The United States is full of creepy spots. From the Stanley Hotel in Colorado to numerous locations throughout New Orleans, old insane asylums, or the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. There are plenty of places to go for a glimpse of the paranormal. But the Texas Hill Country can also be a downright otherworldly experience.
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The Texan region is mostly regarded as a beloved and peaceful oasis. It's where you go to float the Frio River and to take in the incomparable views of the rolling hills. But if you believe some Texas legends, the Hill Country is a place to have the time of your life... and afterlife. Looking for a spooky supernatural encounter?
The Halloween season is all about haunted houses, ghost towns, and ghouls, so why not plan a little road trip and check out the 10 most haunted places in the Texas Hill Country. You'll also get to enjoy the fall foliage throughout the beautiful Texas hills!
10. The Faust Hotel in New Braunfels
According to local ghost stories, it is believed that the original owner of the hotel, Walter Faust, Sr., haunts his favorite property. Maids in the hotel have also witnessed a black cat leaping from table to table and then disappearing. A female shadow is also often seen haunting the dining room. Paranormal investigators have reported that the elevator even moves up and down on its own accord. Stop by for a ghost tour, this hotel is in a small town just outside of San Antonio (so you could visit other haunted locations like the Emily Morgan Hotel and the Alamo on the same trip).
Another creepy hotel where cold spots signify the presence of spirits is the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells (an hour outside of Dallas) which is on the National Register of Historic Places or the Hotel Galvez in Galveston.
9. Baby Head Cemetery in Llano
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Baby Head Cemetery takes its name from a tragedy that allegedly occurred in the 1850s. As legend has it, Native Americans kidnapped a young girl named Mary Elizabeth from a nearby settlement. A search party went out, only to find that young Mary Elizabeth had been brutally slain; her head impaled on a post. A makeshift grave was dug and the final resting place of Mary Elizabeth forever called Baby Head Cemetery.
Visitors to one of the creepiest places in town have reported a host of strange occurrences including strange crying sounds that come out of nowhere and a general sense of discomfort.
8. Enchanted Rock in Fredericksburg
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Enchanted Rock has a history of supernatural occurrences dating back to the Comanche and Tonkawa tribes. These Native Americans believed that spirits resided in the mountain. Enchanted Rock is also the home of mysterious floating blue lights, believed to be the possible spirits of those sacrificed by Native Americans at the base of the rock. The great rock is said to moan at times and regularly draws visitors year-round.
7. Woman Hollering Creek in Saint Hedwig
Once upon a time, a young Mexican American woman gave birth to her firstborn child. Her husband became disinterested in her and left her for another woman. Unwilling to lose her lover, she drowned her child in the nearby creek. For the rest of her life, she would go to the creek and weep and wail for her dead child. This continued after she was dead. There are multiple reported encounters with her ghostly apparition, and people claim to have heard her unearthly cries along the creek. Spanish speakers call this woman La Llorona, the Weeping Woman.
6. Kerr County Courthouse in Kerrville
Last century, a young man and his girlfriend got into a serious argument while watching a movie at a drive-in theater. He locked her in the refreshment stand and burned the building down. He then set a noose and hung himself from a tree outside the Kerry County Courthouse. Witnesses have reported seeing the figure of a man hanging from the tree, and that of a woman running around the tree. Others have heard the voices of the doomed couple arguing and have felt warm breath on their necks.
Read More: The 12 Most Haunted Hotels in America
5. Highway 281 between Johnson City and Blanco
A man with a denim work shirt and khaki pants has flagged down multiple drivers on this stretch of road. When the unsuspecting drivers stop, they see that the man is clenching a knife. Each time, his neck is rubbed raw and dripping blood. This is presumed to be the spirit of Mr. Lackey, a homicidal maniac who killed nine members of his own family at the turn of the 20th century. Ripe with thoughts of revenge, the citizens of Johnson City broke Lackey out of the Blanco Jailhouse where he awaited trial.
They then proceeded to hang him from a tree along a wagon trail that runs parallel to Highway 281. Legend has it that the mob had chosen a rope that was too thin to choke Lackey, so he hung for hours before he died. Advice: Don't stop for hitchhikers on this stretch of 281.
4. The Frio River in Uvalde County
For generations, folks have reported seeing a white mist rising from the Frio River in the shape of a woman. Locals call this spirit the White Lady. This is believed to be the spirit of Maria Juarez, who died in the early 1900s. The story goes that Maria was once loved by her sister's husband, Gregorio. Maria refused to have an affair and preferred to wait for a kind man who could give her children. When Maria decided to marry a man called Anselmo, Gregorio went into a rage and shot her in the heart.
Maria was buried in her wedding dress along the Frio River. It is believed that the White Lady is a gentle spirit. Children have seen Maria sitting, like a nocturnal guardian, at the foot of their beds. She has also been known to cover children with blankets when they are cold.
3. Dead Man's Hole in Marble Falls
Discovered in 1821 by a roving entomologist, Dead Man's Hole is a gaping Texas hell-mouth that drops some 15-stories into the ground. During the Civil War, Union sympathizers, including Judge John R. Scott, were killed by proud Confederates and dumped down the Dead Man's Hole. Multiple bodies were retrieved during the 1860s, but the deaths did not stop during the Civil War.
Most recently, one ghost hunter reportedly heard the voice of a young girl pleading, "No Daddy, I just want to go to Dairy Queen." It is believed that Dead Man's Hole has claimed as many as 35 bodies over the years making it just as creepy as all of the most haunted houses you could think of.
2. Driskill Hotel in Austin
One of America's most haunted hotels, The Driskill Hotel opened its doors in 1886. It has been the site of paranormal activity ever since the passing of its wealthy owner, Jesse Lincoln Driskill. His spirit is believed to haunt the downtown Austin hotel. Legends also have it that in Room 525, two honeymoon brides committed suicide in the bathtub--exactly 20 years apart to the day. Once blocked off to the public, the room was reopened in the 1990s and should earn a spot on your bucket list.
Since then, inexplicable leaks and faulty lighting have continued to disrupt guests in this room. Multiple guests have also claimed sightings of the spirit of Samantha Houston, the child daughter of a Texas Senator. Samantha died tragically at the Driskill in 1887. She was chasing a ball down the stairs when she fell down the grand staircase and broke her neck. Her giggles can be heard throughout the haunted hotel to this day.
1. The Devil's Backbone between Wimberly and Blanco
The Devil's Backbone is a limestone ridge that stands tall from Wimberly to Blanco. Ranchers have been known to hear galloping horses running along the ridge at this haunted location. Several people have claimed to see ghosts of Confederate soldiers, a wounded Native American, and even the White Lady running back and forth across country roads.
Once, a four-year-old boy visiting the area was found speaking often to an "imaginary friend". When asked about the friend, the boy said she was a little girl with a hole in her head. When his parents asked why she had a hole in her head, he said, "Her daddy put the hole in her head to save her." The parents were later told by local historians that families of settlers from the region often committed suicide, and even killed their families, rather than being captured by Native American raiders.
