Ghost Hunters

Well, what do you know? It's been a week since we talked and I've ended up with a free Friday night. So how about we spend it together and I tell you about the little adventure I had a week ago?

Cool. Hope you like a good ghost story...

It was a dark and stormy night. No seriously. It really was. A friend called and said her husband was out of town on a business trip and would I like to stay in a historical, haunted hotel with her Friday night? Um, sure I would. I was due for a little excitement. After all, we all know what a boring life I lead. (Cough)
So we met last Friday in Jefferson, Texas. It's one of my favorite towns; the shopping is great, the food is great, the houses are great, the people are great, and the history is... really great. Amber and I dumped our stuff in Room 18 of the old Jefferson Hotel and decided to hit the town.

But of course, it was February. Not a lot going on. We walked a bit and talked non-stop and had dinner and then Amber mentioned the town lantern tour at 8 PM. Was I game even though it was cold and raining? Sure. We walked to the steps of the old museum and that's when I saw the sign: Historic Ghost Walk.


I'd heard about the Ghost Walk before. Jodi Breckenridge, the tour guide, is a smart - if not skeptical - guide and her walks are heavy on the history of the town's people and places. I liked her immediately and decided I would enjoy Jodi's telling of the history and legends of all the old homes and buildings.

So off we went. First to the old McGarity's Saloon. Then to the old hotels, including the one that Steven Spielberg himself got so creeped out in that he checked out at 2 AM and said he would never be back. Yeah. Then on to the Big Cypress Coffee Shop (old funeral home and brothel) and up the street to the Schluter House... the biggest, most scariest house in the country:

Or, whatever. I held my white-rimmed umbrella and stood in the rain looking at the old house. It's beautiful. Creepy, considering the context in which I was viewing it, but beautiful. (And for the record, I have no idea what that bright, squiggly line is.)

The tour wrapped up and we headed back to the hotel, eager to dry off and get warm. Along the tour, Amber and I struck up a conversation with some guys from Fort Worth. They were ghost hunters, they told us, and had all that EVP recorders and KII meters and everything. Furthermore, they were going back out at 3 o'clock that morning and would like for us to join them. They'd come by our room at 2:45 AM to get us.
Back in the room, Amber and I cautiously considered their invitation:

Me: Hey, do you think we should go romping around at 3 AM with a couple of strangers?

Amber: (Looking hard at me.) I don't know. Larry will kill me.

Me: You think they're killers and will use those meter things to electrocute us before dumping our bodies in the bayou?

Amber: Could be. But they look pretty harmless.

Me: I could get my pepper spray out of the car. And here, let's hide a note in the room for the police to find if we go missing. (Scribbling on a coaster: Gone out with the people in Room 24. If we don't come back, they killed us. Think they're from Fort Worth. My will is in my safe.)

Yep. We so went. And it was even creepier at 3 in the morning:


I have to say - I was brave, wasn't I, Amber? I mean, it takes a lot more than an old house to scare me. I walked to the door of this one... the one that used to be a general store back around the turn of the century... and my umbrella and I stood there looking in. I didn't even run when the three of them started shrieking that they saw "orbs" in the picture. "The orbs are moving toward you! BRRIIIINNNNNNN! The ORBS!" Amber yelled.

I think she forgot she doesn't really believe in ghosts. Only, while Amber was holding my camera she did manage to catch a shadowy image on film. It looked like a young woman with dark hair. "Look at this!" I said, holding it out for Amber to see. It was almost morning and the sun was almost up.

"Is that a PERSON?" Amber gasped.

"Yes," I said, astonished. "I think this was when I gave you my camera so I could take yours down into that place by the trees where they used to hang escaped slaves. I'm going to take it home and see if I can't lighten the image to see what it is...".


It was me. Me standing under a street light on the lookout for ghosts. Only I was the ghost. (Amber, next time I'm not taking off with your camera and its cool "twilight" setting. Only it was a lot of fun, wasn't it? And the ghost in Room 18 didn't throw anything out of the closet at us. And the Fort Worth ghost hunters didn't kill us at all!)

Hey, I told you it was a ghost story. I didn't tell you it would be a scary ghost story. (Laugh)

Enjoy your weekend. I hope to check in again with y'all before I fly.... -Brin