It would come as no surprise that Dallas, Texas and the surrounding areas would be a host of hauntings and spooky situations given how old the land and buildings are. Noteably there are a lot of sightings, recordings, and experiences had by many people over decades. Here are some of the most popular haunts that people have experienced along with their history.
Goatman Bridge
Old Alton Bridge, Lantana, TX 76226
Located on Old Alton Bridge, connecting the cities of Denton and Copper Canyon, it was a bridge built in 1884 as a busy thoroughfare by the King Iron Bridge Manufacturing Company. The most common version of this story is that an African-American business man named Oscar Washburn and his family owned a farmstead goat herd near the bridge that was known for their outstanding quality of meats, milk, cheeses and hides. When Washburn hung a sign on the bridge stating “This way to the Goatman,” it angered the local Ku Klux Klansmen. It is said that on one night in the late 1930s, a lynching mob of those Klansmen stormed Washburn’s home and dragged the fighting Washburn to a noose that was hanging off of the bridge, where they tightened a rope around his neck, then flung him over the side to die. It was reported that when the Night Riders went down to the dark river’s edge to confirm their hostile deed was done, they could only find an empty noose dangling over calm water. This angered the Klansmen and they went back to his home and burned his family alive within it.
The local legend has it that if you knock on the steel bridge three times at midnight, or turn off your car lights and honk three times as a summinings to get a visitation from the vengeful Goatman. It is said when he approached you can smell the sweet and sickening stench of decaying flesh. Many have reported the sight of glowing eyes that burn red from within the darkness, alongside glimpses of a large snarling Goat-headed man-beast stomping in the wooded shadows. Some have even witnessed a Goatman carrying the heads of goats or humans in his hands as it approaches you from the shadows of the bridge. To summon him, is to summon your day of judgment.
Arlington’s “Lost Cemetery of Infants”
Lost Cemetery of Infants
Doug Russell Park
801 West Mitchell St.
Arlington, TX 76013
In 1894, Reverend James Tony Upchurch created an institute called Berachah Industrial Home for the Redemption and Protection of Erring Girls. This was an institute dedicated to teaching women employable skills that could help them rejoin society. The Institute turned into a “self-sustaining” village but by 1935 it had become an orphange. The remaining site to the institute is a graveyard that is well hidden located by the University of Texas, Arlington. It is believed that the cemetery is filled with the graves of stillborns and those who died during labor complications. The markers are unnamed, but dated for when the infants died.
In this graveyard it is said that shadowy figures can be seen darting between the trees, and the feeling of being watched is present. It is also said that the sounds of children’s voices can be heard, along with child-like laughter, and small toys are known to appear and disappear on the graves.
Sons of Hermann Hall
3414 Elm St, Dallas, TX 75226
Located in Deep Ellum (Dallas), Texas, Sons of Hermann Hall was built in the 1890's as a national fraternal organization (known as the Sons of Hermann) that opened in Texas to help preserve German traditions and ease the transition of German immigrants into American society. It is also the oldest free-standing wood structure in Dallas. While it is known today as a music and event venue in the Deep Ellum arts district, it still maintains its connection to the state headquarters in San Antonio and the national order of Sons of Hermann. This location has been known to experience paintings falling off of walls, doors slamming without anyone being in the room or near the doors, footsteps are heard walking around when no one is present, and even unexplained children's laughter has been heard throughout the venue when no children were present.
The Millermore Mansion at Dallas Heritage Village
1515 S Harwood St, Dallas, TX 75215
The Millermore Mansion was built in 1861 and the mansion remains the largest historic mansion in the city of Dallas. William Brown Miller, moved to Texas from Kentucky in 1847 and was the home's first owner and the one who had it built. Shortly after moving to Texas, Miller quickly became one of the wealthiest cotton planters, slave owners, and stock raisers in the South. He also had a ferry service that operated on the Trinity River in Nothern Texas. In 1966, after all the residences had either died or moved, the Founders Garden Club (a women’s group that sought to preserve Dallas’s history) bought land in Old City Park (now known as Dallas Heritage Village) and had the mansion moved there to be perserved.
Part of the Millermore Mansion's creep factor is because everything is exactly as it was in 1861, from the antique furniture to the portraits of Minerva Miller (William's second wife) that seem to follow visitors wherever they go, watching their movements about the mansion. It is believed that the ghost of Minerva Miller herself is trapped within the mansion. There have been copious amounts of reports of people feeling the strange, uneasy sensation of being watched near the nursery and within the master bedroom of the house. Some have also reported feeling the temperature drop considerably in these areas, even in the height of summer, which is something remarkable as there has never been any updates to the mansion to include central air conditioning within the premises.
There is also reports of hearing a loud, infantile shrieking that comes from the nursery. That the sound becomes louder and starts to sound demonic in nature. When running upstairs to check where the sound was coming from, the crib in the nursery would be empty and the sounds stop as soon as the person enters the room. Alongside the reports of shrieks, there have been reports of noises that sounded as if a heavy object were being dragged across the floor and when going to inspect what it was, there were scratches within the wooden floor that lead from the nursery to the master bedroom. As if someone had dragged the crib across the floor to bring it there. It is said that both the second and third wife (Minerva and Emma) of William died in the master bedroom- one from childbirth and one from complications.
Guards at night have reported strange lights moving back and forth between the master bedroom and the nursery and that there are orbs materializing in a ghastly pale green color that always seem to pulsate with a power.
White Rock Lake
White Rock Lake 542 E. Jefferson Blvd. Dallas, Texas 75203
Flag Pole Hill 8015 Doran Cir, Dallas, TX 75201
White Rock Lake is home to the legend of the Lady Of The Lake. She is a known to be a young hitchhiker dressed in vintage formal wear who disappears from vehicles before reaching the address she has given drivers. Some have reported that there is a white spot left where she was sitting once arriving at the location she asked to be driven to.
In the Flag Pole Hill area of White Rock Lake, there is a group of rock-throwing apparitions. They tend to form towards dusk and have been said to throw rocks at people walking, driving, or spooking horses. The apparations are ususally described as kids and teenagers, who are believed to have died in the area.
The Hotel Lawrence (Now the La Quinta Inn & Suites)
302 South Houston Street, Dallas, TX 75202
The hotel was built in 1925 and was originally known as the Scott Hotel, after the owner George C. Scott. It's primary build was to house the passengers stopping by from Union Station, which was just across the street. Due to a devestating decline in the building and local economy, the hotel almost became a minimum-security jail in the 1970s. The hotel was re-opened in 1981 and its name changed to Bradford. In 2000 it was sold again and renamed to the Hotel Lawrence. In the mid 2000's it was bought by it's current owner, the La Quinta Inn and Suites.
This hotel has been known to be the ending place for many people over the decades, all through one tradegy after another. Reports of this location have been from guests who have stayed there claiming to have seen a well-dressed gentleman (who is believed to have been a gangster and a gambler) walking the halls and disappearing into walls, cold spots, a feeling of being watched, calls from rooms with no occupants, and a lot of activity coming from the 10th floor of the building.
