Hollow Hill

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]

Houston, TX – West Oaks Phantom ‘Walker’

Houston’s West Oaks Mall has a classic ghost. He’s an apparition, and he appears very briefly during early morning hours. (He may appear at other times, but ghost hunters have seen him around dawn.)

We sometimes call him the “West Oaks Phantom,” but we usually call him the “West Oaks Walker” because that’s all that he does: He walks. He doesn’t seem to get anywhere, but he walks at a normal pace.

westoaks2 — Arrow points to the area where the “walker” is seen, at or near sidewalk.

Phantom appears near the third pole but before the fourth, counting from Westheimer.The ghost appears on the north side of Richmond Avenue, about a block from the intersection of Westheimer and Richmond. [ Google Map ] The phantom appears between Green Crest Drive and Westheimer, on the West Oaks side of the street. He’s about 20 feet away from where people turn off Richmond to enter the West Oaks Mall parking lot.

In the photo above, he’d be near the red arrow, and the maroon car would partially block your view of him.

The figure is an apparition, but doesn’t seem to be a full body. His head isn’t very clear — no one has seen it yet, so he may be headless — and he’s usually invisible from the knees down. Everything else… well, he could almost be confused with an early morning pedestrian.

That’s where this becomes difficult. Until late in 2006, the West Oaks Mall sign was lighted at night. So, if you were watching the ghost from near Westheimer, you could easily tell that he’s an apparition, not a real person; the lighted sign could be seen through the apparition. Also, he fades gradually. It’s difficult to see that in the darkness.

As of early 2007, the West Oaks sign isn’t lit at night, so ghost hunting becomes considerably more challenging.

At that hour, there are many people walking along Richmond — including at least one man who wears light-colored shorts — and there are three popular bus stops on that section of Richmond. Don’t confuse the living with the apparition; it’s easy to do so.

Be especially careful about the brief flash of headlights from cars exiting the apartment complex across the street. Their momentary flash can look like a glowing apparition, especially along the grassy area.

When and where to look for him

We’ve studied this phantom for several months. He generally appears at about 6:15 a.m. and he’s visible for about five seconds at a time. Most mornings, he seems to appear once or twice — usually within five minutes — but we’ve never seen him more than three times per day. We see him most often on Tuesday mornings and Saturdays.

We haven’t seen him after the sun is visible in the sky; that was about 7:15 a.m. during late December. In fact, we rarely see him after 6:45 a.m. We’ve never seen him on a Friday.

I’ve observed him myself from my car at Westheimer, but unless you’re waiting at the traffic light, there is no convenient place to watch from the road. There are three parking lots at the intersection of Westheimer and Richmond, and each of them can be adequate for viewing.

What to look for

The “West Oaks Walker” is a blurry figure. He’s wearing very light (perhaps white) breeches and a very dark top or jacket. He could be a Spanish soldier.

He’s walking but — as if moonwalking — he doesn’t cover very much distance. Because his lower legs and feet aren’t usually visible, we can’t tell if the apparition is walking on the ground. Generally, people believe that he’s walking about a foot above the ground.

The figure fades in quickly and fades away gradually. He doesn’t “blink” in and out of our world. He rarely looks entirely solid. (The exception was 13 Sep 2007. See our Sightings list, below.) The figure glows slightly.

Orb photography is unreliable due to lights at the mall, a security guard touring in a vehicle, and commuter cars with headlights. Likewise, underground pipes and power lines make EMF readings unproductive. So, we have no hard evidence of this haunting.

[Photo taken from Westheimer, in the U-Haul parking lot]
Phantom is seen in the area indicated by the oval.
He may be walking on the sidewalk or on the grassy area behind it.

Who is he?

Until I spotted the phantom and told others about it, I’d never heard anything about a ghost around the West Oaks Mall. From his breeches and very dark top or jacket, I’d guess that he’s a Spanish soldier.

Later notes:

The history of Spanish soldiers in that area has been confirmed.
There’s been at least one motorcycle accident in that vicinity, and the victim’s appearance matches my description.
Several people who live across the street have said they’ve seen the ghostly figure. No one was sure about his head, but no one commented that he was headless, either.

SIGHTINGS

July 2007 update: The West Oaks Walker was spotted at 6:20 a.m. on Tuesday morning, 17 July 2007. It was a clear, dry morning and he was fully visible for about 10 – 15 seconds in his usual location. Then, he faded away.

August 2007 update: The West Oaks Walker appeared at 6:23 a.m. on Tuesday morning, 21 August. It was a clear but humid morning. He appeared about 20 feet closer to Westheimer than usual. He was visible for nearly 30 seconds before vanishing.

Sept 2007 updates: The West Oak Walker appeared on the following dates.

12 Sep (Wednesday) – 7:02 a.m. – Figure appeared for less than a second near the third wooden pole from the corner of Westheimer, on the mall side of Richmond.

13 Sep (Thurs) – 6:21 a.m. – Multiple figures appeared simultaneously and over a period of more than ten minutes. One notable figure was clearly visible in white breeches and a dark (navy?) frock coat with a standing collar. Heavy braid on the collar was highlighted by the early morning light. He had very dark, curly hair that extended almost to his shoulders. He wore no hat, and looked directly at us. Then, he faded away.

We’ve looked for any history relevant to that day in Houston history.

So far, the closest that we can find is Mexico’s Independence Day (Diez y Seis de Septiembre) — also celebrated in parts of Texas — on September 16th.

There’s also a September 13th event (in 1764) when Gov. Martos suspended Capt. Rafael Martínez Pacheco, who refused to be arrested and escaped with at least one other soldier, near Beaumont. Charges against Martinez were later cleared.

On September 13, 1766, the alferez José Antonio de la Garza Falcón and his soldiers began a mission to support Diego Ortiz Parrilla, searching for English settlers on or near Padre Island.

Could they have searched as far as Houston? After six days of heavy rain, was the site of today’s George Bush Park a waterway? The soldiers’ search was not successful, and this is our strongest connection between September 13th and the Spanish-looking apparition.If anyone can suggest other historical connections to this haunting — which seemed to peak on September 13th — let us know.

21 Sep (Thurs) – 6:25 a.m. – [NOT A GHOST] Before dawn, someone in white trousers and a dark-ish shirt or jacket was walking around the area where we most often see the West Oaks Walker. This was a real person, not a ghost. Either the person was walking a dog or trying to fool us into reporting a fake apparition. (Yes, people do that.) What we realized from this is that the ghostly figures glow slightly. The real person didn’t.

4 Oct (Thurs) – 7:00 a.m. – Figure very close to the third utility pole. The white trousers were very visible but the rest of the figure was less clear. We thought it was another prankster until the entire figure faded about ten seconds later.

Have you seen him? Leave a comment! Please include the date, weather conditions, and what you saw. Thanks!

Houston, TX – Bear Creek Park Orb

Bear Creek Park is in Houston, Texas, around haunted Patterson Road and Highway 6. [Google Maps]

The park includes many fields that are popular for sporting activities at night, but the park itself is very dark.

Bear Creek Park is also the home of the most famous “blue light cemetery” in the Houston area. However, that isolated cemetery is very difficult to find unless you know exactly where to look, and — due to access restrictions and a history of violence at the site — not recommended as a research site.

Nearby Patterson Road is a more famous and accessible haunted site. (See our preliminary report: Houston – Haunted Patterson Road.)

After investigating Patterson Road on 11 May 2005, we took a photo inside Bear Creek Park for comparison. Although this print (from film) is very dark, it shows one of the best orbs of the evening:

Orb at Bear Creek Park, Houston, TX

It’s not a great photo, and it’s only one orb. I realize that’s not impressive. However, I’m reporting this site (and sharing the photo) because:

The area has a rich, ghost-friendly history.
Reported anomalies aren’t run-of-the-mill occurrences.
Day or night, our investigations have been consistently odd, in certain areas of the park.

The picture (above) was taken at random, so we can’t tell you exactly where it was. It’s most likely that we stopped at the first parking lot on your right as you enter the park from Patterson Road. This is a very small parking area that will hold four cars or less.

The camera was pointed to the right of the gate that leads to hiking and equestrian trails.

The image quality is too poor to determine if there are other genuine orbs in the photo. However, the one that the arrow points towards is definitely a real orb.

Follow-up: After we posted this photo, someone identified this as the site where a motorcyclist was killed a few years ago.

This is exactly what I look for in a haunted site: When we find an anomaly, without knowing ahead of time that it was at a spot with a ghostly history.

Houston, TX – Addicks Bear Creek Cemetery, Pt 1

Addicks Bear Creek Cemetery, Houston, TX — Sign at Addicks Bear Creek Methodist Cemetery, Houston, TX

Addicks Bear Creek Methodist Cemetery (at the corner of Patterson Road and Highway 6) is one of several cemeteries near Bear Creek Park, Houston, TX.

This is a 20th century cemetery, still in use.

However, this isn’t the first resting place of this cemetery. The move occurred after repeated regional flooding, including the Galveston flood of 1900 which destroyed the town of Addicks.

We investigated this cemetery on Saturday evening, May 13th, 2006 with the Texas Paranormal Meetup group.

I can’t say that the cemetery isn’t haunted. However, preliminary research suggests that it’s not especially active.

This should have been a good evening for an investigation. It was the night of the full moon. The weather was relatively cool and dry. Next to the cemetery, a Highland Games festival brought extra energy to the day.

So, all the elements were there, for a productive investigation.

About a dozen of us investigated. We checked for EMF, EVP, and photographic anomalies. We found nothing of note.

In the Bear Creek Park area, that’s almost an anomaly in itself.

Nearby, several other sites — especially Patterson Road — are better locations for investigations.

EMF

Three different EMF meters and a compass showed no significant electromagnetic energy at this site.

However, the cemetery is fenced and padlocked so that we could only check EMF levels at the fence.

EVP

So far, EVP appears to be inconclusive.

Vehicles speeding past the cemetery on Highway 6 add noise that’s difficult to filter out. Because the cars and trucks are sporadic and produce various sounds — including radio and recorded voices and music — any EVP from this cemetery would have to be distinctive.

Photos

We have many photos with orbs, but – until I have time to analyze them more thoroughly – most of them must be discounted.

See our other page in this series for a typical orb photo from our investigation at Addicks Bear Creek Methodist Cemetery, Houston, TX.

Houston, TX – Addicks Bear Creek Cemetery orbs

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.

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

Orbs at Addicks Bear Creek Cemetery, Houston, TX

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. We just didn’t find much evidence to support that.

However, despite its convenience, this doesn’t seem to be a ‘hot spot’ for ghost research. Nearby Patterson Road is vastly better.

Haunted Bear Creek Bridge – May 2006 Report

Bear Creek Bridge on Houston’s Patterson Road is haunted.

It may not be as haunted as nearby Langham Creek Bridge, but it’s worth investigating anyway.

At Bear Creek Bridge, we’ve heard the tapping on the outside of the car.

During several other visits, we’ve seen the “sparkle” effect when we’ve taken flash photos. Psychic members of our team sensed energy there, as well. (See our May 2005 reports.)

With the Texas Paranormal Society, we visited Bear Creek Bridge in May 2006. We did not hear the tapping sound this time.

However, the visual anomalies were stronger.

In fact, we felt that the park was far more haunted than during our previous investigations at Patterson Road. More recent reports suggest that’s been a trend over many years.

In May 2006, most of our photos showed minor orbs on the south side of the bridge, and a few other anomalies. All of them had to be discounted due to fleeting mists that night, as well as flying insects.

The sparkles were extraordinary 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.

Moth in photo at Bear Creek Park For example, that’s definitely a bug – probably a moth – in the Bear Creek photo at right.

Because there were bugs when we were researching, we discount any orbs that look questionable.

(If the orb isn’t a perfect circle, or if it seems to have a solid mass near the center, it’s probably not paranormal.)

In this case, it’s clearly an insect.

Tip: If you’re ghost hunting after dark and any street lights are near, study them for a few minutes. Many insects are drawn to light, and you’ll be able to see them in front of any lamp or street light.

Not sure? Turn on a flashlight and prop it, pointing slightly up, on the ground. Then, walk away, at least a dozen feet. After that, wait and see if the light attracts bugs.

If you see bugs there, they’re probably in your photos, as well.

Orbs at a ‘hanging tree’?

Tree with orbs, at Bear Creek Park, Houston, TX In this next photo, minor orbs seemed to linger around one tree. It’s the wrong shape to be a ‘hanging tree’, but it had 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, related psychic evidence was compelling.

Our EVP indicated activity, as well.

Most legends related to ghosts in that area describe soldiers who deserted their comrades and were caught… and then hung as traitors.

The area deliberately flooded after the Galveston Flood has its own ghostly history, and those spirits may lurk in the wooded areas of Bear Creek Park.

Nearby, “blue light cemetery” is famous, as well, but not as accessible.

I recommend investigating around Bear Creek Bridge, especially near this tree. It’s 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.