Texas Ghost Stories

by Tingle, Tim; Moore, Doc; West, John O.; Davis, John L.

• ISBN13: 9780896725195
• ISBN10: 0896725197
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-07-01
• Publisher: Texas Tech Univ Pr

Summary

Storytelling World/Storytelling Magazine Award Winner "I love a book that gives me what it promises, and this one does: fifty real ghost stories, drawn from a variety of sources and told in as many voices, written so as to simulate the language and delivery of a face-to-face performance, and artfully, delightfully done."--Review of Texas Books "Scarcely a page will you turn in this collection of ghost stories in Texas without encountering a disembodied hand or a fang baby--creatures guaranteed to shock the shell of an armadillo. . . . Whether you read the tales out loud or spin them around a campfire, you--and your audience--will be spooked. And you'll never again saunter along a dark, deserted riverbank late at night."--Patti Ross, San Antonio Express-News Some humorous, some haunting, and some just late-night terrifying, these stories, gathered by two favorite Texas tellers, span a rich cultural heritage from the earliest Spanish explorers to the present, from La Llorona (the Weeping Woman) to the vanishing hitchhiker. Introduced by John O. West and John L. Davis, two of Texas' most respected folklorists, the stories include tales adapted by European settlers to their new southwestern settings, more historically rooted legends about such early pioneers as Britt Bailey of the Gulf Coast prairie and Josiah Wilbarger of Austin, and those notorious contemporary cautionary tales known as urban legends. With two appendixes addressing selection, learning, and telling of stories as well as sources and scholarship, Texas Ghost Stories is a full-service compendium for tellers, teachers, readers, and collectors. Celebrating both the blending and the diversity of Texan cultures through the timeless stories we love to be scared by, it is a treasury for all Texans and for those who really want to know us.

Table of Contents

Introduction by John O. West	3	(5)
Authors' Introduction	8	(7)
PART ONE Tales the Pioneers Brought
Introduction by John L. Davis	15	(5)
Macario	20	(5)
Attempting to outwit Death, Macario is given a magic healing potion. In a chilling climax, Macario must choose between honor for his family and life for himself.
La Llorona	25	(3)
The most famous of all Hispanic haunts, this weeping woman seeks her drowned children along the riverbanks of Texas.
Tailybone	28	(4)
A beady-eyed varmint crawls through the floor of a lonely old man's cabin. The old man chops off his tail, but the varmint wants it back.
The Hairy Man	32	(5)
Young Wiley always minds his mama, and he'd better. She's the best conjuring woman in the county and his only hope against the Hairy Man.
Mary Culhaine	37	(3)
Irish Mary meets a hideous and mostly dead man in the grave-yard. She piggybacks him around the village, then tricks him for his gold.
Death Makes a Call	40	(3)
An old gentleman leads three young men to Death. They think they will slay the Grim Reaper. They do not.
Fiddling on Devil's Backbone	43	(4)
A young fiddler wagers with a stranger that he can cajole rattlesnakes out of the rocks. To his peril, he does so.
Boo Hag	47	(8)
An innocent husband discovers his new bride's secret-she climbs out of her skin at night and flies to meet her Boo Daddy.
Clickety-Clack Bones	55	(4)
A skeleton returns from the grave to find his widow courting a fiddle player. The musician discovers the skeleton must dance as long as the music plays.
The Insolent Owl	59	(5)
In this chilling tale from the Borderlands, a young girl is disrespectful of her mother and pays the ultimate price.
Dancing with the Devil	64	(2)
Ignoring her mother's warnings, a young girl is lured by cantina music into the arms of a dancer with cloven hooves.
Don't Fall in My Chili	66	(4)
Jack spends the night in a haunted house. No one tells him about the skeleton in the chimney.
Little Eight John	70	(2)
In this popular slave narrative, Little Eight John is mean as the dickens. Meaner still is Raw Head and Bloody Bones.
The Bell Witch	72	(3)
Early settlers from Tennessee told of sweet Katie Bell and the invisible witch that tormented her.
Low River Bruja	75	(3)
This shape-shifting bruja captures children from an isolated jungle village. The villagers retaliate, cruelty escalates, and evil is triumphant in this fatalistic fable.
Knock! Knock!	78	(3)
While the hurricane blows, a Cajun grandmother warns her grandson of a floating coffin and the perils of being stingy.
Mister Fox	81	(8)
Set in the Texas Hill Country, this story is a variation of the legend of Bluebeard, the wealthy aristocrat who mutilated naive young maidens.
PART TWO Tales of the Pioneers
Introduction by John L. Davis	89	(4)
Josiah Wilbarger	93	(3)
One of the Austin area's first citizens, Josiah loses his scalp to a band of Comanches. His dead sister intervenes to save his life.
Rattlesnake Gold	96	(3)
An old shepherd discovers gold in a cave in Uvalde County, but determined rattlers protect the treasure.
The Doctor's Eerie House Call	99	(4)
Under cover of darkness, a physician follows a stranger to a San Antonio mansion. The house was the scene of a gruesome old crime.
East Texas Ghost Dog	103	(3)
Returning from her late-night job, an elderly resident of Jefferson encounters a dozen men in white robes. A spirit dog leads her safely home.
Guardians of the Alamo	106	(5)
The heroes of the Alamo, only days after their bodies have been torched, revive to prevent the destruction of the fortress.
Stampede Mesa	111	(3)
A range dispute results in the death of hundreds of cattle and several cowboys. This ghostly herd still roams the plains of Crosby County.
Dolores	114	(3)
Every evening Dolores lit a fire for her beloved. Folks still see those fires in the hills surrounding Fort Davis.
El Llorón	117	(4)
An aristocratic young man murders his servant to protect his buried gold, then kills the only witness.
Jim Bowie's Ghost	121	(3)
Though all agree Colonel Bowie died defending the Alamo, he made one final visit before departing.
Dry Frio	124	(3)
In this unique variant of the "Weeping Woman," Indians, racism, and rampant floods provide a volatile mix for a Texas tragedy.
Alamo Spirit Pecan	127	(4)
In this Texas version of A Tale of Two Cities, an angel of mercy saves a Mexican soldier. He returns the favor and dies in her lover's place at the siege of the Alamo.
The Knapsack	131	(3)
A young Comanche student, witness to a murder trial, is followed by the ghost of the killer.
The Ghost of San Luis Pass	134	(2)
A young fisherman launches his boat in a storm. His demented widow still walks the beaches and calls for him.
Brit Bailey	136	(4)
In Brazoria County, a ghost light still haunts the woods near Bailey's Prairie. Is Brit looking for his whiskey or seeking his beloved?
Lafitte's Treasure	140	(4)
Pirate Lafitte, aging in Galveston, recognizes his life's true treasure. An unsuspecting servant digs it up.
Fiddle Music on the San Bernard	144	(5)
Two teenage girls on a river outing meet the ghost of a grieving musician.
Ross and Anna	149	(5)
Other than Anna's obsessive fear of snakes, Ross and Anna were the perfect newlywed couple. In a striking conclusion, they hear noises in the kitchen of their dark nuptial cabin.
Chipita Rodriquez	154	(5)
Before recent renewals of death row executions, Chipita was the last woman legally executed in Texas. She returns to haunt the people of San Patricio, the site of her hanging.
Ben and Burl	159	(8)
From Dickens County, Texas, comes this tale of two pioneers driven mad by the isolation. Taciturn Ben hacks off the head of his partner Burl, but Burl just won't stay buried.
PART THREE Urban Myths and Contemporary Tales
Introduction by John L. Davis	167	(4)
La Lechuza	171	(4)
A giant owl attacks doubters, then terrifies a girl and her grand-mother near Pleasanton, Texas.
The Lady of White Rock Lake	175	(6)
A victim of drowning during Prohibition, this eerie spirit knocks on doors and hitchhikes along the shores of the Dallas-area lake.
La Llorona at Mission Concepción	181	(4)
At a family wedding, two bickering children meet a stern old woman who warns them of the wicked La Llorona. As they nap by the river, one of the children disappears.
The Lady in Black	185	(4)
Suspicious of his wife, a wealthy Spaniard has her hanged. She still walks the highways near Refugio, Texas, proclaiming her innocence to all who will listen.
Prom Queen	189	(4)
Distraught and dateless on prom night, a young man finds a beautiful girl on a deserted road. She's his age and dressed for the prom. Surprise! Surprise!
Room 636 at the Gunter	193	(5)
The ghost of a beautiful blonde woman still walks the hallways of San Antonio's Gunter Hotel.
Midget Mansion	198	(4)
This famous San Antonio landmark was once a downtown hospital. Many claim the diminutive occupants of the basement still carry on their healing.
The Lady in the Red Dress	202	(2)
She walks El Mercado after midnight. Leave her alone if you want to see the dawn.
Empanada Man	204	(5)
A librarian in San Diego, Texas, tells this true-life story of an old man killed by a teenage driver. He returns to share his empanadas with a child who loved him.
The Crying Children of Carrollton	209	(5)
Anyone who looked upon them said they were the saddest children they'd ever seen. Almost a century later, their sobbing still haunts the town of Carrollton, Texas.
Fang Baby of Old Pearsal Road	214	(4)
A friend relates this chilling modern vampire tale of an infant on a south Texas roadside. When motorists stop, the child's toothless gums grow fangs.
The Lady with the Hook	218	(2)
So, you thought it was a man? Bet you didn't know it was a cheerleader, either. She couldn't hold her pom-pom, and she's out for revenge.
Skinwalker	220	(4)
An Alabama man traveling across Texas discovers it's a long way to El Paso. A hitchhiker shortens the trip.
Children of the Tracks	224	(3)
This is a classic San Antonio story of twenty-three children killed when their school bus stalled on a railroad track. The driver fled to safety, but the children did not forget.
Donkey Lady	227	(12)
Sweet Rosalee was the object of cruel ridicule throughout her youth. She now seeks her revenge on teenage romancers near Helotes, west of San Antonio.
In Conclusion	235	(4)
Appendices
Appendix A: Learning Ghost Stories: The Why and How	239	(25)
Appendix B: Notes and Thoughts on Story Sources	264