Tag Archives: Texas haunting

Ghost or Elf On The Shelf?

Age: 21

This story takes place in a childhood home in San Antonio, Texas, on an early Saturday morning in December. PR was elementary school–aged at the time and asleep in his bed. Suddenly, a knock on the door pulled him out of a deep sleep (not enough to fully wake him, though) so he ignored it and drifted back to sleep.

Then he heard it again: another knock, this time accompanied by a low voice telling him to get up, something like, “Hey, PR, wake up.” Assuming it was his dad, who followed a strict morning routine, PR figured that a knock so early on a Saturday must mean something important. So he put on his slippers and bathrobe and headed downstairs.

Confused, he looked for his dad but couldn’t find him anywhere. A family friend from Spain had been staying with them and was already awake due to the time difference. PR asked if he had seen or heard his dad, but the friend replied, “No, he hasn’t been here.”

Still puzzled, PR went back upstairs to check his parents’ bedroom…only to find both of them fast asleep, completely out. Despite the unexplained knock, he returned to his room. Since it was the Christmas season and his family had an Elf on the Shelf that supposedly moved around every night, he blamed it on the elf.

“As a kid, I immediately thought, ‘Oh, it was the Elf on the Shelf. He was playing a prank on me.’ That made perfect sense to me then.”

Years later, however, PR looked back on the experience and had a realization: “Wait…that wasn’t the elf.” It suddenly struck him how strange the whole event really was. It felt almost ghostly. He tried to rationalize it, but pointed out that neither his dad nor the family friend were the type to knock and then rush back to bed. They were both very routine-oriented.

It left him wondering whether it had been something paranormal or simply a half-dreaming state. PR considers himself a rational thinker and believes there must be a logical explanation. He suggests it could have been a groggy hallucination, though he isn’t entirely sure. Regardless, it felt very real, very strange, and has stayed with him ever since.

He also noted that there was no known history of haunting in the house. It was relatively new, built in the late 1980s or early 1990s, and only one other family had lived there before, who they didn’t know. His parents once mentioned that a young daughter had previously occupied his room, but aside from that, nothing else unusual or paranormal ever occurred in the house.

Although PR believes it’s unlikely that his dad or the guest could have knocked, it’s still possible. Another explanation could be that a combination of ordinary noises woke him, and his half-asleep brain filled in the sound of his father’s voice. It may have been a mix of both.

The story reflects common elements found in ghost narratives, particularly the motif of poltergeist activity. A “noisy ghost” associated with domestic spaces. It also involves a child, which is significant, as children are often portrayed as more sensitive or connected to the spirit world. Additionally, the timing is notable: the December holiday season, when routines are disrupted, traditions are heightened, and households feel different than usual. Early Saturday morning, a time typically reserved for uninterrupted rest, adds to the sense of disorientation.

All of these factors could have placed PR in an unusual mental state, where strange occurrences felt more believable, or where his mind was more likely to interpret ambiguous stimuli as something extraordinary.

San Antonio Haunted Train Tracks

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Antonio, Texas
Performance Date: April 7, 2020
Primary Language: English

Context: 

The informant–ZG– is an 18 year old male born and raised in San Antonio Texas. The train tracks to which the informant is referring are located near the San Juan Mission and have become a popular tourist destination for self proclaimed ghost hunters.

Piece:

A story that I heard growing up and I actually did witness was south of San Antonio. There’s these railroad tracks, and supposedly in the eighteen hundreds a train was coming by and it killed all these small children. I don’t know what they were doing playing on train tracks. That was their fault. But if you go at night and you set your car in the middle of the train tracks–the train tracks are no longer in use–the ghost children will push your car across the train tracks. My mom and I went back in 2014 or 2013. We had this huge pickup truck. And we went over and, we parked on top of the train tracks and it’s actually like a line of people. And what do you know we put our car in neutral and… Wow! Our car was pushed across the train tracks from the little children. It was incredible.

Analysis:

Despite the popularity of the San Antonio train tracks said to be haunted by ghosts of children killed in an accident, there is no proof that such an accident ever happened at those specific tracks or in San Antonio. The legend could be a cautionary tale warning children about the dangers of playing around the train tracks or an explanation for the phenomenon that occurs when a car is put in neutral when stopped over the tracks.

Davy Crockett Hotel Haunting

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Antonio, Texas
Performance Date: April 7, 2020
Primary Language: English

Context:

The informant–ZG– is an 18 year old male born and raised in San Antonio Texas. The hotel he references, the Crockett Hotel, is located in downtown San Antonio and was founded in 1836. David “Davy” Crockett (1786-1836) was an American frontiersman.

Piece:

So I’m born in San Antonio Texas and I’ve been raised here most my life and I love this city. An interesting aspect is that we have a lot of ghost stories and hauntings in our city. We’re famously known for the Alamo, but we have this Davy Crockett conspiracy that he haunts the Crockett Hotel. Personally, I’ve never stayed a night there but it’s in the midst of downtown and has this giant green neon sign. And rumor has it that the night at 3:14 am if I remember correctly he will knock on your door. I would really like to think that they hire someone to stay up at 3:14 in the morning and go around knocking on people’s doors. I think that would be hilarious. But maybe it is the infamous Davy Crockett and his soul. 

Analysis:

The ghost stories of San Antonio seem to a point of pride, at least through the informant’s telling of the ghost story, for the city. Despite being born in Tennessee, San Antonio tries Davy Crockett’s ghost due to his part in the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.