Halloween 2009: Real Haunted Houses in Texas

Do you believe in ghosts? In Texas, haunted houses abound. They are not your typical hauntings because every owner has a unique story to tell. This Halloween 2009, you can try something different by checking out the ghostly mansions and hotels in the Lone Star State. Who knows what might be in store for you?

Tight-lipped Realtors

Before buying a house in Texas, it's sometimes best to ask the realtor about the house's history. You never know if there are spirits that actually reside in it. Case in point: The Keever House in Ennis. To Donna Kucholtz, who bought the house in 1980 and restored it, it was a little strange that the realtor did not even come inside the house to tour her around. Nor did occur to her to ask him why. Only until she learned of the house's haunted history did she realize she was actually going to live in so-called Amityville.

How Ghosts Behave in Haunted Houses

Moving objects: Most spirits, according to haunted house owners, are more annoying than frightening. It seems the only reason they knock things off (furniture, lamps, rocking chairs, curtains) is they wanted to be noticed. Some house ghosts do more harm if they are strongly attached to the house. Some are more likely to be protective of the haunted house and benevolent to the new owner if the latter shows he/she is willing to preserve the house's original look.

Many Texas haunted house owners confessed that only when they tried to alter something in the house did they felt the presence of a certain spirit. This is when it begins to bother the owners. Here's a quick tip: When you are doing something important and you tell the ghost to quit pestering, you will probably be heeded. Jerry Gladys did this when he was hearing noises at the basement of the old Schoonover Mansion in Fort Worth. This mansion has now been converted to commercial offices. Since then it has been reportedly haunted by the generations of women that have lived and died there.

Noises: The noises that ghosts make in haunted houses can be anything from the sound of footsteps coming up and down the stairs to doors slamming shut or windows suddenly blasting open. It may also be the sound of a piano playing by itself, or a music that will constantly be heard. An example is the Gold and Silver Waltz at the Excelsior Hotel in Jefferson. This was reported at the Dallas Morning News in October 29, 1995 by Kent Biffle. Story goes that the ABC news anchor Dave Adams from Garland, Texas stayed with his wife Carol at this haunted hotel and had the most strange encounter with a woman in black playing this song at the grand piano located in the hotel's main lobby. It turned out he was not the only person to have strange experiences in the "haunted house". Nor was the apparition of woman in black the only ghost that spooked the guests there!

Apparitions: Sometimes ghouls would manifest themselves, according to Texas haunted house owners, by the presence (or absence) of light. Many who have experienced report that they will leave the lights turned on when they leave the house only to come back with the lights off, or vice versa. Others would see orbs of light floating in the middle of a dark room. Many spooked parents confess that their children would outright declare that they saw a different otherworldly apparition. And the little children only tell what they saw -- in the candid way that children are.

Cold spots: There are various reports that in most Texas haunted houses, there will be areas of the house where it will suddenly feel cold, hence they are called "cold spots". Other owners report to setting the thermostat to a certain temperature at night only to wake up in the morning in blazing heat or frigid cold because "something" has tampered with it!

Scent: If they are female ghosts (such as Mrs. Keever of the Keever House in Dallas area or Miss Peachy of the Moore House), they will likely emit a certain strong floral scent, such as rose. Owners recognize it couldn't be theirs. Sometimes it may also be an offensive smell.

Why Do Ghosts Live in Haunted Houses?

I'm sure this question has mystified even the deepest skeptics among us. Many rational types simply do not have the open mind to believe "tall tales" of owners who live in Texas haunted houses. And yet, if there really are ghosts in those houses, why do they come to haunt the human dwellers?

There are ghosts that haunt because they seek justice for the horrendous way they have been killed. One example is the ghost of Eugenio Navarro in San Antonio. A psychic and historian (Sam Nesmith) and another woman has seen Eugenio in the Navarro house. He was in a the painful brink of death after being shot in the leg by an enemy. Some spirits try to send a message because they are simply not ready to rest in peace. This was the case of the Taylor Mansion in Karnack, Texas, where Lady Bird (former president Lyndon B. Johnson's wife) was born. The generation of Lady Bird's family who have lived there told the story of a young woman who had died by the fireplace when she was struck by lightning through the chimney. Her spirit has been without peace ever since.

The common denominator among Texas haunted house stories is that the ghosts are restless. They may be so attached to their dwelling before they died. An example is the Moore House in Marshall. When Richard J. Moore bought this Victorian house in Marshall, Texas, he was a fan of Oriental decor and even brought an antique Buddha shrine with him. The ghost of the house is Miss Peachy, who apparently did not like Oriental design and votive candles for her Texas house. Mr. Moore related that there was one time a votive candle lit beside the Buddha shrine flew in the living room and was broken with the other half still burning. The other incident was when an eight-pound Buddha hand made of brass was thrown by an unknown force and hit him on the head.

Apparently, ghosts do not like change in their dwelling. If some new owner buys the house or a renovation is planned, spirits manifest themselves in various ways.

Figment of imagination?

Do not kid yourself if someone tells you that the house they own in Texas might be haunted. True, there is an abundance of real haunted hotspots with rich histories and "ghoulish tales" in the Lone Star state. Such examples are the Jefferson Hotel and the Alamo. People who come to visit are always made aware of the presence of otherwordly beings. This is because they have either been battlegrounds or the site of murder from centuries ago.

Also, just because you live or are visiting a so-called haunted house in Texas does not mean it is really haunted. Case in point: A haunted house owner in Jasper, Texas kept hearing howling noises from outside as soon as her family moved in the house. This, of course, freaked her out, because the source of the noise was unknown and unexplainable. The noise lingered for a whole month until the former owner confessed it was her "yeller dog", who kept coming back to the so-called haunted house.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not is entirely up to you. Haunted houses exists everywhere but when you get a chance to walk in to these spooky dwellings in Texas, do not pass it up! Chances are, a visit may be worth more than an expensive Halloween night spent in a theme park. Why? Because if you really do get to experience the ghosts in these Texas haunted houses, rest assured the experience is free...and real!

Special thanks to author Docia Williams