Menger Hotel San Antonio, TX. Room 309. November 2007 3 nights

Next door from  the Alamo the whole area was very cool but it was a little disappointing compared to its reputation for haunting.  No evidence captured this time. Used a K2 meter for first time.  We did have a couple of personal experiences.  Conner and Colin saw someone walk by at the towel rack near the pool.  It happened very quick and we were completely alone in the middle of the night.   They both confirmed they saw the same thing separately by telling a third party. Security guard told us the same night he was called to the room down the hall from us by the manager to turn off the TV (reported by other guests in the night). There was no one staying in the room. When he and another hotel employee opened the door they found the clock radio blaring music. When they approached the radio to turn it off it went to full volume. When he got to it turned off. He then grabbed it to remove it and realized it was unplugged all along with no on board backup battery.  We investigated in the hotel for several hours each night, but didn't experience much.


 The last night Conner and Colin also did a 1.5-hour ghost hunt at 1:00 a.m. at the Alamo with the night security, a Texas state trooper looking on.  It was a once in a lifetime experience to be completely alone at such a historic place.  You could feel the power of the past when we were alone inside.  

Evidence captured.

Conner and Colin on the ghost hunt inside the hotel.

My ancestor  Robert E. Lee

Update: 11/2010

New video evidence.  Until found later....

While searching for some pics of our trip to San Antonio for another project,  I reviewed our ghost hunting video of the Alamo.  Since the original post ( http://hauntedfamilyvacations.blogspot.com/2009/10/menger-hotel-san-antonio-tx-room-309.html )
I have upgraded my computer and with a better monitor what I found was what I thought I saw in person but unable to make out when I first reviewed the footage.  That night back in 2007 I kept thinking I could see a dark figure inside the secured courtyard next to the chapel.  I am sure there is something there now so I will go ahead and post it.  I panned to it twice and even zoomed in at one point.  To me it looks like a person in period clothes with a rifle and a tall hat common to the uniforms at the time of the battle

For sure no one was back there as the gate was padlocked and the Texas state trooper was about 10 feet behind us on guard.  Decide for yourself.

Article Houston Chronicle

We met a reporter on our last trip and she did an article on us in the travel section of the Houston Chronicle news paper. Follows:
July 5, 2007, 2:18PM
JEFFERSON
State's most haunted town
By EILEEN MCCLELLAND
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
JEFFERSON — This East Texas town can lay claim to an impressive, unlikely history. In the 19th century, though far inland, it was second only to Galveston as the busiest port in Texas.
Now it's known as the most haunted small town in Texas due to fame on the Travel, Discovery and Sci-Fi channels, says Jodi Breckenridge, guide for the Historic Jefferson Ghost Walk.
Breckenridge, who says she's a skeptic, still gets rattled enough during these 90-minute tours to flee in fright.
On this Saturday night in June about 30 people buy $10 tickets in front of the Jefferson Historical Society Museum.
"How much of the money does the ghost get?" someone quips.
Breckenridge warns against taunting them: "Don't ever make fun of a ghost if I'm standing within 20 feet of you."
The apparitions hurl objects and lock tourists into one of the haunted restrooms around town, she says. Bathrooms that have proved particularly troublesome to escape include those in the supposedly haunted Jefferson Hotel, circa 1851, and the Big Cypress Coffee House, which used to be the Kahn Saloon at the turn of the 20th century. It was also the site of early country-music performances, occasional bloodshed, a brothel and a funeral home, all of which, one way or another, provoked the haunting.
This night doesn't bring much drama. A trio of black kittens crosses our path. Surely, that's an omen? Nope, nothing happens.
No one feels fondled by a mysterious hand, sees a malevolent gentleman in a top hat or hears invisible children singing century-old songs, all of which reportedly happened on other evenings. Neither does Breckenridge scare herself and run down the street screaming.
We traipse up and down quaint streets, stare at building facades and empty lots and hear about murders, legends and rumors of bodies buried in backyards. We crowd into the dark, hot, airless attic of the coffee shop hoping against hope that the construction equipment will fly across the room of its own accord.
We crave the paranormal. We've paid our $10!
But no one even gets bad vibes. We must be an especially insensitive lot.
Colin and Kim Bryce of Arlington and their children, Conner, 10, and Chloe, 4, are among the ghost hunters. Conner carries a ghost-detection device. Chloe's tennis shoes glow while she walks, providing a handy night light.
"They are thrilled about it," Kim says. "Conner, especially, thinks it's a huge adventure. He likes to investigate."
The Bryce’s are in Jefferson as part of a hobby sparked by watching Ghost Hunters on the Sci-Fi Channel. They've visited the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, La., and the Crescent in Eureka Springs, Ark., where they've had a few creepily close encounters. At the Myrtles, they spent one night on the front porch, driven from their bedroom by mysterious sounds, as if someone wearing boots were pacing in front of their beds.
Colin says he's seen the ghost of a Civil War soldier.
"My parents and everyone think I'm crazy," Colin says. "But after I had the first experience, it really changed my outlook on life."
With high hopes, they've booked a room with a bad reputation, Room 19, at the Jefferson Hotel. They aren't disappointed.
"My wife and my son got hit by French fries flying across the room," Colin says. "All four of us were sitting watching TV, and our leftovers were sitting across the room. All of a sudden I saw French fries bounce off her chest. It was kind of spooky. It seems like a crazy thing (for a ghost) to throw across the room."
And, no, her father says, Chloe didn't do it.
During the ghost walk, Kim Bryce also captures orbs (spheres of light indicating paranormal activity) with her Canon Digital Rebel in the coffeehouse.
I didn't realize that ghosts are supposed to show up best on camera, so I haven't brought a real one. But my cell phone captures one spectral image in the window of the Jefferson Hotel.
Breckenridge, ever the skeptic, peers at my prized souvenir and decrees that it's just the reflection of a streetlight.The ghost and I know the truth.

Jefferson Hotel Jefferson, TX. Room 19. June 2007 1 night

This was the "most haunted" room at the hotel. 19. We didn't capture any evidence however we all experienced and amazing display of poltergeist activity. After dinner in room Kim and Conner were hit in chest with left over French fries from across the room. We all saw the food fly across the room. WILD! No other activity. Houston Chronicle did article on our family.

Myrtles plantation Louisiana June 2007 3 nights

Man o man this is the place to go if you want ghosts.  This stay was unbelievable.  Met Brian and Heather there.   We used digital video recorder for first time. We stayed in  three different rooms.

General David Bradford Suite 1st night:  Only one other room was occupied this night.

 Very heavy feeling in our suite. A/C went out. Around 1230 am.  At about 0100 Kim elbowed me and said someone was trying to get in.  We then heard footsteps on the back porch, I got up and couldn't see anyone.  I turned on the lights to let whoever know we we were awake. All of a sudden the door handle to the back porch turn and jiggle and turn like someone was trying to unlock and open the front door. However, the screen door outside the main door was latched from the inside so you couldn't even access it from the porch.  This went on with us standing inside the door for 5 to 10minutes.  It stopped and I again looked around the house inside and out.  No one was around and the whole house was dark. We went back to bed.  A few minutes go by then we hear heard footsteps inside the parlor of OUR suite.  They were clearly walking back and forth and I expected at any time for some one to walk around the corner.  There were no shadows moving or any thing visible.  Just the sound of footsteps.It sounded like heavy boots.  Then we heard them in our room right by our bed.  We were both petrified. The sound of footsteps would go from the parlor around the corner and into our bedroom right up to our bed and back to the parlor.   At times Kim could feel what she described as hands pressing down softly on her legs several times.  We were both wide awake.  We don't use drugs or drink alcohol.  It was crazy.  This went on for about 30 minutes. I have to admit it it was the most shocking experience I have ever experienced. We eventually went out on back porch to calm down and stayed there till 0330 in the morning.  The kids just slept through the whole thing. 

Brian and Heather stayed in Caretakers cottage the 1st night.  Heather heard little girl's laughter and later footsteps on the porch.  They left to for New Orleans and catch a plane the next day.

Judge Clarke Woodruff Suite 2nd night: We were very tired and got back late. We went to sleep early.  Noise outside door woke Kim and I up at 3a.m., but we didn't find what it was and it didn't repeat after we woke.  We had no other activity.

Caretaker's Cottage  3rd night: 

The whole plantation was vacant except us this night VERY VERY quiet and spooky.

 I saw apparition of man dressed in mid 1800’s clothes and wide brim hat “looked like confederate officers uniform with string tie” on porch.  The apparition was gray and almost completely see-through. Almost like it was made of smoke or fog but it was very detailed.  I was in such shock when I saw it I jumped up and it was gone. It was quite and experience, what really stays with me is the recognition in his eyes when we made eye contact.  I could tell he saw me and realized I saw him.  But he was expressionless other than that.  We had massive EMF spikes inside with no source that moved around the room, then dissipated. We heard footsteps on porch almost all night. Water faucet in bathroom turned on full blast by itself while we were leaving.

In retrospect we should have done more ghost hunting

  

and less sightseeing.