Hollow Hill » Houston

Houston – private cemetery, pt 2

Fiona Broome — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:00:09 +0000

This is the second part of a two-part story.
It stared at Houston – private cemetery, part one.

My favorite grave at this cemetery belonged to an older woman. I had the definite impression that she wasn’t very impressed with us, but she was just vain enough (in a cute, good way) to want some attention anyway. I was reminded of the nurse in the movie, Doc Hollywood.

Out of respect for her privacy, I’m showing just the top of her gravestone… with dozens of orbs nearby. I expect that she was part of a large family–and she was a grandmother–so many of her relatives are in nearby graves. Her grave seemed to be guarded by one of the largest banana spiders I’ve ever seen, in a web that easily spanned a four-foot square area. It wasn’t easy to get past that web to take photos.

The area around her grave is also the most active with congenial spirits.

(There is another part of the cemetery, to the far left as you approach it from the street, that has a more derelict feeling to it. It’s as if those people died without much hope, and little color in their lives.)

The photo above also reveals a blue area to the right of the frame. It’s the only one with that kind of coloring, and I have no explanation for it. I wish that I’d taken more pictures, because this reminds me of the blue figure I photographed at Fort Worden, in Port Townsend, Washington.

I’m not sure if we’ll have another opportunity to visit this private cemetery near Houston, Texas. However, if we do, I’ll probably bring flowers for the grave of this charmingly eccentric woman, and hope that she reveals more of her life to me, and presents even more vivid images for my photos.

This is not a cemetery to visit on your own. While we were there, we could hear gunfire less than a mile away. Our escort was armed, too.

But, most importantly, this is one of the many private cemeteries in Texas. They’re often provided for people who couldn’t afford plots in the city cemeteries. The people who rest in these private cemeteries probably didn’t want to be gawked at in life, and it’s unkind to trample their graves–marked or unmarked–in pursuit of ghosts.

We visited with permission and tread carefully around the cemetery. We cannot provide further information about the location, the landowner, or how we were able to visit this site.

(Sometimes when we visit private sites, the terms of our visit include total secrecy.)

Nevertheless, it was a memorable visit, and far richer than many ghost hunts we’ve conducted at more popular, traditional cemeteries.

Houston – private cemetery, pt 1

Fiona Broome — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:55:48 +0000

orbs in haunted cemetery near Houston, TX

This small cemetery is on private land. We had permission to visit it, and an authorized escort who knew where we should look for ghosts. From the start, I knew that this site was profoundly haunted. It reminds me of some New England cemeteries that I have visited, where the dead aren’t unhappy… just a bit restless and curious about visitors.

Because this cemetery is not regularly maintained, we walked through tall grass, pushed back shrubs and weeds, and dodged huge spiderwebs to visit the graves.

This cemetery is the home of people who–by choice or circumstances–have graves marked with wooden crosses, handmade cement and plaster “stones,” and are sometimes unmarked. Walking around these graves feels very different from the tidy cemeteries where the headstones were purchased and names were added to stock granite designs.

On this night, I saw many instances of “sparkles” from both my Olympus film camera as well as my Toshiba digital camera.

Many graves–marked and unmarked–displayed dramatic orbs. Because so many graves are unmarked, it did not surprise me to see multiple orbs in many photos.

One of the more formal graves–shown in the photo at the top of this article–produced consistent orbs. Here’s another photo of it, from another angle:

We continued to wander around the acreage, discovering more graves and many more spirits… as well as orbs. This is the kind of cemetery that must be treated with respect. These people are not “average” and their stories–like their lives–were rich, culturally diverse, and should not be trivialized or forgotten.

The marked graves may be as much as 50 years old. Most of them seem to be far newer, and visited regularly.

In the two pictures above, the left image shows how most of my photos (about 20 of them) at this grave turned out: No orbs. However, in the middle of these many ho-hum pictures, I captured one fairly spectacular orb in the photo on the right. About ten photos later, the wind started to pick up and there were abundant dust orbs.

However, I sensed a very real presence at this grave, as if the person wanted to be noticed. There was a sense of dismay at being “out of the game” so soon. It wasn’t an angry or depressed spirit, just someone who knew that we were there and wanted to be included in the pictures.

Houston – Katy train depot 1/06, pt 2

Fiona Broome — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:07:38 +0000

Ghost orbs continue to appear regularly around the Katy Historical Society’s depot building and the bright red railcar displayed near the depot. One of the most vivid photos that I took on January 2nd, 2006, was over the train depot:

Oddly, some of the most visible orbs are also in a straight line, which I’d ordinarily discount as a lens flare. The brightest orb, over the word “Texas,” looks like a light bulb. It isn’t; it’s another orb. It was quite dark at the depot on that quiet Monday evening.

However, my favorite photo of the evening shows a bright green orb that–to me anyway–looks as if it has a classic Halloween “jack-o-lantern” face:

It’s not a perfect jack-o-lantern face, but this one caught my attention because the color is unusual, and the expression is different from the usual “smiley face” orbs.

These are digital photos taken at a slow (100 ISO) speed, so they are more grainy than I’d like. At a higher film speed, I might have captured far more orbs that night.

It was a perfect evening for ghost hunting. Fog in the early morning hours had reduced dust and pollen as factors. By evening, the air was quite dry, but the dirt hadn’t dried out enough to be a problem. And, it was too chilly for bugs.

Houston – Katy train depot ghosts 1/06

Fiona Broome — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:05:23 +0000

A romantic couple haunted the Katy Depot area on the evening of January 2nd, 2006. I could sense them as soon as I got out of my car. He’s a man in a brown suit with lapels trimmed in braid. She’s taller than him, especially with the tall, perky hat that she wears. And, she holds his arm as they stroll around the depot.

I’ve sensed this couple before, but their images weren’t so clear in my mind… or in photos.

I like to think that they’re remembering a time when they took a romantic journey by train, perhaps to some still-wild part of the Southwest, or a second honeymoon in Kansas City or Chicago, during a more genteel era.

This couple showed up as twin orbs, repeatedly, in my photos around the depot. Here’s one of several photos with the twin orbs, taken over the railcar by the Katy depot:

Twin orbs over railcar

Of course, I’d suspect that something was reflecting dual orbs, or perhaps a lens flare. When I see orbs in a straight line, I almost always think, “Lens flare.” However, at the depot building at least 20 feet away, my photos included the same twin orbs. Here’s another photo of them:

(These photos are grainy because–too late–I discovered that I was taking the pictures at a film speed of 100.)

Houston – Katy train depot orb, ghosts

Fiona Broome — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:02:47 +0000

On Saturday evening, 25 June 2005, we returned to the old depot in Katy, Texas. Our only ‘ghost orb’ photo is shown above, and it’s a good example of how hard you have to look to see orbs, sometimes. This orb is large, but it’s very difficult to see. If it wasn’t so large, we wouldn’t bother posting it at all.

And, out of about 30 photos of the depot and the caboose next to it, this is the only one with an orb that seems fairly real. The others–on only two other photos–could have been reflections from light sources.

This is what makes a site credible. If we saw orbs in every photo, or more than half of them, we’d have to question humidity, dust, pollen, bugs, and so on.

Our experiences at the depot suggest a few gentle spirits at the old depot, probably residual energy from people who worked there. There are also residual energy hauntings by people who have happy memories of traveling by rail to and from Katy.

There is something considerably stronger at the caboose.

Initially, our ‘gut feeling’ is that the caboose is haunted by an old railroad conductor, and he’s not too happy with the caboose sitting still. He’s annoyed that it’s not moving, it’s not keeping its usual schedule, and he doesn’t like people getting very close to the caboose, either.

He’s not malicious, just annoyed. He keeps looking out the back window (facing away from the depot) and checking his watch.

This was our second visit to the “old town” area of Katy, and the depot. We’ll continue to monitor the old depot and caboose for additional manifestations.

Houston – Old Town Katy ghosts, pt 2

Fiona Broome — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:01:19 +0000

In June 2005, we began investigating the “old town” area of Katy, Texas. This is page two of our initial report. Our best early results were at the old Katy Train Depot at 5710 Highway Boulevard, near East Avenue and 1st Street.

KATY TRAIN DEPOT

Most of the orbs were at or near the entrance to the depot, shown on the previous page. The opposite side of the depot building confirmed orbs in the same area, especially above the roof:

MKT CABOOSE

Nearby, the old MKT caboose was a challenge to photograph. With several shiny glass windows, the camera must be positioned carefully to avoid reflected light. However, at least one of our photos produced a strong orb:

The orb in this picture is one of the prettiest I’ve seen:

We have a few orbs in other locations, including the water tower in town, but from our first investigations, the depot area is good for ghost research.

REFERENCES AND RELATED SITES

Handbook of Texas Online: Katy, TX
Texas Transportation Museum
R. Byrnes’ Katy Railroad Railfan Page

Houston – Old Town Katy ghosts, pt 1

Fiona Broome — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:55:47 +0000

In June 2005, we began investigating the “old town” area of Katy, Texas. We began with no reports of ghosts in Old Town Katy, but a gut feeling that it might produce some good orbs. Hollow Hill takes pride in reporting on haunted sites before any other website does; no other ghost website has (so far) discovered the ghosts of Old Town Katy.

HISTORY OF KATY, TEXAS

Katy was originally called Cane Island and is about 25 miles west of downtown Houston. It was the hunting ground of the Karankawa Indians through the 1820s. The town was settled in the mid 1890s, the Katy post office opened in 1896, and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad (MKT – called the “KT”) depot was finished in 1898.

Most of the early settlers in Katy were farmers, and by the early 20th century Katy was best known for its rice crop. In 1934, the discovery well of the Katy gas field was drilled, opening new business opportunities in the town.

Today, Katy’s population is about 12,000 and growing with upscale developments opening steadily, especially in the Cinco Ranch area.

However, the historic side of Katy is the focus of our early ghost investigations. All but two of the original Katy homes were lost in the 1900 hurricane that caused the Galveston Flood. We’re starting our research with the oldest buildings with the most interesting history.

KATY TRAIN DEPOT

Our first stop was the old train depot at 5710 Highway Boulevard, near East Avenue and 1st Street. This wonderful old building is being restored by the Katy Historical Society. Only a few of our depot photos show orbs, but those that do are notable:

Here’s a close-up of one of the orbs:

Houston – Langham Creek Bridge update 5/06

Fiona Broome — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:54:18 +0000

Langham Creek Bridge is far more haunted than we’d guessed during our May 2005 investigation. During our previous investigation, we’d noted anomalous compass swings (indicating elevated EMF) on the south side of the bridge. We’d also taken an odd photo during the afternoon.

In May 2006, we visited Langham Creek Bridge with the Texas Paranormal group, organized by Elmo Johnson.

When we arrived, Elmo and Jill (another Texas Paranormal investigator) had already noted EMF surges in the field on the north side of Langham Creek Bridge.

In the photo above, the tiny white spot is an insect; it looks nothing like an orb. The others are ‘ghost orbs’ that show up in some photos, but not in others.

(In settings with flying insects and near water, it’s vital to take two photos in a row, as close together as possible. Insects, moisture, and anything else creating false orbs will usually show up in both photos.)

All of the pictures in this article–and others about Patterson Road sites–have been authenticated against other photos.

At right, another photo shows a crisp orb as well as another insect.

However, what really interests me are the more subtle orbs at the lower left side of the tree, and about halfway up, on the right side. To me, they seem to have more substance than typical orbs.

There’s clearly far more to investigate at Langham Creek Bridge. It’s a difficult spot to stop at, with minimal parking nearby.

From our earlier investigations at Patterson Road, it’s clear that Langham Creek is an active haunting.

That is, it’s not residual energy on a repeating loop. Instead, it can seem very haunted some days, and not very haunted on others.

Houston – Bear Creek Bridge, 5/06

Fiona Broome — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:50:25 +0000

Bear Creek Bridge on Houston’s Patterson Road is haunted. It may not be as haunted as nearby Langham Creek Bridge, but it is still worth visiting for ghost hunts.

At Bear Creek Bridge, we’ve heard the tapping on the outside of the car. We’ve seen ‘sparkles’ and sensed energy there. (See our May 2005 reports.)

With the Texas Paranormal group, we visited Bear Creek Bridge in May 2006. We did not hear the tapping sound this time. However, the visual anomalies were stronger.

Most of our photos showed minor orbs on the south side of the bridge.

The sparkles were amazing on this evening. The effect was probably enhanced by the bugs, but it’s easy to tell the difference between bugs in real life, and in photos.

That’s a bug–probably a moth–in a Bear Creek photo at right. And, because there were bugs when we were researching, we discount any orbs that look questionable… even just a little.

At left, minor orbs seemed to linger around one tree. It’s the wrong shape to be a ‘hanging tree’, but it has that kind of energy around it.

Though the nearest Civil War battles occurred at Sabine Pass and in Galveston Bay, soldiers did march in this area.

Something happened near this tree. The orb isn’t much, but the other psychic evidence is compelling.

This tree is on the south side of Patterson Road in Houston, and on the Eldridge side of the Bear Creek Bridge, not the Highway 6 side.

The side of the road slopes steeply, but there is room to park parallel to the road, just off the pavement.

Houston – Addicks Bear Creek Cemetery orbs

Fiona Broome — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:45:52 +0000

We visited the Addicks Bear Creek cemetery on Saturday evening, May 13th, 2006 with the Texas Paranormal Meetup group.

This report continues from Houston – Addicks Bear Creek Cemetery article, page one.

We found no elevated EMF readings and no conclusive EVP during our May 2006 visit.

Photos

The following photo is typical of the few orb photos that we took during our investigation. It’s from the same photo as the one at the top of this page.

We’ve analyzed the three apparent anomalies using numbers to indicate them.

1. This orb is too bright, opaque, and irregular to be a ‘ghost orb’. It is probably an insect. I’m not sure whether the light area on or in front of the upright monument is natural or an anomaly.

2. This is probably an insect or a reflection of the orb indicated by #1. It may be a genuine anomaly–it is a circle and translucent–but with the light in the background and the vivid, buglike orb nearby, we have to discount it.

3. This is probably an insect, or it may be a distant light.

It’s possible that this cemetery is haunted, but we saw little evidence of it in May 2006.

Further investigations, especially around Halloween, might be more productive. The moved bodies plus unmarked graves suggest that some hauntings are likely. However, despite its convenience, this doesn’t seem to be a ‘hot spot’ for ghost research. Nearby Patterson Road is vastly better.