A Few Good Ghost Stories...

Definition of: "Ghost"

1. The spirit of a dead person, especially one believed to appear in bodily likeness to living persons or to haunt former habitats.
2. The center of spiritual life; the soul.
3. A demon or spirit.
4. A returning or haunting memory or image.

Yes, there are some places people say are "haunted." The Halloween season always seems to bring out the local ghost stories, and I recently did a bit of research, finding that The Woodlands and surrounding areas all have more than their share of such interesting tales. These particular locations have been well-documented over the years, but I do not recommend that amatuer ghost hunters visit any of the privately-owned locations mentioned in this article, before first contacting the owners/proprietors of the sites for their permission to do so.


The Woodlands:

The Haunted Drugstore of Rayford Road

A drugstore located at 485 Sawdust Road is said to be haunted by the ghost of a former manager who was killed execution style during a robbery in 1996. The ghost of John Cedars is said to haunt the store. Though it wasn't at the time, the location is now open 24 hours and employees say that at night, Mr. Cedars can be heard walking the store or playing jokes. He is said to like to knock over the stacks of diapers as he did when he was alive. Several people have reported incidents while alone in the stockroom at night, such as toys turning themselves on and off. Occasionally things have been known to fly off shelves and break without anyone nearby. The activity is said to have calmed after the convictions of the perpetrators in 1998, but according to a cashier who asked that their identity not be given, Cedars is still a presence in the store to this day.

Visitations at the Theater Multiplex

Another "haunting" from The Woodlands concerns a 17-screen movie theater located at 1600 Lake Robbins Drive, near The Woodlands Mall. According to the stories, a mobile home park once stood at this location and was the scene of a major fire where several residents were killed. A small boy and older man are said to have died in that fire, and their spirits have been seen at night wandering the theater. Odd poltergiest activity has also been reported by employees and customers, including doors opening by themselves, phantom voices, and lights turning on and off by themselves.

Old Town Spring (Some call Old Town Spring "The Ghost Capital of Texas"):

The Wunsche Bros. Hotel and Saloon

The Wunsche Bros. Cafe and Saloon building located at 103 Midway, has served many purposes throughout the past 100 years, including a rail station, brothel and the now well-known restaurant. It is said that many have seen an apparition of "Old Man Wunsche" on the upstairs balcony. And several waitresses who have worked there over the years have also claimed to have seen him.

The Wunsche Brothers, railroad men themselves, built the Wunsche Bros. Hotel and Saloon to accommodate railroad employees overnight. In 1923, Houston and Great Northern (now called Missouri Pacific) moved the Spring rail yard to Houston. By 1926 most of the town's wood buildings were salvaged for barn construction and firewood. The Wunsche Bros. Cafe and Saloon was the first two-story building erected in Spring and remains today the oldest survivor of the past.

The building is in its original location. The tracks run right across the street. It was a saloon/restaurant/boardinghouse in its early days. There is a story that has been passed down through the generations of locals that Charlie Wunsche fell in love with a young woman who didn't love him in return. She jilted him and he ended up a rather crusty old man, who in turn has become a crusty old ghost. The restaurant was remodeled a few years back to add extra dining space and it is said that Charlie has been on a rampage on the second floor.

Managers and employees prefer not to discuss Charlie as he has done some nasty and uncalled for things to them, such as locking them out of the building. Another story is that shortly after Charlie's death, a young artist stayed in the room where Charlie died. The man awoke in the middle of the night to see an old man staring at him from across the room. The artist drew a charcoal sketch of the old man and asked the owner of the building if they could identify who he had drawn (hoping to identify the man who had interrupted his sleep). The old man was immediately identified as Uncle Charlie Wunsche.

The Old Spring State Bank Building

This little brick building at 115 Midway in Old Town Spring has been the home to many shops since the 1930's when it was the Spring State Bank. At that time, the bank was the site of at least two robberies involving gunfire. One team of bank robbers was said to have been the notorious folk bandits Bonnie and Clyde (though this has never been officially confirmed).

Today, the bank is a memory, but specialty shops often move into the building... and then they seem to quickly move out. It is beleived that the old metal vault that's still part of the building is the source of the spiritual apparitions, and at least one ghostly figure may be trapped inside this building, looking for the cash deposits that left when the bank did, over 50 years ago.

Descriptions of the alleged ghost by visitors to the site seem to match a similar figure... but he manifests in different ways to each person who sees him.

Puffabelly's Old Depot Restaurant

This 1900-era train depot building was moved to 100 Main Street in Old Town Spring from its original location in Lovelady, Texas in 1985. The structure, built of board and batten pine siding, contained a passenger waiting area, baggage and cargo areas, and small offices. It was purchased by brothers Bob and John Sanders in 1985, cut in half, and moved aboard two separate large house-moving trucks to its present site. The move took three nights to accomplish, arriving in Spring at 3:00 a.m. on May 15, 1985. Until 1994, the facility was used for storage and a small leather goods retail shop, before being reconditioned, restored and renamed "Puffabelly’s" in 1994.

It is said the Lovelady connection spawned the tales of ghosts and the sightings of eerie lights near the depot. Shortly after it was constructed in 1902, a railroad yard switchman was involved in a tragic accident as he was attempting to flag down an engineer whose train was headed down the wrong tracks. As the switchman ran toward the oncoming train, waving his lantern and yelling frantically, he suddenly tripped on the rails and fell underneath the train. The accident decapitated the poor railroad worker, whose mangled and bloodied body was taken inside the train station by his co-workers.

For years, people in Lovelady reported strange apparitions near the terminal. Several said they could make out a headless man waving a lantern and moving up and down the front of the station near the tracks, presumably looking for his lost head. The story was all but forgotten when the depot was moved to Spring, but shortly after it was reassembled on its present site, there were reports of similar sightings.

The Civil War Museum and Thyme Square

Located at 200 Noble Street in Old Town Spring, it is said that sometimes during battle reenactments (usually held weekends in November), that spirits of Civil war soldiers appear among the actors.

At the entrance to Old Town Spring and housed in a building that served as the Court House for many years – is the Spring Historical Museum. Inside is memorabilia, artifacts and photographs chronicling the history of the town. One of those artifacts is an old 1900-era Victrola originally owned by Marie Bailey. She brought the hand-cranked machine with her from St. Louis when she came to Spring to be with Albert Paetzold – a man her father had forbidden her to see. The two lovers were wed, however, and remained devoted to each other until their deaths in the 1970’s.

It is said that the two young lovers of Old Town Spring would spend hours listening to their favorite music coming out of the early Victrola, and that they often danced to the music in their small farmhouse. After their death, the machine became the property of the Lemm family in Spring and was later sold to the Mallott family, who donated it to the museum.

Sometimes, without explanation, the machine starts by itself and plays music from a scratchy old record. Music that was a favorite of Marie and Arnold. Some nights, this music is heard right after the closing of the museum. On a moonlight night, some people have even reported seeing the ghostly images of a young dancing couple through the windows of the museum. The lady is dressed in a white satin and lace bridal ensemble; the man in typical formal attire of the period.

(Tours of these and other sites in Old Town Spring that are said to be haunted can be arranged by calling (281) 367-6156 for further information and reservations.)

Tomball:

Spring Creek Park

Spring Creek Park located at 15012 Brown Road in Tomball, is said to have been the site of a munitions plant explosion that killed 200 during the Civil War. Visitors have experienced cold spots when walking through certain parts of the park, even on extremely hot days.

Conroe:

Old Hospital in Conroe

According to Kathryn Mainzinger, who once worked at the old hospital in Conroe located then at 3205 W. Davis (now the administration building of Conroe ISD), is "definately the most haunted building I've ever worked in."

Mainzinger says orbs often floated through the offices and walls of the building, elevators operated on their own, and throughout the three years she worked there, there were many different reportings of a full apparition of a little girl. Especially, at a title company that occupied most of the first floor.

There have also been several reportings of a full apparition of a
man, age 30-40, with dark hair. He appears solid, as does the little girl and then disappears. An older man (who is not so nice) has been reported to haunt the second floor. Mainzinger is still friends with several people who presently work in the building, and says they are still experiencing strange phenomena in the building.

Chemical Plant

At the Huntsman Chemical Plant located on Jefferson Chemical Road, witnesses have heard doors slamming and opening, footsteps, voices, and reported the apparition of a tall pale man. They also report getting a strong feeling they're being followed or watched as they patrol through the company's training building, which was once used as a makeshift hospital during a plant emergency years ago when two employees lost their lives after an explosion.

Humble:

The 1960 Over Pass Area/Train Track

The East 1960 overpass is now built over what was once a cemetery. The overpass was built to cross a set of train tracks. Workers dug up the cemetery and moved it to the woods beside it. Now It is said to be haunted. Several businesses along the tracks have reported disturbances. There was a Putt Putt course along the tracks that became a church, and when the church would be closed in the night, screams could be heard from inside. The woods are very active as well, there are apparitions seen floating in the woods as well as strange red lights.

If you have any area hauntings that we have not mentioned in this article to report, please click on "Submit a Comment" below and let us know about them!