Creepy Tales of Central Texas haunts
By DAVID STONE | Photos courtesy of JOHN JOHN MONTELONGO
In upcoming weeks, many of us will watch an aging Jamie Lee Curtis in yet another semi-scary flick, search for the perfect ghoulish costume and head to haunted houses to get the you-know-what scared out of us.
Yes, fright can be fun, and millions of Americans look forward to that creepy holiday we call Halloween.
In that spirit, let’s talk about some of the creepiest tales of local horror ever whispered in Central Texas. So where do you find such a story? Mary Jo Fellers Fraley is a Moody woman who dabbles in the paranormal, and she knows a thing or two about ghosts. She is active in several paranormal groups, including Bluebonnet Paranormal.
Here are her stories:
The Haunted Road
“Sometime between 1840 and 1860, a road was built to connect forts on the frontier to protect settlers from Indian attacks. This road stretched from Fort Griffin in Bell County to Fort Gates in Coryell. I have found one stretch of this road where the Indian fighters and the Comanches don’t realize the battle is over.
They continue to fight in the afterlife, and members of Bluebonnet Paranormal have found ourselves smack-dab in the middle at times.
One night, while sitting on this road with my granddaughter, I was telling her about a prior incident where my medium friend saw an Indian running at my car, and apparently he looked furious!
I had barely finished the story, when my granddaughter asked if I heard a thump on the back of my Blazer. I told her I didn’t hear anything and attributed it to my age. About that time, I heard a very distinct thump right beside me on the driver’s side door.
Being two females on a desolate road, I decided it best that we go home for the night.
The next day, I was totally surprised to see something on my back glass. The object was made completely of sand from what I could tell, and there’s absolutely no way that anyone could have done that. I took a photo and sent it to a group online of Native Americans. I was told that it was an ancient warning.
I don’t know what it is about this road but there is something about it that’s kind of mystical. There are bridges on the road, and once you cross them you feel a difference. The air is heavier. The road is partially under a canopy of trees, which adds to the creepiness. Wildlife is abundant, and sometimes maintenance isn’t up to par.
The dead are everywhere — we’ve even been told to move on because we are in their line of fire. We’ve also been offered whiskey by the soldiers, but we have yet to agree to sharing a bottle.
There’s one section of the road where several mediums have sensed bones of dead settlers. One night, while taking photos, I captured what appears to be a skeleton above my friend’s head. Although the skull is human, the body is that of a spider.
Three different mediums have told me this was once the daughter of a powerful medicine man. Her father had taught her everything he knew, but rather than helping her people, she turned to black magic. She had been trying to curse someone and it backfired, dooming her to spend eternity as a spider.
In the fall season, Bluebonnet Paranormal offers hayrides down the road with at least one medium on board. It takes about an hour, as we stop intermittently to chat with the spirits.”
Tutor Nursing Home
“Several years ago, Bluebonnet had access to the closed Tutor Nursing Home in Temple. For a while, we spent every weekend and some weeknights there investigating.
One night, Will Light was sitting at the nurse’s station all alone in the dark. Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a gurney coming at him full force. He screamed when the invisible cart hit the front desk.
The home, no longer in use, once housed not only the elderly, but also veterans from past wars. The spirits of the veterans are a bit on the feisty side. It was nothing for us to get a good cursing out. We learned to use their feistiness to our advantage. We found that they would interact with us if we brought cigarettes and beer. They would really make our equipment light up with their excitement.
I remember playing music for them, and if we played sweet, gentle music, they would fuss and call us boring. They wanted to hear lively music from their era.
One night, I was sitting in one of the rooms alone talking to the dead. I spoke with a woman who was actually related to the Tutor family. This lady had been there voluntarily. Her only request was that she be brought a beer every night, so she was used to waiting by the window.
They would bring her beer to the outside window each night so they didn’t upset the other people living in the retirement home.
Spooky spots
So where is a great place to find hauntings? Mary Jo offers this advice:
“I’m often asked how we find haunted locations. My best advice would be to look for a place where a great tragedy occurred. For instance, Galveston, where as many as 12,000 died in the hurricane of 1900, is a perfect choice.
Look for a place that is out of the way for many people. A deserted cemetery is good.
Going to the location late at night is useless — sundown is much better. But no matter where you go, obey the laws, always get permission and respect the dead.”
