Austin, Texas has many ghosts. In researching Austin’s haunted places for my June 2007 book, The Ghosts of Austin, Texas, I found patterns to many of the hauntings. Here’s one of them.
The Shoal Creek Curse
O. Henry, the famous author and former resident of Austin, once wrote, “It is a well-known tradition in Austin and vicinity that there is a buried treasure of great value on the banks of Shoal Creek, about a mile west of the city…”
Two treasures were buried at Shoal Creek. One is from 1770 and the other is from 1836. One may have been found; the other wasn’t.
Searching for those treasures resulted in many deaths and hauntings. But, gold isn’t all that’s buried at Shoal Creek, and treasure hunters aren’t its only ghosts.
Gideon White was killed with several others during the 1842 massacre at Shoal Creek. No one is certain how many of the victims were buried at the site. (White’s grave at nearby Oakwood Cemetery is also haunted.)
There are many other unmarked graves at Shoal Creek. Many victims of cholera and yellow fever were hastily buried at the Creek. These include soldiers who camped at the creek during the Civil War, and those who served with General Custer during his Reconstructionist occupation of Austin. Most of those bodies were later removed and reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery, but about 35 graves were never found.
Then, in April 1915, a flash flood took even more lives along the banks of Shoal Creek.
These are just a few of the tragedies associated with Shoal Creek, making it one of Austin’s most haunted areas. Ghosts are reported at many sites around the creek, including the parking lot at Central Market.
The Shoal Creek tale doesn’t end there. In my book, The Ghosts of Austin, you’ll learn how Abner Cook’s business practices turned Austin into Texas’ most haunted city.
The Ghosts of Austin, Texas describes over 130 ghosts and haunted places in and around Austin. From fun (but true) “ghost stories” to chilling tales of dark, haunted places, this book offers plenty to delight every ghost enthusiast.
It’s a great location and that fire is tragic. It’s sad when people make politics personal; even worse, when they try to destroy a state landmark like that.
I hope that there will be additional investigations after the renovations. It’s a wonderful, haunted site, and I like to think that the building may have been protected — at least somewhat — by the ghosts.
I’m live in austin and I’m interested in ghost so how do you get to shoul creek and central market
why is central market haunted
Kira,
If you’re in Austin, it should be easy to either Google “Shoal Creek” or find it on a map. I’m sure the Visitors’ Center — about a block from several downtown haunts mentioned in my book — can give you this information as well.
Shoal Creek’s haunted history goes back to the era before the Spanish arrived, so it’s too lengthy for me to post here. It’s well outlined in my book — from Native battles to buried treasure to Civil War tragedies and a 20th century event that’s downright chilling in the context of unmarked graves at the creek.
I have no idea why that particular Central Market store is haunted, if it still is. (I’m not in Texas now, and not all sites remain haunted indefinitely.) The stories are mostly about the parking lot outside the store, and — barring any recent incidents that I overlooked in my research — the paranormal activity references the history of that location before it was a parking lot. As with Shoal Creek, I discuss those hauntings, there histories, and related sites in far more detail in my book.
Sincerely,
Fiona
I have a ghost team & i would like to find a way to investigate this & if you have any way to investigate or you want to help just contact me.
Kavan,
Thanks for the offer. I’m looking forward to meeting you in Austin when I’m there in October. Be sure to say hello!
Our website has a policy of removing personal contact information from comments. Otherwise, this quickly becomes an advertising board for ghost enthusiasts and teams who want new members. We tried to allow that in the past, and it became nightmarish almost overnight.
In addition, an email that starts “dumdum” raises eyebrows. You’ll do better not to use that kind of name in serious comments; the majority of hoax emails I receive start with phrases like “yoursodumm” (yes, spelled that way) and “stupidyou,” etc. So, that puts my staff on alert when they see it in a comment.
Sincerely,
Fiona