Ghost City, Texas
San Antonio could not scare Jen Scoville.
(Page 3 of 3)
After what you’ve witnessed here, do you personally believe in ghosts?
EM: I do believe we have something here, yes. I really, really do. And as a matter of fact, with all of these little things that have been going on— I had one of the waiters tell me recently that in the Renaissance room there was a sideboard stacked with wine glasses and they just started falling off one by one. He said, “It’s that blank-blank ghost again.” So I do believe we really have something.
Are you ever afraid?
EM: I’m an old man and I don’t scare easily, but I was in the Renaissance room the other day, it was late evening, and we have a chandelier in there and one lamp over in the corner. So I was going to flick off the chandelier first and then I thought oh no, if I flick off the chandelier first then I’m going to have to walk back after turning off the lamp in the dark. Another time when I was with Sam on a hot summer day, we were up in the King Ranch room where Richard King died in 1885 and I said, ‘Sam, it’s about six or seven degrees cooler in here.’ That was spooky.
The Gunter Hotel
The most famous haunted room in town is in the Gunter; Room 636. Though the hotel was built in 1909, the woman who haunts its hallways is a more contemporary ghost. According to legend, a man checked in to the room in 1965, and left it bathed in blood four days later. After the room was found in this grisly condition, witnesses came forward saying they saw the man carrying a bundle in his arms. On careful inspection, a bullet hole was found in one of the room’s walls. It was reported that the man had been seen during that time coming in and out of the hotel with a sophisticated-looking blonde woman on his arm. During the investigation, police found receipts for some items the man had purchased earlier, including a meat grinder. A few days later they received a tip that the man had checked into another hotel nearby the Gunter, but before police could track him down he had committed suicide. Now Room 636 is a children’s suite—complete with Nintendo and bunk beds—adjoined to the adjacent room.
The door to Room 636—the site of the Grizzly Gunter Hotel Murder.
The stone-faced security guard that took us up to 636 didn’t confess to seeing anything unusual, nor would he corroborate the stories of the blonde lady or allude to any staff sightings. But Esther Martinez—a chambermaid who was cleaning when we arrived—spilled her guts, admitting that she frequently has seen employees quit after the first time they are assigned to clean the room.
Other Alamo City Haunts
The Railroad Tracks (Located just off Loop 410 South near Mission San Juan at the intersection of Shane and Villamain Roads) These “ghost tracks” south of downtown are the reported location of a fatal accident in which a train collided with a school bus full of children. The location has even been featured on “Sightings,” a Fox television show about paranormal occurrences. The legend says that if you park your car directly over the tracks and shift into neutral, the ghosts of the children will push it uphill, out of the way of the potentially oncoming train. And if you have the foresight to cover your bumper with baby powder or flour, the children’s fingerprints may follow you home.
The Ramada Emily Morgan Hotel (Located at the intersection of 705 E. Houston St. and Avenue E, across the street and north of the Alamo) Built at the site of the Medical Arts Building, this fairly new hotel was constructed in 1964. Most recorded sightings have occurred on the 7th floor, but cold spots, apparitions and strange noises have also been witnessed in the lobby. The basement used to be a morgue in the building’s previous incarnation.
For in-depth information on these sites check out Spirits of San Antonio and South Texas by Docia Shultz Williams and Reneta Burn.
Alamo Street Restaurant and Theatre (located at 1150 S. Alamo Street). This former Methodist church turned restaurant and theater is well known for its cast and crew of ghostly inhabitants. The most ubiquitous specter, Eddie (as he is known to staffers) is supposedly the ghost of a young boy who died of polio but is now free on the spiritual plane to tear through the house like a banshee on a whim. He has been especially known to haunt the kitchen, and has playfully pushed the cook into a walk-in refrigerator. The ghost of Martha Gething, a former actress who wears a white, Victorian-style dress and haunts the choir loft, was photographed in 1995 by a tourist with a Polaroid camera.
Victoria’s Black Swan Inn (1006 Holebrook, between Eisenhauer And Rittiman Roads on the northeast side of the city). Archeological evidence has pointed to Native American occupation of this site, which later hosted the battle of Salado Creek. The Inn now functions as a restaurant and special events venue. When proprietor Jo Ann Rivera first purchased the property she was awakened nightly by the apparition of a man standing at the foot of her bed. Since that time, there have been plenty of unexplained phenomena, including lights turning on and off, music coming from the walls, and doors locking and unlocking on their own accord. This property was also investigated by the TV show “Sightings,” which determined the property chock-full of spooks. Apparently the South Wing is the only area of the historic house where the presence feels ominous, though— a man who was working underneath the house once complained of children taunting him and poking him with sticks.
How to Hunt a Ghost
“Hunting ghosts doesn’t require any special gift—you don’t have to be psychic, conduct exorcisms, or perform any strange rituals,” Martin Leal says. The best place to do ghost investigations are where ghosts have been recently seen or felt, not necessarily in a location where there has been an accident or murder. A cemetery with a fresh grave site is a good place to ghost hunt because the ethereal being may take minutes, hours or days to leave the body after death.
But since this aura can’t be seen with the naked eye, a spirit seeker will need the tools of his trade: a non-contact thermometer to measure cold spots (temperatures 25-60 degrees lower than the surrounding area may indicate you are not alone), and something to indicate energy fluctuations, such as a compass or an EMF meter (an inexpensive one will run you about $30). Once these environmental shifts are identified, all the ghost hunter has to do is point his camera, shoot and wait for the best.
“I use three cameras during investigations,” Martin explains, “one that uses infrared film since cold spots are associated with ghosts, and two regular 35mm loaded with both ASA 400 and 1600 film. You want a fast film to capture ghosts that may be cycling at a rate that is not detectable to the human eye.” Martin reminds us not to disregard photos that look as if the film may have been damaged, as photos of ghosts may not be what we expect. “Often spirits appear on film as clouds of mist or fog, swirling vortexes, balls of light or white shapes that appear human-like,” he says. Most of all, a ghost hunter must be patient, since it’s possible that rolls and rolls of film may turn up nothing more than the landscape.
What to Do if You See a Ghost (suggestions to help you cope while continuing to investigate)
Reprinted with authors permission from The Haunted Alamo: A History of the Mission and Guide to Paranormal Activity by Robert Wlodarski and Anne Powell Wlodarski.
1. Don’t panic; sit back and enjoy the phenomenon. Try to notice every detail you can.
2. After the event, write down exactly what you saw in as much detail as possible. Remember if there were any particular smells; sensations such as cold spots, gusts of air, feelings of nausea; music playing or other audible sounds; voices or conversations in the background; or feelings of being watched or touched, etc.
3. Try and sketch what you saw: what the image was wearing, including the style of clothing, shoes, glasses, hats, etc.; anything which may give an indication of a particular time period or era.
4. Draw a diagram or map of where the apparition was seen, and where you were when the event took place. Note furniture, windows, or other features in relation to the sighting.
5. Note what time of day the event took place as well as weather conditions and temperature, if possible.
6. Record general information regarding how the event made you feel (sad, happy, frightened, etc.).
7. Note any unusual circumstances surrounding the event, including storms, power outages, other people working in the area, etc.
8. Note other people present, including any children or animals who might have witnessed the event, or may have been affected.
9. Attempt to investigate the experience further, including who the ghost might have been; attempt to rule out any explainable causes for the occurrence; and try to research the area in more detail.
Other ghostly reading:
Ghost Hunter
by Edward Packard
Spirits of San Antonio and South Texas
by Docia Shultz Williams and Reneta Burn
When Darkness Falls
also by Docia Shultz Williams.
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