Ghost Stories of textas written by Joanne Christensen, published by Lompine Publishing. School
Spirits. The original Metz Elementary School in East Austin was built during World War
One. For more than seven decades, classes were taught there until the building
had fallen into such disrepair that there were concerns about the children's safety. Finally,
in nineteen ninety the funds were available to build a new school on the
old site. Parents, students, and members of the faculty were all thrilled
with the plan. It was not until the fall of that year, as
demolation of the old mits began, that any opposition became apparent. When construction
crews in heavy machinery began wrecking the seventy four year old building, it seemed
that the spirits of former students were standing in the way. Joe Torres of
Tourists, Trucking and Exhibition noticed something odd for the first time he walked through
the old school. As he and his son Gabriel surveyed the deserted halls in
classrooms planning the demolation project, they heard several mysterious sounds. We heard scratching
on a chalkboard. Torres told the Austin American statesman. We thought we heard
kids playing in the class room, but no one was around. The strange
echoes were perplexing, but were not enough to distract Torres. He told himself
that there was some logical explanation and went about his business. Within a short
time, however, the peculiar events at METZ had begun to effect Torres's business.
Workers began to complain that their ladders were moving as though they were being
shaken by unseen hands. On one day alone, five pieces of heavy machinery
felled in rapid succession. The truck that was dispatched to pick up replaced parts
for the equipment then broke down as well. Later on, mechanics were able
to find little wrong with the various machines. That was small constellation to Torres,
who had already lost three thousand dollars in lost working time. The equipment
problems and unusual accidents became so commonplace at the Met's job site that it wasn't
long before some workers were thoroughly When some of Joe torres laborers refused to go
back to the crumbling old building, he took another walk through the halls himself.
Again he heard the eerie hollow sounds of children laughing and playing. There
were sounds of wooden chair legs scrapping across the bare floor, and of chalk
scratching against a blackboard. Tourists searched the boating completely, hoping to find some
explanation. He found none, but still resisted, believing that the small spirits
of former students were standing in the way of his project. It might be
a coincidence, he said afterward. It's kind of hard for me to swallow.
The theory was much more easily accepted by a Laine Ireland of the Central
Texas Parapsychology Association. Ireland told the Austin American Statesmen that the general area in
which Met's Elementary was located was known as a site of intense paranormal activity.
Furthermore, she explained, the school was full of love and laughter, and
a part of that energy is still there. School is a haven for a
lot of children. It's like tearing down their home. Eventually, whether Joe
Torres believed in the ghosts or not, he had to admit that he had
a problem. He hoped that a lay evangelius named Ellis Lemon from Costa Guadalupe
Catholic Center would be able to provide'em with a solution. Lemon spent some
time in the construction site in September of nineteen ninety. Armed with holy water
and blessings, he prayed that whatever had not found rest would find rest.
Everyone hoped that it would be the end of the unnatural activity and Met's elementary
It was not. According to Haunted Places the National Directory, Penguin Books,
nineteen ninety six, the problems actually became more serious. Author Dennis William Hawk
wrote that a short time after their religious ceremony was performed, a man was
killed on sight when a wall exploded on him. Ultimately, the project was
plagued with so many setbacks and such bad luck it finished nearly six months behind
schedule. And as for Joe Torres's reluctance to believe in the supernatural, in
September nineteen ninety, he told reporter Julie Bonnie of the Austin American Statesman,
I am not a superstitious person. I am too old to believe it.
But you walk through and think if these walls could talk. Two years later,
when all was said and done, something happened that may finally have converted
the level headed foreman and to a believer. According to author Dennis William Hawk,
Taurus transplanted a tree from the ground of the met's elementary to the front
yard of his daughter's home. Hawk said, now people claim to hear the
voices of children coming from that tree