Texas History Notebook

We have dealt with some of them here already, but below is a list of some of the representative ones that come to mind, in no particular order. There are many more.

1. Marfa Lights – Mysterious lights of unknown origin in far West Texas. Described as orbs of light, they have various colors, they may randomly appear and disappear, they may be stationary or move about. The first recorded sightings date back to the late 1800s. Explanations of their origin include scientific phenomena as well as unidentified flying objects, aliens, ghost campfires from Indian tribes of long ago and others.
2. La Llorona – There are numerous variations of this legend although the core of most stories usually centers around a woman weeping for her lost children. The legend is also known by the names “La Tulivieja” and “La Tepesa,” among others. The story may have its origin as far back as before the arrival of the conquistadors during the South American empire of the Aztecs. In it the Aztecs could hear howling phantoms of Cihuacóati, an ancient goddess of birth and death, who called for her children to flee (presumably to escape from the approaching conquistadors) or they will perish. For the Aztecs, it signified an omen of their eventual elimination at the hands of the incoming conquerors. La Llorona signifies a soul in limbo in the face of a day of judgement and change. Variations include the voice of a woman who drowned her children. She is now doomed to wander the rivers crying and searching for them.
3. Ghosts of the Lakes – Typical stories include the White Rock Lady of the Lake: In this tale, a hitchhiking woman flags down passing vehicles driving around the Dallas lake. She appears to motorists dressed in a soaking wet white dress. She asks for a ride to another nearby location. Those who offer her a ride let her sit in the back seat of their vehicle. When they arrive at the destination, she has vanished leaving only a puddle of water where she sat. Capitalizing on the legend, a local craft beer brewery sells a beverage named for the mysterious woman and a local coffee shop offers a flavored blend named for her. The Lake Worth Monster is a legend based out of Tarrant County’s Lake Worth, fed by the West Fork of the Trinity River. In this tale, the creature is described as a “hairy, scaly 7 foot tall” man/goat beast. A 2009 newspaper article in the Harlingen Valley Morning Star refers to an event that supposedly occurred in 1969 in which six individuals reported having been attacked by the creature. The beast hurled a tire at them from a high bluff as it howled a mournful cry. The legend is enhanced by the rumored existence of a photograph (not published) of the goat/man.
4. Chepita Rodriguez – A legend based on rumored appearances of the ghost of a 1800s woman who was possibly wrongfully convicted of murder. She was later hung. In this story, the apparition roams riverside areas, still wearing the hangman’s rope.
5. Angel of Goliad – Legend based on a real individual, Francita Alavéz, who assisted survivors or those spared in the Goliad Massacre. She is honored by a Texas historical marker.
6. Indian Emily – Story based on a Native American girl. In this tale, she fell in love with an 1800s West Texas Army officer who was engaged to be married to another woman. Heartbroken, she leaves the fort and returns to her tribe. On the night of the officer’s wedding, the young girl is fatally wounded by a sentry as she attempts to warn the fort of an impending Indian attack.
7. El Muerto – A “headless horseman” legend in Texas. This story is said to originate from the pursuit of a horse and cattle rustler by the name of Vidal. The thief and two compatriots are surprised by lawmen and the theft victim around the bandits’ campfire. A fight ensues and all the bandits die, with the named bandit being decapitated. His body is tied to one of the stolen horses and sent on with his serape trailing in the wind. A likely body is recovered and buried near the Gulf Coast, but the legend of the headless horseman haunts the plains.
8. Haunted Hotels – The Driskill Hotel in Austin has a legend about the ghost of a little girl who died from a fall down a hotel staircase along with an apparition supposedly based on the colonel who financed the hotel’s construction. At various times each is rumored to appear wandering the halls. One floor of San Antonio’s Emily Morgan Hotel was once used as part of a hospital, perhaps a wing for mental patients. In this legend, doors mysteriously open and close, medical scents can be smelled from time to time and, of course, ghosts of former patients appear. Galveston’s Galvez Hotel has a legend about the ghost of a woman residing in the hotel who took her life upon learning of the death of her fiancé at sea. The old Menger Hotel in San Antonio also has its own set of ghost stories involving appearances of Teddy Roosevelt who once recruited Rough Riders there, Richard King of the south Texas ranch, a beautiful chambermaid named Sallie White who was murdered by a jealous husband in the 1870s and numerous others. There are many such haunted hotel stories, but the last example is the Baker Hotel in Weatherford. In this set of tales, the apparitions include the builder of the hotel, a jilted mistress who died in a leap from an upper floor, an bellhop who was killed in an elevator accident. Other tales include the scent of an owner’s cigar smoke that can be smelled and music from the dance floor of the Brazos Room that can be faintly heard.
9. Shape Shifters – Le Lechuza is a shape shifting witch or other entity that may appear as a barn owl. This legend has been told to children perhaps to keep them on their good behavior or to persuade them not to wander off by themselves. In it, the entity has the ability make alluring sounds like a crying baby, to transform into a larger than life owl (sometimes with the face of a woman) that can swoop down and carry off her victims. A variation includes a motive of revenge, as the shape shifter tries to punish others after being somehow wronged.
10. Chupacabra – Mythical creature that attacks and kills livestock. It is sometimes described as a four footed creature and other times said to be one that walks on two legs. In this story, its animal victims are left with puncture marks and drained of blood. There are many variations of how the beast is described. This is a comparatively recent legend and the name is roughly translated “goat sucker.”
11. Quetzalcoatlus – A prehistoric-looking flying creature based on the largest known flying animal in ancient history. Its wingspan could have been as much as 35 feet. Mythology originating from South America surrounds supposed modern-day sightings of the creature in rural Texas.

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