Haunted Heritage and Horrible Histories

From the macabre mourning practices of the Victorian era to the ghostly tales of settlers roaming the Texas wilderness, these frights are absolutely terrifying and entirely true.

Pictured: W.R. Robinson's Funeral, 1910, at Abbott Cemetery in Abbott, Texas.
Credit: Portal to Texas History, Private Collection of T. B. Willis.
Walking Tours
Ghost Stories
Victorian Mourning
Horror at the Theatre
Dia de los Muertos

It's only scary if it really happened.

Every ghost story has a kernel of truth. Untimely deaths, unhappy lives, unimaginable pain or loss—these are the woeful circumstances under which a haunting usually occurs. And even if the haunting in question is to be doubted, the story behind it certainly isn't.

Do you prefer a nighttime stroll by lantern light or scary stories told around a fire? Is your macabre curiosity piqued more by Victorian mourning practices or the phantoms that roam in grand old theatres? Or perhaps, our historic cemetery tours are what you're looking for. You might even find yourself drawn to the vibrant altars and traditions of Día de los Muertos, where the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest.

We've got something for everyone.

Walking Tours

"I knew nothing but shadows, and I thought them to be real."

-Oscar Wilde

Ghost stories

“If it sends a cold shiver down one’s spine, it has done its job and done it well.”

-Edith Wharton

Victorian Mourning

"I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air
Between the Heaves of Storm"

-Emily Dickinson

Horror at the Theatre

"There'll be food and drink and ghosts, and perhaps even a few murders. You're all invited."

-House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Dia de los Muertos

To live in hearts we leave behind, Is not to die.

-Thomas Campbell (1777–1844), "Hallowed Ground"

Author

Mallory Laurel

Special Projects Coordinator