John Rogers
Halloween is right around the corner. So that naturally means a few thrill-seeking teenagers and adventurous adults will be looking for some supernatural suspense to mark the occasion. Maybe you’re looking for an ancient house where the spirits of the former tenants still silently reside. Maybe you’re looking for a long-abandoned asylum to see if the ghosts of the imprisoned are still chained there to this day. Or perhaps you’re looking for an eerie bridge or highway where people are rumored to have gone missing. Whatever you’re looking for, there are several haunted places in Texas where you can fulfill all those frightful fantasies.
Driskill Hotel
Driskill Hotel
The oldest Romanesque hotel in Austin, built in 1886, the Driskill Hotel was conceived and constructed by Col. Jesse Driskill after the Civil War ended in 1865. After Jesse died of a stroke in 1890, several of the hotel staff members claimed to still feel his presence. But Jesse’s spirit is allegedly not the only one to inhabit the premises. According to HauntedRooms.com, two brides allegedly committed suicide in Room 525 some 20 years apart. Since, guests have reported strange incidents from inside of the room, including sporadic bathroom leaks and apparitions of the brides in their wedding dresses. Whether you believe in these frightening fables or not, the Driskill’s 189 guest rooms are available for approximately $159 per night, if you’re brave enough to stay there.
Nicolas Henderson
The Devil’s Backbone
This haunted stretch of road from FM 12 to Highway 281 near San Marcos has an ugly history of violence between white settlers and Native Americans during the country’s colonial days. Several people claim to have seen ghosts lingering, and drivers have reported seeing apparitions on the hood of their cars. Meanwhile, the Devil’s Backbone Tavern, which is claimed to have been built on an ancient Indian campground, resides alongside this desolate highway and is allegedly just as haunted. Many of their regulars claim to have seen ghosts alongside Backbone Ridge on their way to the tavern, with one tale telling of a soul holding her baby crying out for her husband. Regardless of whether you believe it or not, you’ll have the chance to put a different kind of spirit inside you at the tavern’s bar area. Visit it before the other kind of spirit does.
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Menger Hotel
Not only is the Menger Hotel in San Antonio considered to be the most haunted hotel in Texas by many but also it is considered to be one of the most haunted places in the United States, period. The hotel, built in 1859, claims to host 32 different spirits within its historic walls, including entrepreneur Richard King who died of stomach cancer and Sallie White, a maid who was shot and murdered by her husband inside the hotel. Paranormal sightings include spirits roaming the hallways, cold spots manifesting out of nowhere and television sets turning on and off. You can rent a room from the Menger for upwards of $100 for a chance to experience these sightings for yourself.
U.S.S. Lexington
U.S.S. Lexington
There’s a good reason why the U.S.S. Lexington is labeled as “The Blue Ghost.” Back in World War II, Japanese radio broadcasters claimed several times that they shot down the Lexington, only to see it always return to battle. Since its decommission in 1991 and reopening in Corpus Christi as a museum, several visitors claimed to have heard screams and cries out on the deck. One woman claimed to have seen a ghost with no eyes and scars on its face. The ship’s eerie reputation is so prominent that it was featured on both “Ghost Hunters” and “Ghost Lab.” If all that wasn’t scary enough, the Lexington will open a limited edition escape room specifically for Halloween, where participants will be required to defuse a nuclear bomb before being thrown into their own mysterious adventures.