Austin News

As the autumn leaves change color, Texas offers more than seasonal activities. The state is home to numerous cemeteries with rich histories and ghostly legends.

Texas has approximately 14,000 cemeteries, many of which are associated with stories of early settlers, diseases, natural disasters, and wars. From the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast, these sites are historical landmarks intertwined with supernatural elements.

In Austin lies Oakwood Cemetery, Texas' oldest graveyard covering 40 acres. It contains graves of Texas Revolution and Civil War veterans and former governors like General Sam Houston. Notably, it holds the grave of Eula Phillips, a teenager murdered on Christmas Eve in 1885. Her spirit is said to wander the cemetery at night.

Galveston's Old City Cemetery serves as a reminder of the Hurricane of 1900 that devastated the island. On stormy nights, winds allegedly carry cries for help from spirits lost during the disaster. Among those buried there is Elize Romer Alberti, known as Galveston’s “Demented Mother,” who poisoned her children in 1894. She reportedly haunts the cemetery grounds.

Concordia Cemetery in El Paso spans 52 acres with over 60,000 graves including buffalo soldiers and Texas Rangers. Its most famous resident is John Wesley Hardin, an infamous gunslinger from the Old West. Concordia is nicknamed “El Paso’s Boot Hill” due to its storied past involving outlaws whose spirits are rumored to roam at night.

These cemeteries offer more than history; they provide encounters with spirits from bygone eras. Whether one believes in ghosts or not, this season invites gatherings around campfires to share tales—because you never know who might be listening.