Ghosthunting Texas. April Slaughter
room names—Comanche Moon, Terms of Endearment, Evening Star, and Cadillac Jack among others. Adorning the main floor fireplace mantel are the author’s Golden Globe and Oscar award statues. It is said that Mr. McMurtry himself visits the inn from time to time.
Judy McCollough, an associate of mine from Texoma Researchers Investigating Paranormal Phenomena (T.R.I.P.P.), suggested that Allen and I visit the Lonesome Dove Inn after her team had the opportunity to investigate the building on two separate evenings.
“We conducted two investigations at the Lonesome Dove Inn and even spent a night as guests to work in a little photography and EVP work,” Judy said. “I had a very strange experience where I felt as though there was a young male spirit trying to communicate with me telepathically. I had never had anything happen to me like that before. I reached my hand out a couple of times where I thought this boy might have been and I actually felt an odd tingling sensation.”
Judy also described the images and information she was being given by the boy.
“He said he had died from egg allergies. He had gotten ill, and the first visit he made to the doctor didn’t help much as he returned a second time and apparently did not make it. He told me he was eight years old. It was a very bizarre incident. Nothing was captured on recorders we had set up in the room, but just as I stood up from sitting on the sofa, a team member of mine snapped a photograph and a fluid-looking orb was seen in the chair where I thought his spirit might be.”
Judy went on to describe several other instances where her team members experienced strange things at the inn.
“One of our team’s sensitives, Suni Hoffman, explained that she believed she too was communicating with the spirit of a little boy and that it might have been the same one I had encountered earlier. She felt as though he had been repeatedly kicking her leg in the Desert Rose room.”
Paranormal experiences are not limited to ghosthunters at the Lonesome Dove Inn. One guest reported that he had woken late one night to see a woman dressed as a nurse standing beside the bed holding a pillow. When he asked her what she wanted, she offered to provide him with another pillow. When he declined, she left the room.
A family spending the night in the Cadillac Jack room set up a video camera and talked about how they had made their trip to the inn because they had heard it was haunted. When they returned home from their stay at the inn, they reviewed the footage and could clearly hear an unfamiliar and eerie voice order them to “get out.”
The beauty and welcoming atmosphere of the Lonesome Dove Inn is enough to attract anyone, but a ghostly encounter is always a draw for Allen and me as we find new places to visit. When we arrived late one Saturday evening, Mary Webb graciously welcomed us in and offered us a tour of the home. As we made our way upstairs, I commented to Mary about the exceptionally wide the staircase.
“During its years as a hospital, they had to carry people in on stretchers with someone holding either side. It had to be wide enough to accommodate that,” Mary explained.
After having a quick look at all of the guest rooms on the upstairs floor, I asked Mary if she had ever experienced strange things in the inn.
“One day in particular, I was downstairs in my room at the end of the hall,” she said. “I was the only one in the house that day when I heard what I knew were footsteps right above me on the upstairs floor. My son was next door at the time, and I quickly called him over to come and look around the house to see if anyone else was in here. We looked and looked all through the house and couldn’t find anyone. That was a little eerie to me. I am familiar with the creaks and noises this house makes, but those footsteps weren’t something I could mistake for an old house just making noises.”
“I wonder who the spirits are that haunt your inn, Mary,” I replied.
“I don’t know who they are, but I know that they’re nice!” she replied. “They don’t bother me at all. As long as they behave themselves, they are more than welcome to stay.”
When it was about time for Allen and me to leave, she offered to show us the photographs that the members of T.R.I.P.P. had taken during their investigations. Several photos plainly show a large, illuminated orb that was reportedly captured during coinciding times of activity. Judy McCollough and her team believe that these orbs were a sign that a spirit may have been near them and interacting with them.
While a lot of paranormal researchers disagree on the subject of orbs, it is interesting to note that, in this case, the activity the investigators were experiencing seemed to coincide with when these anomalies showed up in photographs and in correlating locations. Anyone interested in seeing the photos is welcome to do so when they visit the inn.
The house has seen its share of joys and sorrows. When it served as a hospital, it was visited by many people in the midst of trauma or tragedy; but plenty of Archer City residents were also born there. The Lonesome Dove Inn continues to gain popularity among those with a curiosity for the paranormal, and it is sure to generate more experiences in the years to come.
“We have a fun little thing we offer here,” said Mary. “Anyone who was born in the house is welcome to come and stay with us on the night of their birthday, free of charge. We’ve had people take us up on it, too, which we have thoroughly enjoyed! They find it a treat to come and stay in their birthing room.”
Allen and I had such a pleasant visit with Mary, exploring the old hospital-turned-inn. So many people have come and gone through the years, it was obvious to me that a little bit of each of them is still very much a part of the inn today. With such a warm and inviting atmosphere, it is no wonder that spirits may call this beautiful place home.
CHAPTER 5
Hill House Manor
GAINESVILLE
Hill House Manor exterior (Linda Hill)
I AM ALWAYS A BIT SKEPTICAL when I hear about new places that have gained a reputation for being haunted. The more stories I hear about any particular place, the more I want to see for myself that its claims of paranormal activity are legitimate.
Victoria DuPree, one of our field investigators with The Paranormal Source, Inc., began telling Allen and me about Hill House Manor over a year ago. She and her boyfriend Chris had made the trip to Gainesville from the Dallas area several times to stay overnight in the house, and they truly believed something paranormal was occurring on a regular basis within its walls.
Del and Linda Hill purchased the house in May 2004 as a triplex rental property along with several other homes in Gainesville, but they have no record of who originally built the house. In her research to learn more about the house’s history, Linda located a bird’s eye view map with a copyright date of 1883,
leading her to believe the house was originally built as a small private residence. Several additions have been made throughout the years, and today it’s what the locals refer to as the “spooky old house on the corner.”
My team and I decided that we would like to book an evening at Hill House Manor to see if any of the supposed ghostly residents would show themselves or communicate with us. We recently had that opportunity, and upon Victoria’s recommendation we reserved an entire night at the house. Thirteen of us met in front of Hill House Manor just before sundown, and Linda Hill greeted us all on the front porch. The team waited outside as Linda graciously escorted me on a tour through the house, explaining to me what she believed we might encounter during our time there.
“We have reason to believe that prior to the late 1960s, this home might have been a speakeasy and quite possibly a cathouse,” said Linda. “It has become very well known for its EVPs. Our non-corporeal residents are more likely to be heard and not as often seen, but there are times when an apparition appears to visitors in person or on film.”
“Has anyone ever died in the house?” I asked.
“I know of one,” she replied. “A woman who