Excerpt from “Haunted Texas Vacations: The Complete Ghostly Guide”
The Alamo is the site of one of the most famous battles in American history, the valiant fight for Texas’s independence from Mexico, and is also the state’s most haunted mission/fort. Originally, the Alamo was built in 1718 as a Franciscan mission, known as San Antonio De Valero. The mission served as home to missionaries and their Indian converts for nearly 70 years. In 1724, construction began on the present site, which is now in the heart of downtown San Antonio.
More than a century later, in 1836, the spot was an outpost for a brave group of Texas defenders led by William B. Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett – all determined to defeat the Mexican army, which outnumbered them nine to one. On March 6, after 13 days of siege, the Mexican forces, led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, overran the Alamo and killed every armed defender at the outpost. Santa Anna ordered that all 184 bodies be dumped into a mass grave and left orders that the Alamo itself be torn down to the ground. Bodies smoldered for several days in two large funeral pyres erected on either side of the Alamo. The bodies of many Mexican soldiers were dumped into the San Antonio River.
There is no doubt what the battle has come to symbolize for Texans and others all over the world. People remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against overwhelming odds. For this reason, the Alamo remains hallowed ground and the Shrine of Texas Liberty.
Many psychics believe the paranormal activity surrounding the Alamo in the heart of the city is due to the bloody battle fought here over 100 years ago. This fight for Texas independence resulted in a tremendous loss of life, and thousands of dead soldiers were not given a proper burial. The land surrounding the Alamo is also the site of an ancient Indian burial ground. The Alamo grounds, both sacred and tragic, have produced an enormous amount of paranormal activity.
Reports of ghostly sightings, disembodied voices, and an otherworldly presence have been experienced by so many for so many years that the Alamo reigns supreme as the most haunted site in San Antonio. The first tale of supernatural apparitions at the Alamo occurred just a few days after the famous battle for Texas independence. Ordered by Santa Anna to destroy the mission, Mexican engineers fled in fear after ghostly hands protruded from the walls to stop them. Some of the phantom hands held glowing “torches,” and a thundering voice called out, promising a horrible death to anyone who desecrated the walls. The paranormal phenomena continue today.
The most famous ghost in residence at the Alamo is believed to be none other than Hollywood legend John Wayne. In the late 1950s, the “Duke” decided to direct a movie called The Alamo, which embodied his own life philosophy. He spent $1.5 million dollars re-creating the Alamo in Bracketville, just a few miles outside San Antonio.
During filming, Wayne became obsessed with the area, the history of the battle, and the heroic defenders he greatly admired. Many visiting psychics have described his presence in the mission. One even estimated that Wayne returns to the shrine about once a month to visit with the defenders’ spirits who still reside here.
Another famous resident is frontiersman Davy Crockett, who has been observed carrying a rifle and strolling outside the Long Barracks dressed in buckskin clothing. He wears his traditional coonskin cap and moccasins. Crockett’s portrait in the chapel has been found askew when rangers open the mission for the day. The painting hangs 10 feet up and cannot be reached by human hands.
One of the hottest areas for paranormal activity is the Long Barracks of the Alamo complex. It was here that the defenders made their last futile stand against Santa Anna’s advancing army. Rangers have heard ghostly whispers and murmurs as well as emotional voices yelling, “No! Stop! Here they come! Fire! Dead!” and the most poignant, “It’s not too late!” Psychics have described the resident spirits as not only those of Texans but also several Mexican soldiers. Disembodied footsteps have followed guards as they make their late-night rounds through the barracks; one ranger reported he was kicked in the behind by an unseen force.
One of the most frightening encounters in the Long Barracks occurred after closing when a ranger entered a room to find a man dressed in buckskin leaning against a wall, bleeding from several bullet wounds. The phantom grimaced in pain as several Mexican soldiers materialized and began stabbing him with their bayonets. In the blink of an eye, the grisly scene vanished, leaving the guard extremely shaken and sad.
The informative book Haunted Alamo, by Robert and Anne Powell Wlodarski, cites the “wall of tears” as a particularly touching manifestation that occurred in the basement of the Alamo Gift Shop. On February 27 and 28, 1995, five employees were conducting an inventory in the basement of the gift shop. For two days the sound of a woman weeping accompanied their work. The sounds seemed to come from the surrounding walls. Two employees became so stricken with sadness that they could not remain in the basement. Others reported feeling watched and saw strange shadows creep across the walls. Several women and children were present in the Alamo during the bloody battle, and all lost loved ones. Does at least one woman remain still mourning her loss?
Another specter who frequents the gift shop is a small blond boy who stares despondently down from a window overlooking the courtyard. Many tourists and employees have seen the boy, who appears most often during the first few weeks of February. One psychic claimed the boy had been in charge of caring for the cattle at the Alamo and remained because of the enormous amount of guilt he carried regarding the outcome of the battle. The child believed he should have done something more to participate and contribute during the fighting.
The ghostly figure of a man gazing out of the window over the chapel doorway has been captured on film by a passing tourist. The specter has been spotted on several occasions by other tourists and rangers.
Numerous rangers have witnessed ghostly apparitions of men in 1800s homespun clothing walking from the chapel to various destinations on the grounds. The rangers always assumed them to be trespassers, and are quick to approach the “intruders,” only to have them disappear into thin air. Many believe these wraiths to be the spirits of the defenders of the Alamo. One could speculate just who the “real” intruders are here.
Sleep tight…
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