All Hallows Eve is right around the corner, and all of Nac is bursting at the seams with spooky events and decorations to commemorate the witching season. Nacogdoches is the oldest town in Texas, so you would expect to see a lot of history in a place like that, right? With history comes local tales and folklore that could surely make your hair stand on end, so check out these local scares with your friends and just maybe you’ll find a ghost or two along the way.
1. Stephen F. Austin State University
Since its foundation in 1923, there have been many reports of paranormal activity occurring across campus over the years. According to an article written by Meagan Adams from the local radio station, Kicks 105, there are three hotspots for paranormal activity at SFA.
Turner Fine Arts Auditorium:
This historic theater building is home to a lone ghost named Chester. It is unclear where this name comes from, but some say he was the building’s architect who, after the blueprints were interpreted incorrectly and the building was erected backwards, despairingly took his own life by hanging himself. Others believe Chester is the ghost of a former SFA drama student, due to his appearances on stage. This apparition has been seen as a ghostly face on stage curtains and has even appeared in a 1967 play as an extra ghost! Other than these sightings, many SFA drama students have reported strange extrasensory happenings, such as unexplainable noises in the hallways as well as intense cold spots.
Mays Hall:
If you’ve ever attended SFA, you’ve probably heard that before the building was a dormitory, it served as a hospital with a morgue located in the basement. The basement is always kept locked, but the occasional lucky students that found a way in have mentioned feelings of negativity, sadness and altogether “heaviness.” It is also rumored that a bomb shelter was built in the basement during the 1940s, and that there is a false wall in-between the old morgue and the bomb shelter, but so far that remains a rumor.
Griffith Hall:
There must be something energetic happening around the old dorm halls, as right next door to Mays Hall sits Griffith Hall, another reportedly haunted building on campus. Unlike the scarce tales of ghosts from Mays Hall, residents from Griffith Hall have many reoccurring tales of spooky happenings. Residents of this hall claim that the tortured ghost of a former resident assistant, who leapt to her death from a third-floor window after playing with a Ouija Board, creates havoc on a nightly basis for them. Reports include shower lights flickering at the same time of her death on a nightly basis, a girl in tattered clothing sometimes appearing at the end of the hall but vanishing before students can take a second look and residents in the south wing of the building hearing running footsteps at approximately 2 a.m. every night. According to Bri Bell, a HerCampus writer, one resident claimed that she looked through the peephole of her door when she heard the rushing footsteps approaching, and although she did not see anything pass by, felt a rush of cold air under her door.
2. The Fredonia Hotel:
Built in 1952, the Fredonia Hotel was once a swank, modern establishment that all locals could be proud of. It brought a lot of attention back to the oldest town in Texas and has recently been reopened after renovations. As most paranormal lovers have heard, renovations can stir up some eerie activity. According to, KTRE-9, a local news station, a team of paranormal investigators stayed overnight at the Fredonia to see if they could capture evidence of the reported activity one year ago this October. They wanted to investigate reports from housekeepers, guests who have stayed at the Fredonia and even former employees concerning changes in the atmosphere and spooky sightings on different floors. Two popular floors for activity include the second floor, where “Happy Jack” has been witnessed, and the sixth floor where they’ve all had run-ins with an apparition. This past April there was even a paranormal convention at the hotel. The investigation didn’t appear to bring the phenomena to light, but perhaps the next guests will have better luck.
3. Cry Baby Creek:
Jack Creek is a stream running about 16 miles near Lufkin by FM 2497, but to the locals it is often referred to as “Cry Baby Creek.” The story goes that on a stormy night in the 1970s, a woman and her infant child were crossing the bridge over Jack Creek when, suddenly, the car veered off the slick bridge, sending the woman and her baby into the creek where they drowned to death. Legend has it that if you visit the creek at night, you can faintly hear the sounds of a baby’s cries in the distance. This purportedly doesn’t work if you walk the creek shores looking for something, but when you turn your back and walk the opposite direction, that is when one can hear the cries of an infant.
Stay sexy and don’t get murdered,
Adrienne