As if the summer heat wasn’t scary enough, October is here with its eerie lights and floating fog, possibly poking the spirits into roaming. Maybe hoped-for autumnal rains will seep down through the Blackland Prairie’s depths and not only raise the red lilies, but also some slumbering spirits.
New developments might be rising all over the place, though eastern Williamson County saw its first real technological leap when the train arrived in the 1870s. Soon after the spirits followed, hovering between one world and the next.
Here are some local legends you should know about with Halloween just around the corner.
THE HAUNTED DANCE HALL
The Old Coupland Inn and Dance Hall is rumored to harbor wayward spirits, with locals over the decades whispering about its possible spectral inhabitants. Haunted by a long-gone girl looking to play and a wandering cowboy, the 100 block of Hoxie Street and its large building slope toward the railroad tracks.
According to recent owner Erika Kinder, the dance hall is “very, definitely haunted.”
Kinder isn’t the only one seeing the ghostly patrons; her employees have spotted the shadowy guests as well. The little girl with ringlets in a blue dress likes to play peek-a-boo with staff, especially in the kitchen area.
In the dance-hall area, some patrons search for the wandering cowboy. He has been known to lurk along the boardwalk, wearing a long jacket.
Another early morning apparition is a female mirage screaming in one the upstairs rooms. Longtime residents told Kinder a turn-of-the-century doctor used this portion of the building.
THE HAUNTING OF HOXIE BRIDGE
Before the creation of Granger Dam, the San Gabriel River ran lawless through eastern Williamson County and was known to flood. The 1900 Hoxie Bridge carried horses and buggies, though it was damaged due to high water on several occasions, one being in 1921.
According to WilliamsonCountyTexasHistory.org, during the bridge’s reconstruction, one of the workers wasn’t staying busy and started some trouble. The Huntsville prisoner was shot in the head, a clear message meant to deter others on the work gang from causing any further disruptions.
Years later, a headless spirit popped up on Friday nights under a full moon, seen by those out for a starry walk with their loved ones. Even the Austin American-Statesman reported on the story in 1981 when a young Rudolph Polasek (now deceased) said he saw the spirit. Legend has it, a local priest’s prayers put the wraith to rest.
The Hoxie Bridge is located along the southern shores of the lake, on the Comanche Bluff Trail in Taylor Park.
THE HAUNTED TAYLOR GHOST TOUR
The highly anticipated Haunted Taylor Ghost Tour is back for its seventh year with new stories of hauntings and true crime. Hosted by the nonprofit Taylor Conservation and Heritage Society, the annual tour is a fundraiser. Local historians and society members take to the downtown streets for a 90-minute guided tour sharing the lore of Taylor’s secret past.
'I grew up in Taylor, right down the street. Family and friends would tell me stories and then I have my own stories to tell. So, from a personal perspective, it really makes for a fun tour,” said tour host Mike Kaspar.
With stories of hauntings often whispered among old neighbors, ghosttour goers learn about the unlucky, the working women and the unexplained of old-time Taylor.
Tours start at Heritage Square, a redeveloped area that has always been home for community gatherings, including its bandstand. According to a Taylor Daily Press article in 1919, community favorite Uncle George became one of the unlucky in the area when he was bludgeoned to death for the contents of his pockets.
As a railroad town at the intersection of two lines, workers moved along with the trains and sometimes found the company of working women (then called cyprians) in Taylor. Because this was an illicit business, documentation is lean though local legend said a domicile in the vicinity of Fifth and Porter streets served as a boarding house.
What is documented is Taylor’s lawenforcement attempt to lock up women for vagrancy in the jail. However, the confined ladies were soon freed within hours by “tool-bearing men,” reported Texas newspapers on Aug. 6, 1892.
The Eanes-Prewitt Building, 121 E. Third St., is said to be one of the most active paranormal sites in town. In the past few years, it has been home to restaurants.
Notified about occurrences from ghostly aberrations to unsolvable door issues, the Austin-based Truly Haunted Inc. was called to investigate the building and found anomalies. A medium followed and suspected the location offered a portal to the spirit world, especially the vacant upstairs.
“There are things in this world that defy reality. Maybe taking the Taylor ghost tour will be your chance to experience some,” said Peter L'Heureux, a Haunted Taylor Tour guide.
Others including a Taylor councilman have their own spooky tales to add.
“Last year, we (people on the tour) were in front of the Howard Theater (308 N. Main St.) The windows were so dark and we couldn't see inside unless you put your face up against the glass,” said Gerald Anderson, who also serves as mayor pro tem. “But in a flash, a light in the back came on. With that light on we could now easily see inside. I’ve passed by this building so many times everyday and this never happened before. Interesting that it happened on the tour.”
Former employees at the cinema recall tales of the sound of shuffling feet when the building was empty. Only the walls know if it is the active imagination of teen-age workers or the ghost of the longgone custodian, Mr. James, who died on his shift.
“We always sell out since tour space is limited, so I recommend getting your tickets early,” said Frances Sorrow, society president .
The walking tour is 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, and 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28. Cost is $25 per person and registration opens Oct. 1 on EventBrite.com.
AN OLD-FASHIONED SÉANCE IN TAYLOR
Starting as a trend in the Victorian era, séances quickly gained popularity in the U.S. after the Civil War. Some participants used séances to grapple with loss, grief and the mysteries of life as they tried to communicate with missing loved ones.
Albert Lucio and Jake Cordero of The Austin Séance will be in Taylor the night of Saturday, Oct. 21 at the Black Sparrow Music Parlor. The program will begin with the history of séances, Spiritualism, science, importance of mediums and skeptics. Lucio and Cordero will then demonstrate tools used by working mediums and employ those tools in a modern recreation of an old-time séance.
According to The Austin Seance website, Cordero is an award-winning journalist who has reported on everything from cult murders in Mexico to spirit hauntings in Fort Worth. Lucio has spent years studying ghost hunters and talking with psychics to understand how “we shape and are shaped by supernatural beliefs.”
The Austin Seance will be at 113 W. Second St., Taylor, for two sessions at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tickets are $30 per person and available at www.curiomrvosa.com.
Each session is limited to 30 attendees.
SPIRITUALISM IN TAYLOR
Rooted in communicating with the dearly departed, spiritualism in the U.S. was quite popular during the late 1800s. First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln used mediums to contact her deceased children while in the White House.
In the 1920s, even Taylor residents expressed an interest in the belief.
The Texas State Spiritualist Association pulled into Taylor for a sold-out show in conjunction with the Home Spiritualist Society of Taylor, reported the Taylor Daily Press on March 25, 1922.
At the time, Dr. J.S. Maxwell, the association president, was quoted as saying, “We find no fault with anyone’s religion, but to become convinced of spiritualism, a person must be a thinker, he must be an investigator and a seeker for truth.”
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