Ghosts Of The Coast:

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, most people enjoy a good ghost story. Here are a few for your enjoyment. We have the good (or bad) fortune to live in one of America's most haunted areas. There are numerous ghost tours in the Houston and Galveston area, as entrepreneurs vie to earn a buck off the disembodied. Some of them are expert, some are just entrepreneurs. The original paranormal investigator of area hauntings is the "Ghost Man", a local musician who has conducted a casual tour of haunted locations in Galveston for many years. CNN/Today lists him as one of the top 5 "Ghost Tours" in the US, but he just laughs about it and says he does it as a hobby. Television appearances of the Ghost Man and his descriptions of hauntings indicate more interest in the history and identity of ghosts, than in the manifestations themselves. For our skeptical purposes, that worked out just right. The Ghost Man was not our primary source, but he was a lot of help in gathering background for this article, especially the Island locations. There are many more hauntings than we can list. These are the ones we have the most information about:
GALVESTON ISLAND:
The "Face" On The Wall: The scariest haunted location on the Island is simply referred to as "The Face". You may have seen the story about it on Unsolved Mysteries. There is a building located on UTMB property that was constructed in 1972. Shortly after the building was completed, a man's face appeared on the masonry in the center of the west side of the building. UTMB asked the original contractor to sandblast the masonry to remove the evil-looking visage, and it was done. Pete Klein was paid $100 to remove the face, and lost several times that amount after having to rent equipment and purchase a new compressor. An employee quit halfway through the job, saying he couldn't look at the face. Klein finished the job himself. The face was gone. However, within a couple of weeks, the face reappeared on another panel of masonry on the same wall. Some say it was the same face, some say it wasn't. All say the faces were similar though. Reports say that several efforts at removing the image again only served to make it even clearer. The only attempt to remove the second face that we can document happened in 1993, when maintenance workers sandblasted the face on two successive days with no results. Their efforts were prompted by the death of a nursing student. She and a friend had parked their car on Harborside Drive to get a look at the face, which had become something of an attraction. While they sat there, the car slipped out of gear and rolled backwards into the bay. One of the girls died. The face is still there. It is inside a fenced area with "No Trespassing" signs, and UTMB will not allow anyone near it. Some have said the face is that of pirate Jean LaFitte, because it faces his old homesite. Others believe a different story. Before the building was constructed, the lot was inhabited by a homeless man who had once been a sea captain. When construction began, he was evicted from the site by UTMB security. The contractors then bulldozed his shack and all his possessions into the bay, to level the site. Having lost the memorabilia of his lifetime, including a family and children overseas, he soon drank himself to death, swearing vengeance and vitriol. Some believe it is his face on the wall. A psychic hired by a television station in the 1990's visited the site and began babbling hysterically on live television about bodies being buried nearby. Paranormal investigators say the haunting at this location is evil and dangerous, and advise people not to visit.
Ashton Villa - has been called the most haunted place in America, because there has been so much well-documented supernatural phenomena there. Most of the haunting has to do with Bettie Brown, eccentric daughter of a wealthy businessman. Poltergeist-like activity has been reported, including locks opening and closing and switches turning on and off. Bettie was an unusual woman for her time, a liberated, artistic, and attractive woman who smoked cigars and drove wildly through Galveston in her automobile.
Market Building - The old Trolley Station Market Building on the Strand has a long history of apparitions, dating back at least to 1900. The ghost of a young girl plays with a ball and sings songs in the back stairwell. Civil War era soldiers have been seen in the windows. A loft inside the gift shop on the first floor has cold spots that defy all logic. The building was an infirmary during the Civil War, and housed the Island's armory. Owners Dale and Diann Olson are nearly finished with renovations and decorating the upstairs, which is called The Inn On The Strand. Dale does not believe in ghosts, but he and Diann graciously allowed us upstairs to investigate. The decorating is beautiful, and when the Inn opens, it is sure to be popular with tourists. The Ghost Man was thrilled to finally have the chance to investigate the top two floors, something no other paranormal investigator has ever had the opportunity to do. He referred to the location as "the Holy Grail" of haunted locations in Galveston. In what used to be called the smoking room, Diann posed in an antique rocker that has reportedly been heard creaking from below when the upstairs is unoccupied. We did authenticate the "cold spot" in the downstairs loft, which is near a ceiling and should have been warmer than the rest of the room. It was noticeably colder, with no vents, air conditioning equipment, or fans present.
Cop Killed In 1920 Shootout: Further down the Strand at 24th Street is a restaurant called the Mediterranean Chef. In 1920 a bank was located there. On October 2nd of that year, an armed man followed an armored car guard to the building. As the guard carried money inside, the man pulled out his gun and attempted to rob him. The guard ran into the bank, and the thief chased him. A Galveston policeman was inside the bank. A brief gunfight ensued. Policeman Daniel Brister was killed while exchanging gunfire with the armed robber. His ghost still haunts the building. Owner Mazen Zeidan says the ghost is mischievous, turning off freezers and playing with the lights. A waitress says she came face to face with the ghost recently.
Former Cathouse: Near Galveston's Railroad Museum is a groovy little restaurant called Boudain Balls. Back in the 1940's, a bordello was located there. One of the prostitutes was murdered by her boyfriend/pimp, and she still haunts the place. She has been heard laughing and singing and is a very active ghost.
Haunted Hotels: Shortly after the Galvez Hotel opened in 1910, a honeymooning couple engaged room #500. The man was killed by a car while carrying luggage up to the room. The bride killed herself with a derringer after hearing that her new husband had died. Since then, room #500 has been the scene of many reports of a woman crying.
The Flagship Hotel has an inexplicable apparition on the 7th floor that has been reported several times. A man and a little boy, dressed in 1920's or 30's attire, appear soaking wet in the hallway and in rooms on that floor. This was reported as recently as last year.
The Tremont House Hotel also has a haunting, dating back to 1871, when a hotel called the Belmont occupied the site. In that year, a salesman staying at the Belmont won a large sum of money gambling nearby. When he returned to his room, he was robbed and killed. Although he was killed on the fourth floor, it is the bar area downstairs that has been most active, with glasses jumping off shelves and similar paranormal events.

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THE MAINLAND:
Haunted High Schools: Clear Creek High School in League City is a location where several people have reported spectral forms sitting in a small gazebo outside the band hall and auditorium. The gazebo commemorates students that have died while attending the school. The auditorium at LaMarque High is also said to be haunted, particularly the fifth and sixth rows, where a janitor working on a ladder fell to his death in 1979.
Crybaby bridge: In 1956, a young man who attended Texas City High School decided to join the Air Force to avoid accepting responsibility for a local girl's pregnancy. After boot camp, he returned for a few days leave before reporting to San Antonio. The girl, who had given birth to a boy only a month before, heard that the young airman was partying with friends at an old iron bridge that still exists on FM 519 in Hitchcock. She borrowed a car and took the infant to the site. She confronted the man and tried to get him to hold the baby, but he refused to take the child. The hysterical woman threw the infant off the bridge, where it died. Witnesses have reported hearing the sound of a baby crying at the location.
Cabaret In San Leon: The abandoned building that once was the Sugar Shack Cabaret seems to be haunted by the ghost of a stripper who overdosed on a mixture of amphetamine and alcohol in 1997. We won't print the name, since the dead woman has plenty of relatives in the area who would not like her remembered in this way. This ghost haunts the front right corner of the main room, where she lost consciousness; and the dressing room in the rear, according to Kris Jones, the former owner. Strange noises, glass breaking, and lights have been seen by neighbors. Investigating deputies find nothing when called.
Accident Victim on Hwy 146: Only two blocks away, there is an apparent haunting of Highway 146, directly north of the Dickinson Bayou Bridge. The junction at the foot of the bridge is probably the most dangerous in Galveston County. Numerous wrecks and several fatalities have occurred there in recent years. A slender woman wearing a maroon or black dress has been seen beside the road by motorists, particularly at night or in the evening. Several persons report pulling over to offer a ride, only to find she had vanished. The possible identity of this ghost is not known.
Crash Site Haunted By Angels?: North of FM 517 on Hwy 146 about 1 mile is a location where several people died in an automobile accident three years ago next month. It is just north of the Reliant Energy Plant entrance, on the east side of the highway. A small cross and a sign marks the spot. This is an unusual manifestation: last spring, a small plot of wildflowers grew in the shape of a cross in the field at the location. Our photographer, who is a complete skeptic, felt a deep sense of peace at the spot. Perhaps this is due to all of the prayers that have been offered there by loved ones of the deceased, making it into holy, or "hallowed" ground.
Haunted Movie Theater: Texas City's Cinemark Movies - Employees are scared to go into one of the auditoriums alone. Most workers have had some kind of an encounter with the ghost that haunts this auditorium. It makes some people feel very cold. Some employees have even reported seeing this spirit.
Girl Scout Camp: Seabrook's Camp Casa Mare - Formerly a privately owned mansion. A young woman who lived in the home fell from the balcony and died in the 1930s. The mansion was torn down, and a small cafeteria is on the site. Some say if you stand in a circle around the spot where she died (it remains uncovered by buildings, but now lies under a tile mural of a star), she will pull at you from the center of the circle, so that everyone "leans" inward.  Two campers fell into an old well and were trapped in 1986, and one of them suffocated. It has since been covered, but many report they still hear someone screaming and clawing to get out.  Also, the dorm nearest to the shore is a site where poltergeist activity has been reported. Lights and showers turn on and off and campers report hearing things.

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HOUSTON
Haunted Heights: Rock guitarist/vocalist Johnny Fixx killed himself on Heights Boulevard around 1980. His band, named "Lic", played cover tunes with a punk style before punk was ever invented. A colorful character who played a blue strat, Fixx was well-known. His ghost has been seen standing in the doorway of Silky's, a small bar in the 4200 block, near where Fixx was found dead, and also in front of a nearby grocery store.
Office Building: 1011 S. Hwy 6. Workers in the building have reported things moving around, footsteps heard late at night in unoccupied areas, and elevators opening and moving when no one is present. This haunting is very active, and has resulted in several tenants relocating. In 1989, a man hung himself in an office on the second floor. He is the most likely source of the haunting. The owners have lost tenants due to the activity, and do not appreciate ghost hunters visiting.
Woman Hollering: On I-10 outside of Houston heading toward San Antonio you will see a sign marking "Woman Hollering Creek". The creek is allegedly haunted by an apparition of a woman searching for her child, who drowned in the creek in the 1800's. The literal translation from Spanish would be "woman weeping", and they say you can hear her - if you are crazy enough to go out there alone at night.
Radio Station: KLOL (Rock 101) in Montrose.  The former site of a Jones family (as in Jones Hall) residence, reports of phenomena include apparitions, telephones jumping off the hooks, stuffed animals moving of their own accord, anomalous shadows, and elevator malfunctions.
Rice Hotel: The room in which John F. Kennedy spent his last night on Earth has been home to cold spots, rattling doors & beds as well as balls of light.  Perhaps the ghost of the late President is making himself known.  Ghost dancers have been seen in the ballroom, and a lady in white pacing where the balcony USED to be.  The Rice is an apartment building now, but Sambuca, the restaurant, is open to the public.

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As I said at the start, there are many more hauntings in the area. The hauntings by 1900 Storm victims are numerous and well documented. One could fill a large book with the information we gathered for this story alone. These are only the ones we were able to gather the most information about, and the most recent. Ghosts seem to get tired of haunting places after a few years, and move on. This is why we hear no reports of ghosts of the cannibals who once lived here, or even of their victims.
If you are really interested in this type of thing, the "Ghost Man" has a walking tour of the Strand area on weekends that is nationally recognized and enjoyable. He also maintains a web page with information and links to other paranormal investigators. It is located at: www.hauntedisland.cjb.net

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As for me, I will continue to haunt the local clubs. There is nothing spooky about the "spirits" I prefer to investigate - they are found inside of whiskey bottles…  GATOR