Hey, everyone. I hope you enjoyed the Something Wicked tour last week. I had a blast hosting my fellow SE authors. But now, it’s back to normal here. (Or as normal as it can get. LOL) Time for another Mystery Monday.
The small East Texas town of Jefferson lies near the Louisiana border. At just an hour away from my home, it’s a nice place for a weekend getaway.
With its quaint, brick streets, and historic church buildings, you’d never guess Jefferson is a hotspot for ghost sightings and paranormal occurrences.
But it is. Today I’ll tell you about a few of the “haunts.”
The Jefferson Hotel
First on the list is the Jefferson Hot. Built in 1851, the building once housed a cotton warehouse. Today, the staff of the hotel say encounters with the paranormal happen weekly and sometimes daily. Dishes move, televisions turn on and off, and items fall when no one is around.
Elizabeth Montgomery was a young bride-to-be and a guest of the hotel in the 1870s. When her fiancé stood her up on their wedding day, Elizabeth hung herself from a bedpost in room 19. Some guests say her ghost still occupies that area.
There are also reports of the ghosts of playful children who are bent on playing pranks. Staff turn off lights only to have them turned on again once they walk away.
Another reported spirit is an unknown man. He’s tall and wears a long duster with his pants tucked into his boots. He roams the downstairs hallway, then turns to go into a room. But when the room is checked, no one is inside.
Guests report hearing children’s laughter, the smell of cigar smoke (it’s a non-smoking building), faucets turning on of their own accord, and doors opening.
The Excelsior House is one of the oldest hotels in operation in Texas. Dating back to the 1850s, famous guests include Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and Ulysses S. Grant, former first lady Lady Bird Johnson, and playwright Oscar Wilde.
The Excelsior House
Unlike the staff of the Jefferson, the garden club that manages Excelsior House downplay the existence of ghosts. Yet some people believe spirits inhabit the hotel. Among them, a headless man, a woman in black with a baby, and Diamond Bessie, a prostitute who was murdered in the woods just outside of town in 1877.
According to rumor, Director Steven Spielberg stayed in what is known as the Jay Gould room. Upon arriving, he tossed his briefcase in a chair only to have it flung back at him. The story goes on to say the spirit of a young boy awakened him during the night to ask if he was ready for breakfast. Spielberg immediately gathered his crew and checked out of the hotel. He then wrote and produced the film Poltergeist shortly after that. (Of note, this is only a rumor and unconfirmed.)
McGarity’s Saloon was a stop on the Jefferson Ghost walk. Some people report seeing an apparition in the left upstairs window. I snapped several photos but didn’t see anything. However, I have no idea what caused the black shadow in this picture. It was not present in all the images, and I took several of this building.
My husband and I have stayed in both hotels and did not have any paranormal occurrences. However, we did do a ghost walk one cold November night. Again, no encounters, but we did hear some fascinating tales. Our guide showed us a photo of a house (now bed and breakfast) where there was clearly the ghostly image of a man standing near a window. I’m no expert, but it did not appear to be photoshopped.
The Grove is a private residence and tour home. It’s said to be one of the most haunted locations in Texas, with ghost stories dating back over 100 years. Several spirits inhabit the house, including a lady wearing white, a man who strides through the lily beds of the garden, and a mischievous entity that is particularly fond of ladies.
Stories of ghosts and paranormal sightings abound in this little town. And I’m sure hubs and I will visit there again someday. Who knows? We might have our own encounter with an unknown entity.
20 Responses
Interesting about your shadow photo. It sounds like a lovely little town.
Ghosts or not, Jefferson is a lovely little town. I couldn’t figure out the shadow thing. It appeared in some photos, not in others and not on consecutive shots. The only other time that happened with my camera was interestingly in Jefferson when we did a “haunted” train ride.
Jefferson sounds like quite a place, lol. I love the story about Spielberg and his briefcase! A ghost with a sense of humour. Thanks for sharing your Mystery Monday, Joan 🙂
Yeah, that story (if true) is funny.
Wow, these are great stories, Joan. As freaky as I am about seeing a ghost, I do love tales that reference hauntings by spirits of the past. Very interesting about Spielberg too. I’ve never worked up the nerve to watch Poltergeist and I’m sure I never will!
The town looks very quaint and a lovely place to visit. Although that black smear in your photo is freaky!
I’ve never watched Poltergeist either. Jefferson is a great little town. Wish I could figure out what caused the black shadow. It’s not in all the photos and the only time that’s happened with my camera was in Jefferson.
Stare at it and it appears to move. Interesting to say the least.
I see what you mean. Weird!
I love a good ghost story. I hope to never see or be haunted by a ghost. But we certainly don’t know what is out there. And if you stare at the photo with the black image, it appears to move. Things that make you go hmmmm.
Oh, I hadn’t noticed that. Creepy!
Jefferson and New Orleans top my list for haunted places to visit! I’ve had some pretty amazing experiences along the river in Jefferson. At one time, it was a mecca for the slave trade. Thanks so much for sharing, Joan!
We did a day time riverboat tour once. The town has so much rich history.
I’d be giving that town a WIDE berth, lol
It’s really not that bad. 🙂
I love your ghostly excursions. Thanks for sharing them with us. I picked up on the name Elizabeth Montgomery, but for different reasons. I thought it might be a story similar to the Spielberg one.
Yeah I thought of that but it wasn’t the Elizabeth Montgomery.
I love you stayed at the haunts:) That is a strange shadow on the building.
Still can’t figure that one out. I took several photos of the building and it’s not present in all of them.
This is fascinating, Joan. You could write a great short story from this. My house is purported to be haunted by the ghosts of some gang members that were killed here in a shoot out during the 1930s.
It sounds like a marvelous town, Joan. Unknown entities are fine… as long as they aren’t muggers! o_O LOL, I’m more afraid of the living than the dead. Happy almost Halloween! Hugs.