Hanging with our ghoul-friends in the eerie shadows of the night
Vicki Baker
In the heart of Dallas, behind its stunning skyscrapers, lavish hotels, and historic buildings, lay chilling tales of death, dark secrets, and deep mysteries just waiting to unfold. This city of opulence and grandeur is filled with the scorned souls of the crucified and betrayed—just ripe for ghosts to emerge when the nights grow long and the spooky season descends.
In the spirit of Halloween, Girls on Wheels (Susan Herbert, Cassie Richardson, and Vicki Baker) were in search of heart-pounding scares and spine-chilling thrills. Bracing ourselves for a spectral night full of fright, we crept deep into the abyss of D-town’s nightmarish past with Dallas Terrors Ghost Tours, chasing shadows on this haunted night, ready for ghosts, goblins, and good times.
In the echoes of the city, the ghosts of old can be heard. An unassuming hotel, once the Lawrence Hotel (now Holiday Inn), hosted horrific murders and suicides. Guests on the 10th floor relay frightening tales of crying, footsteps, and shadowy figures of the forsaken spirits trapped within its walls. Those who dare step afoot may suffer run-ins with Joseph, a murder victim who continues to seek vengeance on anyone staying in his room, 1009.
The stone walls of the Old Red Courthouse hide haunting memories. Of the multiple deaths that took place here, most were executions of criminals by public hanging. In its haunting embrace, one such prisoner met his fate without judge or jury when townspeople took justice into their own hands. An eerie presence with numerous cases of unexplained activity have occurred ever since.
Among the bustling streets sits a lone log cabin, originally built by John Neely Bryan in the early 1840s. Sealed for decades, at night there have been dozens of reports of giggling and voices coming from within. Keeping our eyes peeled for any paranormal activity, the friendliest spirit in all of Dallas failed to make an appearance.
The Sixth Floor Museum (formerly School Book Depository) is where Lee Harvey Oswald claimed the life of President John F. Kennedy. Many wonder if a ghost haunting the halls is that of JFK or Oswald himself. But the ghosts who linger in this historic building aren’t just of those from 1963. Pre-dating JFK’s assassination, it was also the site of an unavenged murder years prior.
The Grassy Knoll, infamous for playing a role in JFK’s assassination, is less well-known for the slayings that occurred in the 1800s. The brutal nature of the hangings of three slaves taints the locale. Their disturbing, unavenged ends created a restless, dreadful force that remains palpable today.
Girls on Wheels relived the grisly details of death and destruction making Dallas a hot spot for the restless spirits of the dead forever trapped in their final resting place. Though not everyone believed in ghosts, we heard compelling evidence for unexplainable phenomena. And if that evidence happened to be entertaining, informative, and a little bit thrilling, then we never know who—or what—we just might see!