Hollow Hill

Columbus, TX – Daytime Ghost Orbs

Columbus City Cemetery, in Columbus, Texas, is one of the most photogenic cemeteries in southeast Texas, and it may be one of its most delightfully haunted.

In the daytime photo above, an orb appears near the angel monument. The skies were heavily overcast, so this wasn’t a lens flare; the sun wasn’t visible, and no flash was used.

During three separate visits to the cemetery, nearly every photo of this angel shows at least one orb, and sometimes two or three.

The eerie mists in the photo, Columbus, Texas – Ectoplasm are just to the left of the angel.

These graves are almost in the center of a very large field that’s been set aside as the Columbus City Cemetery at 1300 Walnut Street in Columbus, Texas. Only a small percentage of the graves have headstones, but those that do are often extraordinarily beautiful… and haunted.

This cemetery is described in more detail in my book, The Ghosts of Austin, Texas. That book contains a full chapter about haunted sites in nearby Columbus.

ghostbat

Columbus, TX – Ghost Orbs

Columbus City Cemetery in Columbus, Texas, is a wonderful, photogenic cemetery about an hour and a half west of Houston, where I-10 meets Highway 71. It’s across from the second largest oak tree in Texas.

Columbus is well worth the drive, especially early in November when they celebrate “Live Oaks and Dead Folks,” in the city cemetery.

Ghost hunters should visit the cemetery just after dawn or at dusk. The cemetery is in a large, mostly-empty field, accessed from a dirt path that’s studded with tall weeds. In areas with poisonous snakes, it’s not smart to explore areas like this in the dark.

Because the cemetery is covered with trees that shield the graves, it’s possible to take flash photos after the sun comes up, if you get better results with artificial light.

In the photo above, the sun was up, but I needed a flash photo to see much of anything there. The tree cover is that dense.

At the center of the photo, the dark object at horizon level is the angel monument that you’ll see in one of our daytime orb photos. (That’s the photo on the cover of my 2007 book, The Ghosts of Austin, Texas.)

Even in daylight, you can still capture orbs in photos at Columbus City Cemetery. That’s a rare treat for ghost hunters.

Austin Ghosts and the Shoal Creek Curse, TX

Austin, Texas has many ghosts. While researching Austin for my 2007 book, The Ghosts of Austin, Texas, I found patterns to many of the hauntings. Here’s one of them.

The Shoal Creek Curse

Ghosts of Austin, Texas - 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.

Ghosts of Austin, Texas - book — If you’re interested in true ghost stories and haunted places in and around Austin, read Fiona’s best-selling book.

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.

But the ghosts don’t stop at Shoal Creek. Architect and builder Abner Cook used clay from Shoal Creek for bricks.

And then he built homes and public buildings around Austin. So far, I’ve found a ghost story at almost every site he built with Shoal Creek bricks.

In my book, The Ghosts of Austin, you’ll learn how Abner Cook’s business practices turned Austin into Texas’ most haunted city… and where to find his creepy, haunted sites.

(Visit his grave, too. I’m not sure it’s haunted, but nearby graves certainly are.)

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.

Related article: The Five Most Haunted Places in Austin, Texas

Houston, TX – Private Cemetery, Part 2

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

My favorite grave at this cemetery belonged to an older woman. I felt like I’d received a very clear message 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 it to take photos.

The area around her grave is 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.

(2014 update: We didn’t have a chance to go back there. Getting access to private cemeteries isn’t as simple as visiting those open to the public.)

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. Some were provided for people who couldn’t afford plots in city cemeteries. The people who rest in these private cemeteries probably didn’t want to be gawked at in life. 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, TX – Private Cemetery, Part 1

orbs in haunted cemetery near Houston, TX

This small cemetery in the Houston area is on private land. We had permission to visit it, and an armed, 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. Unfortunately, the location has so little light nearby, the photos are grainy. That’s okay, I think you can see enough to understand why this cemetery impressed me.

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. This orb could be one of the early arrivals. I’m not sure.

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.

Click here to read more about our visit to this eerie, secluded cemetery.

Old Town Spring, TX – Ghost Photo Detail

ots-0106-bank-face2 — Bank photo with face area in circle.

Several people have commented on this ghost photo. It was taken at an old bank building in the middle of Old Town Spring, north of Houston, Texas.

The picture at the right has been modified only to enhance the contrast. I’ve added a circle to indicate where the face is. Other than that, this photo is exactly as it originally appeared.

That ghost would be full-size — about six feet tall, or a little shorter. That is, if you could see my reflection in the window — which you can’t — it would be about the same size as the ghost. (I look nothing like the ghostly figure.)

There are many interpretations of this ghost photo. Some people see a full figure within the circle. Others see a cowboy in chaps.

I’m the first to admit that this is one of those “either you see it, or you don’t” photos. It may be nothing more than a quirky reflection from the flash on the window. I’m fine with that.

On the other hand, when I see really weird images and anomalies, I pause and wonder if that old adage is true, and there are no coincidences.

The bank’s robberies took place in the 1930s, and the robbers may have included the infamous Bonnie and Clyde.

In addition, the town has ghosts dating back to its “wild west” days. So, any figure from those eras is likely.

We were outside, looking in, when I took a series of pictures. I angled my camera to reduce glare from the flash, but — of course — a lot of people are going to say, “Of course that’s the reflection of her flash camera.)

I don’t have a lot invested in being right about what I see when I’m ghost hunting. Confirmation is always nice, but it’s not required. I know what I see.

Above (left) is my sketch of the figure in the window, as I see him.