HAUNTED BUS STOP

Austin, Texas - July 4th, 2013 My walk takes me across a bridge over Ben White Blvd and at that time of the morning not many people are up and moving around. Stop lights are on flash and it's a peaceful walk at the coolest part of a summer day. When you see someone you notice them because it's so quite so you have a tenancy to greet them with a good morning or with a smile and glance. 
As i walked over the bridge I could see someone seating on the bus stop bench waiting for a bus. Normal for a weekday morning people going to work even on the 4th. I stopped at the end of the bridge waiting for a motorcycle to stop and drive through the intersection. As I stood I glanced over to the man at the bus stop and noticed he was looking down not wanting to make face contact with anyone. It was dark and he was in a shadow part of the bench but light from cars driving down Ben White would light the stop enough to see someone on the bench. As I walked into the intersection I again glanced up to the bench and noticed the man was wearing a jacket. It was 72 degrees so I though to myself this guy has to be hot. As I stepped up to the curve I turned to greet the man at the stop and wish him a happy 4th and as I looked up at him I noticed his head was moving upward to greet me as well. About that moment a car came down the road and it's headlight lit up the bus stop and I could see the light reflect from the man's jacket. Suddenly I could see the car light go through the man's jacket and I could see the bus bench clearly. The man just disappeared in front of me. As I got up to where he was seated I could smell the strong smell of human sweat but no one was there.

Bus Stop in Austin, Texas

About 3 or 4 years ago their was a man that was homeless in Austin that walked up and down Ben White that wore a grey jacket like the one I saw this man wearing. But that homeless man died one cold winter night several years ago

HAUNTED RADIO

AUSTIN, TEXAS - Roy had moved from a smaller market radio station to a larger metropolitan market and had to start on the graveyard shift. For a young married man this was a good opportunity. The shift came to him suddenly, one night several days after giving the program manager his air check tape and resume he received a phone call. The program director asked if he could come as soon as possible. He apologized for calling so late, but something had happened and could Roy come in that very night to work? Roy knew an opportunity when he heard one. As soon as he arrived he saw that police were parked outside of the Station. A young female Disc Jockey was standing inside looking distraught. She was speaking with one of the police officers and when she saw Roy coming in she said, “Thank God you’re here. I don’t want to be alone in here.” After the police left she told Roy someone had tried to break into the Station while she was on the air. She had heard a loud noise, she went to investigate, and saw people running away from the side door that they had broken into leaving their burglar tools behind.

Radio towers in Austin, TX

Roy asked her why would the burglars leave in such a hurry. He did not want to insult the girl but he hardly believed that her slight form would have intimidated the robbers. She stated she did not know but that the police had told her that something had apparently frighten them away before anything could be stolen. Roy stayed the rest of the night, and then the next day the program director called him asking him to work again the next night. That night was peaceful but the college aged announcer had lost her peace of mind. She had to have every light on in the station, and had wanted Roy to walk her to her car after the shift ended. The next day, the program director told the woman that he could not continue to pay for both Roy and her to work the night-shift, she would have to do this alone. She refused. The program director offered the shift to Roy who accepted it eagerly. Roy was young and slim but over 6 feet tall and felt he could handle himself. Arrangements were made for Roy to have a key to the building as his shift started at midnight, this way the evening disc jockey was not forced to leave the control room to let Roy in, as she was also nervous after the break in. The first week that Roy was alone he would hear sounds that he tried hard to dismiss as imagination.  He heard what sounded like a key in the door, and the door opening, closing and then footsteps coming down the hall toward the control room.  He would investigate and find no one.  He would check the front door and side door and find both locked up tight.  Roy kept this to himself, this job was what he wanted and no spookiness would distract him. He told himself that the noises came from cleaning people in the business downstairs, or perhaps sounds from the street that he heard.  

After some months of working various shifts he was told that the night shift was his permanently. About the same time a Soft Drink vending machine was placed in the hallway outside the control room.  The constant light from the machine would shine in the doorway.  He began to notice that between two and three o’clock every night he would begin to hear the noises that were becoming familiar to him.  He also noticed that as he heard the sound of someone walking down the hallway a shadow was cast as through someone was walking in front of the machine.  He would investigate frequently, but finding no one he continued to keep these events to himself.

After about two months of his permanent position he began to ignore even the shadow and concentrated on how much he enjoyed his job.  One night at about 3:25 in the morning, he was going into a commercial break after which he would read a weather forecast.  As he was reaching for a copy of the weather forecast placed on top of the control board he noticed a reflection in the Plexiglas stand.  Reflected in the glass was man standing behind him.  Roy immediately thought back to the events of the first night that he had been called into the station.  The night someone had tried to break in. Thinking someone had been successfully this time, Roy thought he was a dead man.  He whirled around to confront the intruder and found that he was so frightened he could not speak.  All the startled DJ could do was stare.  The man in front of him had dark hair with average features and no weapons.  In fact the intruder was smiling, his bearded face drawn up in a pleasant grin.  Roy also saw that his arms were crossed and he looked as through he was wearing a “hippy” looking tunic.  This was shocking to the young DJ, but even more shocking was that as he looked the newcomer over he noticed he had no feet.  Looking back up into the face of the other man Roy’s own face must have registered his alarm.  The bearded man looked shocked, as through surprised that Roy could see him and then … he disappeared. 

Roy’s mind was in shock and he noticed that his commercials were over with and he needed to put something on quick before he had dead air.  He put the first track he could find without really paying attention to it. Roy asked himself, did that just happen? What did I see?   He was sure he had seen something and the only logical thing it could be was an intruder.  Once again Roy checked ever door and looked into every room finding no one.   Roy vowed to himself, that he would never mention the event to anyone. Months later, he did take the opportunity to ask what he hoped sounded like an innocent question of the general manager.  He asked him if he knew of any DJ’s who had died while working at the radio station. The GM could think of no one. Then Roy asked if the GM knew any of the history of the building.  All he knew was that the building had belonged to another station, back in the 1960’s.  The station at that time had been playing an acid rock format.  The GM rolled his eyes at the mention of that particular brand of music and departed, but Roy wondered if perhaps at least one ex-employee of the ‘60’s funk and electric guitar station was still around grooving to new sounds.  

Haunted Radio in Jasper AL 

THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE

WIMBERLEY, TEXAS - The hills runs east to west, rising to an elevation of 1,274 feet at a roadside park on State Highway 32. It lies in an area of the Balcones Escarpment characterized by flat to rolling terrain with locally deep and dense dissection and generally shallow to deep loamy soil with rock outcrops. The ridge of hills in northeastern Comal County, is on the Hays county line thirteen miles north of New Braunfels, Texas.  This area is aptly called the Devil's Backbone. 

The Devil's Backbone ( All rights reserved by R Childress)

 

Segment from the TV series Unsolved Mysteries

It's name should be a hint that something is just not right there. Locals say it's the most haunted hills in Texas. Many reports of apparitions ranging from 16th century Spanish monks, Native American Indians spirits, and even a entire company of Confederate soldier's traveling on horse back. The horses hooves sounded like thunder and shook the walls of a bunk house. Campers report smelling camp fires (in places where fires are not allowed) and being followed by unseen people while hiking. Hunters talk about hearing footsteps at the bottom of their deer stands. The strangest reports come from a few that say they where possessed by the spirit of a wolf.

 

   

View of the Devil's Backbone, Texas

SPAGHETTI WAREHOUSE

The Spaghetti Warehouse

Pasta made its way to the New World through the English, who discovered it while touring Italy. Colonists brought to America the English practice of cooking noodles at least one half hour, then smothering them with cream sauce and cheese.

But it was Thomas Jefferson who is credited with bringing the first "macaroni" machine to America in 1789 when he returned home after serving as ambassador to France.

The first industrial pasta factory in America was built in Brooklyn in 1848 by, of all people, a Frenchman, who managed the entire operation with just one horse in his basement to power the machinery. He spread his spaghetti strands on the roof to dry in the sunshine.

Spaghetti really didn't become popularity in the United States until about fifty years ago during the Prohibition era. This is because the only place where a glass of wine could be had, more or less legally, were the Italian speakeasies that all served spaghetti.

Something about spaghetti has attracted children to the dinner table for years. Remember the fun of rolling the pasta with your fork and how messy it got. Maybe that explains why a franchise of spaghetti eateries has spread across the country. The most popular being The Spaghetti Warehouse Restaurants.

HOUSTON

More than one of these restaurants attracts patrons from the ether. In Houston the restaurant located in the old warehouse district at 901 Commerce Street hosts a couple of ghost.  Lone Star Spirit paranormal researchers report on their web site that they have conducted several investigations in the building that was once a cotton storage facility and a pharmaceutical warehouse. Most of the paranormal activity is limited to the second floor. Busboys, waiters and dishwashers have reported table arrangements changing spontaneously, dishes and silverware flying off of the racks in the kitchen, and a lady-in-white apparition. Late night crews sometimes feel that they are being watched from the second floor. The specter of the former owner during the pharmaceutical period has been spotted near the elevator shaft where his body was found. The lady-in-white it has been speculated to be his widow looking for her long lost husband. 

Spaghetti Warehouse in Houston, TX

AUSTIN

The building at 117 West 4th Street in Austin is the home of the Spaghetti Warehouse for the capital city.  A young boy has been reported by several employees laughing and running in the direction of what is now the rest rooms. It's anyone's guess who the boy is or why he stays at the restaurant. The building was once a brothel in the very famous red light district of Austin called "Guy Town" in the late 1800s . It's also next door to the haunted Bitter End's B Side, 311 Colorado. Could the child have died during an out break of yellow fever or perhaps he belonged to a prostitutes and died mysteriously?

Spaghetti Warehouse (Austin)

Blue Orb Captured (Austin)

UPDATE 4/2011: The Spaghetti Warehouse in downtown Austin at 117 West 4th Street is now closed.

	SOURCES
	1.	Lone Star Spirits - Paranormal group in Houston, TX
	2.	Austin Paranormal Research Society - Paranormal group in Austin, TX
	RELATED STORIES FROM THE INTERNET
		The Spaghetti Warehouse - The Spaghetti Warehouse combines Old World Italian Traditions with American abundance in hearty, made from scratch dishes.
		The Origins of Pasta - Just a bit of pasta history.

201 EAST PECAN STREET

AUSTIN, TEXAS - The building at 201 East Pecan street was built in 1861 by the Ziller Family and opened for business as the first boarding house in Austin, which they called "The Missouri House". It's rumored that the boarding house was also a brothel. Several brothels where known to operate in that area just south east of "Guy Town". Through out the years the building at 201 East Pecan Street served the community as a bar, store, and many other businesses. Always a community place to meet and greet, so to speak. As years past the popular Driskill Hotel was built across the street on the corner of Brazos and Pecan, (now known as 6th Street).

201 East Pecan Street in 2002 (now 6th Street)

Buffalo Billiards

Buffalo Billiards occupies the building today and some say the building is experiencing echoes from it's past in the form of paranormal activities and apparitions. The first week of operation the manager did his normal nightly routine of placing all the pool sticks on the racks, and the billiard balls in their cases before closing and locking the doors for the night. The next morning, he arrived early to catch up on some paperwork after unlocking the front door he noticed that in the front foyer all of the sticks where laying on the tables and the ball were stern everywhere. Several balls were found lying on the floor. The manager immediately thought someone had broken into the store so he called the Austin Police department to report the break in. When the officers arrived they checked the building for any marks of a break-in or signs of intrusions and found none. The building's alarm was still armed and didn't show any signs of being tampered with. The police checked the building for possible intruders hiding within the building and found know one. It looked as if the manager had forgotten to clean up before he closed for the day.

Not long after that strange experience a cleaning woman was on the second floor in the area called the "Orbit Lounge". While mopping the floor of the lounge she felt as if someone had been watching her. When she had finished the chore she left the mop and bucket and went back in to turn off the lights. On her way back to the front door, where she had left the mop and bucket, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned around and saw nothing but the blackness of the room. She let out a loud scream then ran out of the second floor and the building. She quit the next day and never returned. 

A night bartender was getting the bar ready for a party in the Orbit Lounge one afternoon and had left the floor to get some clean glasses from downstairs. When he walked back up to the second floor lounge he noticed a gentleman in strange attire near a window looking out onto Brazos street. When he asked the man if he could help him the man turned to look at him and smiled. Then turned and walked to where a door had been before the floor was remodeled. He stepped through the wall and down the hall, only to disappear around a corner. When the bartender calmed down enough to tell others what he had seen he mention that the gentleman was wearing a suit like that of someone that lived in the later 1800's.

If you ever visit Buffalo Billiards ask the employees about any paranormal activates in the old building at 201 East Pecan (6th street). Almost everyone has seen or had something happen to them while working there.

HAUNTING THE ELEMENTARY

AUSTIN, TEXAS - The corridors, once filled with bustling activity, now were quiet and dark. School posters and lunch menus had been replaced by graffiti, and the men who walked the hallways were not teachers, but contractors sent to demolish the school. They would have problems; the dilapidated old building was not as empty as it looked.

Old Metz Elementary (Pictured here just before the demolitions began.)
Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, Austin, Texas

 Metz Elementary opened in 1916. That same year, the school board decided that Spanish-speaking children should attend a separate school. The board felt that the children would learn better if they had lessons in Spanish as well as English. Up until that time, the Mexican-American community in Austin had not formally protested any action taken by the school board, but many people from the neighborhood most affected appeared before the board to disagree with the decision. The proposed school would be several miles away, making transportation difficult for the children and their parents; there was also a concern that if the Spanish-speaking students were segregated, they would not have the same opportunities as the those who spoke English. While the board never formally backed down from its position, Spanish-speaking students who attended the nearby school, Metz Elementary, were never asked to leave or to attend the other school, and after a period of time, the matter was quietly dropped. 

Metz Elementary served the community through the better part of eight decades, but by 1989 the school was considered too small to meet the growing needs of the surrounding neighborhood. The decision was reached to tear down the structure and build a new and bigger school in its place. The crew who arrived to do the work did not anticipate any problems; there appeared to be nothing difficult about demolishing the crumbling structure.

However, they realized from the first day that someone or something wanted to make the job almost impossible. The first strange thing was hearing the sound of children's laughter when they had assured themselves that the condemned building was empty. Then they saw writing on the blackboards when no one had been nearby. Equipment that had been running perfectly before reaching the site broke down. Bulldozers and trucks stalled out for no discernible reason, and even workman's watches would suddenly stop running while they attempted to pull down the school's walls. Understandably, men begin to quit or just not show up for work, but the construction company refused to give in to supernatural pressure. They continued trying to work even as strange accidents plagued them. Finally, after a workman was fatally injured in a wall collapse, a clergyman was brought in to bless the building and the area was leveled. The odd occurrences made national news, and the Metz School Mystery has been puzzled over by curious people nationwide.

A new school stands almost in the same spot as the old Metz Elementary and now fulfills the same role in the community that the first smaller school did for so long. Perhaps the ties to the neighborhood and the school are so strong that some students never really leave.

Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories featured the Metz School story (originally broadcasted on Wednesday, May 15, 1991 on CBS Television).  The show was directed by Tobe Hooper, known for Poltergeist and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: and edited by Jonathan Moser who also created the special effects in the show.  Show Stars: Leonard Nimoy (Narrator), Guest Stars: Kent Burden (Joe Torres), Sarah Carson (Kate Morgan aka Lottie Bernard), Hector Elias (Morris Torres), John Hammil (Yonny Yonson (ghost)), Shawn Kristy (Elizabeth Murphy), Eileen Jo Bowman (Store Clerk), Eli Guralnick (Store Manager), Juan Garcia (Otto), Del Zamora (Gabe Torres), Robert Jacobs (Tom Morgan), Van Williams (Mr. Fitzgerald), Alvin Silver (Alan May)

 

THE BERTRAM BUILDING

AUSTIN, TEXAS - Rudolph Bertram (1829-1892) arrived in Austin in 1853 and began a trading post. In 1872 Bertram purchased the building at 1601 Guadalupe. In 1880 he began a wholesale grocery business, saloon and general store (1st floor) that served Austin for decades. Living quarters were on the second floor. The town of Bertram was named for Rudolph Bertram. Recently the historic building has served as several restaurants and bars. The building currently offers contemporary Indian cuisine and is known as the Clay Pit.

Outside the Clay Pit

 On our initial research, we discovered that in the basement there is a tunnel that led to a conveniently located brothel next door. Austin had several brothels in what was officially classified in City documents as the First Ward, bordered by the river and Guadalupe, Colorado, and Fifth Street. Everyone else called it "Mexico", or, more commonly, "Guy Town". Many brothels had tunnels leading to them so the more "high-toned" male citizenry wouldn't be seen visiting.  Their clients were city council members, legislators, students from the university, and businessmen who tacitly supported business in Guy Town through their continued patronage. 

Inside the Clay Pit at 1601 Guadalupe Street

  Several occurrences of strange "party like" noises have been reported coming from the up stair's dinning room in the nearly 150 year-old building. When the restaurant staff would walk up stairs to investigate the source of the noise, upon their arrival, the noise would suddenly stop. Witnesses have seen the apparition of a small child on the second floor. Exactly who the small child is remains unknown. However, looking at the records of possible deaths near or around the building, Bertram had a young son die in the family of typhoid fever. 

Whenever you're in the area of 1601 Guadalupe stop by the Clay Pit restaurant and enjoy the ambiance of the old Bertram building. The food is excellent!

THE DRISKILL HOTEL

AUSTIN, TEXAS - The hotel located at 604 Brazos Street in Austin opened its doors to the public on December 20, 1886, a dream came true for cattle baron, Jesse Lincoln Driskill. He had purchased the site for his future hotel in 1885 - an entire city block for $7,500. The venture, once finished, cost the outrageous  $400,000 and quickly became the premier "frontier queen" hostelry. Jasper N. Preston and Sons of Austin designed the original cream-colored brick and limestone building, which was apparently inspired by H. H. Richardson's recently completed Ames Building in Boston. Driskill had busts of himself and his two sons, Tobe and Bud, installed over each entrance. In October 1898, Austin's first long-distance telephone call was placed from the lobby.

Photo: PICA 05041, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library

  Since Austin is the capital city of the state, the Driskill Hotel was the place to be seen if you were a political figure. Many deals and compromises that effected the state of Texas and the world where made within the walls of the Driskill, and former US President Lyndon Johnson often watched election returns at the Driskill. Indeed, history has been made within its walls.
Some say that Colonel Driskill (an honorary title bestowed on him by the Confederate army during the Civil War) loved his hotel so much that his spirit remains on the property he purchased so long ago. According to Austin Ghost Tours, Driskill makes his presence known by the smell of cigar smoke. He is believed to turn bathroom lights on and off in several guest rooms on the top floors of the hotel.

Another apparition is the four-year-old daughter of a US Senator. She haunts the grand staircase leading from the mezzanine down to the lobby. The little girl was playing unattended with a ball when she slipped and fell to the marble floor at the bottom of the stairs and was killed. The front desk staff has heard the child bouncing the ball down the steps and giggling.

In the early 1990s, a Houston woman took a trip to the Driskill to try and recuperate from a wedding that her fiancé called off at the last minute . Staying in Room 29, she decided the best way to help herself would be to go on a week-long shopping spree with her fiancé's credit cards.  She was last seen coming out of the elevator on the fourth floor with her arms filled with numerous bags and packages, and her body was discovered three days later when the housekeepers became concerned that she hadn't left the room to eat. Her body was found lying in the bathtub; she had shot herself in the stomach, muffling the sound with a pillow. The Austin Police Department crime scene photographer reported that it was a sad to see such a young women commit suicide when she could have had a long, happy life ahead of her. 

An Austin Ghost Tour guide tells the story of two women who wanted to see a ghost and had heard the story of the Houston woman. At the time, the fourth floor was undergoing restoration and wasn't open for overnight stays, so the ladies got a room on the other side of the hotel. The women stayed out late visiting Sixth Street and came in around 2 AM. Being curious, they decided to stop the elevator on the fourth floor and have a look around. However, when they saw the hallways were lined with plastic and all of the beautiful paintings had been removed from the walls, they decided it wasn't such a good ideal to be walking around there after all, and they called he elevator back. When the elevator door opened, a young women stepped out with her arms full of bags and packages; she walked past them without saying a word and headed down the dark plastic-lined hallway. The two ladies wondered and how the woman could have done any shopping at that time of night. Following her down the hallway they asked if the renovations were bothering her. She replied, "No, It's not bothering me," then went into Room 29. The women became troubled and decided to get to their floor as fast as they could. The next day, they asked the front desk clerk why someone was staying in Room 29, since they were told no one could stay on that floor during the repairs. The clerk assured them no one was staying on the floor and took the two ladies up to Room 29. The group found the room still draped in plastic, without a bed, and with a bathroom sink sitting in the middle of the floor. The ladies then realized they had seen the ghost of the "Houston Bride."

The Driskill Hotel on YouTube

Many other ghosts have been seen roaming the hallways and rooms of the Driskill. What Was Then recommends Austin Ghost Tours for a firsthand look at the hotel and to learn more about the many guests still checked in at the Driskill.

LINKS
		THE DRISKILL HOTEL - Book a stay at the famous Austin Hotel.
		AUSTIN GHOST TOURS - Take the tour for yourself. We dare ya! Spinner Magazine - Ghost of A Texas Ladies Man

TEXAS GOVERNOR'S MANSION

Texas Governor's Mansion (2001)

  AUSTIN, TEXAS - The Texas Governor's Mansion located at 1010 Colorado was built in 1856. From 1845 to 1856 the Governors didn't have a "suitable residence". In 1854 the Texas Legislature appropriated $14,500 for construction of a permanent residence for the Governor of Texas. A Greek Revival style building was chosen and designed by Austin master builder Abner Cook, (1814-1884). The bricks used to build the Mansion came from a clay pit on the Colorado River which produced the buff-colored bricks. Abner Cook owned the clay pit as well as the sawmill in Bastrop which supplied the pine lumber from the area forest. Construction was completed on June 14,1856.

Today the Mansion is the oldest remaining public building in downtown Austin. It's the fourth oldest governor's mansion continuously occupied in the United States.

The building has a colorful history since opening in 1856, (Check out the links below.) Paranormal activity includes occupants reporting seeing the former Texas hero, Republic of Texas President, and Governor, Sam Houston in his bedroom in the Mansion. Sam Houston served as governor from 1859 to 1861. The wife and daughter of Governor Mark White had encounters with the spirit of "Old Sam" back in the 80's.

The saddest story of one of the known ghost that inhabits the Mansion began shortly after midnight in 1864, a nephew of  Governor Pendleton Murrah (1863-1865), committed suicide with a pistol in an upstairs bedroom. He was only 19 years old and heart broken because of a refused marriage proposal. To this day sounds of footsteps, moaning and cold spots have been reported in that bedroom. In the Mansion doorknobs turning mysteriously. 

UPDATE

Texas Governor's Mansion after the fire on Sunday, June 8, 2008, in Austin, Texas

 Someone threw a Molotov cocktail on the front porch of the Mansion on June 8, 2008 and the fire cause extensive damage to the historic building. 

 

Will the ghost still haunt the Mansion after it's repaired and the Governor returns? Time will tell.

HAUNTED CAPITOL

Texas Capitol Building (2011)

  AUSTIN, TEXAS - Built over a three-year period between 1885 and 1888, the Texas Capitol has been a host to many historic events. Within it's walls great American's shaped a State and a Nation.  It's not a wonder that some of their spirits remained within it's wall to this day.
On the 30th day of June in 1903 at about 10:00 am, while serving as state comptroller, ROBERT MARSHALL LOVE (1847-1903),  was shot at his desk in the Capitol  by W. G. Hill, a former employee of the state comptrollers department. His last words were, "I have no idea why he shot me. May the Lord bless him and forgive him. I cannot say more." He died several hours later in Austin and was buried at Tehuacana  his home town..

Today's Capitol is under constant watch by the Capitol police department (now part of the Texas DPS).  Nothing moves within the Capitol walls without being seen by an officer. Cameras have recorded the image of a man dresses in a business suite dating back to 1903 standing near the old comptroller of public accounts office. Several visitors have reported a "nice man-- dressed funny" to the visitor's desk on the first floor. Officers have reported walking up to a man on the second floor, east wing during off hours and as they approach the man he turns and walks through a wall. Others report someone watching them while on tour at the Capitol and have noticed an oddly dressed man starring down at them from the second floor. Some reported the man has spoken to them as they walked by him. Saying " Good Day" and as they turn to reply he is gone.

Many believe the spirit is the man who was suddenly killed while serving Texas almost one hundred years ago. On your next visit if you see a nice man dressed in clothes from an older period, and  if you have a chance, ask him.

THE SERVANT GIRL ANNIHILATOR

AUSTIN, TEXAS - As I walked down the incandescently radiated streets of downtown Austin near the Texas State Capitol building in 1985, little did I know that only one hundred years earlier, the city hadn't been as calm and peaceful as it was on that winter morning. The year of blood-lust that began at the end of 1884 and ran through Christmas Eve 1885 has become merely a footnote to Austin's history. Seven women and one man were brutally murdered, the women dragged outside and sexually assaulted in the moonlight. The identity of their assailant has remained an unsolved mystery in the Austin Police Department homicide files to this day. Could this be the work of America's first serial killer? Some say it was the early work of the Whitechapel murderer in London, England, known as "Jack the Ripper."

In order to understand the Austin of 1884-1885, we need to rediscover what was happening on the streets of the city sometimes called "The Athens of the West." Still recovering from years of reconstruction after the Civil War, Austin was emerging as a more modern metropolitan community. The city started attracting people looking for work. William Sydney Porter (O. Henry) arrived in Austin in 1884 looking for employment. According to records, Austin's population had grown to 23,000 people at that time. Mayor John Robertson proclaimed, "No city in the state has a promise of a more healthful prosperity."

Vintage Photo Courtesy Texas State Library And Archives

CONVICTS IN THE CITY

 John "Ox Cart John" Ireland was the governor of Texas in 1884 and was tasked to rebuild the State Capitol after the old limestone capitol was destroyed by fire during a rainstorm on November 9, 1881. The original plans called for construction with Texas limestone, but following lying of the cornerstone on March 2, 1885, doubt arose concerning the quality of the limestone from a quarry in south Austin; it discolored easily. So, the owners of Granite Mountain at Marble Falls in Burnet County offered building stone to the state free of charge. To save money, convicts were employed to quarry the granite and build the needed rail line from Burnet to Austin. Was one of the convicts the killer?


A KILLER AMONG US

The city had become a place of prosperity, and crime was unheard of besides the usual fights at the brothels in "Guy Town." People felt safe walking the dark streets of Austin without fear of robbery or murder; they left doors and windows open and unlocked throughout the city to allow the night air to cool their homes. However, the last day of December 1884 brought an end to peaceful nights for the citizens of Austin.

"BLOODY WORK!" was the headline in the Austin Daily Statesman newspaper when the body of Victim No. 1, maid Mollie Smith, was discovered in the snow next to the outhouse behind 901 W. Pecan St. (now Sixth Street). She had a large gaping hole in her head.

"ANOTHER SERVANT GIRL FOUND SLAIN" was the headline for Eliza Shelley's murder on May 6. Eliza was the cook for Dr. L. B. Johnson. According to the Statesman report, she was found with "her night dress displaced in such a manner as to suggest she may have been outraged (sexually assaulted) after death." Her body was found at the corner of San Jacinto and Cypress Streets.

The City of Austin (1901) only 16 years after the unsolved murders.

Only three weeks later, Irene Cross was brutally murdered with a knife. An eyewitness who spoke to her before she died stated that she looked as if she had been scalped.

That August, a servant named Rebecca Ramey was knocked unconscious while she slept in her bed. Her eleven-year-old daughter, Mary, was dragged to a backyard washhouse, stabbed through the ear with an iron rod, and raped. Mary's death sent shock waves throughout the city. Demands grew stronger for the police department to capture the killer.

Still more death came to those who slept in their homes. In the early morning hours of September 27th, Mr. W. B. Dunham heard a noise coming from the servants' cabin in the back of his residence on Guadalupe Street, as if someone had jumped through a window, followed by a woman screaming. Dunham grabbed his gun and swung open the door to see a woman fighting with a man at his gate. He leveled his gun at them and yelled at them to stop making all that noise. The woman ran to him, saying that everyone in the cabin had been murdered and the man she was fighting was the killer. The man, seeing the woman run to Mr. Dunham, fled into a big thicket a few blocks behind the houses. Mr. Dunham called his neighbors to assist him in catching the murderer, but the man had gotten away. The woman was Lucinda Boddy, and she occupied the cabin with a man named Orange Washington, his wife Gracie Vance, and another woman named Patsie Gibson. Three days later, an article in the Austin Daily Statesman described the crime: from the testimony and surrounding circumstances, it appeared that the killer had entered the room through a window, and before any of the sleeping occupants awoke, struck each of them on the head with an axe. Seizing Gracie Vance, he dragged her through a window, threw her over a fence, and then pulled her through weeds across a vacant lot to a rear stable. At this point it appears that Gracie recovered consciousness, as evidence of a death struggle was abundant. She was, however, overpowered, and her head battered with a brick that was found nearby, smeared with her blood. While she struggled between life and death, her murderer brutally raped her. A watch was found on her person with the chain tied around her arm; a horse was also found saddled and tied to a tree near the scene of the tragedy.

While the assassin was killing Gracie, Lucinda Boddy had regained sufficient strength to get up and light a lamp in the cabin. Seeing the light in the cabin, the assailant returned; he stuck his head in the window, cursed her, and ordered her to put out the light. Seeing him, she screamed and ran from the building. He leaped through the window, put the light out, and followed the fleeing woman. This was the commotion that awakened Mr. Dunham.

Gracie Vance was dead when they found her. Orange Washington died at an early hour the following Monday morning. Lucinda was taken to the hospital. All the victims suffered horrifying gashes to the head and face.

Map of Austin, TX 1885-1886 These murders created "intense excitement among both whites and blacks at the repeated occurrences of this nature in the capital city," read the article in the Austin Daily Statesman dated September 30th. Yet the greatest horror was still to come. The killer seemed interested only in black women;. all the previous victims had been black. But on Christmas Eve, that would change. Sue Hancock, a white woman described by one reporter as "one of the most refined ladies in Austin," was discovered by her husband lying in their backyard; her head had been split open by an ax, and a sharp, thin object in her brain, inserted through her ear as had been done to Mary Ramey. Today, the location is near 98 San Jacinto Boulevard along Town Lake. The Four Seasons Hotel occupies the property.

About an hour later, Eula Phillips was found dead in the wealthiest neighborhood in the city, near where the Austin Public Library stands today. Lying in an unlit alley behind her father-in-law's home where she lived with her husband and son, her bare body was discovered with the skull bashed in by an ax and heavy pieces of timber placed across her arms, as if to keep her pinned down during the attack. She had also been raped. Jimmy, her husband, was found lying in their bed in his father's home, nearly unconscious, a severe gash in the back of his head. Their son was next to him, unharmed, holding an apple. Eula's body was discovered when they followed the trail of blood from the bedroom to the alley. A writer for the Fort Worth Gazette, one of many Texas journalists who rushed to the scene, reported that Eula was on her back, her face "turned upward in the dim moonlight with an expression of agony that death itself had not erased from her features."

Governor Ireland posted a reward of three hundred dollars for the capture of the killer or killers. Citizens questioned the authorities and wanted to know why the Austin Police Department only had four officers on duty at one time. Others blamed the City Council for not hiring more men as sworn-in emergency police officers to patrol the streets at night. Anger raged as men stayed home at night in fear of losing their wives to the killer. People started locking their doors and windows and refusing to leave their homes after sundown.
 

A FEAR THAT DOESN'T DIE

 To this day, the murders have remained unsolved, and their impact forever changed Austin. The city erected the now-famous "Moonlight Towers" in 1895 in order to light up the neighborhoods so people would feel safe walking around after sundown. The victims rest in some measure of peace in Oakwood Cemetery, but their killer has never been brought to justice!

MOORE'S CROSSING

MOORE'S CROSSING, TEXAS - Apparitions have been spotted on and around the Moore's Crossing Bridge. The bridge is located on Burleson Road running down the south side of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) and crosses over Richard Moya Park in eastern Travis County. The area received its current name Moore's Crossing, in the early 1900s, when John B. Moore built a store in the area. In 1884 the bridge spanned the Colorado River in Austin after being designed by the King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Ohio at a cost of $45,000.00. The bridge operated as a toll bridge from January 1884 until June 18, 1886 with a huge ceremony being officiated by both city and county personnel. This was held at the corner of Congress and Water Street (now Cesar Chavez Street). The celebration started with a parade down Congress Avenue and was headed by the Texas Rifles and Austin Greys. The iron bridge was called by the populace and in official county records the "Citizen Bridge". It proudly served the public until the town needed a new wider bridge.

Moore's Crossing Bridge (Old Congress Avenue Bridge)

In 1910 the iron bridge was dismantled and placed in storage for five years. In 1915 part of the original Congress Avenue Bridge was used to replace the low-water crossing on  Onion Creek until it was washed away when Austin received  18.23 inches of rain in 24 hours on September 8-10, 1921. This storm event, known as "The Great Thrall/Taylor Storm", still stands in the record books as the greatest of all continental U.S. rainstorms during 18 consecutive hours. The storm entered Mexico as a hurricane from the Gulf and then drifted northward dropping six inches on Laredo before unleashing on Central Texas. Miraculously, only six fatalities were reported in Travis County, all on Onion Creek. The last three spans of the Congress Avenue Bridge were used to rebuild the bridge over Onion Creek in 1922. Ian Morgan, Travis County Engineer reported the Bridge is 58 feet above Onion Creek and he had the support piers elevated to 10 feet in order to save the bridge from future floods. Many paranormal investigators believe objects can store echoes of past events and play them back at random times much like a movie projector. Projecting especially tragic occurrences to the horrified eyes of witnesses. Rumors state such a tragic incident took place on this bridge. The exact time has been lost.  Research has found no evidence to back up this aspiring urban legend. However, as the story goes, a white man was hung, by a mob, from one of the cross beams because of a forbidden love affair with a black woman. Witnesses say after midnight you can see the man hanging from the crossbeam swaying in a slight breeze. Below a shadow of a female figure is seen looking up in the direction of the swinging body. Did this happen while the bridge spanned the Colorado River on Congress Avenue. If so, why isn't any record of the murder in any City of Austin police file or newspaper? Post Card showing the Old Congress Avenue Bridge Post Card Courtesy of Casey M. Weaver and AustinPostcard.com Is the wrought iron bridge really haunted? Many witnesses over the years reported people walking across the bridge dressed in out-of-date clothing. I include myself as one of those eyewitnesses. The incident took place in the 80's when I drove my car over the bridge on my way to Austin from Bastrop County via FM 973 & Elroy Rd. Burleson Road was used by the locals as short cut to Austin instead of taking the much traveled Hwy 71. You could save a good 10 minutes by taking the one lane bridge even if you had to wait in line for your turn to cross. I was driving my car on this foggy and damp morning. My wife was sitting in the passenger seat looking out the window down to Onion Creek below. The bridge always made her nervous because of the creaking and popping of the wooden boards as you drove across the bridge. Just as we got in the middle of the bridge my wife spotted a pedestrian standing to the right of the car holding on to one of the support wires waiting for us to cross the bridge. She was afraid I might hit him if he stepped out into our path. As we passed the man my wife made a startled sound and asked me if I saw the man standing on the side of the bridge. She said he waved at her as we past him and that he was dressed strangely. I quickly looked up into the review mirror to see what she was talking about and saw no one. I stopped the car and rolled back the car to where she had seen the man standing. He wasn't there. I did recall seeing something out of the corner of my eye as we passed.  An image of a young man standing there. My wife had a better look at him than I had. Just who was this person and how did he disappear so quickly without us seeing where he had gone? The King Bridge Company catalog of the 1880s featured the Congress Street Bridge across the Colorado River in Austin