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, Texas – Ghostly Ectoplasm?

Ectoplasm? I’m not sure what caused the odd misty areas in the unretouched photo at left. (And, to be honest, I’m not sure anyone knows what ectoplasm is. We usually use the term to mean an expansive area of colorful, translucent energy.)

Look for the whitish, pink, and red areas in the photo. I have no explanation for any of those anomalies. They remind me of the colorful orb-ish shapes in the anomalies at New Orleans’ Jackson Square.

The photo was taken with a tripod and a delayed shutter. I stood to the side of the camera. When the flash went off, I could clearly see anything that might have been in front of the camera.

In other words, I didn’t see any bugs to explain these odd, colorful areas.

There was no chance of a camera strap, jewelry, or hair reflecting light on the lens. Also, since I was over five feet away when the photo was taken, it’s not breath.

I took over 200 photos in this cemetery, and none of them show insects. As usual, I’d looked for bugs before taking any photos. I saw none except the mounds indicating fire ants. (I was in sandals and kept my distance.)

The Columbus City Cemetery — also called Old City Cemetery — is on Walnut Street in Columbus, Texas, not far from the middle of town. In 1870, it was deeded to the city as an existing cemetery.

No one is certain how old the graves are, but the earliest headstone is dated 1853.

This wasn’t the first time I’d seen non-orb anomalies in Columbus photos. I’d seen possible ecto in a photo taken during a “Live Oaks and Dead Folks” tour, a popular annual event in Columbus, Texas.

This is an especially interesting cemetery. Many of the grave markers were washed away in a flood at the end of 1913. Disturbed graves could explain the recurring fog-like mist or ectoplasm in photos. There are at least 500 unmarked graves there.

This cemetery also contains the grave of Jonathan W. Sargent (1877 – 1929), who was killed in a car accident near Columbus. He’d assisted Howard Carter in Egypt, and may have been a victim of the famous “curse” of King Tutankhamen’s tomb.

In addition, the cemetery was the final resting place of many Confederate soldiers, as well as victims of the 1873 yellow fever epidemic.

Any one of these could account for higher-than-average paranormal activity in this lovely cemetery.

I recommend this cemetery for ghost enthusiasts, but only during daytime hours. After dark, uneven ground and the possibility of snakes make investigations treacherous.

The cemetery is patrolled regularly by police, who visited while I was there. Day and night, they can see activity in the cemetery from at least three nearby roads, so don’t expect to escape notice when you’re in the cemetery.

Since Columbus Cemetery’s orbs can be photographed in daylight, an early morning or late afternoon visit could be worthwhile.

Old Town Katy, TX – Ghosts, Pt 2

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, TX – Ghosts (Links)

Houston is one of America’s largest cities, and it has dozens–perhaps hundreds–of haunted sites. These are just a few that I’ve investigated, with a research partner or with a group.

Glenwood Cemetery (a Washington Ave. Cemetery)

An early investigation of this cemetery shows good EMF readings but no daytime orbs.

Woodlawn Cemetery (across the street from IKEA)
Woodlawn is a charming, mostly modern cemetery, privately owned and managed by a Houston family.Generally, this location is not suited to ghost hunting. It is carefully maintained, with gates that close at night, and security cameras watching the property.

However, for daytime (and respectful) explorations, we found some good (albeit brief) EMF recorded as 40+ degree compass swings, in the vicinity of the matching military headstones.

If you’re using a compass, be sure to rule out interference from metal pipes and grave markers.

Alief Cemetery (at the corner of Bellaire and Dairy Ashford) This cemetery is NOT recommended for investigations at this time, due to its location. See our report for additional information.

Patterson Road – Page 1: Langham Creek bridge – Page 2: Bear Creek bridge / Bear Creek bridge is a more likely site for the legendary tapping, but we found good compass anomalies at Langham Creek bridge.

A year later, both bridges seemed haunted:
Bear Creek Bridge – May 2006
Langham Creek Bridge – May 2006

Bear Creek Park – Bordered by Patterson Road and Highway 6, Bear Creek Park is a popular park for hiking, riding, picnics, and sporting events.

Bear Creek Park is also the site of one of Houston’s most famous “blue light” cemeteries. (According to many local ghost investigators, that cemetery is tiny, disappointing, and not worth visiting. That part of the park is closed after dark.)

We weren’t planning to see any anomalies in a last-minute photo, but we did, anyway. See it at Houston – Bear Creek Park orb

During our return visit in May 2006, we saw little evidence of hauntings at nearby Addicks Bear Creek Methodist Cemetery.

More Haunted cemeteries near Bear Creek Park include Beeler Cemetery, Houston, TX.

The West Oaks Phantom Walker appears regularly by the West Oaks Mall, on Richmond near Westheimer. He appears to be a uniformed Spanish soldier, and possibly headless. He’s a quirky ghost, and one of our favorites.

Also, a reader reports that there is a haunted house in back of the zoo. It’s a white house with a black fence, surrounded by a moat. We’re noting this for further investigation, but haven’t heard other reports about this site.

DOWNTOWN

Spaghetti Warehouse in downtown Houston is just one of many haunted Spaghetti Warehouses. (Austin’s Spaghetti Warehouse is even more famous for its colorful ghosts.) The staff will share many great stories with you. During our visit, we were fascinated with what we called “the scary guy’s portrait.”

Also downtown, be sure to visit haunted Market Square. For more information about Market Square ghosts, read my stories in the book, Weird Hauntings. (Sterling Books, 2006)

KATY, TEXAS

25 miles west of downtown Houston, this historic town features remarkable orbs. See Ghosts of Old Town Katy, TX, part one and part two. I was the first to report ghosts at the depot. Since then, many others have confirmed them.

My first follow-up visit did not produce good photos, but the ghostly impressions were vivid. Read more about the ghosts of the Katy, Texas train depot.

Romantic ghosts at the Katy depot may have manifested as twin orbs in several locations on January 2nd, 2006. (At the very least, it’s a sweet idea.)

I also captured more vivid orbs and a great “jack-o-lantern” orb nearby, at Ghost Orbs in Katy, TX (1/06).

SPRING, TEXAS

About a half an hour north of Houston, the town of Spring (and vicinity) offers considerable paranormal activity.

See Ghost Hunting in Spring, Texas and vicinity – page one and page two.

Also see my reports about ghosts in Old Town Spring. (It’s a popular, quaint shopping area in part of Spring.) Here’s a partial list of my articles.

Old Town Spring – haunted bank

Old Town Spring – ghost in the bank

Old Town Spring – ghost photo detail

UNIDENTIFIED SITES

Sometimes I check locations that are only mildly haunted.

Sometimes, they’re on private property or otherwise restricted, so I don’t identify them online.

Here’s a typical report: Houston – private cemetery – August 2005 – a two-part article, with photos.

Houston, TX – Haunted Alief Cemetery

Alief Cemetery (pronounced “A-leef”), near Houston, Texas, has a wide reputation for being haunted.

I haven’t had time to do much research, and I don’t intend to return for a formal investigation.

Here’s the legend:

This pioneer cemetery was either unknown or ignored when an apartment complex was built on adjoining (and perhaps overlapping) property. As a result, the apartments are rumored to be haunted.

No one claims that the apartment buildings are actually on top of graves, but I’m not sure that anyone is certain, one way or the other.

During our visit at dusk, I caught several orbs, some dramatically large, with my camera. (See photos below.) Because of the fast-fading light, I did not check for EMF with a compass. And frankly, the later it got, the more uneasy I was in that neighborhood. I definitely stood out and caught looks of resentment from a few (not most) people.

I’m sympathetic. I believe that certain communities have the right to unspoken boundaries. They shouldn’t feel as their residential areas are being invaded, investigated, and treated like a sideshow by ghost hunters.

Had I realized the situation beforehand, I wouldn’t have explored the site at all. I didn’t feel threatened, but definitely uneasy, especially as most of the young families seemed to go indoors as dusk fell.

Even in the daytime, I don’t recommend visiting this site alone. (Since posting this, several readers — one a former gang member — warned us that no one should go ghost hunting there at night, even in a group.)

Also, wear sturdy shoes or sneakers, even during daylight hours. The ground isn’t treacherous, but it is uneven in spots and difficult to see where the grass has not been trimmed.

alief-1 — One plot in Alief Cemetery. No orbs.

alief-1orb — Same location, large orb at upper left side.

alief-2orb — Small orb in grass, at arrow.

alief-air1orb — That’s not the moon, it’s an orb. Really.

alief-apts — No orbs here. Those are apartment lights, but you can see how the cemetery is practically in their back yard.

Houston, TX – Haunted Beeler Cemetery

Beeler Family Cemetery in Houston is an odd little cemetery. It’s about two blocks from busy Eldridge Parkway. (The Parkway has its own rumors of ghosts, and an unusual number of auto accidents involving drivers who’ve ‘lost control’ of their cars.)

Beeler Cemetery is small, contains about half a dozen grave markers, and it’s in one of Houston’s ‘pocket parks’ amid upscale corporate offices.

In May 2006, we joined the Texas Paranormal group for an investigation of this cemetery. Because the cemetery is surrounded by immaculately groomed lawns and sterile corporate buildings, we weren’t expecting much.

Beeler Cemetery Monument

Even in the daytime, there is a strong presence around the tallest monuments. (One of the most active is shown, above.)

At night, some of our photos showed moderate orbs around them. Amanda Beeler’s grave seems to be the most active.

Orbs at the back of Beeler Park, Houston, TX

However, the stronger energy is outside the cemetery, and in back of it. We’ve heard that there are unmarked graves outside the cemetery.

The photo at right is one of several with bright orbs.

‘Outsider’ graves

Some of the most haunted graves are located outside cemetery walls.

Especially at church cemeteries, graves outside the walls usually belong to suicide victims, murderers and people considered ‘too sinful’ to be buried among regular church members.

When graves are outside a family cemetery, that’s an even more harsh condemnation.

We weren’t surprised when our photos showed vivid orbs in back of Beeler Family Cemetery.

Notes from the Other Side

When I tried to do a reading on Amanda Beeler to see why her grave is most active, the woman who responded was named ‘Olive’, not Amanda. I’m not sure if it’s the same woman — perhaps a nickname — or a different person.

Olive had given birth to a daughter, but trusted the wrong man. That trust led to something disastrous, possibly her death. She’s not trapped here, but she returns because she’d like someone to acknowledge the subterfuge of the man she’d trusted.

(I’m not sure who he is. There’s not enough information to work with, yet.)

I did a second reading to learn about a man who haunts the land in back of Beeler Family Cemetery. He’d accomplished all that he was supposed to during his lifetime. Oddly, he trusted the same man as Olive had. His ghost lingers because he’s either protecting Olive (and perhaps others), or wants to help expose the man who’d betrayed both of them.

This cemetery — and its hauntings — are active and part of an ongoing story that hasn’t concluded yet.

These aren’t unhappy spirits who are trapped here, but they’d like their history to be accurately reported. So, they are likely to respond to perceptive visitors and ghost hunters.

Ghost hunting tips

Although this is an upscale area in the daytime, it’s quite deserted at night. Also, the cemetery is partially hidden from the street. It’s especially important not to ghost hunt alone in settings like this where you may have a false sense of security.

There are many street lights around Enclave Parkway, where this cemetery is. Be sure to watch for them when taking photos, as they can be a source of false orbs.

The sandy soil at this cemetery can also produce false orbs if the dust is raised as you walk, or by the wind. It’s vital to take two photos in sequence, as close together as possible, to rule out natural explanations for orbs and other anomalies.

Driving directions

To visit the cemetery after visiting Bear Creek Park, take Eldridge Parkway south from Patterson Road. After passing I-10 and Memorial Drive, look for Enclave Parkway on the left. (There is a traffic light with a protected left turn.)

If you’re arriving from I-10, take the Eldridge exit and turn south. After the traffic light at Memorial Drive, watch for Enclave Pkwy on the left.

Shortly after turning onto Enclave Pkwy, look for the Pocket Park sign on your right. Turn right immediately after it; it will look like a driveway, and there is room for a few cars in the small parking area. The cemetery is surrounded by a black metal fence in a wooded area.

If you drive past Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation on the right, you’ve gone too far.

If you approach from Briar Forest, take Enclave Parkway almost to where it intersects Eldridge. Look for Cabot Oil & Gas on your left. Turn left at the driveway immediately after Cabot’s sign. [Google Maps]