Ghosthunting San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country. Michael Varhola
riders in the sky
Ghost riders in the sky
I have drawn upon these experiences, as well as my training and background as a historian, journalist, and paranormal investigator, in compiling what I hope is a colorful and useful guide to publicly accessible haunted places. My intent is for it to appeal both to residents of and visitors to one of the largest and fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States, especially those interested in the paranormal, travel, or Texas history.
Ghosthunting San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country covers nearly three dozen haunted locations in or around the cities of San Antonio and Austin and throughout Texas Hill Country, collectively one of the most haunted places in the country. Each chapter includes a combination of history, haunted lore and phenomena, and practical visitation information. This hands-on guide is organized into four geographical sections—San Antonio, Greater San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country—and includes all the information readers will need to visit the places described in it. This book also includes an appendix that briefly describes nearly 100 other haunted places in the region that people can go to, making it even more comprehensive.
All of the places described in this book are believed to be haunted. That said, determining exactly what ghosts are is beyond the scope of this book, and throughout it I use terms like ghost, phantasm, specter, and spirit fairly synonymously and not as technical terms indicating manifestations with specific and differing characteristics. This is, after all, primarily a travel guide, not a tome devoted to the classification of earthbound spirits, which would be of little practical use to most readers. All that said, the term ghosts runs the gamut from nonsentient residues of spiritual energy that can be detected by various means, to intelligent manifestations that can make their presence felt in various ways. My sense is that the vast majority of hauntings are of the lower order and that it is quite possible to have subtly haunted sites that are never identified as such due to a lack of investigation.
My goal with this book is not to prove that any of the places included in it are indeed haunted, just to identify sites that have ghostly phenomena associated with them, to visit them, and to compile their histories and my experiences into a book that other people with an interest in the subject can use as a guide for their own visits. That said, I am willing to go on the record and say that I believe any of the sites covered in this book could be haunted—and I am firmly convinced that several of them definitely are. I will leave to readers to determine for themselves which ones those might be.
Ghosthunting as a pursuit has certainly come into its own over the past several years, and it and associated phenomena have become the subjects of numerous television shows and movies. In my experience, however, actual paranormal investigation bears very little resemblance to what is depicted even in “reality” shows related to the subject. The real thing is generally much less manic, a lot quieter, and—despite the absence of noise, running back and forth, and jerky camera angles—much more intense. It also does not result in evidence of paranormal activity on every expedition.
Many paranormal investigators today use a wide variety of electronic equipment, and there can certainly be some value associated with this approach. I do not believe, however, anyone should hesitate to engage in ghosthunting based on a lack of equipment, and am myself more of a “naturalistic” ghosthunter. For various reasons, I use a minimum of equipment in my own investigations and not much more than I have ever used as a writer and reporter: a digital recorder, a digital camera, a pen and notepad, and a flashlight. I also have found a full tank of gas, some food and water, and a fully charged cell phone to be useful when heading into relatively isolated areas.
I also think a ghosthunter’s innate senses are just as critical to an investigation as any sort of equipment. While I make no claims here to be psychic or a medium, I do believe that most people have access to certain paranormal senses that they can draw upon if they choose to and are aware of them. People who can use such abilities reliably have generally spent many years honing them and learning to differentiate exterior phenomena from internal thoughts. Those without such experience should probably err on the side of caution and, in the absence of corroborating evidence, assume that whatever they are sensing could very well be a product of their imaginations.
Beyond experience, a good attitude is crucial. While the following chapters include a lot of information that can be useful when visiting the specific sites, there is one bit of general advice I would like offer to prospective ghosthunters: Show respect for both the rights of any relevant living people (for example, property owners) and for the dignity of any spirits that might be lingering at a particular site. I believe that paranormal investigation is an endeavor fraught with its own potential hazards, and my sense is that anyone who acts inappropriately for too long is ultimately going to suffer some unhappy consequences—whether legal, spiritual, or otherwise.
The point of this book is not for me to convince anybody of anything. Rather, it is to provide a tool that historic travelers and prospective ghosthunters can use to help them find haunted sites, conduct their own investigations, and draw their own conclusions. I sincerely hope you enjoy this book and find it to be a useful resource on your own haunted road trip through San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country!
—Michael O. Varhola
Canyon Lake, Texas
San Antonio
San Antonio
San Antonio Missions
Alamodome
Alamo Quarry Market
Comanche Lookout Park
Crockett Hotel
Emily Morgan Hotel
Menger Hotel
Old Bexar County Jail
San Fernando Cathedral
Sheraton Gunter Hotel San Antonio
Spanish Governor’s Palace
University of the Incarnate Word
Victoria’s Black Swan Inn
CHAPTER 1
San Antonio Missions
SOUTH AND DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO
WHILE THE ALAMO is certainly the most famous site in Texas, it is amazing how many people do not know that it was originally just one of several Spanish missions established along the banks of the San Antonio River. Originally called Mission San Antonio de Valero, it was the first and northernmost of six religious settlements defended by the garrison from the presidio of San Antonio de Bexar. Over the next 13 years, four other significant church communities were established: Mission San José, Mission Espada, Mission San Juan, Mission Najera, and Mission Concepción.
All of these missions were part of a broader colonial network of frontier outposts established by Roman Catholic religious orders that stretched across the Southwest from the 1600s through the 1800s. Their main purpose was to facilitate conversion of local Indian populations and to reinforce New Spain against incursions by France. A number of the San Antonio missions had originally been established in other places a decade or two earlier, but after they failed—in part because of ambivalence or even hostility from the native peoples to whom they were trying to minister—they were relocated.
“A Spanish mission was much more than a religious institution,” the Alamo says in its official history. “Its purpose was to take an indigenous population and convert them not only to Catholicism but also to the Spanish way of life. In establishing the missions in Texas, the Spanish hoped to create a self-sufficient population that would continue to exist and grow as loyal Spanish subjects, thereby staving off any involvement of foreign powers like France. Indian converts were taught