Welcome to Jefferson, Texas, the small southwestern town with old-fashioned attractiveness that features charming elements that adds contrast to days gone by that is a bold reminder of another era that took place not so long ago. One-of-a-kind treasures can be found in any one of the unique gift or antique shops that line the brick streets, and horse-drawn carriages and trolleys add another historic dimension to the already bustling events taking place just about everywhere you look in this active, yet relaxed community of just over 2,200 citizens. However Jefferson, Texas is not to be under estimated due to its small size, because it is known for being one of the largest haunting grounds of any town in Texas when you consider its small size compared to the other larger communities.
Active ghost hunters and paranormal investigators will be delighted to know that Jefferson, Texas offers more than one haunted venue, and the locals are fairly certain that the very streets that they walk on are also inhabited by many spirits from the past as whispers from nowhere, the feeling of being touched, visible dark shadows on otherwise empty streets and saloon music wafting from invisible piano players are often part of an evening stroll through the town. If you happen to be lucky enough, you may accidentally come upon a personal sighting of an actual full-bodied entity willing to engage in spirited antics by showing off their ghostly talents of vanishing into thin air or walking straight through a solid structure as if it was nothing more than a perceived image that differs from the objective reality that your mind tells you is not right by any means.
The Grove Haunted Ghost Tours
One popular haunting is located at The Grove, a historic private residence that offers tours to those that dare to partake in one. Built in 1861, the home has had a few minor additions, but is as it was back in its heyday of the late 19th century. The home has been reported as being one of the most haunted in Texas, and if past residents leaving it as fast as they moved in is any indication; I’d say that there is something to the more than 100 year old ghost stories. According to legend, the haunting’s first started in 1882 when T.C. Burke purchased the home. Within one month after the family set up house keeping, they moved out with very little explanation other than stating that they simply could not reside in the house.
Through time and legends handed down it has become apparent that one very prominent ghost has made a name for herself as the “lady in the white dress” who promenades in a guided routine through the house that initiates a visit from a handsome male ghost that appears by the lily bed in the nearby garden. The den is also a hot bed of activity that features a dedicated male spirit who likes the ladies as has been witnessed by his touching female visitors on their hair and face. The smell of sweet perfume is often detected by people on tours in the home as is heavy body odor that would possibly come from an entity that lived during the era where weekly baths were a fashionable thing. Due to The Grove being so active with ghosts it has been featured on the cover of “A Texas Guide to Haunted Restaurants, Taverns, and Inns” by Robert and Anne Wlodarski and Haunted Encounters: Real-Life Stories of Supernatural Experiences from Atriad Press.
Location of the Grove: 405 Moseley Street, Jefferson, Texas Phone: 903.665.8018
Tours: One hour long tours are offered to guests so that they can experience the active ghosts that dwell throughout the Grove. Visitors will experience everything from seeing wet footprints in the hallway to full apparitions appearing just about anywhere that they feel inclined to be at that moment.
Admission: $6.00 per person. For more information, go to: http://www.thegrove-jefferson.com/photos/index.htm
The Historical and Haunted Jefferson Hotel
The historical Jefferson Hotel is another favorite destination of paranormal investigators, thrill seekers and active ghost hunters. According to Proprietors Mike and Elise Lakey, A simple stroll down the hallways of the hotel will give you the sense of the comforts that was afforded by many a southern belle and their gentlemen companion that once roamed the hotels interior during a time that most can now only dream about. Guests can almost hear the dainty rustle of the long petticoats as the ladies strolled through the corridors, while off in the distance the faint sounding whistles of steamboats entering port could be heard from just about anywhere.
The Jefferson Hotel was built in 1851 as a cotton warehouse, and since then many establishments have considered the haunted hotel a home away from home, and some even died at the hotel. The roaring 20’s brought music to the establishment as well as a whole cast of characters that livened up the joint with everyone from dancing couples swinging through the halls to visitors out for a good time at the infamous Crystal Palace, now transformed into the Jefferson Hotel.
Visitors still enjoy attempts at seeing apparitions and talking to the ghosts; in fact there is an actual book just heaping with reports from guests concerning ghostly encounters, strange noises, loud footsteps, whispers, laughing, cold spots, and the feeling of being watched or actually touched by the spirits. Guests of the hotel can read the “Death Book” if they dare, it is kept at the lobby desk, but the hotel staff feels very strongly that to get the most out of this ghostly adventure through time, you must take the book back to your room and read it until you get to the last written words without anything happening of any significance. Then and only then will you be headed for a night of haunting restlessness of images, sounds and very little sleep.
The staff claims that the book is the least of your worries when it comes to freaky incidences, because on any given evening you can expect to hear orchestra music coming from the closed dining hall, knocking at various spots within the hallway walls, light tapping on the wooden headboards, and the strong smell of cigar smoke almost choking you with its thickness despite not seeing anyone smoking. Of course smoky hazes often appear in the hallway at just about any moment, but there is nothing more startling according to witnesses, then when you are walking through it at the exact same time that it appears. You instantly feel engulfed in cold air, and you know that you are surround by something that is not from this world as we know it.
Haunted Rooms Favored by Paranormal Investigators
Room 5 has had steady reports from overnight guests seeing an apparition in a long black coat and heavy black boots pacing the floor, and Room 19 often falls victim to a female ghost with ice cold hands that for whatever reasons likes to freeze out female guests by touching them while they sleep. Room 20 is highly active with ghosts that enjoy turning the water off and on all night long and room 24 attracts spirits from the wild west as a cowboy has been seen walking around aimlessly from the room to the hallway and then he completes his visit at rooms 20 and 21 by simply vanishing. Room 23 is famous for scraping and banging noises that appear to be coming through the ceiling. The annoying sounds coming from the room sound as though people are moving furniture all night long.
Many different apparitions, ghosts, orbs and various other manifestations from all walks of like and different eras have been seen walking throughout the hotel, and one dominant ghost is thought to be a past hotel manager known as Mrs. Schluter. She took care of the hotel from the late 1890’s up until the roaring 20’s. Children have been heard giggling when no child was staying at the hotel at that time, and finely dressed gentlemen have been witnessed sitting in the parlor with a puff of smoke swirling above their head. Further inspection only leads to bad smelling cigar smoke engulfing the room, but no trace of who might have left the foul odor there. For more information on staying in the haunted rooms, go to: http://historicjeffersonhotel.com/R18-25.htm
Location: 124 W. Austin Street, Jefferson, Texas 75657 Phone: 903-665-2631 or 866-33HOTEL
Sources:
http://historicjeffersonhotel.com/
http://what-when-how.com/haunted-places/jefferson-hotel-jefferson-texas-haunted-place/
http://www.marioncountycoc.org/History/tabid/68/Default.aspx
http://www.ghostinmysuitcase.com/places/jeffhotel/index.htm
