For many, their favorite Texas pastime is to get into the great outdoors and go for a hike. The fresh air, sunshine, breathtaking scenery, and challenge make hiking quite exhilarating. What else do you need? How about a thrill or a threat of terror? Here are nine ghostly haunted places to hike throughout the great state.
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9 Ghostly Texas Hikes That Will Give You Goosebumps
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1. Bragg Road in Saratoga
Photo: Flickr/Nicolas Henderson
Head deep into Southeast Texas to the epicenter of the famous “Saratoga Lights.” Hikers and drivers report a white light hovering over their heads seeming to come from nowhere. Many suspect it to be swamp gas, but this has yet to be proven scientifically. The legend behind the lights purports there was a man on a horse that lost his head to an oncoming train. The light visitors see is allegedly his lantern which he uses to search for his lost head.
2. Witch Mountain in Cedar Hill
Photo: Flickr/Rachel Knickmeyer
The place gets its name from the dilapidated cabin at the top of the mountain. From the bottom, the structure looks a perfect residence for any witch of horror movie lore. Many legends abound of how Witch Mountain became “haunted”. One thing does remain certain, it is a strange sight to behold if you are brave enough to make the hike.
3. Camp Lulu in Brownsville
Hikers beware! You’ll have to go down to the Rio Grande Valley to face up to this fearsome trail. Camp Lulu once was a summer camp for girls, but then one of the counselors had a meltdown and murdered all of the girls. Supposedly the angry spirits of the murdered youths still inhabit the grounds and will take possession of objects leftover after the tragedy.
4. White Rock Lake in Dallas
Photo: Flickr/Mark Vincent
Although aesthetically pleasing, the lake has a haunted history. The story goes that one night a young lady and her friend were out driving, when the driver decided to take a shortcut near the lake. Well, the car hit water and sunk in. While the passenger survived, the driver did not. Many people claim that if you go out to the lake at night often you will see a lady dressed in white asking for a ride. Supposedly this is the ghost of the young lady who drowned and she is looking for victims to take down into a watery grave.
5. Soldier’s Waterhole in Rochelle
In the heart of The Hill Country another gruesome legend lies. Soldier’s Waterhole takes us back to the days when Native Americans still laid claim to much of the territory in Texas and the West. Soldiers leading an exploratory patrol set up camp near the waterhole and one night while they were sleeping, a band of Native raiders murdered them all. Hikers report that the screams of the soldiers being killed in their sleep can still be heard.
6. Mount Hope Cemetery in Anson
Photo: Flickr/Nicolas Henderson
While hiking in cemeteries isn’t always recommended, the town of Anson reports another instance of “ghost lights” similar to that of Saratoga. The story goes that a woman was searching in the dead of winter for her missing son. In the midst of her search, she froze to death. Hikers report an unexplained floating orb that hangs around the cemetery each night, which is supposedly the woman continuing to search for her missing son.
7. The Hills in Falfurrias
Back in the Rio Grande Valley another haunted hike lurks. The reports surrounding this site indicate that in the days of the early settlers of the region, a woman was accused of witchcraft. Although she proclaimed her innocence, the executioners went forward with a public hanging. When the executioners returned to the hill were the witch was killed, they felt a tightening around their necks as if they too, were being hanged. Hikers and visitors to the area report feeling a similar sensation of tightening and breathlessness, as if they are being choked.
8. River Legacy Park in Euless
This park, just outside of Fort Worth in Euless, was the site of a Civil War battle. After the battle, Union prisoners of war were taken to an area known as Hell’s Gate and hanged as traitors. Many visitors report feeling a strange somber energy permeating the grounds.
9. Shafter Lake in Andrews
Photo: Flickr/Texas Prairiedog
Once upon a time in Andrews, smallpox ravaged the settlement, decimating the population. Many, in search for a cure, sought the advice of a local hermit who was allegedly a witch. Well, the witch/hermit gave the survivors an “antidote” that was actually a powerful hallucinogen causing the residents to attack each other and pluck out the eyes of their children. Hikers report that when you walk around the lake at night you can see the spirits of the eyeless children.
