History

Get in on the Best Ghost Hunting in Texas

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Texas is famous for many reasons, but you may not know about these spooky, infamous locations to find an eerie ghost in the Lone Star State. If you’re brave enough to read on, you might just have the guts to go ghost hunting!

1.  Ghost Road of Saratoga

Ghost Road of Saratoga entrance sign

Photo: Facebook/Haunted History

One of the most legendary and inexplicable paranormal sites is in Hardin County, between Beaumont and Livingston. The infamous Bragg Light occurs here, but only in the darkest of nights. The mysterious lights appear and disappear randomly where the trees are the thickest and most dense on Bragg Road. Legend has it that a decapitated railroad worker haunts the area with his lantern searching for his head.

Ken and Yvonne Rudine conducted some of the clearest and most spooky research on the topic. They shared their information in their book, as well as on Texasescapes.com. “Peering down this road is like looking in an infinite rifle barrel, that is green trees on top – pink dirt on bottom. This former railroad bed is now a dirt road, 8 miles long by 2 cars wide.”

Possible explanations by skeptics include swamp gas, or another natural occurrence, and headlights from nearby roads. Whatever the explanation, it is a spooky place to be after dark!

2. The Alamo

The Alamo 1909

Photo: Facebook/The Alamo

The violent and storied history of The Alamo in San Antonio have provided decades of tales of ghost sightings, and unexplained noises, like screams and explosions. James L. Choron tells us a chilling reminder on Texasescapes.com, “It is important to remember that The Alamo is essentially a cemetery, a place where 182 Texans defenders died, and 1,600 Mexican soldiers were either killed or wounded on March 6th, 1836. Their remains were dismembered, burned, dumped in the San Antonio River, or simply left to the elements. It was one of the bloodiest battles in American and Texas history.” It is no wonder that visitors and workers at The Alamo have reported hearing something even creepier than ghosts and sounds of a war hundreds of years old, “…faint trumpet notes of ‘El Deguello,’ the ancient Spanish call of ‘no quarter’ that Santa Anna ordered played during the final assault on the fort.” The Alamo is more than a tourist attraction, more than a ghost story, it is one of Texas’ most infamous and legendary sites.

3. Driskill Hotel

Driskill Hotel 1886

Photo: Facebook/The Driskill

“Keeping Austin Weird” takes on a whole new meaning at the Driskill Hotel. From its inception, this hotel was bound for ghastly events and tales through the years. The original owner was a Civil War-era colonel named Jesse Driskill. He was a notorious gambler. In fact, he lost the hotel in a poker game and just four years later, died a dishonorable man. He is said to haunt the downtown hotel, especially the ladies’ rooms. Visitors and employees can tell of first-hand encounters, most of which start with smelling his trademark cigar smoke. Celebrity guests of the hotel have even had paranormal encounters with the resident ghost. Dr. Karen Stollznow tells us of one such celebrity in her article, “Concrete Blonde lead singer Johnette Napolitano also stayed at the hotel. Her song, ‘Ghost of a Texas Ladies’ Man’ is supposedly about her encounter with the ghostly Colonel Driskill.”

In addition to the despicable colonel, there have been many deaths over the years in the hotel, including the legend of the suicide brides and the effects from the seemingly innocent painting of a senator’s daughter that is anything but charming.

Ghost tours occur daily at the hotel, and for the very brave, an overnight stay might just bring you face-to-face with one of the many apparitions.