History and fantasy rolled into one. Every old
town or city will have its share of history, legends, and ghost stories
along with it. Each place is the subject of legends of old and these
legends make up the core of ghost tours that thrive on the fascination
of a lot of people with folklore. Austin is no exception and has its
share of Austin ghost tours.
With its old buildings and
structures, Austin is not only historic, it can even be legendary, and
with legends, expect ghosts and monsters along with them. For the
thrill seekers, there are Austin ghost tours that take them to the
historic buildings of Austin to see and feel for themselves the
legends behind the facts. From the founding of Austin as the capital of
Texas, it has had its share of stories, folk lore and legends that
inevitably point to ghosts and spirits that continue to haunt to this
day. The colorful past metamorphosing into the present, with exciting
and even frightening stories, these are the attractions of the Austin
ghost tours.
Austin ghost tours are walking tours that take
you through the oldest and most historic of Austins buildings where
you retrace history with tour guides and the spirits. A regular stop
is the Driskill Hotel on the corner of Sixth and Brazos. More than a
century into its opening in 1886, the ghost of its founder Colonel
Driskill remains to care-take the building. Watch out for that smoke
wafting along your way; its probably from Colonel Driskills trademark
cigar. Sharpen your senses to hear and feel the bouncing ball that the
ghost of a four-year old girl who died in the hotel is playing with.
Watch as goose-bumps sprout all over you as you sense the spirits
hovering as you tour the hotels aisles and rooms.
The ghost
tour will take you on the Capitol Tour, too, which covers the Capitol,
even the Driskill Hotel, and the Governors Mansion. Feel the presence
of the late leaders of the State who used to work on these structures
and have not abandoned them even after their deaths. There is the
Ghosts of the Warehouse District Tour; this takes you through the
oldest city buildings especially those that have been the site of some
of Austins most mysterious murders in the 1800s. You are led on a tour
of ancient buildings with the Sixth Street Pub Crawl tour, through the
entertainment district which naturally had its share of chaos and
mayhem in the past, with bar brawls ending in killings and the ghosts
remaining there. Then there is the Servant Girl Annihilator Tour, based
on the story of the serial murders of maids and servants in the late
1800s.
If you are up to it, there are combination tours that
take you through the most chilling of sites and legends, sampling each
of the aforementioned tours. These combo tours are usually fully booked
on Halloween nights so be sure to reserve in advance.
Check
out the Austin registry at (512) 853-9826 for these Austin ghost tours
or go online searching for the ghosts of Texas for more info and
bookings.
About the Author:
Joe Cline writes articles for REMAX Capital City. Other articles written by the author related to Remax Austin and Lakeway Texas can be found on the net.