The 10 Most Haunted Spots In San Antonio Texas.
The 10 Most Haunted Spots In San Antonio Texas.
Named by the Spaniards in 1691 after Saint Anthony of Padua, San Antonio’s rich history has a way of contrasting oddly with its rapid growth and a firm grasp of the ever-changing present. It is a city of clashes and bizarre reactions; of water mixing with Vinagre. One cowboy foot dipped deep into the struggles of the pioneers, while the other – no doubt wearing a funky Nike with BlueTooth – splashes around in a temp’ control swimming pool.
San Antonio is a vibrant place with the state of Texas’ inception embedded in its makeup.
Here’s a blow by blow account on all the chicanery and insanity that soaked the region of San Antonio:
- Right after the Spaniards started settling in the region they had to deal with all manner of hostile natives. Forces coming from the North as well as the South.
- After countless years of trying to get some traction, the spot managed to become the designated capital of the Spanish settlement of Tejas.
- Then came Santa Ana and perhaps the greatest battle-cry to ever come out of USA history was issued: “Remember the Alamo!”
- The Alamo and much of downtown San Antonio became a mass grave during the now-legendary battle.
- The Reconstruction Era, after the Civil War, only managed to bring in outlaws and desperados to the war-scarred region.
- During a period, San Antonio was internationally known as “Drive-By-City“. The region fostering an impressive murder rate of over 1200 shootings a month, which equals to 3.5 daily.
- Turf wars and drug-related killings are a fixture that San Antonio has to deal with daily. In 2016, the number of gang-related deaths in the vicinity of San Antonio became one of the largest in the nation with a staggering 151.
- In 1983, San Antonio had the 10th highest homicide rate in Texas with 18.5 homicides per 100,000 residents.
In essence, San Antonio has a bloody past. A past with traumas and tragedies. A past with hospitals overflowing with bodies and plague victims. A past with shocking murder spree. A past with suicides. A past with blazing infernos and all-consuming fires.
And a past, and present, that makes the region a ripe environment for the restless dead.
Each article has a link that will take you a bigger more in-depth piece.
10. SouthTown
In the middle of San Antonio stands a series of buildings that have seen more makeovers than Lady Gaga during a concert tour. They were once a cocktail lounge called St. Francis, a restaurant named Frank’s, a Methodist church, another restaurant called the Alamo Street, a theater, a brothel – nameless, as you can imagine, and yet another church and a spa. Now, they are the picture-perfect postcard of gentrification.
It is said that the land is a breeding ground for ghosts. All manner of Caspers seems to gravitate towards this spot. The specter of an actress named Miss Margaret; the haunting visage of polio desiccated 12-year old called Littel Eddie; the dismembered remains of a lady of the night that ran astray of a serial killer.
Click here for the full story.
9. Suicide Oak
On the corner of Patterson Avenue and Torcido Drive in Alamo Heights once stood a tree that served as nightmare kindling for even the most stoic and skeptical person on the planet.
Legend says that a girl hung herself from the branches of the tall oak after a heated fight which ended her boyfriend. Since that day, the legend has persisted. It is said that her haunting figure scours the landscape, inciting violence, and suicidal thoughts. The ghost swaying weak minds, like those of her ex-lover a motorman from the Alamo Heights streetcar line, to take their lives.
The tree has since been toppled, but her harrowing wraith still makes her presence known every-so-often.
Click here for the full story.
8. Hollering Creek
Between San Antonio and Seguin on I-10, near Exit 591.
Have you ever heard of the tale of La Llorona? Well, to many in the supernatural community, this is the very spot that might have gestated that legend.
No one knows why, but every-so-often you can witness a beautiful waif of a girl weeping inconsolably by the side of the road. Some believe she’s mourning her dead children, kids that drowned by the nearby river. Others believe that she cries for her murdered husband, a man battered and killed by bandits. Others, nonetheless are more cautious… The locals believe she’s nothing more than a devil or demon; attracting kind souls to her aid and then stealing their very essence.
Click here for the full story.
7. Our Lady of the Lake University
There’s always on any lists of haunted places either a University, a cemetery, or Indian burial ground, when you get all three you get Slimer Yahtzee, and instantly someone hands you a free hoagie.
Well, in San Antonio’s case lets just say I’m fed up with all the free carbs’ and leave it at that.
On the campus of Our Lady of The Lake University there exist a sprite or poltergeist called Jack. He’s a malicious little imp that sneaks around the dorm rooms spying on the students – particularly the females – raising hell, stealing stuff, and making all manner of noises in the middle of the night.
No one has actually seen Jack, they have just felt his presence.
Click here for the full story.
6.Huebner-Onion Homestead
In the early 1800s, a lounge lizard with a sweet tooth for the hooch named Joseph Huebner accidentally drank a bottle of kerosene thinking it was whiskey. The man, mind you, imbibed in more than half the cocktail before he realized that there was something odd about the taste.
Anyway, a day later, his neighbors came over and found Joseph laying on the floor not even twitching. Was he drunk? Was he dead? Was he on Mars riding a unicorn?
They put it to a vote, and after some careful deliberation – and a couple of strong opinions by some of Joseph’s scorned lady friends – a decision was taken. Joseph was buried lickety-split in the backyard.
In 1930, Judge John F. Onion and his family purchased the spot and moved in. The house already had a reputation for weird tales and noises that drove horses passing by into a frenzy. For over 30 years the couple dealt with the ghost of Huebner as if it were simply a stray cat they couldn’t get rid of.
“Fella’ was just pissed, and rightly so, for what happened. Old Man Huebner just needed to vent his anger. His spirit wasn’t all that bad, SOB calmed down the minute the Judge’s family poured themselves some Jack… and then poured Joseph two fingers worth. The clan started leaving an open bottle of moonshine on the kitchen table and that seemed to calm Huebner down.”
Click here for the full story.
5. Ghost Tracks
Legend tells of a bus of schoolchildren that was crossing the railroad tracks at Villamarin and Shane. The happy little campers coming back from school when the motor stalled right in the middle of the tracks. Tragedy ensued. A train hit the bus in the late 1940s; nothing was left… every kid, plus the teachers, and the driver died instantly.
The nearby streets are said to be named for the victims. Kids today push vehicles stopped on tracks to safety so history doesn’t repeat itself.
The legend has since been disproven – the accident occurred in Utah in 1938 – but somehow despite that, a supernatural force lingers in the area. The region has been plagued by ghosts, desert orbs, and other odd phenomena
Dark tourists, fascinated with the macabre, constantly storm the tracks and sprinkle talcum powder on them in hopes of capturing ghostly handprints.
Click here for the full story.
4.Freeman Coliseum
“That’s where Teddy Roosevelt trained the Rough Riders. Back in the day, it was a training ground. There were stories of a clown that died in a circus there of a heart attack. There was also the story of a woman who died at a bull-riding event, trampled by a bull.”
- Barry Klinge, of the ghost investigation group Everyday Paranormal.
Freeman Coliseum has been the site of numerous ghost encounters. All manner of otherworldly things pop-up once the lights dim and the spooks come out to play. Clown-like laughter that could make Pennywise rethink his whole act; the seductive whisper of a woman near the bull-riding accident spot; 6ft tall specters many think are Rough Riders.
Click here for the full story.
3. Victoria’s Black Swan Inn
The building, dubbed for William Shakespeare’s favorite pub, has a rep’ for being a 24/7 horror show. It is a hotspot for ghost hunters and a must for anyone interested in the supernatural.
The land on which the Black Swan is located was the site of the 1842 Battle of Salado Creek; a bloody campaign between the Mexican army and the Texans. It was also once the home of Fort Sam Houston’s and it very famous hanging tree…. and did I mention it was also once an Indian encampment with its own burial mount? And, just in case you’re still not satisfied with the torrid history of the hotel, a couple that once lived in it, Jolene Woods and her husband Park, both died premature deaths. Jolene died of cancer and Park committed suicide.
The place is a treasure trove of the supernatural.
2.Briscoe Western Art Museum
Formerly the Hertzberg Circus Museum, legends tell the building is haunted by John McMullen. John was the original owner of the land and his house once stood on the grounds of the museum.
McMullen met a very violent end in 1853 when he was murdered during a home invasion by a robber. Some say that the robber was really his adopted son in a fit of rage.
Staff members have described cold spots in the building’s river-level basement, as well as shadowy apparitions, shimmering lights, and screeching voices.
Click here for the full story.
1. The Alamo
The highlight of the whole article. You simply can’t talk about San Antonio, let alone ghosts, without the massive burial ground that is this fort.
Most of the defenders of this fort, after experiencing a very violent death, were dumped in a mass grave just outside the fort’s wall. Since the moment of the Alamo’s fall, the place has been plagued by patriotic apparitions hellbent on defending the spot even in the afterlife.
One tale dates back to 1836, right before Santa Anna was to surrender to Gen. Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto, the Mexican commander managed to get word to a small platoon of his most faithful men. They were ordered to level what remained of the Alamo and bury all evidence of their crimes and savagery that still remained in the war-torn fort.
The soldiers sent on this cover-up came back a week or so later, panicked and babbling like madmen.
“There were ghosts… eyes blazing red… demons… guarding the place with swords and muskets of fire… like it was a shrine.”