Hauntings and Visitations

Outside of the Pride House (Taken from website)

Last October, my friends and I travelled to Jefferson, TX in search of ghosts. This is sort thing we try to do for Halloween. Yes, I know cliché, but it beats the haunted houses. For the record, I do believe in restless spirits and know that sometimes they can be dangerous. We took precautions.

Jefferson is a small town in Northeast Texas located on the Big Cypress Bayou. It is a stone’s throw away from the Louisianan border. It was considered one of the great riverboat ports in Texas starting in 1845. That ended in 1872, when the Red River Raft was destroyed and the level of Caddo Lake and Big Cypress were lowered so much that riverboat travel to Jefferson were no longer feasible.

Jay Gould signed the guest registry for the Excelsior Hotel

Many actually attribute this to Jay Gould, the river magnate. Legend has it that Gould wanted to bring his railroad through Jefferson but the town leaders refused. So, Gould responded with a curse: “Grass will grow in your streets and bats will roost in your belfries, you decadent port.”

This was a cool photo I got of my reflection over the story of Jay Gould

So, why did we choose this town? Because Jefferson is also the most haunted town in Texas. Seriously, nearly every hotel or Bed and Breakfast has a ghost or five. The most famous ghost is Diamond Bessie, who was murdered by her husband/pimp for her diamonds.

We were going to stay at the Jefferson Hotel, but at the last minute our reservations were cancelled. So, we stayed at the Pride House, which was a stroke of luck for us. The Pride house, documented as the first bed and breakfast in Texas, was built in the 1880’s by George W. Brown and his wife Daisy. Now it is run by a lovely lady named Jenny (Check out her The Pride House Facebook Page page).

Ironically, there is a ghost in the house named Jenny. She was the 15 year old daughter of George and Daisy who succumbed to burns from catching her gown on fire on Christmas Day. There were two other ghosts that we think we had contact with during our stay. One, I think was George and the other was a little girl named Sarah.

I never saw any ghosts or ghost lights. Most of our experience was sound. I’d left my phone in my room to record while my friends and I went to the parlor. While we were away, my phone recorded a rattling. Ok, so here are some of the sounds.

So in the recording you can hear the rattling. At the end is where my boyfriend came in to check the recording. Note his breathing. There was a lack of breathing with the rattling. This one is a little long but I want you to see the difference.

Next, this is when my friends and I were in the parlor. Yes, we were having a semi-philosophical discussion, it was 2 in the morning. You can hear my friends. One asks a question and the other answers.

Next, you can hear a little girl giggle.

We checked. There were no children staying at the Pride house that night. Jenny said that was Sarah and she did that often. During our weekend, we had several other experiences though I did not get them on tape. Mostly, the ghosts liked to chime in on conversations.

This may not be proof for others, since they were not present, but it is enough for me. So, what about you? Have you had any supernatural experiences?