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Update: The Catfish Plantation was destroyed by fire, and
has lately been rebuilt. Congratulations guys! |
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Governor's Mansion- In Austin, The North
bedroom is haunted by Governor Pendleton Murrah's 19 year old nephew. The boy committed suicide in his bedroom in 1864 when the girl the he loved refused his hand in marriage. Banging sounds, crying and cold spots finally had the room boarded up , but it was reopened in 1925. Sounds of the boy's sobbing can still be heard. |
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The Menger Hotel- This place has enough spooks
to fill its own website, so for timeliness, I'll only list a few here. One noticeable ghost is that of Teddy Roosevelt, who used to frequent the hotel to recruit his Rough Riders. There are cold gusts of wind, knocking, phantom apparitions, a disconnected bell at the front desk rings on its own, doors open and close, cigar smoke drifts into the non smoking section from an unseen smoker and countless other oddities. - San Antonio, TX |
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Goliad- Colonel James Fannin and 353 soldiers
under his command were executed on Palm Sunday, March 26, 1836 by Mexican forces under Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The place was the old Presidio of La Bahia at Goliad. The first Declaration of Independence was signed here by 92 citizens of Texas on December 20, 1835. The massacre of Colonel Fannin and his men took place just 21 days after the siege at the Alamo. The seemingly senseless execution of so many Texans enraged the soldiers under General Sam Houston, and when they crept up to the slumbering Mexicans at San Jacinto, they screamed their famous battle cry, "Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!" It is estimated that the battle was over in 19 minutes with the Mexicans surrendering. Texas had won her independence, but at a great price. The echoes of Colonel Fannin's men crying still permeates the walls, as well as the crying of infants. Cold spots and the feeling of being intensely watched are common. Apparitions have been seen on the grounds often, and a beautiful woman's choir has been heard singing, perhaps to calm the crying souls of Fannin's men. |
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Flying Dutchman- The famous ghost ship, The
Flying Dutchman was sighted in Galveston Bay twice in 1892.
The Spagetti Warehouse- Poltergeists,
disembodies voices, cold spots, and black phantoms roam this building. Apparitions, whispering and other strange events also occur.
USS Texas- Docked at San Jacinto. The ghost
of an unknown sailer is said to haunt the second deck, and other phantoms haunt below deck.
La Porte, TX- Former stomping ground of Jean
Laffite. His apparition was seen on the site of the old Beazley House near Bear Creek where he may have hidden one of his treasure caches. A city park is now there. |
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The Alamo- Most people, and certainly Texans
know the story of the Alamo. 185 brave defenders like James Bowie and Davy Crockett fought off the Mexicans under Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna in March of 1836. The Mexicans bombarded the Alamo for 13 days before finally storming in. All 185 Texans lost their lives, and more than 500 Mexicans died as well. After the massacar at the Alamo, General Sam Houston caught up with Santa Anna at San Jacinto. They came at dawn and quickly destroyed any means of escape. Finally the Texan army charged the sleeping Mexicans shouting, "Remember the Alamo!" The battle lasted only 19 minutes, and Texas won her freedom from Mexico.
Like all battlegrounds, memories from the past, tend
to plague the present. Though there are no confirmed reports of spooks lingering at San Jacinto (I've heard several tales via word of mouth, but I'm not aware of any documented facts), there are several unusual occurances that take place at the Alamo. |
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The first that I know of has passed into legend, and
so there's really no way to know if it is true. Anyway, after the seige of the Alamo, Santa Anna ordered that the mission be destroyed, but ghostly hands reached out of the walls, and frightened the soldiers away.
Alamo defenders have been reported walking along
the property. Some, like the alleged phantom of Davy Crockett, still man their posts, and wait, ready for battle. Others continue to fight in re-enactments of hand to hand combat (Not many sources site this, but a few do. Don't know if it has ever happened or not.). Cold spots, disembodied voices. Monks, defenders, a blond haired little boy and Native Americans are said to appear from time to time. Footsteps may be the most often reported occurance. Ghosts have a tendancy to pace restlessly. |
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West Barracks.
Scene of heaviest fighting.
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Texas Hauntings
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Catfish Plantation - The house that The Catfish
Plantation now resides in was built in 1895, in Waxhahachie, TX, by a man named Anderson. Supposedly, his daughter Elizabeth was strangled on her wedding day (by the groom?), and is one of the ghosts that haunts the place. She is described as a friendly type ghost that most often lingers in the ladies bathroom, or in the dining room. It is said that she likes to touch people. She may have died in the 1920's. A man in overalls by the name of Will also haunts the place. He died during the depression, and is described as quiet. He is most often seen on the front porch. The third spirit is known as Caroline. She is a feisty ghost often lingering in the kitchen where she worked before she died in 1970. Coffee cups are thrown, as well as other kitchen things. She has also been known to make a pot of coffee! All three ghosts seem to coexist peacefully, and were identified during a seance. The ghosts are also responsible for roaming cold spots which drift through the restaurant. The people who own The Catfish Plantation are very proud of their ghostly tenants, and even encourage their patrons to tell them about any ghostly encounter. |
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The Lone Star State is the
second largest state in America, and as such, houses quite a few spooks. One thing to be said about them, is that they have attitude! Here are a few of the best known stories. |
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Governor's Mansion
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Menger Hotel
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USS Lexington
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LaBahia at Goliad
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Jefferson Davis
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Driskoll Hotel
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Metz Elem
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Former
Catfish Plantation
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Metz Elementary School- When this old school
building was being demolished in 1990, many ghostly events took place. Bull dozers would suddenly stop working when they neared the school. Men would be pulled off of ladders, tools would disappear and other strange things would happen everyday. Ghostly children would write on the blackboards inside, and much of the crew eventually quit. An exorcism was performed, and shortly after one of the workmen (possibly an owner? my sources conflict) was killed when a wall suddenly fell on him. The school was successfully demolished, and a new school sits very near where the old one was. - Austin, TX |
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Jefferson Davis Hospital- There have actually been
two JDH in Houston. The first was built in 1924, and it is that one that still stands (the other has already been demolished) in dreadful condition on Elder Street. It's construction was not without controversy, since the building site was right over an existing cemetery called 'Old City Cemetery.' In its time from the mid to late 1800's, 'Old City' collected at least 3,000 bodies, mostly of what society then called undesireables (colored, diseased, suicides etc.). It also held a large amount of dead Union soldiers from the Union occupation of Houston during the Cival War. It was from veterans of that bloody war that the biggest outcry came from. Construction did not stop though, and today there is a memorial dedicated to those fallen soldiers.
The Hospital has gone through several incarnations,
including a stint as a psychiactric hospital, and has lately stood abandoned for many years. It is on private property, and trespassing is not allowed, but people do it anyway. Even if the area isn't haunted, the eeriness of its past is enough to send a shiver down your spine. There have been reports in the past of ghostly doctors and nurses still attending to long forgotten patients. A howling seems to pass through the structure, and screams have been heard on the wind. Strage shadowy figures have been spotted, quickly darting past, and countless orbs and other unusual phenomena have been captured on film. The Houston Chronicle reports that more than 100 seperate entities may haunt the old hospital building, making this, one of the most haunted locations in America. |
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Ashton Villa- This spooky Galveston mansion is
haunted by "Miss Bettie" Brown. She was a woman ahead of her time. She smoked, traveled the world alone, and though she never married, she had many suitors. Her spirit is said to linger on the grand staircase, and also in her old bedroom. Nearly every morning, staff has to smooth out the covers from her nighttime visits. She was a great lover of music, and has been seen at least once playing the piano. |
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A few notes: Jefferson Davis Hospital has been approved,
and will soon become artist lofts. Anyone want to live in a haunted house?
Also, I'm aware of the findings surrounding the supposed
English Settlement burial ground beneath the Old City Cemetery. It has been stated that these bodies may have been buried there in the mid to late 1500's, and possibly in the early 1600's. I decided to add details about my research into the theory at a later time. |
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USS Lexington- An air craft carrier which served
from 1943- 1991 is docked in Corpus Christi, and is now a floating museum. Many strange incidents have occurred. Several rooms have flooded with fresh water. Faucets are turned on by ghosts, as are showers, and all in locked rooms at night! Disembodied voices have been reported as well as the sound of chains clinking. The ghost of a sailor is said to haunt the boiler room. Personnel have supposedly been followed by heavy sounding footsteps. |
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Note worthy extras:
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I do have a personal account of a haunting in La Porte,
Texas |
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Primary Sources:
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Haunted Places, The National Directory- Written by
Dennis William Hauck. |
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Haunted America- Written by Michael Norman and
Beth Scott |
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Historic Haunted America- Written by Michael
Norman and Beth Scott |
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Ghosts Along the Texas Coast- Written by Docia
Schultz Williams |
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A Texas Guide to Haunted Restaurants, Taverns
and Inns- Written by Robert Wlodarski and Anne Powell Wlodarski |
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Treasures of Galveston Bay- Written by Carroll Lewis
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Houston Chronicle : This Week 10/25/01
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Houston Chronicle 10/29/93
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Houston Chronicle 7/10/03
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News Sources:
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Related Websites (these links will take you away from The Haunted Doghouse):
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The photo of the Texas Govenor's Mansion above has been used by
permission. ©2001 WHAT WAS THEN - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED |
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Ghosts in the Lone Star State.
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Haunted Texas
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This page was created for entertainment purposes only.
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