Texas Capitol (Downtown Austin)

"Few if any places in a particular state are cauldrons of so many conflicting passions, beliefs, and motivations as their capitol buildings and there is not one that has not over the years acquired a reputation for being haunted. It should thus hardly be surprising that the capitol of a state that has historically been so marked by violence, corruption, and zealous ideologies as Texas should have a wealth of ghostly lore and strange phenomena associated with it. 

'The capitol is haunted day and night,' Fiona Broome, a psychic, ghost hunter, and author of The Ghosts of Austin, Texas said in a 2008 interview. 'If you've got a nice, misty day there, people see ghosts walking up the path to the capitol building all the time.'" 

Those are the first two paragraphs of my chapter on the Texas Capitol for the Austin section of Ghosthunting San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country! Below left, the statue of David Crockett in the south foyer of the capitol building with the rotunda in the background; below center, the floor of the rotunda, a whispering chamber where the spirits of workers killed during construction are sometimes seen; below right, the domed ceiling of the rotunda more than 300 feet above. 

  

An Evening with Sisters Grimm Ghost Tours

SAN ANTONIO -- Had a great time with Sisters Grimm Ghost Tours and guide Allison Schiess on Saturday, January 25, visiting haunted places downtown in the Alamo City! About half of them were places that I have investigated previously in the course of my research for Ghosthunting San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country, the title I am currently working on for the America's Haunted Road Trip series of travel guides. A number of the sites were completely new to me, however, and I learned a number of interesting things about all of the ones we visited. 

We kicked off the evening by enjoying a great steak dinner with our guide and fellow tour goers in the elegant formal dining room of the famous and very haunted Menger Hotel. We then proceeded to explore the haunted histories of it and several other sites, including the Alamo, Casino Club Building, Cathedral of San Fernando, Spanish Governor's Palace, and old Bexar County Jail. 

Above left, Allison set the tone for the tour by being attired in authentic 19th century garb. Above center, Diane Varhola checks out the spot on the outer wall of the Roy Rogers Suite that was once used to give fodder to Rogers' horse Trigger! Above right, the original bedstead in the King Ranch Suite where Captain King died and around which his spirit is sometimes seen. 

Above one of the sumptuous lobbies of the Menger Hotel, as viewed from the third floor. Above right, I have no idea what is causing this particular anomaly, but am well aware that a heavy spiritual presence can wreak havoc on electronic devices. 

Above left, this particular photographic anomaly caught me eye because it affected only Allison -- clearly a spiritual magnet of some sort -- and not our two friends from Canada or anything else! Above right, a view of the Riverwalk in which can be seen a couple of orbs, one left and the other above of center. 

Above left, outside the Casino Club Building, a historic structure now used for private apartments that has any number of ghosts sharing space with its living residents. Above center, a statue associated with the old Aztec Theater -- I have no reason to think it is haunted but think it would be cool if it was! Above right, front of San Fernando Cathedral, built in the 1700s by Canary Islanders and today the oldest continuously-operating cathedral in North America. 

Above left and center, the exterior of the 18th century Spanish Governor's Palace, once the seat of government for San Antonio and a bastion against Comanche and Apache raiders. Above right, the old Bexar County Jail, which now houses visitors to the city in the guise of a Holiday Inn Express! It remains haunted by the spirits of men executed on its third floor. 

All in all, we had a great, informative, and sometimes spooky evening with Allison and Sisters Grimm Ghost Tours! Anyone interested in learning more about the sites we visited should do the same and check out grim sister Lauren Swartz's terrific Haunted History of Old San Antonio (and, of course, my own book when it comes out in October). 

Beyond Texas: The Rocks Ghost Tour (Sydney, Australia)

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA -- Had the opportunity to explore some of the oldest haunted sites in this port city with the Rocks Ghost Tour the evening of Friday, Oct. 11! Between expert guide Lachlan McWilliam, the horrifying stories of the community's early years, and the genuinely haunted nature of many of the sites it was an exciting and enjoyable night and a great way to kick off the Halloween season. Following is a taste of what we experienced, which I will discuss in greater detail in my next appearance on the Psi-Fi Radio Network and in a more detailed report to come. 

Above, tour guide McWilliam on Observatory Hill, possibly the most haunted spot in Sydney. Yes, that is a convergence of orbs! My images up until and after this point were completely clear with just one exception and it was only here, at the site of an old fort and a place used for hangings, that we detected anomalies of this sort. 

 

Above left, tour goers peer into a basement formerly used by an undertaker; center, the creepy and cluttered basement of the Hero of Waterloo, the oldest pub in Sydney (and where we had a few glasses of Guinness at the end of the tour); right, a glimpse into a home with a well into which bodies from animal fights were thrown. 

Above left, McWilliam near a home where a cuckolded husband killed his slatternly wife and where her spirit has been seen walking -- and where we picked up a faint orb, in the upper right corner of the image; right, an apartment building built on stilts to preserve an archaeology site where thousands or artifacts and numerous sets of bones have been found. 

Ghosts aside, one of the things that impressed me most about the Rocks Ghost Tour was the number of sites it had access to, which far exceeded anything I have experienced on a similar activity in the United States. So, all things considered, when you are in Sydney there are not too many better ways to spend an evening in a fascinating historic quarter of the city -- all the more so if you have the opportunity to do so this most haunted time of the year!