engine will die.
Villages of Meadow West Apartments
A man murdered his wife in an apartment in the 1970s. It is said he buried her in the lawn outside of his apartment. When the last residents moved out there were thousands of horse flies in the apartment (the residents were very clean people). I didn't think anything of it. Some of the residents (who don't know the story) say their dogs act weird around the area, and this spring there were dead birds outside. I don't know the rest of the story because the resident who told my friend died last month.
The Grand Crystal Palace/Lizard Lounge
A painting of a young girl is haunted by a good spirit. Rumor has it that several workers were killed during the construction and now haunt the building, and a man in a dark suit haunts the audience seating area. The theater is now a nightclub.
A man in black haunts the old audience seating area, and unknown spirits have wreaked havoc in the dressing rooms when it was a theater.
Majestic Theater
Phone lines light up when no one is there, backdrops move of their own accord, and strange smells have been experienced. The phenomena have been attributed to a benefactor named Karl Hoblitzelle.
Preston Road
A large group of spirits dressed in early 20th century clothing has been spotted moving north in the area between Beltline and Spring Valley.
Sons of Hermann Hall
Doors slam, paintings fall off of walls, and voices and children's laughter echo when no one is there. A male and female pair of apparitions have also been spotted.
Throckmorton at Maple Avenue
Thought to be the site of a long-gone crematorium and funeral parlor (and intermittently various bars and clubs), voices have been heard when no one was around, videos have flown off shelves in the DJ booth, and a female apparition has been seen on the dance floor. The bar on an adjacent lot has a constant repulsive smell that no one can explain.
Highway 287
A male ghost is seen standing on the side of the highway on Sunday mornings between 4:00 and 5:00 AM. Several truckers report seeing him in front of them, but when they check their side-view mirrors, he is gone. Update: per the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department, the gentleman is alive and well. They have gotten numerous calls on this "ghost" only to find him a little further down the road, on his way to church in Keller.
Argyle Bridge
Strange lanterns and figures have been reported, along with car doors locking and unlocking by themselves, even in cars without power locks. Mysterious breakdowns are also reported.
At this bridge, which was built in 1884, there have been several accounts of hauntings. People have seen lanterns moving six feet off the ground with no one there to carry them; they have seen outlines of people, heard strange noises, and experienced car doors locking and unlocking themselves.
Old Hospital
The old hospital is now closed. A nurse known as Betty died after a botched abortion resulting from a fling with a married doctor. After the area was annexed to inpatient facilities, patients would see her attending to them. Sometimes night duty nurses would hear something unusual coming from a patient's room and investigate only to find no cause for the sound, but the patient was having a life-threatening medical crisis. Older nursing staff members who knew her in life recognized her apparition on sight.
University of North Texas
Bruce Hall: The apparition of a woman has been spotted in Bruce Hall. Here is the story told to scare freshmen: Wanda, a student living in Bruce Hall, became pregnant during the fall semester. Unmarried, and too scared to tell her parents, she hid in the attic of the building to try and wait out Christmas break. Wanda then decided to try and abort the baby herself. She died alone as a result of internal bleeding and wasn't found until the school was opened up three weeks later.
Bruce Hall: Wanda, a resident who killed herself, supposedly haunts Bruce Hall. Some suggest that Kerr and Maple Halls may also be haunted as well.
Bruce Hall: In Bruce Hall, there is a spirit of a pregnant woman trapped in the building, who, in the 1930s, tried to starve herself to cause an abortion. There have been sightings of a young women roaming the halls when the building is closed. Also, the students are bothered by minor annoyances.
Students attempting a séance reported an unusual power outage and cold spots. Crying is heard from the attic, and a woman wearing clothing from the 1930s or 1940s has been spotted wandering the halls.
The major point of the haunting is in the disused elevator shaft. This shaft was used on multiple occasions for elevator surfing, but some were killed doing it. The bottom floor entrance to the elevator is opened every Halloween for the haunted house, and each year bizarre happenings occur. Cabinets and shelving units have collapsed and nearly hit people (one incident I witnessed was in the fall of 1994). The basement itself always fills people with dread. Also as a note, Halloween has many incidents of strange phenomena, beyond the usual pranks. The power always turns off at midnight (for whatever reason) and the security lights activate. However, they blink at different rhythms, even though they are on the same circuit. There are many other incidents but they have not been proven, or lie outside scientific evidence.
Union Suite 324: The CSRR and SLA offices of the university have a wandering ghost. Those who have stayed late after hours have heard the fax machine turning on and off. This ghost, nicknamed Brandy, likes to lock employees in copy rooms and offices, run blank pages through the copier, and turn on and reboot computers.
Dumas Junior High
In the north gym at Dumas Junior High, there was a group of girls practicing volleyball. After practice everyone left except this one girl. No one came to pick her up so she decided to go back into the gym to wait for her ride. The janitor went into the gym and stabbed the girl and then killed himself. If you are there by yourself you can hear the girl screaming for help and the janitor laughing at what he was doing.
Ninth Grade School
The ghost of a teacher murdered in 1993 has been spotted in the girls' locker room, especially after volleyball games.
In 1993, a teacher was murdered on the way to her car after staying late one night. She is said to haunt the girls' locker room and has been seen after volleyball games.
A teacher was murdered in 1993 after staying at school after hours. On her way to her car, someone killed her, and she now haunts the girls' locker room. Many have seen her after volleyball games.
The Raphael House
Self-closing doors and windows, ghost steps upstairs, disappearing object, rumpled bed sheets and apparitions are blamed on a pair of spirits named Raymond and Julia.
Midway Recreation Center
At night people have reported a strange spirit moving around in the building turning on lights and working out to rap music. The grunts of his workout can be heard from inside the buildings. Some of the janitors say it looks like one of the old co-workers who had died a couple of years ago.
The Old Nursing Home
Back behind the new nursing home and the drive-through pharmacy, right off of Industrial Boulevard (Highway 157), there exists an old nursing home in which all of the patients and doctors left for unknown reasons. The halls are littered with the wheel chairs and medical supplies of the former residents. It is said that the moans of the elderly patients can be heard up and down the halls. If you find the dining hall, a table stands in the center of the room stained with blood, and the stench of something rotting lingers in the air.
Farmers Branch (Dallas County)
Farmers Branch Manske Library
An undetermined spirit haunts the library. One patron saw the apparition of a man with red eyes who passed through the room and disappeared through a wall.
The library is haunted by a ghost that is believed to be either that of a construction worker who was killed during the renovation of the library in the 1980s, or an Indian from the Indian burial ground it is rumored to be built upon. The most recent sighting was last year when a young man (who did not know the library was supposed to be haunted) reported seeing the figure of a man with red eyes pass into a wall.
Barbers Bookstore
Ghostly footsteps have been heard, along with sounds of pages being turned. Strange shadows on the staircase and an apparition are also reported. The building is now an antique store.
Inverness Castle
Apparitions of a man have been reported. They say a young man built this castle for his bride-to-be. The wedding was to be held in the newly finished house, but on the wedding day, the bride was found floating in the lake. No one was sure if she died accidentally or if foul play was involved. But a few months later the groom married the dead woman's sister. Now, at night, the bride can be seen running from the house, across the road and towards the lake before disappearing. The actual history of the castle is not quite as dramatic as the ghost stories it has spawned, but in case anyone is curious the castle was originally an 1860s rock farmhouse that was purchased in the 1920s by the Whitings. After extensive renovations and the addition of the round crenulated front wing and the rear tower, the rambling mansion took on the look of a castle. It was completed in 1938 and Mrs. Whiting, who mostly supervised the renovation, named it Inverness. The residence has seen several owners in the past, and Gary Stewart stayed there while filming a movie in the 1950s. In the not so distant past, the castle was vacant for a long period of time and was in such disrepair it was on the verge of being condemned. It is now currently occupied and restored.
Castleberry High School
Students say that the school was built on an old Indian burial ground. According to the rumor, if you go up the flight of steps that leads to the roof, you will hear voices that do not belong to anyone living.
I have seen the information about the Castleberry High School haunting being limited to hearing voices on the roof, but there are also supposedly other haunted portions in the school. My dad once taught and coached there and told me what he had learned from members of the staff. He said he has never heard about the voices that can be heard when one on the roof, but he did say that the basement of the school is one of particular unexplained events. He said that you could often hear echoes of voices, sense movement when no one else is there, and items were constantly being moved from place to place. He said that one of the janitors often joked about the phenomenon. The janitor told him of the voices that he heard early in the morning hours. This is just an addition to the story of Castleberry High. I also wanted to confirm that the school is located in an area that was once an Indian reservation, and the school happened to be constructed on what was the burial ground.
Del Frisco's Steakhouse
In the 1800s, this area of Fort Worth was known as Hell's Half Acre because of its numerous saloons, brothels and gambling halls. The steakhouse used to be a bathhouse in the 1800s. A man was once shot in the head there. His spirit roams the banquet halls and the upstairs bar.
Fort Worth Zoo
The zoo is home to more than just the exotic animals. The elephant keeper who was crushed and killed in the elephant yard in the 1980s is still seen near the elephant and zebra areas of the zoo. There is a woman who is wearing a white dress and carrying a parasol who walks slowly back and forth near the zoo cafe. She dresses in attire from the late 19th century, and no one knows her identity.
Lake Worth
Witnesses say at night you can see a woman out on a boat looking for her lost children with a lantern.
Log Cabin Village
When up in the top floor you can smell lilacs. People say that it is the perfume of a settler who was killed there. You can also hear doors slamming. Sometimes an evil spirit that resembles a man with a broken neck will scream and can be felt chasing you out of the building.
Opera House
Some people have said that the opera house right out side of Fort Worth is haunted. They don't know who it is but some people have said that you can hear screaming every once in a while.
Peters Bros. Hats
The ghost of Tom Peters moves hats around.
When the current owners acquired the space of the former pizzeria, they may have acquired the ghost of the dishwasher, Jack Martin. Jack would baptize new employees with a good spray from the dishwasher.
Red Lobster
The ghost of a girl who likes to tease the cooks is mainly seen in the kitchen. At night employees have seen her walking the restaurant. This Red Lobster is on Hulen Street.
Scott Theatre
A young actor, Ken Yandell, apparently hanged himself from a pipe in the basement of this theater. His ghost seems to spend most of time in the strange corridor filled basement where he died. A wardrobe woman was so frightened one night by cackling coming from the stage that she left and never returned.
The ghost of a janitor has been known to haunt the basement of the theater, and make laughing noises from the stage. Update: According to one viewer, the ghost is actually that of Ken Yandell, an actor who hung himself in the basement.
Spaghetti Warehouse
The restaurant is haunted by at least three separate ghosts. There is a small girl in the bathroom who turns on water, flushes toilets, and scatters paper towels. There is a woman in white that can be seen on the balcony late at night. The third is an old cowboy who throws glasses and knocks over stools.
This restaurant is located in the Fort Worth Stockyards. A woman who was killed during a fire haunts the third floor. You can still see the fire marks.
Miss Molly's Bed and Breakfast Hotel
Located downtown in the Stockyards, this former bordello has had a few apparitions spotted within its walls.
Once a prim and proper boarding house and later a popular bordello, Miss Molly's is now a historic hotel operating in the true bed and breakfast tradition. Apparitions have been spotted here.
Fort Worth Books & Video
Strange sounds and eerie lights have employees and customers perplexed.
Strange lights, unexplainable footsteps, and an unseen presence are experienced by customers in this bookstore. Manager Steve Kerby has no explanation for the strange activity.
Several customers have reported an unknown presence. The sound of footsteps and the sighting of strange lights have been experienced. Update: Fort Worth Books and Video is no longer operating at this location. The building is now partially occupied by Pangburns Chocolate Shoppe, and may be Jamba Juice.
Armstrong House
The ghost of Gussie Armstrong has been experienced in this house.
Fast Freddy's Pool Hall
Strange noises after hours have been attributed to Utley J. Puckett, a patron and pool player.
Glen D. Reeves Fine Arts Center
Glen supposedly haunts one of the rails in this performance hall, and has been known to play with the lights.
Mistletoe Heights Home
A singing female spirit in an ivory blouse has been reported here.
Schoonover House
Cold spots, apparitions, voices, footsteps, and lights that operate on their own are experienced in the basement.
Stockyard General Store
The first floors have been remodeled, but the second floor is the same as it was a hundred years ago. Nearly every building in the Stockyards has a ghost story.
Texas Wesleyan University
Fine Arts Building: A ghostly observer sits in the audience during rehearsals, roams the building, and plays the piano. Students call her Georgia.
West Library: A smell of smoke, choking sensations and the feeling of being watched have been reported in this library.
Texas White House B & B
Guests have reported ghostly presences.
Thistle Hill
Two apparitions have been reported: a lady in white who appears on the grand staircase, and a gentleman wearing tennis clothes who shows up at the top of the stairs. Music has been heard coming from the ballroom, and ghostly voices have been heard as well.
La Hacienda Ranch
I work at a restaurant in Frisco, Texas called La Hacienda Ranch. At night there is a ghost that walks the back patio. He only comes out when there are very few people in the restaurant. I saw him one night as I was rolling silverware for the next day. When I asked a manger about what I saw he told me that it was a ghost. The ghost walks the up and down the back patio and sometimes he can be seen through or in the reflection on the windows.
I myself live in Plano, just a few miles away from this place, and eat there very often. I left there once around closing time with friends and thought it was strange for someone to be out by the fireplace when it was very cold out. I noted this to my wife and she thought I was crazy because there wasn't anyone there when she looked back. One thought that comes to mind is that the intersection of Preston Road and Highway 121 is one of the most dangerous intersections in the US and there are numerous fatalities there each year.
Old Gail School
Supposedly the school's ceiling collapsed and killed students in the auditorium. The principal knew about the safety hazard concerning the ceiling, and didn't do anything about it until it was too late. He felt guilty and went home and hanged himself. His house is just down the road from the school. The principal haunts the house, and the children haunt the school. Strange lights, sounds, and apparitions can be observed at both the house and the school. The school was reported to be a place for devil worship after the disaster occurred. Feelings of being watched and stalked have been experienced at the school.
Abandoned for many years, Gail School resides in a little town outside of Big Spring, Texas. The town isn't really a town at all, just some farmhouses. But there is an abandoned school. The story is that a young girl hanged herself in the girls' bathroom. Rumored reasons are that she had failed a class, or had been rejected, or was murdered. After her death, the school, then the town, began to fade away. With the town in repression, the school was in trouble. Press and families were putting a lot of heat on the school, and it was too much for the principal. He shot himself in his office. After these events, the school was shut down, and the town no longer exists. But you can still visit this school. Be careful, as it is falling apart. The roof has caved in, and there are pieces of metal and rocks everywhere. It is said that the bathroom and the principal's office are very cold, with a sense of being watched. People also report the sensation of someone breathing on the back of their neck. Go in the bathroom with no lights, if you can stand it. As you stand in the bathroom, unable to see anything, you can almost see a girl's face, right in front of your own, looking you right in the eyes.
Lakeview High School
Ever since it was opened in the 1970s, it was always consider the "bad" school. Over the years it was given the nickname of "Suicide High." It was given this name because sometime in the late 1970s a boy shot himself in the bathroom. Later on in the 1980s a girl broke the mirror and slit her throat, and two girls found her. To this day there are still no mirrors in the girls' bathrooms. Later, another girl and boy killed themselves in the school. Many students that attended Lakeview in the mid 1990s committed suicide. In the bathrooms, sometimes you can hear footsteps when nobody else is in there. There are no windows in the school. Some students feel that's what makes the rooms so cold. There are cold spots in some places, and you can hear voices too.
Smiley's Grave
About seven years ago I heard the story of a man who had slaughtered his entire family. It is said that if you lay on his grave at midnight on Halloween that it is a bit of a struggle to get up.
Smiley's grave is located off Highway 66 at Centerville. According to one legend, Smiley was killed in a shootout nearby and walks the cemetery at night. Another legend has it that he and his entire family were killed by a tornado. That would explain the matching dates of death.
Garland High School
The ghost of John Isom gets placed on the ballot for class president every year.
Granbury High School
A janitor fell from the roof and has been seen by other janitors, sweeping the floor.
NEW: I wanted to tell you, two
of your sightings I can honestly vouch for. The first being the story of
the high school janitor in Granbury. I was a sophomore I think when the
janitor fell off the roof. My junior year, I was at the school for a school
dance one night and everybody was going over to a mesh gate that blocked
off a hallway that lead down to the library. Me being as curious as the
next guy went over as well. In the middle of the hall was a broom standing
straight up as if someone was standing there holding it. And of course
I was skeptical, had to be a prank. But then one of the janitors that had
been working late that night walked over to the broom, grabbed it and told
us
to leave him alone and then walked off with the broom. No strings, or anything
attached to it. I never
actually saw the ghost but the broom was possibly evidence of his existance
and the janitor's reaction
leads me to believe that this wasn't an isolated incident.
El Tesoro Camp
Indians haunt the camp. Many campers and counselors have seen visions of Indians walking, crying, and riding on horses at night. Witnesses report, "We saw a Indian in full headdress sitting on a white horse. We all saw it."
Grand Prairie (Tarrant County)
Confederate Graveyard
This graveyard near Joe Pool Lake has a sign that reads "Posted: No Trespassing." A man does own this land, and lives very deep into the graveyard, but he probably won't see you. Regardless, be careful. This graveyard is said to be a burial ground for dead soldiers from the Civil War. If you go there late at night or early morning (from midnight to about 3:00 AM) you will see a red light down the road in the darkness. When you get closer to it, it goes away. When you go in the graveyard (after jumping the fence) you hear voices, feel random wind gusts, and cold spots. You hear gunshots, and screaming men, and it has been reported that a couple of teenagers who went to the graveyard came back to their car to find all the doors unlocked when they had made certain it was locked before they went inside the graveyard. Also, there was a small child's handprint inside the car, where no human hand could reach (near the bottom of the windshield where it meets the dash board). When you leave the graveyard, if you look back, you will see flashing lights, as if a gun is emitting a light. Some have also reported strange things happening for a month after visiting this haunted graveyard.
Palace of Wax and Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum
Victims of a fire are believed to haunt this museum. There are strange presences felt, and electrical malfunctions that cannot be explained. There are also strange noises like bells and the sound of someone screaming. There are stories of the motion detectors going off when no one was in the building except for a few staff members.
Even though there was no one killed in the fire itself, the event is surrounded in mystery since one of the owners was murdered a year before the fire. Her name was Patsy Wright and she was poisoned with strychnine that was put into some medicine she was taking. Three years before that, in 1984, Patsy's manager and director of marketing at the wax museum, Lori Ann Williams, died mysteriously. Both bodies were later exhumed to determine the cause of death and to see if the deaths were related. These poisons evidently don't show up without a urine test. The results were inconclusive. There is a lot more mystery there than can be imagined. Another event occurred just after the fire when a man, Stanley Lester Poyner, was caught stealing a ledger book from the rubble. He had been previously arrested for arson, and was later shot and killed by Dallas Police in 1991. Lots of murder and intrigue are associated with this one and I suppose quite a few spirits are looking closure or justice or both.
The Old Cole House
The Old Cole House is an old slave house where many slaves were killed. They still wander in the house, and when you walk in you feel very sick. If you make it far enough to go outside to the back, there is another slave shed. Go in, all the way to the back, and you will feel a sudden coldness sweep over your body.
Blue Mound Hill
In the 1800s, as white settlers came to Texas, Indian tribes were being removed from their homelands. Blue Mound Hill was an Indian lookout for the tribe. The white settlers wanted to use the land for cattle and homes. White settlers slaughtered this tribe. Now every full moon around midnight you can see the ghosts of the Indians circling atop Blue Mound Hill, chanting and screaming for revenge. The next day, ashes can be found atop the hill where the fire of the Indians' anger went out. To get to Blue Mound Hill, take either North or South 287 (depending on where you come from), then take a left or right onto Blue Mound Road. Follow until you get to a hill with a white shed on top of it.
Tower
The tower is said to be haunted. A while back these guys killed a young boy at this tower. They took him out there because they said they were going to go drink out there, so the boy went with them. The story is that when they got out there with the boy, they chopped him up and ate him. The cops found these men and they were convicted. Now when you drive out there on the pavement, you will see a plume of smoke when you get to the middle. Drive through it, and once you get to the tower, if you roll your window down, you will hear screams. They are said to be sounds of the young boy screaming for help. No one has yet entered the tower.
Hereford was a war ground. They fought here and they say that the tower was where they kept the prisoners.
Bellaire Theatre
This theater is rumored to have had a projectionist pass away due to a heart attack in the building. Other spirits floating around include a young girl and a not so nice guy named Neil. Strange sounds, doors closing and actual interaction with the young girl have all been experienced.
Arwine Cemetery
The Arwine Cemetery, located at 700 Arwine Cemetery Road off of Pipeline Road in Hurst, seems to be haunted by an unidentified group of spirits. Thick woods surround the cemetery, where something very bad happened to someone a long time ago. The woods have many discarded headstones in a pile near the hearse trail, where I found part of a human arm bone. I'm not too sure why the people's graves were discarded, but I'm sure they didn't like that. It is a place where nobody I know, except myself, has ever been to at night.
Lancaster Country Club Lake
People have reported that a purple mist has approached them while they were out on the lake at night. The phantom approaches from the north side of the lake and disappears a few feet from boaters.
Building and Bridge
If you go between Vernon and Iowa Park there is a road close to Buffalo Lake. Turn off the main highway. You'll come to a T in the road. Turn left. The road will get very narrow (so narrow that if you go in straight you'll have to back out to get out) but if you go right you should see a bridge. It will be burnt down. The story is that a couple coming back from the prom ran out of gas on that bridge. The guy went to get some gas. The closest gas station was 20 miles away. While waiting for her boyfriend, the girl heard a knock on the door. When she looked up, she saw two weird looking guys. She tried to lock the door but they opened the door, and pulled her out. They raped her, and then tried to burn both her and the car. While doing that, they also burnt down the bridge. They ran to a tin building about 50 yards away. The police came and found the men in the shed. There was a struggle, and in the end, the two men were killed. Now they say if you park your car, get out, and go underneath the bridge, you will hear screaming. Then all of the sudden, a teenage girl will come out of nowhere, get in your face, and then she will vanish. The bars on the bridge will start vibrating. Usually by this time everyone will run away. While running, they say you will see a beam of light shoot from the tin building. It will fly by through the trees and then vanish. Then while driving away, you will see a dog come out of nowhere. It's huge; you won't miss it. Just don't swerve when you see it. Be very cautious backing out, as there have been bad accidents at this spot.
Iowa Park High School
A little dog runs around the campus before school starts, and computers in the basement turn on and off during early morning hours.
Crockett Middle School
A young pregnant girl killed herself in the old ladies' dressing room. There have been sightings of this young girl and people have heard screams before and after gym class in the new dressing room.
Apartment Complex on Nursery Lane
When I was a small child in 1986 my mother and I lived in an apartment complex in Irving, TX on Nursery Lane I believe. There was a maintenance man that used to talk to us everyday as my mom walked me home from school. He was a nice guy, probably in his fifties. He would ask me everyday if I had a fun day at school. Being five years old I always replied, "Yes!" and would continue to tell him whatt i did that day. Well one day during Christmas break it was raining and kind of cold. A couple had just moved out downstairs so he went down to repaint it. He shut the windows to keep the nasty weather out and died from fumes. I was very sad and heartbroken to see the ambulance take him away. But, as we all know life goes on and school started back up and I pretty much tried to forget the old man. Coming home from school the first day I looked up at the sky and my mom told me that it looked like it was going to rain again. We hurried to the building and just before we got to the door I heard the maintance man say,"Hey, Sarah did you have fun at school today?" My mother swears she heard nothing but later as a teenager asking her about my story she said that after he died I would tell her that I was going outside to play with him. And she said I would be sitting on the steps talking to myself asking about hammers and toolboxes. Which to this day I can't recall doing. I was wondering if you have heard anything about that area. My mom has passed away and I can't remember the name of the apartment complex. It was such a profound experience for me that I will never forget it. If you hear of anything please let me know.
Goat Man Trail
[See also entries for Files Valley and Burkburnett.]
After accidentally releasing several animals from their pens, a little boy got scared and ran home along some railroad tracks. The animals followed. A train hit the boy and several animals. Now people see them along the Goat Man Trail.
Hagler Farm
Residents who lived at this farm during the late 19th and early 20th centuries reported very strange goings-on. The family's father found something strange in the woods, which he never did reveal to his family. The members of the family believe that whatever he found might have caused the hauntings they experienced. Phantom knocking and footsteps were regular occurrences, as were visitations by apparitions. The mother was even injured by the phantoms.
Read a first-hand account of the chilling experiences the Hagler family endured on this farm.
Old Stone Rec Building
Footsteps have been heard by the nightshift janitors. Also, sounds of splashing water are around but the pool is empty.
Lennox Church School
In a small church house and schoolhouse, there are lights that turn on and off, and black shadows have been seen there. It has been said if you drive there around midnight you can see both shadows and lights.
Broadway Ave
There is a sort of strip shopping center that has a couple of bars and a few stores. The building was a hotel at the turn of the century, and there are several restless spirits.
O.L. Slaton Junior High
It has been said that a substitute teacher killed himself. Every now and then you will see lights go on and off and hear strange noises. Also, the light is in the theater, and the ghost has also been known to make the stage lights shake violently from time to time. Supposedly, it has tried to push people down the stairs a few times. As for the identity of the ghost, it is supposedly a teacher who died near the theatre when it was being built.
Texas Tech University
Geosciences Building: Supposedly during the night of the Tech Carol of Lights, you can see an image in the top center window standing there looking out just as all the lights surrounding Memorial Circle are turned off.
Geosciences Building: At one of the buildings, a young girl was raped and murdered by some of the male students there. You can see her ghost looking out one of the windows in the building she was killed. They have a Christmas light show there every year and people have reportedly seen her. My mother used to look for her when she was younger.
Horn/Knapp Hall: There is a storage room that many people do not know about on the fourth floor. A little boy died up there and you can now hear him throwing a ball down the stairs. Sometimes he will knock on the door if you knock first.
Ranching Heritage Center: The two-story house at the southwest end of the complex has been reported to have a white female in one of the upper windows. The police have responded to the reports of the female and have checked the building only to find it empty. The female is believed to be the wife of the rancher that built the house.
Thompson Hall: Thompson Hall is where gross anatomy was located for the medical school until they built a separate building for the medical school. There are rumors that it was used for the morgue at one time. Witnesses have reported seeing people on floors that are locked and electronically monitored. The lights will go out and sometimes turn on when you are directly under them.
Water Tower: On the coldest night of the year you can often see what looks like five or six young men on the top catwalk that goes around the water tank. They appear up there all night as if they are spending the night. It is always the coldest night that year, so you can't predict in advance when that may be. The first reported sighting was about 1949 or 1950 and seen almost every year since when observed. There is no knowledge as to who they are.
Highway 70
Though much of it is unconfirmed, Highway 70 between Matador and Paducah has a lot of deadly history. Many car accidents have occurred here. As the nearest hospital is over 80 miles away, many accident victims do not survive. Driving through at night can give you a complete sense of dread. Some drivers claim that on the highway they became very agitated, began wondering if what they were feeling was real, and if they were alive or dead. Paranoia is the strongest emotion felt here. Many have claimed to see lights and refractions coming from the Matador Cemetery. This desolate highway has very little to offer in the way of peace. It, however, has much to offer in the way of death.
Greathouse Cemetery
A strange heartbeat sound has been reported.
Buffalo Joes
Buffalo Joes is a fine dining restaurant located in downtown McKinney on the east side of the old city hall. The restaurant has four areas: the lower level, the main dining room upstairs, the private banquet room, and the storage area behind the banquet room. A mischievous spirit occupies the storage area. Sometimes the toilet paper would be strung out; other times forks would be pinned into walls. All the employees left at the same time just because we were easily freaked out being by ourselves up there. The restaurant used to be a brothel when McKinney was first founded.
Courthouse
In the old court house there is a lady in white. At night, she is looking out the window. They say back in 1896, she hanged herself.
McKinney Public Library
Many books in the library are misplaced, bookcases have been knocked over, and money has been taken out of the register. There are also reports of books that have not been paid for being put in purses.
Eastfield College
An unidentified apparition visits the school theater to watch practices and shows.
Built on the site of the old Motley Mansion, which burned down, Eastfield still serves as home to the Motley Family cemetery. The theater is said to house the spirit of a man who watches rehearsals.
Eastfield College was built in the early 1970s on the site of the old Motley Mansion. The Motleys donated the land for the school after the house was burned down by vandals. The family cemetery is still there and includes a grave for a severed arm! Anyway, the theater of the school is said to be haunted by a man who watches practices of plays, etc. He has been reported several times in the past twenty years or so.
Galloway Elementary
Several stories are told from employees and visitors who went through personal experiences at that school. Children have been heard running up and down the halls at night by janitors. Chairs have moved in the lunchroom. A janitor walking down the hallway at night spotted a woman dressed in 19th century clothing. And there is a gym where children that don't exist have been spotted in the daytime. There is a story of a teacher who told his students they couldn't use the restroom in the gym without permission. A child stood in front of the restroom watching and ran in. The teacher said, "Hey! You can't go in there." When he went in there to get the student, no one was in there, but there's no other way out. On the last day of this employee's job he said out loud in the gym, "You can have it. I don't have to deal with you anymore." As he was walking out, a hockey stick was thrown across the gym and no one was in there. This was after school hours. Witnesses there at night and have heard children on the playground with no one there. There have been many stories about that school for many years.
Old Holloman's Road
Holloman's Road is a small dirt road that curves between Lawson Road and Bruton Road. There is a solitary home that has sat for many years abandoned on this small street. It is the only structure on the road. Brave teenagers have tried to walk the street at night only to disappear never to be seen again. The road became such a danger that the city closed the road off. Witnesses become overwhelmed by a sense of dread and of being watched, even in broad daylight. In the 1980s, a Dallas man killed a young woman and her young son and dumped their bodies on that dark and brooding road. This is easily checked, as the case was just solved in the last year or so.
Trail Dust Steak House
It is said that there was a man working on the upstairs railing above the dance floor when the restaurant was being built. He was adding something to the railing when he fell to his death on the left side of the dance floor. His name was John Brown and he had his own table in the upstairs dining area. It is table 218, and it sits between the entrance to the kitchen and the grill window. The upstairs lights are on a timer, set to go off at exactly 1:00 AM, but John likes to keep the light above his table lit until way after that time. Managers and employees have quit their jobs there because around 4:00 AM on some nights, they have seen lights turn on and off, have heard phones ring off the hook, have seen printers spit out whole rolls of gibberish, and have seen doors swinging by themselves. They also report hearing footsteps on the dance floor. John Brown is also known to haunt the men's and women's restrooms upstairs. The lights find a way to mysteriously turn themselves on in the restrooms. There have also been reports of cold spots felt in the women's restrooms.
Mineral Wells (Palo Pinto County)
Baker Hotel
A young man and his friend were fraternizing with the laundry women in the laundry room (what is now the basement). His boss was coming to check on them, so the first man jumped into the elevator to escape. The second man, however, was caught in between the closing door and died. It is said if you go by the elevators at night you can see him.
A mistress was so distraught that she could not have her lover that she killed herself in the Baker. You can smell her perfume of lavender at night in the hall where she killed herself. Numerous orbs have been seen in pictures along with amazing ecto photos and sounds, apparitions and smells.
The apparition of a murdered elevator operator has been reported here, as well as that of a prostitute who committed suicide. Note: The Baker is an extremely unstable building that has been sitting vacant for 30 years. It is a very dangerous place. We don't want you to get yourself killed doing something illegal, and we're sure you don't want to die that way.
The Baker Hotel was prestigious to many famous people. Mr. Baker killed his wife and then killed himself. You can see them on the anniversary night of the killing, fighting on the 14th floor above the swimming pool. On the 11th floor you can find Mr. Baker's hiding spots for his alcohol because this was the time of prohibition. On the gym floor at midnight you are supposed to be able to see and hear people working out. And, the 13th floor is totally off limits because people have been actually hurt on Friday the 13th. Also, Mr. Baker was an excellent musician and can be heard playing his organ but no one knows exactly what floor or room this is coming from.
Read an article on Texas Escapes about the haunted Baker Hotel.
City Park
While sitting in the bleachers, you can see figures in baseball uniforms walking across the field. Orbs have been photographed by the jungle gyms.
Crazy Water Hotel
Ever since some kitchen remodeling in the early 1900s, the ghost of a small girl in a pink dress has been seen in the kitchen and basement, and a man in a trench coat has shown up in the kitchen. It is now a retirement home.
Fort Wolters
The ghost of a World War II soldier who committed suicide to prevent himself from going to war has been seen walking his old barracks.
In the men's dorm room, which is the first building from the road, a young man shot himself during World War II because he did not want to go to war. Now he roams the old barracks where he died.
Mineral Wells Mansion
The ghosts of a young man and an old man haunt this mansion.
North Richland Hills (Tarrant County)
Knob Hill
People have reported seeing dark figures moving through the trees late at night at the top of the hill. Residents also report shouts and hollers early in the morning before dawn. It is reported that a local outlaw known as Sam Bass took two men up to the top of the hill in 1870 and shot both of them in the head. Some residents have reported seeing men with old cowboy hats walking around by their fences, but when they go out to investigate, no one can be found.
House on Main Street
An old man roams this house where he once lived. Many unsuspecting people have spotted him. When you try to take animals in the room they go wild and leave the room. He has a tendency to lock people in and make his presence known in many odd ways.
The Trees
Witnesses report hearing Indian drums and seeing a white mist moving around their cars.
Carnado Junior High
A little boy died here. It is said if you walk down the hall by the gym alone, you can here a basketball bouncing, but there's no one there. And by the stage you get the feeling that someone's watching you and you can hear little whispers.
Masso's Department Store
Across from the courthouse, there is a store that is named Masso's. It used to be a photo shop at the turn of the century. The owners of the store used to live upstairs and had their western store downstairs. They said that they were run out by weird stuff happening such as they would leave and come back and furniture would be moved. So they moved out and used the upstairs for storage. But they still heard weird stuff happening like furniture moving around.
Old Hilton Hotel
The hotel has been closed down for years, but the place is said to be haunted. Several rooms still have curtains hanging in the windows that have been seen moving, even though no one is in the building. There is also a rumor that the place was broken into by Satanists. They were said to have called forth demons, which are now trapped there. There is even a story about Room 529. It is said to have an open Bible lying in the floor. If you enter the room, the air suddenly turns icy and the pages in the Bible begin to turn.
Closed for years, but up for sale, the Hilton is haunted. Curtains still hang in the windows and you can see them moving even though no one is there. There are numerous other reports, as well.
Plainview High School
In the early 1980s some students were in the auditorium practicing for a school play, and there were some students on the top balcony putting up ornaments for the play. It is said that after everyone left, one student stayed there and later that night killed himself by hanging himself from the top balcony. The next days were really hard on the school. Anyway, under the auditorium are some tunnels. Students have been caught skipping class there. About two weeks after the suicide, some kids were skipping in the tunnels and got caught. Instead of stopping when told, they ran into the tunnels, going deeper into them. So the adults waited and waited for the kids to come out but they didn't. Finally, they went in after them. When they found the students, they were dead with their throats cut back all the to where the knife hit the bone. Police went in there trying to find the murderer but then they found that there's a dead end at that the end of the tunnel, and that if someone in there would have wanted to get out, they would have had to come out by the front. What killed them? Who knows? Many students hear the kids that died screaming, "Help!" and "Please don't kill me!"
One day, the football team went to lift weights after practice. One of the football players was bench-pressing by himself with no spotter, and they say that the weight was too much. When trying to pick the weight back up, he found he couldn't, and the weight fell right on his throat. He tried to call for help but the weight wouldn't allow him air to talk or breathe. About 20 minutes later, the coaches found him dead. It is said that when no one is there, you can hear the weights moving and the man screaming and sometimes see the guy walking with his head down.
Possum Kingdom (Palo Pinto County)
Camp Constantine
There are reports that witnesses have seen the apparitions of two cowboys standing there staring. Also screams and yelling are heard.
The Town
C.W. Post, the founder of the town and of the mega-dollar cereal company, haunts the small town of Post. I have spoken with police officers who have seen a person walking down the main street and around a corner. When the officers speed up to catch up to the person he vanishes or walks around a corner, and no trace of him is found. The local museum was once an insane asylum in which Post reportedly killed himself and it is said to be haunted too.
Georgetown Cemetery
I know of a tombstone in Georgetown Cemetery, located in Pottsboro, that glows during a full moon. It's supposed to be made of limestone.
County Road 400 at 447
Two people were killed at this intersection when the motorcycle they were riding collided with a horse trailer. Now, the young man is seen walking shirtless down 447.
County Road 400
There is a barn on this road with signs of "devil worship." People who have approached it at night have reported having two black shapes chase them off the property.
County Road 392 (Airport Road)
At or near the intersection of 447 (near the equestrian center), two skydivers were killed in separate accidents in the mid 1980s, one about a year after the other. A woman's chute failed to open, and a man got wrapped up in some power lines. Now you can hear a woman screaming for help at the top of her lungs, even a couple of blocks away.
Water Tower
Park next to this tower on Airport Road, and you will see a girl's legs dangling over the side. Honk three times and she'll appear on your hood. The next day, she'll show up somewhere that you go.
There are reports of an apparition of a woman falling from the water tower.
Whispering Bridge
About a half-mile down a dirt road near Deep Creek Cemetery, there is a place called Whispering Bridge. Some kids fell off on this 30-foot drop, and now you can hear their cries.
Shopping center at Yale and Beltline
When it was Herman's Sporting Goods in the late 1980s, an ex-employee was let in after hours and he killed almost every one in the store. People who have worked the late shift say they hear boxes moving, people laughing and then dead silence.
Crazy Man's Tower
NEW! - Map to Crazy Man's Tower
It is said that years ago, a rich man bought a lot of land that had an old water tower on it. The land was overgrown with weeds and trees. After clearing all the rubble, he had stone built around the water tower and a clock face put in to bring up the property value, and paved the roads (some with cobblestone). The land wasn't done settling and the roads cracked, and the land was uneven. He went crazy and murdered his family and buried the kids under a nearby bridge. Then he hanged his wife from the banister of their house. The house was struck by lightning and has burned down. But rumor has it that if you park on the bridge turn your lights off and honk the horn three times his daughter will appear to you. The most haunted part of the land is the tower (which also has burned down) all that stands now is an empty shell. If you drive up to it and look at the top, you will be able to see the son, who stands guard, making sure nothing evil harms the living. Update: Warning! The clock tower is still there, but it is gated off. It is also rumored that the Roanoke police have sensors out there. If you go out there at night police have been known to come because they know that nobody has any business being out there.
Johnathan Nerbes bought some land near Dallas and proceeded to build a tower despite warnings that he should not build there. The myths say this taboo is due to the fact that either the area is an Indian burial ground or a sacred place of sorts. Some have even suggested that it is a portal to the "other side." Some satanic activity has been reported there and the signs of that are apparent on the remaining pillars of the house and foundation. Now somewhere in this line of events (the stories differ) this guy goes crazy, kills his wife and hangs her inside the tower, then kills his kids and buries them in to tower too. The tower was then bought by some individuals who were involved in some sort of real estate scam and arrested, thus leaving the tower abandoned as it is today.
According to legend, a rich man built a house and tower with a clock face to increase the value of the land. Sometime later he went crazy and killed his family, burying his children under a nearby bridge, then hanging his wife from a banister before killing himself. Supposedly the house was struck by lightning, but the tower stood as sentinel, watching over the crazy man's domain. There have been reports of cold spots, voices and apparitions, feelings of being watched and touched and severe feelings of either feeling welcomed or danger.
There is a large tower that was built in the 1800s by a man who was warned not to build on this particular area because it was thought to be an Indian burial ground. He built the four-story tower regardless, and eventually went crazy because of the random occurrences that would happen there. It is said that he killed his family and later himself in the tower, and there are now reports of a little girl climbing the steps, as well as gray mists in the top windows resembling faces. All around the tower at ground level there are cold spots, etc. The property has been gated recently and people are constantly caught for trespassing.
In Roanoke, near Fort Worth, a man was building a large housing development and went bankrupt before it was finished. All of the streets were paved, ponds were built, a clock tower was built, and the sign with the name of the development was even put up in the front (The Lakes of Brookstone). He built his own house in the back of the neighborhood. When he went bankrupt he killed his family in the house and buried them under a bridge leading to his house. He then hanged himself in the top of the clock tower. The house is still there and everything in it is as it was the day he built it but it is just covered in dust and there is blood on the floor in the living room. You hear strange things in the house and people have seen the ghosts of his children and wife.
I'm writing in regards to the supposed "Crazy Man" haunting The Lakes of Brookstone. The truth is that the owner's name was Scott Bradley and he is still very much alive and so is his family. The Bradleys filed a motion in bankruptcy court years ago, promising to pay all their debts. They cashed in their retirement funds, savings, earnings and some personal property to pay off their creditors. The final one million dollar installment was made in 1996 by selling 30 acres of their property to Ross Perot.
Just an addition to your note on Crazy Man's Tower in Roanoke, Texas. The tower no longer exists, having been burned and torn down last year. The area however is easily accessible and rumors of police sensors are unfounded.
A friend and I went out to Marshall Creek and drove my truck around in the dirt a bit. The lake is pretty full this time of year, so there wasn't a lot of sand to drive on, which is the most fun. After a while, we decided to head back. On the way home, we decided to stop at Crazy Man's.
Crazy Man's is an abandoned sub-division. Legend has it that a building contract company started to build houses and pave roads for a sub-division called BrookStone. They built a nice pond and a clock tower. A nice brick wall was starting to go up. All the roads were paved, and a few houses had the foundations poured. Then, one night, a man wandered into a nearby house and brutally slaughtered the entire family living there with a pitchfork. The building company was so scared that no one would purchase the houses that they abandoned the project all together. Legend tells of a wooden bridge, at which should you stop your car and turn off the engine at midnight, it will not start again. Crazy Man is said to wander the abandoned sub-division. Most of his activities are centered around the clock tower.
Back when I was in high school, the roads into the sub-division were not blocked to public access. On weekends we would go out there late at night and goof around, climbing the clock tower, or trying fruitlessly to find the bridge. One time, about three years ago, we ventured out there during the day. We found an abandoned house on the outskirts of the BrookStone sub-division. After much discussion, we wandered inside.
Whomever lived there left in a hurry. All of her personal items were still there: clothing, food, toiletries. Although the wind had moved things around, and busted out several windows, it was pretty obvious to us that whomever lived there left and didn't bother packing. We found opened and unopened mail, large posters campaigning for the position of mayor of Denton county, and thousands of 3x5 index cards with journal entries neatly typed on each of them. We collected many of them, picking them up from outside and off the floor as the wind had tossed everything so badly. I believe my brother still has everything in a box somewhere.
So. This time, it was our intention to find this house, as my firends had never been. We never were able to make it there, but Brad and I had a good time talking and driving around, while Jaclyn took a nap in the back seat.
Read an article on Crazy Man's Tower that ran in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on April 30, 2003.
Fisher County Jail
There is an inmate here that does not appear to be human. The ghost has made himself known to inmates through various forms of physical contact.
Inmates have reported the spirit touching them, throwing things, flushing toilets, and just making noise. The sheriff has even seen him. One time, the ghost lit a stove for a jailer. The origin of the spirit is unknown, but it is believed to perhaps be the ghost or ghosts of a sheriff and deputy that were murdered by an inmate in 1927.
Inmates here report being tormented by a spirit who touches them, throws items, flushes toilets and creates unexplained noises. One time this spirit even lit a stove for a jailor and has also been seen by a sheriff.
Santa Anna High School Auditorium
About seven years ago, a girl fell from a balcony in the auditorium during a play. Whenever there is a play, a dim light can be seen from the balcony above the stage itself. Dressing room doors close by themselves and there are cold spots. It's a tradition that we bring her spirit flowers before every play for a safe performance.
Malloy Bridge Road
Several years ago a vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed down Malloy toward Bilindsey Road. When he approached Parson's Slew Bridge, the driver lost control of the vehicle and was ejected. He flew through the air and struck the bridge railing nearly splitting himself in half. From another site: we went to check this out and found the bridge. There is a large stain on the side that could be blood or rust (probably rust, but blood sounds more interesting). There is also a large marker made out of horseshoes in the shape of a cross. We took quite a few pictures but didn't get anything, not even an orb. There is a feeling of sadness though, but knowing what happened there may cause that.
Woodmen's Circle Home
This building has served as an orphanage, school, and asylum. There have been reports of people seeing the apparition of a woman wandering the grounds, as well as hearing strange noises ranging from voices, cries and screams.
In Sherman there is an abandoned insane asylum near Highway 75. It is now off limits. I thought it was considered one of the top areas of paranormal activity in the US. I went in there once; it scared me to death, but others have experienced major events further inside than I ever cared to venture. It is popular around Halloween and Friday the 13th with area kids. I couldn't find any concrete info on it, though.
This abandoned asylum is called the Woodmen's Circle Home and is on Highway 56 and FM 1417. I just wanted to correct the info about the abandoned insane asylum. It was originally built for the wives and children of either soldiers or some sort of worker in the early 1900s. Sometime in its history it was a nursing home and an orphanage. During the last part of its history it was used by a religious cult. When people found out what they were doing (I've read the story, but, I can't remember exactly what that was), the cult packed it up and moved out. It apparently hasn't been used since then. That was the 1960s or 1970s. Yes, it is reportedly haunted. I know several adults (now) who reported that there were spirits there. It is very well guarded and even people not connected to the house watch it and call the police on people for trespassing. But, you can get fairly close to it by the fence line. It is beautiful. You actually can feel the energy in it.
I did a little research on the Woodmen's Circle Home and the organization behind it. It was built in 1926 by a fraternal insurance group called Woodmen of the World/Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Society. Here's a blurb from their web site: "Mary E. LaRocca was elected the Circle's third president in 1919, serving until her death in April 1934. LaRocca's leadership guided the Circle through the early years of the Depression. Her presidency was marked by the construction of the Woodmen Circle Home for orphans and aged members in Sherman, Texas. The project began in 1926 with $12,000 in contributions from members and $100,000 appropriated at the Circle convention. An additional $110,000 was appropriated in 1927." I could find no reference to the supposed cult that lived there. I would love to know more about that. I can't wait to visit my nephew in Wichita Falls so I can drive out to Sherman to take a look at this place. North and Central Texas is known for hauntings, vortices, and just strange phenomena in general.
Here is a little background on the abandoned Woodmen's Circle Home for Orphans and Aged in Sherman. I've never been there, but my understanding is it's a place where kids go to see something scary. I never heard of any paranormal events happening there. My cousin said there are bloody meat hooks there. Of course, they're located in a giant icebox the home used for preserving meat.
I've been in it, on it, and all around it. Of course it has been years since, but in 1987 I believe, my wife, and I had some friends in Sherman. We stayed with them for a few months. Sherman, being the boring place it is, we decided to investigate the so-called haunted house everyone talked about. We had no problem getting right up to it and walking right in. It is a beautiful old scary looking place (I don't really advise going in without an engineer, as there are large holes in the floors...all of them!) It once had a garden house; not sure if it is there now, but the most scary place I thought was the basement. I really got the feeling that something might have been there with us. We had no flashlight so we couldn't see a thing, but when we would light our lighters it seemed to be at one time a recording studio. The walls were padded with some type of acoustical pads and carpeted, a practice I don't believe they used when the place was built. Nothing happened, though. Yeah, we heard creaking floors and rodents running around, but all in all I don't believe it is haunted. Now, as far as looks, this place rivals the look of the house in the Rose Red movie. Were it structurally sound, I would buy it and host the scariest ever all the time Halloween house on the face of the earth. If you had a few groups of people in the house you could probably scare some of the people to death there.
Snyder Coliseum
One day a young kid was chasing a bat and fell from the top of the top of the stairs. He tumbled and broke his neck. It is also said you can see him running around the top of the building.
Timmeron
You can be walking down the street by the pool and you will feel a sudden feel of cold energy and a feeling you are being watched all the time. When you are in the bike trails you can occasionally hear something walking near to you and people's dogs always bark out of nowhere. You look outside to see what it is nothing is there. Lights will flicker; you can hear loud noises outside, so on. Many people have reported seeing ghosts.
Veal Station Cemetery
It is said that there is a glowing tombstone there. It came on the news one night and they reported about the glowing tombstone and the ghost of a woman walking around her grave. Update: the cemetery is chained off at night now because of so many people going there.
NEW: The second sighting that I've seen with my own two eyes is the glowing tombstone. Veal Station Cemetery is located off of Veal Station Road, approximately three miles south of Springtown on FM 51. Every one in Springtown has heard about the glowing tombstone, so once again, curiosity has gotten the best of me. A friend of mine, his girlfriend, and I all went out to the cemetery pretty much every night for a week and finally we found it. I don't know what kind of lighting conditions are required because sometimes when the moon is out you can see it, and other times when the sky's cloudy you can see it. The spooky part about the glowing tombstone is that once you get closer to it, it quits glowing. There's a cedar tree close to where the glowing tombstone is and we lined the tombstone up from the roadway directly under a low-lying branch and cut a straight path through the cemetery to where the glowing tombstone is. Of course it's hard to know for sure since it quits glowing by the time you get twenty feet from it, but I'm almost positive that we tracked the right one. There's a tombstone for a two year old infant that I believe is the glowing tombstone. Just FYI for anyone that likes cemeteries, there's some really interesting ones around Springtown. There's one on Goshen Road that runs behind the high school that has some graves that on the headstones they read about a couple that were killed during an Indian raid and their two young daughters were carried off by Indians and their fate is unknown.
Buie Park
North of Abilene, there's a small town named Stamford. Near that community, there's a brushy, overgrown park on FM 1226 about five miles south of the town, which is known as Buie Park. The old park harbors two well-known ghosts of the area: the legendary spirits of the Hatchet Lady and May's Mother. Whether they haunt the wooded park area simultaneously, or whether they take turns, I'm not certain. But according to an article by Kathy Sanders that ran in the Abilene Reporter News on October 30, 1985, they are well known around Stamford.
The Hatchet Lady's story is that years ago, when the park was still a well-kept and beautiful spot, a young woman from Stamford was engaged to be married. Shortly before the wedding was to take place, her fiancé took her out to Buie Park, and there in that remote setting he broke the news to her that he really didn't want to get married after all. The young woman was shocked, hurt, even crushed by this disclosure. In her distraught state, she refused to accept her fiancé's decision, and in a moment of unreasonable rage and heartbreak she killed him with a hatchet. (No one has been able to explain how a young woman, supposedly out for a tryst, could have so conveniently been supplied with such a deadly weapon!) Anyhow, the story goes that, hatchet in hand, the spirit of the young woman still returns to stalk the park, preying on amorous couples. I guess she figures if she couldn't be happy, why should anyone else be? She is a vindictive spirit, apparently.
The other ghost that roams Buie Park is the pathetic spirit of a broken-hearted mother. According to legend, years ago a woman had a little girl named May, who was about ten years old. May was playing in the park one day, down by the riverside when she disappeared. She was never seen again. Everyone believed she drowned in the river. The grieving mother searched and searched for her daughter until she finally lost her mind. Now dead herself, she still is said to return, wandering all over the park crying for her lost child. Many people claim they have heard her sad and mournful cries, "May, oh May…May…May…"
St. Joseph Convent
Weeping nuns supposedly haunt the convent.
A priest who hanged himself after being accused of a crime haunts the convent. There are reports of the lights being turned on and off at night. Some even report hearing babies who were supposedly buried under the convent crying at night.
Barns Bridge
One night in 1974, a lady and her daughter were driving on Barns Bridge and flipped into the creek. They both died. The legend goes that at midnight, you stop on the bridge, turn your car off, roll down the windows and drop your keys onto the road. Wait for three minutes, get your keys, and when you get home, you will have a set of three fingerprints all over your car.
Sweetwater High School
Footsteps are heard on stage in the auditorium while cold spots are felt on the gridiron. Also a playful ghost runs through the downstairs part of the school. Light footsteps are heard on the steps and the ghost is known to lock the doors to teachers' rooms.
Cold spots and footsteps are reported in the auditorium and on the gridiron. They say a playful ghost roams the downstairs of the school, locking the doors.
Sweetwater Lake
Mysterious orange lights have been seen floating across the lake.
Texas Movie Theatre
Cash disappears and reappears in the cash register, strange noises have been heard, and voices and apparitions have been reported.
Smokestack
A pretty young girl is rumored to sing opera tunes as she walks the streets of Thurber at night.
Another young girl sits atop the smoke stack. She supposedly died of pneumonia and her fiancé dug her body up to retrieve the ring, but he had to cut her finger off to do it. When she started bleeding, he realized that she was still alive, but he buried her again anyway to cover his shameful deed. Now she searches for the man who betrayed her.
The Old Marrs House
Back in 1974 a little girl and her mother were murdered in this house. It has been said that if you stand in the center of the house with no lights on, you can hear the footsteps of the mother approaching and the sound of a little girl playing with her dolls.
Residential Area
Hello from haunted Watauga! In the last thirteen years of living here, some of my experiences have included the four-inch door lock coming straight out and landing at our feet. Also all three of us saw a very strange, hard to describe "force field" type energy that looked exactly the same the two times I saw it, but was in two different places at two different times. The ultimate experience has been the lady in white who was there, then NOT there, if you know what I mean. My son was with me then and said he had seen her before. I actually had my mouth wide open on that one. My father-in-law came to me here and I interpreted it to mean he wanted me to invite his newly widowed wife down here for Christmas. I did, and never felt, or smelled him again. I wrote an actual story about the dog that died after I cared for it, and after its caretaker had died. I saw the deceased caretaker one night standing right here. Only for seconds, and I didn't see it was her, but I felt it was. It was a female. Then I saw the dog I lost walk out of the closet and disappear into the bed. My son's lamp was on his dresser; he left for a while and came back to a broken lamp on the floor. I had been lying on the other side of the wall and heard nothing. My drawer came out and hit me and bruised my leg and my son came in one day asking who was here because he saw someone follow me into my room. No one had, that I know of. Then in closing, there was the pair of legs that ran through my hall and through the side of the house. That had me almost to the point of calling the police when I realized my dog was right there so it couldn't have been real. Then later I remembered that the legs were solid with no pant creases. This has been an interesting place to live, and I would love to hear from other Watauga residents who have maybe experienced things they can't explain or are afraid to tell anyone about. I had a friend who finally told me about some hauntings that were wild at the least! And the guy up the street says he never believed in any of "that stuff" until he moved here. He claims he has found his daughter's toys moving in the night and early morning. I had a friend around the block who had someone get in bed with her and, as much as that creeped me out, she liked it and said he made her feel safe (there is usually a gender feeling associated with entities). I have done history searches and find talk of old Indian burial grounds in the area but nothing too specific.
Catfish Plantation Restaurant
[Editor's note: there are reports that the Catfish Plantation Restaurant burnt down in 2003.]
Kindly spirits like to roam the grounds and building, evidenced by moving cold spots. One malevolent inhuman spirit seems to focus its activity in the kitchen area. The owners want to know if you experience any spirit phenomena during your visit.
The sign at the entrance to this quaint restaurant reads: "If you have a ghostly experience, please tell us!" The quaint Victorian house was built in 1895 by a farmer named Anderson. His daughter Elizabeth was strangled to death on her wedding day in the 1920s. She died where the ladies' room is now located and became one of the ghosts of Catfish Plantation. There are two others. One is a farmer named Will, who died in the house in the 1930s. The other is an elderly lady named Caroline Mooney, who died in the house in 1970. The three ghosts are responsible for the bone-numbing cold spots that move silently through the house, as well as flying objects and slamming doors. Elizabeth's kindly presence is felt mostly in the dining room, where she likes to reach out and touch people. Will's apparition is often seen on the front porch, and Caroline's angry spirit is detected in the kitchen. Ever since Melissa and Tom Baker remodeled the house into a Cajun eatery in 1984, dozens of employees, customers, and newspeople have witnessed paranormal manifestations here.
The Catfish Plantation Restaurant is located at 814 Water Street. Version one: it is haunted by benevolent Elizabeth Anderson who was murdered on her wedding day, a farmer named Will, and grumpy Caroline Mooney. Version two: it seems the spirits are those of Eliza Herrod Richards, who died 14 October, 1925, and her son, Jesse Thomas Richards, who died in the house on 9 October, 1937. Although Eliza was 77 years old at her death, she appears as a young woman of about twenty, close to the age she was at her first wedding in 1867. She apparently had an unhappy second marriage to a man in Kentucky whom she left. She moved to Texas with her eldest son, and returned to using her first married name, Richards. In all my researches, I've not found an Elizabeth Anderson who died in Waxahachie, or who ever lived at the house on 814 Water Street. The third spirit resident is known to be Carrie Jenkins Mooney, who lived in the house from the 1950s until her death in 1970. Version two supplied by historical researcher, Nancy Poole.
Slamming doors, knocking walls, pianos playing, clocks chiming, blue glowing lights, flying coffee cups, and cold spots are just a few of the strange happenings at The Catfish Plantation in the historic town of Waxahachie.
The restaurant is supposed to be haunted by three ghosts. Waitresses and customers are always reporting strange things that happen—rude patrons having plates dumped on them, cold spots in the bathroom, etc. Pictures have been taken that show a slender young woman in outline form. One is a farmer, one is an old woman who lived there, and one is a young girl who was murdered on her wedding day in the house. Supposedly a burglar attempted to burglarize the safe one night and seemed to leave in a hurry.
This restaurant is haunted by past residents named Eliza Richards, who died at age 77 in 1925, and her son Jesse Thomas Richards, who died at age 68 in 1937. Eliza is the "Elizabeth." Her spirit appears as her younger self, a girl of about 19, the age she was at her first wedding, a happier time for her. It is how she projects herself now, from memory. The "farmer Will" is her son J.T. Richards, who was the local meat cutter and grocer from the early 1900s until his death in 1937. The third ghost, Carrie, has been correctly identified. Caroline Jenkins Mooney lived in the house from the 1950s until her death in 1970.
Becky Road
Private John Hemerich's apparition has been seen standing on the side of the road.
Becky Road is the site of the last Confederate hanging by the Union army. The victim of that hanging, Private John Hemerich, is seen by some to be standing by the side of the road.
Bonny Nook B & B Inn
Mrs. West has been experienced in the Morrow Room. Guests have reported singing, and seeing something floating near the ceiling.
Courthouse
Strange voices, cold spots and materializations are blamed on the ghost of Mabel Frame.
Rose of Sharon
Shortly after purchasing the house, the owner discovered a pair of earrings in the house—earrings that she had lost a year before. In the bathroom of Cathryn's Room, a family of four has been spotted, dressed and posed for a picture.
Waters Street
A little boy is said to be haunting the streets late at night in his bike. The story goes that one day late at night, he was riding his bike when a car of drunken teenagers shot him for no reason. It is said that he still rides his bike late at night, and if you approach him he takes out his revenge on you.
Weatherford (Parker County)
Baker Mansion
Originally built in 1894, the Baker Mansion is said to be haunted by Charles Baker, a son of the original owner, J.D. Baker. J.D. died before the house was completed and Charles mysteriously disappeared in 1908. The Fant family purchased it in 1940 and a relative who lived in the house off and on during a 30-year period gives reports of ghostly encounters. She reports seeing shadows on the staircase, feelings of being touched by an invisible hand, seeing ghostly figures and on one occasion hearing the sounds of someone violently pounding the inside of the locked basement door when she was alone in the house. The current owners have had no encounters with any ghostly presence but a worker states that an unseen person tried to push them off the stairs on the second floor.
Read a first-hand account of the horrors that took place at this grand mansion.
Horseshoe Bend
An old Victorian home that sits off a little country road is said to be haunted by little girl and mother.
Law Office
Formerly the home of a prominent family, music is heard in the building (no source), radios change stations, footsteps are heard, and doors slam. Invisible hands have touched visitors, and paint cans have turned themselves over.
Baker Mansion
An old resident of the mansion, Charles Baker, disappeared mysteriously and is now believed to haunt the old mansion. A resident of the house had many horrifying incidents involving paranormal activity at the house.
Read the Texas Escapes article on the haunted Baker Mansion.
Wichita Falls (Wichita County)
Ghost Train
Between Wichita Falls and Dallas on 287 (Closer to Wichita Falls) a ghost train disappears as it approaches cars crossing the tracks. Nearby, a burned down house has strange lights and eerie sensations.
Dr. White's Sanitarium
The asylum is located at California at Olen Roads. An unseen woman calls for Susan.
I don't have very much info on this particular place in terms of location, but I have visited it along with a friend. It's a Spanish-style two-level building, and it's in a residential area. It's long abandoned, but off-limits to the public. The windows are boarded up, and there's a big "No Trespassing" sign on the front door. It is surrounded by a barbwire fence. I've heard people tell stories of hearing odd noises, and feeling cold drafts, and hearing someone screaming, sometimes calling for a person named Susan. However, on my visit (which was during broad daylight), we did not enter the property. We took some pictures around the perimeter, and did indeed hear whispering voices. We had the feeling that we were being watched, especially from one of the upper-level windows. For some reason my eyes kept going back to one window in particular at the back of the house, which was not boarded up. Maybe I just got that feeling because we were in a residential neighborhood. While there, I found a jawbone (don't know what it was from) and I took it back to my younger sister for a souvenir. I've heard many scary stories about this place, and I'm sure it's much scarier at night. If you want to make a visit, just ask around. My friend and I stopped in for lunch at Bennigan's, and asked our server, who gave us the directions. Be careful and good luck!
The sanitarium was for a long time a place that teenagers would go at nighttime to get their share of haunt thrills. I myself have spent several nights roaming the sanitarium with friends. It never failed that we would hear voices and really weird sounds and we also at one time heard a woman calling to someone. We never made it very far inside before getting scared. Sadly, last year, a private party bought the sanitarium and is in the process of remodeling it. It looks really nice and the owner is giving a nice old-fashioned look to the structure. We have heard that the current owner is going to rent out some of it as apartment space. I have a feeling that whoever does end up living there is going to have constant companions and will never feel alone. So, now we have lost one of the few haunt places that generations have enjoyed. It will be interesting if new stories surface once it is occupied. Time will tell.
You can hear water dripping in the basement although the place has been vacant and no utilities for over 30 years. When up on the second floor we heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs, but no one else was in the building. Also if you are very quiet on a quiet night, you can hear the faint sound of old printers and machines running.
It is said that if you go in there that you will see ghosts playing cards.
North Texas State Hospital
M Building: The hospital is located at 6515 Lake Rd. Cold spots, the vision of a nurse in white wearing an out of date nurse's cap, and doors opening and closing are routine here. Also, security guards report sometimes feeling a hand on their shoulder yet when they turn to look, no one is there. Note: please know that this is a home for mentally and physically challenged individuals so be respectful of their privacy.
M Building: At night there are reports of doors opening and closing and footsteps in the hallways. An apparition of a nurse in a white dress with an old nurse's cap has been seen checking on the patients. Security guards have reported a hand on their shoulder but when they turned to look, no one was there. Cold spots were also noted.
Administration Building: This is an old building, built in the 1920s. It was used to house the insane, with many deaths occurring there before it was converted into offices. Lights can be seen going off and on. On quiet evenings, you can hear moans and wails coming from the third floor. Security reports occasionally hearing chains rattling and doors opening and closing. Employees see vague shapes at the ends of the hallways at dinnertime.
Pinky's Cave
The exact location of Pinky's Cave is unknown. In Wichita Falls there is an old drainage pipe many call Pinky's Cave. A young boy and his mother were drowned in the drain and swept away under the city until they were dumped where the water lets out. The two openings to this cave have been grated off to prevent further drownings but the entrances are notoriously haunted. Be advised that a resident has reported this area is now a local gang hangout and probably not the safest place to visit.
The location of Pinky's cave is Kell West Boulevard and Monroe Street, just right past Taft. It used to have "Pinky's Cave" spray painted on it, but it does not appear to be there anymore. From Kell, you can see spray painting that now says something like, "Kidd's Riff." It is a place where kids like to ride bikes and skateboard due to the layout of the cement ditch.
Witch's Gate
Witch's Gate has many faces. The place the kids call Witch's Gate is an old, burned down stone house that can be seen of off Highway 287. The story behind the house (I have been assured this is true, as the person who sent me the information had grandparents who knew the people that lived there) is that there were two brothers who once lived here. They owned a grocery store and were very wealthy, however they didn't keep all of their money in the bank. They instead kept their nice jewelry and their gold in the basement, hidden in the walls. One night, a burglar broke in and killed both brothers while they were sleeping and stole what valuables he or she could find, and then burned the place down with the brothers inside. The brothers still haunt the place and keep watch over their buried treasure. If you go down into the basement, it's said to be extremely clean, no cobwebs or disarray, but of course no one lives there since it's never been rebuilt. You'll also hear footsteps and whispers. There are signs posted to keep out and entering the property is illegal. The actual gate itself is about three miles south of the house. There's a back road leading to it. Although the kids in the area call the above home Witch's Gate, the real Witch's Gate is a small cave that's haunted somewhere in the area.
I would like to inform you that Witch's Gate has been bought by a guy. I do not know his name but he has built a home over the burned down house and now no one can visit the place from what I heard. He has already spent a night there by himself and plans to put big windows in the house. You can inform other people not to visit.
Drunk Tom
Outside of Fallstown there is a place in between the North Texas State Hospital and Southwest parkway, where a young college bound man, Drunk Tom, was walking along the Holliday Creek reservoir. Drunk Tom had been drinking heavily that night and either tripped or was pushed into the reservoir. It is said if you go there at night and stand in the exact spot where he died, you will hear a whiskey bottle breaking against the concrete, and see something in the corner of your eye, which immediately disappears.
Highway 79 Barn
There were three men who raped and killed a woman and got hanged for doing it. If you go to the barn it is said you can see the woman and the three men wandering around.
Lucy Park Cemetery
There is a statue that's called "Little Sister" in the Lucy Park Cemetery. It's a statue of a young woman and it is said that on her wedding day she fell down the stairs and died. If you go there at midnight and you truly feel sorry for her, the statue will cry.
Funland Mansion
Above the Funland (amusement park) grounds, there is a large mansion on a hill. In the late 1970s or early 1980s, the family that lived there was brutally murdered. Apparently, the man of the house customized his basement to be soundproof and made it into a shooting range. One day, he forced his entire family to go into the basement and shot them with arrows and tortured them in other bizarre ways. He wrote a suicide note and then shot himself in the head.
Site updated August 12, 2005