Ghost stories of textas written by Joanne Christensen published by Ompine Publishing, Visions from
the Past. When most people hear the word ghost, they think of a
human spirit, so might also envision the apparitions of animals. Perhaps the definition
should be expanded to include things that have no life force. However, for
ghostly buildings, vehicles, and other inanimate objects are not unheard of. If
these soulless things can leave their imprints so strongly upon a place, then perhaps
we must rethink what ghosts really are. Perhaps they are not the spirits of
people, but impressions left by their presence. Whichever way one chooses to define
and explain ghosts, though, they remain fascinating, and the ghosts of things
are sometimes most fascinating of all. A Montezuma's Serpent and the Other True Supernatural
Tales of the Southwest Pargon House, nineteen ninety two. Authors Brad Stinger and
Sherry Hansen Stinger report a number of spectral buildings and vehicles having been witnessed in
Texas. In one case, a couple by the name of Davidson were vacationing
near Corpus Christie when they found themselves attracted to a historic two story house overlooking
the ocean. Despite the home's well tended gardens in fresh appearance, it seemed
to be vacant. Mister and Missus Davison, who wanted to spend their summer
in the area, hoped that the place might be for it. They didn't
have time to investigate at that particular time, but took careful note of the
house's location and vowed to return later. Only a few hours had passed before
the Davisons were back on the same street looking for the tidy, old fashioned
house. On their second visit, however, the place was nowhere to be
found. The Stingers quoted mister Davison as saying, we drove all over the
area, but we saw nothing even resembling that magnificent old house. When we
spoke to the nearest neighbors, we could find no one who had even a
memory of such a house ever having been in the neighborhood. Another phantom building
spoke of in the book was different, and that it came complete with ghostly
residents. It was a restaurant a few miles east of Amarillo. Sam and
Clara Carter stopped there in the pre dawn hours of a May day in nineteen
eighty seven. Though the Carters were familiar with the area, neither had ever
noticed this particular quaint, rustic style restaurant before. They decided to give it
a try and were delighted with what they discovered. The food was superb and
the service was incredibly friendly. The Carters chatted with both the waitress and cook
and promised that they would definitely make a return visit. They were not able
to make good on that promise, however, because despite numerous trips up and
down that same highway, the Carters were never again able to find that deserted
little cafe. And the Carter's experience, there were at least two human ghosts,
the waitress and the cook, associated with the phantom restaurant, and one
of the Stinger's other stories, a spectral vehicle came complete with the apparition of
a driver. It was nineteen eighty six. Lyle Mortensen and his family were
driving near Galiston when they pulled up behind an old model Tea Ford. The
antique car was traveling so slowly that traffic began to back up behind the Mortensen's
vehicle. After waiting patiently for a while, Mortensen realized that the driver had
no plans to pull over and courteously let the other vehicles pass. In frustration,
he gave a blast of his horn. The driver of the Model Tea
was visibly startled and looked over his shoulder to see what was behind him.
Lyle Mortensen saw the man's face twist in an expression of terror. Then the
old car seemed to drift sideways off the road and ended up in the ditch.
Mortensen was mortified, certain that his impatience had caused the other driver's accident.
I've got to go back and see if he's all right, he told
his wife. It was soon obvious that nothing could be done. As Lyoe
Mortensen pulled over to the shoulder off the road alongside the Model t the car
began to fade from sight. The Mortensons later estimated that it took about thirty
seconds for the very real looking image to vanish completely. Dating back to the
nineteen sixties, there's a story of a ghost train that did not fade away,
but simply traveling out of sight. The witness, Thomas Phillips of Pasadena,
realized that the train was not of this dimension. The first thing Philips
noticed as he sat in his car waiting for the train to pass, was
that there was no crossing lights, signs, or signals marking the spot where
the old train locomotive crossed the highway. He then observed that the freight car
seemed to be glowing slightly lit by something other than his own headlights. What
really shocked Phillips, however, was what he saw after the last box car
had passed. With the train gone, he could clearly see that there were
no tracks and no sign that a railroad bed had ever been set across the
highway at that point. Just a few more ghostly things to consider in the
haunted state of Texas.