Texas Ghost Hunting

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Texas offers many opportunities for ghost hunters. Between Texas’ rich history and its cultural diversity, there is something in Texas for every paranormal enthusiast.

For links to reports from my own investigations, see The Ghosts of Haunted Texas.

The following are some of Texas’ most famous haunts. Some links may not work. (Known broken links are noted with an asterisk.) I’m leaving them here, in case they return to the Internet. If they don’t, check the Wayback Machine for archived copies.

Alpine – Marfa Mystery Lights

These nightly floating balls of light have been seen for over a hundred years. They range from one to over ten feet in size, and appear in a variety of colors including red, orange, green, and yellow. Some viewers report a “tuning fork” sound when the lights appear.

Native legends claim that they are the spirit of Apache Chief Alsate who offended a god and was denied access to the afterlife. Pioneer legends favor a tale about a lost family from the mid-19th century.

The location is about 25 miles west of Alpine, in Presidio County. About eight miles east of Marfa on U.S. Highway 90, look for a plaque about the Marfa Lights. That’s one of the best viewing spots for the lights. Nearby, the Texas Highway Department has provided a paved, slightly sheltered viewing area.

Austin

From the Driskill Hotel’s many ghosts, to the dead who haunt the shores of Shoal Creek, Austin is a great location for ghost hunting. See my articles at this website, and my book, The Ghosts of Austin, Texas.

Columbus

This great city is great for ghost enthusiasts, with a 20-year feud in its “wild west” days, an internationally famous artist who creates “ghost paintings” and an annual “Live Oaks and Dead Folks” event.  See my report at my ghosts of Columbus, Texas articles.

Galveston

Bishop's castle - or palace - Galveston, TX
Bishop’s Palace, Galveston, TX.

Well known for its famous flood, Galveston, has some profoundly haunted sites. I’ve conducted some casual investigations, and can confirm that the The Bishop’s Palace (1402 Broadway) is haunted. (It’s also called the “bishop’s castle” by people in the area.)

The Bishop’s Palace, the church across the street, and the nearby rectory are all good sites for “ghost orb” photos.

There are many other haunted locations in Galveston, and others are far more knowledgeable than we are about the ghosts of Galveston. We can definitely state that Galveston is worth visiting for its ghost tours and haunted sites.

From the Bishop’s Palace website, as of October 2009:

Rentals The Bishop’s Palace makes a fine setting for wedding photography by arrangement. (Tour visitors are not allowed to take photographs*.) For rental information, call 409-762-3933, or email Vicki.Amundsen@galvestonhistory.org.

*In other words, it looks as if you won’t be able to take photos if you tour the site as part of a regular group. If you want to take “ghost photos” (recommended), you’ll need to make special arrangements. When we visited, the Bishop’s Palace was open to tours as well as religious retreats, and it was maintained by the Catholic church.

Houston

See my articles linked at Real Ghosts of Houston, Texas and vicinity.

Katy

Named after the “KT” in the name of the MKT railroad line, Katy is a quiet town with some fine sites for ghost hunting. I’ve had good results, ghost hunting around  the Katy train depot.  See my articles about Katy’s ghosts.

San Antonio – The Alamo

The Alamo is Texas’ most-visited historic site. Like many famous battle sites, the Alamo is haunted by a variety of ghosts. What makes the Alamo different from many hauntings is that the ghosts appeared almost immediately after the battle, and they’re often described as “grotesque.” Today, those ghosts continue to appear, even in broad daylight.The Alamo is located in downtown San Antonio, Texas.

Spring

Some people claim that Spring, Texas — specifically Old Town Spring — is the most haunted town in Texas. I’m not too sure about that, but the town is definitely haunted and well worth visiting. With over 100 quaint shops and many annual festivals, Spring is a great weekend destination.

My notes begin at Ghost Hunting in Spring, Texas and vicinity.

Links to other Texas ghost hunters:

4 thoughts on “Texas Ghost Hunting”

  1. Are you familiar with the Bragg Road light near Saratoga in the Big Thicket area of Texas? I am a physician located in central Texas, and consider myself to be a person based very deep in science, and scientific explainations for phenomenon. I have seent his light every time I have gone to it. I have seen the lights in Marfa many times. The Marfa do not hold a candle to Bragg Road. I am convinced that the Bragg Road light interacts with the observer, nd has proven itself to be the MOST INCREDIBLE phenomenon I have ever witnessed! This is not a ” Oh, I think I saw something” type of experience. The light is real and totally real in every sense of the word. I have taken many people there including the most staunch skeptics I know. The most recent is a police officer. We saw the light following us down the road several times, as it appears, and disappears, At times, it will actually fly straight up into the sky before disappearing. The light is about the size of a basketball, is the purist white I have ever seen, so bright you have to actueally squint because it just about blinds you looking at it. It jumped in front of us, and it stopped about ten feet from the front bumper of our vehicle. It was hovering about five feet from the ground. I got out of the vehicle to take a digital photo of it. When I pressed the shutter button, and the all of the electrical circuitry in the camera fried! It then flew over and passed the top of the vehicle. After disappearing, we drove forward towards the well marked entrance to the road. As we were talking about the encounter, we noticed the tail-lights of a vehicle about 100 yards from us. We has been monitoring our odometer and knew we were only 4miles down the 8 mile stretch of road. We got to within a couple of dozen yards of the tai-lights, and all the sudden we found ourselves, in our vehicle, stopped in the middle of the FM road that connects to the Bragg road entrance, We had no idea how we got there so quickly and never saw/or passed any type of vehicle that would account for the tail lights. It was as if we went thru a warp of space and time, and we both looked at each other with total disbelief. There is so much more I could tell you about my encounters with the light. I am convinced that if anyone goes there, they will see the light, and leave with the unmistakable certainty that the light interacts with your thoughts. I am solidly based in science, but this experience humble me, and has humbled everyone I have ever taken to see it. The police officer I mentioned, was so rattled that he literally pulled his side off his belt dending himself against something that shook him to the core. If any person that is really interested in seeing/experiencing an unmistakable paranormal phenomenon, you are cheating yourself if you dont see this. I am going back to try and obtain all the physical readings, pics and video I can. I, along with the police officer and other very credible people are beginning our own research team. We are in the process of investigating a state facility that we have already gotten very clear EVP’s {telling us to leave}, witnessed numerous shadows and witnessed objects that have moved. My home is located 2 miles from David Koreshs’ Branch Davidian Compound where the horrible seige took place. We will be trying to obtain EVP’s in the near future. If anyone has any info, or eperiences concerning Bragg Road, we would love to hear them!

    1. Thanks for this valuable report! I hope that other readers will add their comments.

      I’d heard about Bragg Road but I haven’t visited it. After reading about your experiences there, it’ll be a high priority for my research during my next trip to Texas.

      Thanks again!

  2. The light is REAL, iv seen it just a few nights ago, I live in Beaumont, and it was the 1st time I went, honestly thought it wasnt real, but believe it now. Dont know what it is, but there is SOMETHING there for sure. We went down the road once, not noticing our friend got his truck stuck, so we went back, got it unstuck, and were just sitting there talking and all after, and sure enough, the light appears about 100 ft away from us. Thought it was a car at 1st, but not engine sound, 1 light, would dim and get bright, and move around in ways a car cant on that road. The road isnt very big, when cars go down it, you literally have to almost get off the road for the other to pass. Im 24, never seen anything like this before. Iv heard the stories about a guy who fell asleep by the rail road track that is supposed to be by the road but i didnt notice any tracks, and got his head ran over n its his ghost looking for his head with his lantern. Yea, kinda far fetched. Also heard of a cemetery near there, where there is supposed to be a headstone turned backwards thats supposed to be a witch’s. BUT if anyone has been down the road, then you have also seen the small trailer house thing…with its porch light on….now i dont know if its someone messing with people or not on some occasions, but then it would have to be a “family thing” to do it, because the light has been around for decades, then the story above rules that out too. Im honestly stumped on this one, and seeing it for yourself DOES help, dont sit there and say ITS NOT REAL if you havent seen it. And some more advice, if you WANT to see it,….drive about half way (4 miles) down the road, pull over, turn your car off, headlights and all, and get out of the car and chill for a few minutes, if no other cars are out, you wont be disappointed. I havent heard of it following people in their cars (until the story above) and we never saw it when we were riding down the road, we just saw other cars. And while we were stopped, the other cars all passed us, so it wasnt the other cars. But yea, thats my experience.

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