Title: Stonegate Mansion

Category: Legend, Ghost-Story

Informant: Julianna K. Keller

Nationality: American, caucasian

Age: 20

Occupation: Student

Residence: 325 West Adams Blvd./ Los Angeles, CA 90007

Date of Collection: 4/09/18

Description:

Stonegate mansion was owned by a businessman in the early 1970s. One evening, the owner of Stonegate discovered that his wife was having an affair. Overcome with anger he took out his aggression on his wife and daughter, killing them both. Upon hearing the cries of his employer, the Stonegate’s butler ran into the scene hoping to save her. Quick to hide his crime and appease his emotions further, Mr. Stonegate then murdered the butler as well. All of the murders took place in the upstairs parlor.

The mansion was later turned over to the state before it was sold to a private company that renovated it and now lents it out for parties and celebrations. The owners keep all parties exclusive to the first floor. Owners and visitors alike say that evil spirits haunt the second and third stories, warning people to keep away from the area of the infamous crime.

Context/Significance:

Stonegate Mansion is located in Fort Worth Texas. Known for its architectural design, The Stonegate Mansion features more than 12,000 square feet of gleaming hardwoods, marble floors, soaring ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook majestic oak trees and immaculate landscaping. The Stonegate Mansion is spacious enough for groups of up to 300, but intimate enough for parties of 20.

In 1972, Cullen Davis spent $6 million to build the five-bedroom, 11-bath mansion with an indoor pool and a 2,000-square-foot (190 m2) master bedroom. In its prime, the luxurious, contemporary home of courtyards, tunnels and balconies at 4100 Stonegate Blvd. was decorated with more than 100 oil paintings. The mansion was designed by Albert S. Komatsu and Associates.

Explaining its darker past, in 1976 a man in black, wearing a black wig, shot and killed two people there. Three witnesses described Davis as the shooter. But in a trial in Amarillo he was acquitted of the killing of his 12-year-old stepdaughter, Andrea Wilborn, who was murdered execution-style in the basement. Prosecutors also later dismissed charges related to the killing of former TCU basketball player Stan Farr, who police found dead in the kitchen, and the wounding of Davis’ estranged wife, Priscilla, and her friend Gus “Bubba” Gavrel. Davis’ oil-based business empire later crumbled. He moved out of the mansion in 1983 and declared bankruptcy in 1987.

Personal Thoughts:

I’ve never been to Stonegate mansion, but my roommate had her Senior Prom in one of its ballrooms. She says the estate is gorgeous and home to many celebrations in the area. The mansion doesn’t advertise the ghosts online, but she says that the stories are common knowledge to those who live in the area.