At Ye Kendall Inn, according to local lore, reside the spirits of Erastus and Sarah Reed, who bought the land on which the inn stands in 1859. The Old Reed House, as it was called back then, was a stagecoach stop. Reports say the spots most often visited by the ghosts are the lobby, the Marcella, and the Victoria Room. In the lobby, a sign has flown off the wall, landing across the room, and sounds of phantom horse and carriages have been heard. And in the Victoria Room, a claw-foot tub has been known to fill itself during the night.
Ye Kendall Inn
Country Spirit - La Mansion
La Mansion Mexican restaurant, formerly El Chaparral and before that, Country Spirit, is said to be haunted by three ghosts named David, Augustine and Fred. David is the spirit of a teen who, according to local lore, drowned in the upstairs bathroom’s claw-foot tub and he still haunts that room. Also residing upstairs is Augustine, who may open and close doors and whose apparition has been seen lying on a green couch near the restrooms. The third ghost, Fred, prefers to frequent the basement.
Dienger Building - Boerne Public Library
Dienger Building or Boerne Public Library was built by Joseph and Ida Dienger in 1887. It was originally a dry-goods grocery store with the family living quarters upstairs. When the city purchased the building in 1991, ghost stories began to be told. Locals saw lights going on and off in the empty building at night, voices were heard in empty hallways, books fell off the shelves, and an apparition of a woman appeared beside the staircase. As legend has it, the ghosts here are the spirits of Ida and Joseph Dienger.
Fort Wadsworth
At Fort Wadsworth, the apparition of a soldier may appear to walk through walls and moving vehicles. Other strange things have happened here: One witness said she flashed back to wartime where she was apparently inside the body of a curly-haired nurse. She saw wounded and dying soldiers all around, then a soldier grabbed her arm and yelled for her to get down. After a big explosion, she found herself again in the present day. Other witnesses reported similar occurrences, such as suddenly seeing wounded and dead soldiers all over the field and blinking their eyes to find the soldiers had vanished.
Goose Hill Cemetery - Saint Johns Cemetery
Goose Hill Cemetery, aka Saint Johns Cemetery, dates back to around the turn of the 20th century. It consists of about 30 gravesites on a hill, surrounded by a forest. Witnesses have spotted apparitions and heard disembodied voices that seem to come from the forest.
Jaquins Pond
Jaquin’s Pond is legendary in local ghost stories. The area is basically a swampy woodland with some narrow dirt roads through it and three bridges. All three bridges are said to be haunted by George, a former school bus driver who killed himself in despair when a little boy died in an accident involving his bus. Legend has it that those who stop at the third bridge and say George’s name three times will hear their car doors lock and see George’s ghost appear. According to another legend, a fork in the road splits into two paths called the Light Path and the Dark Path. The Dark Path is said to be a popular spot for teen suicides.
Sweet Hollow Road
The Lady in White, aka Mary, is an apparition who walks along Sweet Hollow Road. Local legends abound about Mary, including a tale that a jealous boyfriend killed her by pushing her out of his moving car and into the path of another car. Other popular stories claim Mary was a witch who was hanged here in the 1600s, and still others say she was walking home along the road when she was struck by a car.
Goodleburg Cemetery
Goodleburg Cemetery was an active cemetery from 1811 until 1927 and is believed to be haunted. Apparitions and other paranormal occurrences have been reported here, and in fact, on the night of June 21, 2003, a ghost hunter investigating the cemetery was hit by a car and killed. According to legend, the hauntings come about because cemetery namesake Dr. Goodleberg practiced illegal abortions and buried both the aborted babies and the unlucky women who didn’t survive behind his home, which overlooked the cemetery. It is said to be haunted by one of these patients, called the White Lady. Babies’ cries and orbs also have been reported. According to reports, visitors are allowed here from 8 until dusk; those on the site after dusk will be prosecuted.
Moon Point Cemetery - Moon Creek Cemetery
Moon Point Cemetery, aka Moon’s Point Cemetery or Moon Creek Cemetery, is older than the Civil War and legendary with those who like to tell ghost stories. It was thought to have begun as a family cemetery for early settlers Jacob Moon and his family. The cemetery’s most-talked-about ghost is called the Hatchet Lady, a female apparition of a woman who, as legend has it, often visited the cemetery to watch over her son’s grave after he died during the Civil War. When she died, her ghost took up the vigil, carrying a hatchet. She has been heard yelling or whispering earnestly at visitors to “Get out!” Other reports say a ghost boy and strange dancing lights along with red and white orbs appear here and in the surrounding areas. The sound of sarcophagus lids moving and other strange noises have been reported as well. Because of vandalism, local residents and police take great care to prevent people from trespassing at night when the cemetery is closed to visitors.
Queen Isabel Inn
The 1906 Queen Isabel Inn, originally called the Point Isabel Tarpon & Fishing Club, was visited by President-Elect Warren G. Harding in November 1920. Despite some remodeling from hurricane damage in 1933 and 1967, the inn remains the area’s oldest business and hotel. Witnesses say disembodied footsteps are sometimes heard coming from the lobby when no one is there.
