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1 1 The House of 150 Ghosts Situated on Big Cypress Bayou in the piney woods of northeast Texas lies the city of Jefferson, a haven for ghost hunters. Before the railroads moved into the northern part of the state, Texans were dependent upon boat traffic to receive goods and supplies. Jefferson was founded in 1840 at the perfect location for a port. Boats traveled up the Mississippi River to the Red River, which fed into nearby Caddo Lake. Even large stern wheelers could paddle through the lake to its eventual meet-up with Big Cypress Bayou. By default the town held a monopoly on shipping for hundreds of miles around. Cotton moved through by the ton. During the Civil War, the Confederacy depended upon the Jefferson port to provide Texas troops with supplies. Stores, hotels, shipping companies, and other signs of a bustling economy competed for downtown real estate with taverns, cathouses, pool halls, and other necessary vices of a nineteenth-century boomtown. Indeed, the good and the bad appeared in equal measure during Jefferson’s heyday. The population swelled to nearly eight thousand by 1872. Grand homes appeared on the hills. At the same time, fights at the local bars were frequent with an especially dangerous area near the river earning the nickname “Murder Alley.” As the railroad came and reliance on river traffic eroded, so did Jefferson ’s fragile economy.1 Shipping companies folded; the population dwindled over the years to about two thousand citizens; houses sat empty and the taverns closed; a bayou formerly alive with the sounds of steamboats and dock workers, became silent. It’s a familiar story of the American frontier: a boomtown gone bust. Jefferson today is bucking that trend. Its cobblestone streets are lined with quaint, locally owned shops, hotels, and bed-and-breakfasts, and on weekends the town center buzzes with activity. Even midweek a surprising number of people meander around the antique stores, restaurants, and gift shops. 2 The House of 150 Ghosts Jefferson’s resurgence is due—at least in part—to the ghosts of its sometimes violent past. Purported to be one of the most haunted locales in Texas, nearly every major downtown building and many of the surrounding homes claim spirit manifestations. Guests at the historic Jefferson Hotel, dating to 1851, report mysterious footsteps at night, faucets that turn on and off by themselves, and the laughter of unseen children. Visitors frequently request the most haunted rooms. Nearby is the Excelsior Hotel, where the filmmaker Steven Spielberg is said to have been frightened away by a ghostly child.2 A “Ghost Train” operates from the depot during the tourist season. “The Grove,” a historic home, provides tours on Sunday mornings for those hoping to spot its several resident ghosts, which include a woman and priest in the house as well as a sinister smiling man who roams the gardens. With few exceptions, the town has accepted its ghostly reputation. The Jefferson Hotel knows that spirits are good for business and proudly promotes each new reported encounter on its Web page.3 Jodi Breckenridge, a local resident, is one of the biggest beneficiaries of Jefferson’s ghosts. For several years she has led a nighttime, walking ghost tour. On a busy weekend sixty people (more during the Halloween season) follow the affable Jodi through the city streets and into the surrounding residential areas. Christopher joined an excited group of about thirty on a November Saturday evening. Jodi led us past a two-story brick building with an iron balcony, where she reported that previous tours had captured pictures of a Confederate soldier and had heard sounds of a little boy singing. From there we wandered past the Excelsior and Jefferson Hotels, hearing tales about the most haunted rooms. A brisk walk uphill on darkened streets brought us to another historic mansion where the figure of a ghostly lady reportedly glides about the yard. From there we meandered to The Grove and learned about the spectral priest and his friends. Surprisingly, Jodi readily admits that she is quite afraid of ghosts. It is part of her charm, and she reports several frightening encounters during tours. She claims she watched as a brash skeptic was hit in the back of the legs by a mysterious opening door. Ghostly voices and invisible hands on her back have led her to flee buildings at various times. One place frightened Jodi more than any other—a former tavern turned coffee bar by...

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