Everything's bigger in Texas, including the ghost stories. On this #ParanormalTuesday, Mike and Wendy head (virtually) to Austin with Billy and Mark from Strange Town and Monica Ballard from Austin Ghost Tours for a few favorite tales from one of the South's most storied cities.
First stop is Oakwood Cemetery, where some of the gravestones are so old and weathered the names have worn away. In the early 20th century, the story goes, medical professors from the University of Texas would sneak in to dig up freshly buried bodies for their students to study. No wonder people talk about restless spirits there. The Strange Town crew share a strange coincidence from their own filming at the cemetery, and the group gets into ghost-hunting gear, including the famously finicky flashlight test, with some friendly skepticism about cheap electronics.
Then it's off to the Driskill Hotel, just off Sixth Street. Built in 1886 in the Romanesque Revival style, it's the oldest operating hotel in Austin, and it has hosted everyone from Roy Orbison and Jerry Garcia to Matthew McConaughey. One guest shares a chilling personal story of zoning out in the hotel until something told her, clearly, to leave now.
Love Southern ghost stories? You can walk through more of them on our French Quarter Ghost Walk in New Orleans.