Post by Joanna on Oct 7, 2013 23:09:32 GMT -5
Most Haunted in Texas
If you love ghosts, you will love the Lone Star State, for Texas is brimming with the supernatural. Here are a few of the most popular ghostly sites:
The Alamo (San Antonio). Shortly after the battle of The Alamo, people started to make claims that the site was haunted by soldiers who died in battle and the reports continue to this day.
Catfish Plantation (Waxahachie). This restaurant is located in what was once a historic home. Both patrons and staff have reported numerous unexplained activities. The ghosts have been known to flirt with women, brew a pot of coffee and cause fry baskets to levitate.
Cy-Springs High School (Cypress). The school is said to be haunted by the spirit of a dead construction worker.
Elder Street Artist Lofts (Houston). The history of this site alone is enough to give anyone the creeps. The building at 1101 Elder Street was once Jefferson Davis Hospital, which housed a psychiatric ward. Needless to say, people have reported weird sightings and experiences in the lofts.
El Paso High School (El Paso). This high school opened in 1916, and thorough the years, there have been numerous reports of supernatural activity, most of which involves phantom students in the attire of days gone by. One of the ghosts even appeared in a 1985 class photo.
Excelsior House Hotel (Jefferson). This hotel (pictured above) has been welcoming guests since 1858, and is so haunted that in 1974, while scouting locations for The Sugarland Express, Steven Spielberg was so frightened by “something” in Room 215 that he left in the middle of the night and checked in to a Holiday Inn. There are rumors his experience inspired the 1982 film, Poltergeist.
Hotel Galvez and Spa (Galveston). Galveston is rumored to have the most haunted locations in the state, one being the Hotel Galvez and Spa. Room 505, as well as the entire fifth floor, is supposedly brimming of paranormal activity.
Kerr County Courthouse (Kerrville). On moonless nights, a man and woman can be heard arguing on the grounds of the courthouse (above). According to the story, when the woman turned down his proposal of marriage, he killed her in a fit of anger, then hanged himself from a tree just outside the building. The upper floor of the courthouse is said to be haunted by a prisoner who died in custody.
La Carafe (Houston). Visitors to this watering hole, one of the oldest in Houston, sometimes see a large phantom man in black.
Littlefield House (Austin). The mansion is said to be haunted by Alice Littlefield, the original mistress of the house, who seldom left the confines of her home in later years. She is said to roam the halls of the mansion at night and will occasionally play the piano.
McNay Art Museum (San Antonio). The museum’s west wing is said to be haunted by a woman who lived at a home that once stood on the site. Many have reported phantom humming and some have even seen the apparition.
Magnolia Cemetery (Katy). The story goes that a witch was buried in the cemetery decades ago and, apparently, at one time, a huge sphere was attached to the grave’s monument (pictured above). Whoever read the inscription and looked away, then back, would not only have bad luck, but the sphere would have supposedly vanished. Local authorities allegedly removed the sphere years ago.
Miss Molly’s Hotel (Fort Worth). A bordello was once operated on the property and it is reportedly haunted by ghosts from that era. The spirit of a cowboy has been seen in the hotel’s “Cowboy Room” and the wraith of a young girl (believed to be the illegitimate child of lady of the evening who worked in the brothel) haunts Room 3.
Patterson Road Bridge (Harris County). Patterson Road runs between Eldridge Road and Highway 6, and the legend is that if you park your car on the bridge at night, you will hear “tapping” sounds. Many believe the ghost (or ghosts) haunting the bridge are the lingering spirits of Civil War soldiers from a battle that occurred near the site.
The Spaghetti Warehouse (Houston). Houston’s Spaghetti Warehouse on Commerce Street in downtown is said to house more than a few paranormal spirits. Employees have reported strange sightings on the building’s second floor, such as table arrangements randomly changing.
Victoria’s Black Swan Inn (San Antonio). This wedding venue is reportedly haunted by spirits that move dolls about, play eerie music and open doors.
Sources: Dan X. McGraw and Carrie Taylor, The Houston Chronicle, October 7, 2013; Texas Legends, and The Excelsior Hotel.
