scary facts about san antonio scary facts about san antonio

Go on a ghost tour to learn about the city's haunted history and hear some spooky stories. Explore new recipes and memories with your neighbors! 11 facts about San Antonio, TXSan Antonio is having a birthday, and it's a big one the Alamo City is turning a whopping 300 years old. ", Another current employee added, "There's Death around We hear and see things., For the most part, it seems that many of the employees of the Hospital are perturbed by the paranormal events, but arent willing to. The worst being death of either yourself or a loved one. It's also reported that you can hear ghostly footsteps from the fallen soldiers and men crying. Mission Concepcin closes its doors beginning Sunday, January 5 for a restoration project. Paranormal investigators flock to places like the Menger Hotel or Military Plaza; and at any time of night, people can be seen standing by the illuminated Alamo, wonderingjust maybeif they might spot the specter of Davy Crockett who defended the historic church against the Mexican General Santa Anna in 1836. Before the San Antonio built River Walk, the area was a place to stay away from due to high crime and river rats. This mosaic is a replica of such a candle on a grand scale. CA License # A-588676-HAZ / DIR Contractor Registration #1000009744 (Well, maybe a buck-fifty these days.) And it seems that though ghosts roam the halls, no one feels all to comfortable to discuss the phenomena that occurs daily. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the 21-story building was opened in Jan. 1928. She has lived in South Jersey, Michigan, Los Angeles, Seattle, Austin (Texas), Florida and just outside of Annapolis, MD off the Chesapeake Bay in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. The SASH is one of ten state mental health facilities operated by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). June 30, 2022 . Early Spring Flowers Will Combat the Winter Blues. 0. None of their venoms are lethal (except for rare cases of allergy), but they can hurt like hades. Anticipating a reunion with her lover, the widow turned her back on her children floating down the river, and hastened to the wealthy man's house. It's said that some of the most haunted places in the world are theaters and the former Alamo Street Theater (now a hot dog place called Frank) is no different. How many other places in the US can. Nah, it's actually (maybe) worse. Accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the Bexar County BiblioTech was the first library in the US to offer an exclusively digital collection and is still the only one to do so. Take a trip to one of the haunted hotels; the Menger and the Crockett are both mainstays on ghost tours. 32. The Legend of the Haunted Railroad Tracks Back in the 1930s or 1940s, a school bus full of children was making its way down the road and toward the intersection when it stalled on the railroad tracks. There, she drowned them both. Nevertheless my turn came: One day some of the attendants tried to force me to mop up the floor. (To be fair, Central Market is a bit pricier than H-E-B but is a little cheaper than Whole Foods.). Like the French Quarter in New Orleans, the King Williams District is known for its ghosts. Let's not forget the Alamo, which rumor has it is also haunted. River City Ghosts provider a different perspective on the vibrant and beautiful city of San Antonio; we take you to the safe and tranquil setting of the River Walk. For centuries, San Antonio has been a crossroads of cultures and of people. Local Adventures Explore, shop, drink and dine like a local. . 10. 24 Haunted Hotels in America - Most Haunted Hotels in the US. The next night when they saw him trying to escape, the mob of angry citizens allegedly captured him and dragged him to a chinaberry tree where they strung him up and hanged him without further delay. Alyssa Medina is the Video-On-Demand Producer and has worked at KSAT since 2016. And in the many years following their deaths, the Hospital continues to play host to the ghosts of both the mentally ill as well as the people who were wrongfully checked in. "Personally, they didn't treat me mean," Aldridge said, before adding, "But the helpless and really insane were treated in a brutal manner. davenport, fl crime rate P.O. Still, we tell you all about its less than respectable past. San Antonio is perhaps best known for being the location of the Alamo, but it's so much more than that. 6. 18. If you do, you're dumb and you probably deserved to be arrested. The driver tried to get the children off the bus, but a train soon crashed into it, killing all of the students and the bus driver. 21. scary facts about san antonioeast chicago housing authority waitlist Pope John Paul II visited San Antonio in 1987, where he held mass in . Checkin. The San Antonio State Hospital (SASH) is still in operation today at the same location of its conception at 6711 S New Braunfels Avenue. The self-guided bullet, capable of hitting laser-designated targets more than a mile away, is a product of New Mexico's Sandia Labs. Copyright 2020 by KSAT - All rights reserved. . More than 40 barges packed with musicians and sparkling decorations float down the San Antonio River with hundreds of thousands of people watching from the footpaths of the River Walk. Fortunately, they aren't after humans and if they bite you, it's usually not serious. One of these poor souls was Chuauhtemco "Chino" Garcia, just nineteen-years-old, but a big boy, weighing in between 180-190 pounds. A number of Valley people died under mysterious circumstances at the San Antonio State Hospital, ranging from teenagers to the elderly. He also added that they would have had to stomp his guts out to get him to work for them. Haunted San Antonio Tours SA is one of the most haunted cities in the US of A. In the dead of night, she grabbed her children and brought them down to the river. Pope John Paul II visited San Antonio in 1987 and held a mass where more than 350,000 people showed up. But the fight for land did not stop there, because soon the Texans wanted their independence from Spain and, later, Mexico. Here's Why. In 1923, local high school teacher Ellen Schultz wanted to start a museum in San Antonio, but was short on cash. 31. San Antonio Is the Original American Melting Pot. During the tour, see several key historic locations and properties around downtown San Antonio and the Old Town area. Eurgh! (In Austin, just up I-35, you're likely to hear them called frontage roads. Recently the park also introduced the states tallest, fastest and longest wooden coaster, the Texas Stingray. If either of these spiders bites you, do seek immediate medical attention. Muscles began to spasm and tire easily; the pain in your lower back rendered you useless. There is some debate though that Frito pie was actually invented in New Mexico. The worst was yet to come. The Emily Morgan Hotel receives AIA San Antonio's Twenty-Five Year Distinguished Building Award. He is a brilliant man, but a terribly sick man." Turns out we really love our fried chicken-to-go, and the joint quickly expanded throughout San Antonio, and now has over 1,600 locations in some 30 countries around the world. Since this is Texas, you can imagine their size. . It is for this reasonor at least one of the main reasonswhy Ghost City Tours has decided to launch ghost tours in San Antonio, starting in the beginning of May 2016. That's a San Antonio fact! The symptoms were slow to appear, but then the fever hit and the rest followed quickly after. And did we mention the creator of Gatorade was from San Antonio? facts. Menger Hotel. SeaWorld San Antonio is one of the world's largest marine life parks. Neighborhood: Hot Wells. Seek medical attention if the bite looks serious. La Llorona has been depicted in various tales, but one thing is for certain: she drowned her children in a fit of anger and is now relegated to searching for them until Judgment Day. 2010. Shelly Duvall, best known for her Earth-shaking screams in Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," lives in nearby Hill Country. Most commonly, spirits may remain on the earthly plane for a few various reasons. You should be wary when walking around the neighborhood at night, as you never know when you might encounter one of the ghosts of La Villita. In 2014, Shaq came back to the Texas state basketball tournament for a reunion with his former high school teammates, still towering over them like he did 25 years ago. Shaquille ONeal, star of Kazaam (oh right, and also 15-time NBA All-Star), went to Robert G. Cole High School in San Antonio. The man was horrified. San Antonio sits on the Balcones Escarpment. Persons per household, 2017-2021. Our Haunted History. Step one foot inside of San Antonio's hauntingly historic Empire Theatre, and you'll discover what all the supernatural fuss is about, this is one place where you are assured to get a thrill, if not from the live performance itself, then perhaps, just maybe, by one of the ghostly fans who still haunt the stunning theatre. The Menger is considered the oldest hotel west of the Mississippi and one of the most haunted places in San Antonio. 17. The cathedral was founded in 1731 by a group of families from the Canary Islands. You can't talk about the most haunted places in San Antonio without mentioning the Alamo. Read more 0 Country Spirit - La Mansion Boerne, Texas 75 miles from Uvalde, TX Racial desegregation began at the hospital in 1964, as the first African-American patient was admitted. The Superintendent of SASH recognized that the hospital was at its breaking point, and that it was in desperate need of additional facilities. He would have raving spells, following which he would become depressive. However, to hear the whole story about San Antonio's most haunted places, take a ghost tour on your next trip to San Antonio. The AC system kept temperatures to 80 degrees, a welcome relief for all those workers doingwhatever people did in offices decades before the first desktop computers. 1. Rooms & Suites . Another youth by the name of Raul G. Chapa entered the hospital after suffering a nervous breakdown, and was found dead eleven days after he was admitted to the institution. But in Texas, the heavy influence of the Latin culture has also spawned stories of La Llorona, or the phantom banshee. Rhett Rushing, a folklorist at University of Texas San Antonio's Institute of Texan Cultures, told the online newspaper, mySA, a few years ago that "San Antonio [is not only] predisposed to ghost stories because of its cultural history, but the large mix of cultures over hundreds of years makes this a ghost lover's paradise.". The park spans about 416 acres according to SeaWorld San Antonio. 6. Yes, theyre a staple Mexican food, and yes, were totally obsessed with them. For many San Antonio locals, roads paralleling highways are access roads, not a feeder or frontage road. If the dirt wasnt recycled it would cost nearly $25,000 to purchase new dirt every year. For decency's sake, the road skirts around the paved-over cemetery so as not to disturb the dead. Once you've gotten some fudge and jerky at Buc-ee's, stop by Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum to gape and awe at this amazing collection of decorated toilet seats. scary facts about san antonio. Everything is bigger in Texas, and thus, you'll find large spiders in San Antonio called Jumping Spiders. Aside from the Alamo, the Riverwalk is San Antonio's most famous attraction. . Its altitude is approximately 662 feet (202 m) above sea level. If you run across a group of women hiking in San Antonio without shirts on, don't ogle. 16. Great white sharks can smell blood in water up to three miles away. Hotel Monteleone. Before the famous fried chicken chain was located on every other corner, there was one small walkup location across the street from the Alamo. 31 of the most haunted places in South Texas. 41.7%. Another San Antonio fact is it's also the second-largest city in the south and the seventh-largest city in the United States. After spending over a decade in the asylum, William Browne, was once again free to live his life. She haunts the Donkey Lady Bridge" (the South Side Bridge, near Applewhite and Zarzamora Road). Grocery store chain H-E-B's answer to Whole Foods, Central Market, is often called Gucci-B," a San Antonio fact. The creepiest San Antonio ghost stories offer a chilling glimpse into the . Neighborhood: Central San Antonio. However, he had no interest in her two children and refused to marry the widow because of them. 14. The CEO of the Center for Health Care Services, Leon Evans, said of the problem at SASH, Weve been underfunded in behavioral services in Texas so long, and we dont think outside the box. Evans goes on to say, Our funding is in silos, and weve got people taking up beds at the state hospital that dont belong there, people with Alzheimers and closed-head injuries, taking up civil beds. Some are thought to be places of ritual and sacrifices; others are said to be the place where living beings go to die. In 1979, a 300-pound man named Patrick O'Brien (a 36-year-old recluse), told police after his arrest that he was the son of Hitler and the father of the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. During the Civil War, the park was used as a prisoner of war camp. The following year the hospital's capacity averaged around 2,103, which was one of the few years that the hospital did not exceed more patients to beds than they actually had in their disposal. The San Antonio Stockshow and Rodeo reuse the same dirt every year. Today, visitors to the Military Plaza where Bob Augustine was gruesomely hanged still swear that they hear the Rebel yell that he hollered after his capture. The San Pedro Park is home to so much history. The history of the San Antonio State Hospital (originally called the Southwestern Insane Asylum), is one that is especially hard to grasp. Auto Ads . For hundreds of years, ghost stories have been told by the locals in San Antonio. and looked just like a fantasy Mediterranean Sea. According to the Churchs website, George W. Church opened the location in 1952. Subsequently, construction of five new buildings commenced on the property and were eventually completed by the year of 1939. He has a history of Violence. Only the very brave trek down to East Ashley Road to see how very lucky they are--but the questions remains, are you just as lucky? Legend has it that if you position your car over the tracks, and put your car in neutral, the ghosts will push the vehicle the whole way across in an attempt to protect you from any imminent danger. Flickr/joopvandijk 2. Technically, the bird itself is a San Antonio rumor, not a San Antonio fact, but people do claim to see this strange bird. The bridge is close to where she suffered severe burns and disfigurement (making her look like a donkey) after either her husband or a malevolent stranger set fire to her house. The devil impressed San Antonio women with his dancing back in the '70s Back on Halloween 1975, many locals said a handsome man dressed in all white showed up to El Camaroncito Night Club.. This San Antonio walking ghost tour is for you if: You're looking for a high-quality ghost storytelling performance full of dark history and chilling ghost lore. William I. Browne was released from the Southwestern Insane Asylum (SASH), on orders by County Judge Phil Shook based on the illegal restraint of liberty. In San Antonio, the ghost stories range from the standard to the downright creepy, and most are passed from generation to generation. After murdering his parents in 1979, Hitlers Son (more commonly known as Patrick OBrien, who was not in fact Hitlers son) was once again checked into the State Hospital. It was no long after this time that Williams father died. At this haunted location, the living come second to the ghosts. 9. Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Countdown City" is the nickname of Antonio, TX, because of its main area code of 210, but Orlando, FL, can also claim the name due to the area code 321. San Antonio invites you to be inspired, be curious, and be hungry. Stories such as these are told and re-toldfor the locals of San Antonio, it's no secret that the nearly three-centuries-old city is rife with paranormal phenomena. There will even be equipment you can use at the end of the tour. But the Terrell Castle has secretsghostly secrets. Here's a list of facts you may not know about: 1. According to its former owners, the living are very protective of these energies. Aldridge, not willing to take that sort of verbal abuse, responded with similar language. Security guards in Alamo Plaza have seen the ghosts of what must be hundreds of people. An award-winning disc jockey, Mark Louis Rybczyk started his career at KXZL, WOAI, and KJ-97 in San Antonio before moving to 96.3 KSCS in Dallas, where he had the longest-running morning show in the DallasFort Worth area. Another apocryphal ghost story in San Antonio is the Donkey Lady. While there are new buildings in place of the original structures, the hospital is not associated with the nearby, often-photographed ruins that have lit up the Internet in recent years. If you are using a screen reader, or are having difficulty reading this website, please emailaccessibilityfeedback@rent.com. 42 Best Bedroom Paint Color Ideas for 2023. San Antonians know a thing or two about heatwhich prompted us to learn about cold. So obsessed, in fact, that a local high school made 17,106 tamales thats 2,420 pounds in 10 hours during a tamalada. San Antonio is considered one of the most haunted places in the United States, according to Yahoo Travel. The attendants then cornered him. This city knows how to throw a party, and we decided to invite 30 countries to come celebrate with us during HemisFair 68. To prep for the bash, San Antonio built the 750-foot Tower of the Americas, which, at the time, was the tallest observation tower in the country (its taller than the Space Needle). The designation was made in July 2015. mengerhotel.com. Influenced by Roman Catholicism, Santera had passed through the Caribbean into southern Texas by slaves from Yoruba, Africa. Asylums have a well established history for ghostly, unexplainable occurrences and throughout the county, throughout the world. Less than 25 years after the Battle of the Alamo, the Menger Hotel opened its doors to a motley bunch of travelers in San Antonio. For more information read our privacy policy. Who is haunting this hollowed ground? They're hairy and have two large obvious eyes on the front (in addition to their other eyes) that watch you. Before she was admitted, a doctor made a comment to police, saying of Mrs. Harrison, "She's so oldwe want the young ones.". Another man from Brownsville, Texas, who according to newspaper accounts was a sane man, was Stephen S. Aldridge, who happened to be a veteran of World War II. . The share holdings would have made William a fantastically wealthy man. Geoquono. San Antonio is home to the nations first all-digital library. The collision was inevitable. It was not the Comanche way to murder the people of the San Antonio villa and destroy them out rightno, it was better to allow them to work the fields and raise the horses, before the Comanches took what they deemed "theirs.". However, if you are a stickler about it, San Antonio got their area code first in the early '90s and 210 actually counts down to zero instead of just one, so San Antonio wins! She was so desperatedesperate for his love and a possible marriagethat the widow took matters into her own hands. Most people are aware of the fact that San Antonio, Texas, has a significant paranormal presence. Not once did he stay for longer than a period of ninety days, which begs the question: if the Hospital had kept Patrick institutionalized, would he have been driven by some unseen force to brutally stab his mother and father? It's not uncommon to hear that New Orleans is haunted, or that Savannah is teeming with paranormal activity. It contains a whopping 67,000 square feet of retail sales space, which could house 22 7-Elevens or 2 Whole Foods stores. Staff cared for two stray cats and buried them on-site with their own gravemarkers when they died. Her writing has been published in numerous venues from computer magazines to life coaching websites to mindfulness publications such as Elephant Journal. Dr. Bremont elaborated by saying that Raul's mental illness condition would not have caused his death. Aldridge called out to him for help. Easterseals San Antonio Rehabilitation Center Reach us at 2203 Babcock Road, San Antonio, TX 78229 Phone: 210-614-3911 Contact Us Visit Our Other Locations Raul's physician, Dr. G. S. Bremont, said of his passing, "I was surprised when I learned Raul Chapa was dead." In 1928, the 21-story Milam Building in downtown San Antonio became the first air-conditioned high-rise in the US. Long before soldiers were shouting Remember the Alamo, Spanish soldiers had set up fort in San Antonio to protect their lands in the New World. 5. O'Brien was arrested by the police for murdering his parents, William and Mary, who were reportedly stabbed so many times that they looked like they had each been blasted with a shotgun. M e n u. It's a history filled with hardship, corruption, scandal and death (much like our nation's capital). You can find out about some interesting San Antonio facts, as well as San Antonio secrets in our list below. Then theres the awesome local art which you probably wont find at MoMA like the contemporary Latino prints and Southwest art collections. Plan Your Trip We give you ideas and our favorite things to do, eat and see. Bonus: Its computer lab comes with iPads and Xboxes. When authorities showed up days later after reports had surfaced that the family had not been seen, the officers not only found the dead bodies of the women, but also the notes which had been etched in blood, and the scratch marks dug into the walls as though the women had tried to claw themselves out of their very existence. 4. +. He also had a nervous condition that needed to be attended to. Stonehenge II is in Ingram, northwest of downtown San Antonio. Discover the most luxurious apartments in Austin, where scenic beauty meets state-of-the-art amenities. Not yet. The Deuce Dime. (Want to find out a little more about our upcoming ghost tours in San Antonio? Adrenaline-seekers will want to map their day at SeaWorld around the many thrill . Of course, these days when youre in town, the most exciting food experiences are those taking place in the hottest Tex-Mex restaurants as well as those helping to define whats Tex-Next.. Now you can spend an evening here exploring local art, gawking at opulent mansions, and sipping a cold one at Blue Star Brewing on South Alamo. There have been sightings of angry female spirits, as well as unexplainable paranormal phenomena such as objects flying off the shelves or hearing sounds with no distinct source. There is, however, other evidence as to how his family felt about about poor Williamand that feeling was not warm or loving at all. But the land was already populated by the Coahuiltecan people, and so the Spanish soldiers made them intoreducidos(indentured servant). . Over 100 locally-owned businesses provide a unique shopping experience. Grunch. San Antonio's history is peppered with ghostly lore just like the Haunted Tracks of Shane and Villamain. But what is the truth? Part aquarium, part thrill-packed theme park, SeaWorld San Antonio lets visitors get closer than ever to tons of marine life, including dolphins, penguins, and polar bears, get splashed by killer whales, and then get an adrenaline rush reaching speeds of up to 50-miles per hour on sea-themed themed thrill rides. No doubt all have resulted in heightened paranormal activity in San Antonio, but there's also the fact that San Antonio's history is rich. If she had to choose between gambling in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, shed skip the gambling and see a show in Vegas and go to the beach in Atlantic City. . At the time Chino entered the hospital he was not physically ill, but a mere three days later he died. >34 San Antonio Facts That Only Real Locals Know are True, 11 Really Cool Communal Kitchens Weve Spotted in Apartments, Do Not Share or Sell My Personal Information. He damned her to walk the earth forever, always to be looking for her murdered children . . Ghost City Tours offers the best Ghost Tours in San Antonio. Whether it is the water-source or not that creates the hub of ghostly activity, Ghost City Tours' General Manager, Gretchen, who grew up in San Antonio, has repeatedly said that one thing that makes San Antonio different is that the entire city has hauntings. This Buc-ee's location is the world's biggest convenience store. San Antonio surpassed Dallas as the second biggest city in Texas after the 2010 census count. In the 1730s, 655 out of the 857 Coahuiltecans died; by the 1780s, only some-eighty members of the tribe still lived. San Antonio's award-winning Children's Museum (located in Central San Antonio) isn't just for kids anymore. Yes, river rats. That the grounds directly in front of the Alamo church were once a burial ground in the eighteenth century probably doesn't help matters either. In 1925, the state asylums decided to drop terms such as "insane" and "lunatic" from their names, and so, the Southwestern Insane Asylum officially became known as the San Antonio State Hospital. From prestigious and historic palaces holding a number of grizzly ghosts, to cathedrals where darker things roam at night. . You probably know the Alamo it was a mission and fortress compound established in the 1700s and the site of the infamous Battle of the Alamo in 1836. There are bullet holes in the bar, and the legend is that they are from Rough Riders before they shipped out to Cuba. Things To Do Real Experiences. Its also currently undergoing a $100 million redevelopment not bad for a bake sale project. 23. The oldest cathedral in the state in San Fernando Cathedral. The story of La Llorona has been repeated many-a-time; within San Antonio, the urban legend of the ghost of the Donkey Lady takes inspiration from La Llorona (in one story they even fight). "OK, this place was much better than I expected, so maybe I'm over-compensating with five stars. 8. 4. 13. 3. This put the Alamo City in the pages of the Guinness World Records,though the officials did have to create a new category: Most Tamales Made in a 12-hour Period.. . If you've lived in San Antonio for a while, you probably don't call it San Antone.". Charles Doolin invented Fritos in 1932 and his mother Daisy reportedly invited Frito pie also in the 1930s. We have carried on Ripley's tradition of scouring the globe for the world's most unbelievable exhibits. Each time the Mexicans went to try to destroy the building, ghostly specters, some with flaming swords in hand, allegedly scared off the would-be arsonists. Of course, San Antonio has its famous River Walk, which is a great place to enjoy a nice meal or stroll with a loved one, but many other fun happenings abound in this city in south-central Texas. 830 North Saint Mary's, San Antonio, TX 78205 [ Book a Room] Located right across the street from the Alamo, the ghostly sounds of cannons firing can sometimes be heard from the historic site. Those who are admitted may have done so voluntarily, but more often than not the choice was not theirs to make. And we have no community-based alternatives, no step-down units, no residential treatment facilities., Judge Oscar Kazen who presides over Bexar County's Mental Health Court, commented, Its only in the last couple of years that weve been able to convince University (Hospital) to begin taking unfunded involuntary patients".