Read more
EXCERPTS Texas has no shortage of interesting stories, but few are as bizarre as the mysterious Lady in Blue. Her story begins as a young girl in seventeenth century Spain, in a convent her home that she would never physically leave during her sixty three years. Maria Jesus de Agreda was a devout Spanish nun who dedicated her life to the Catholic faith. She would become a legend in areas of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas without ever stepping foot outside of her country, or her own hometown.
At the age of eighteen, Maria experienced the first of what would become many mystical transitions from the physical world into the spiritual. One day during prayer in the convent, Maria reportedly went into a trance-like state. A beggar who had come to the convent to pray witnessed the event and reported that a blue light suddenly enveloped the young nun as she knelt. The light was said to have lifted her several feet above the floor as she remained unmoving and seemingly still in prayer.
As time went on, Maria began to experience these trances during her daily routine. She said that she was blessed with visions in which she saw dark-colored people in the wilderness of the Southwestern United States. She said she often spoke with them and shared her faith with them in hopes that they would seek out the word of God. It is believed she made over 500 of these visits in a process known as bi-location, teleportation, or as astral projection the ability to physically be in one place and spiritually in another at the same time.
Maria would often visit the Jumano Indian people of Texas, which resulted in their desire to receive instruction in the Catholic Faith. During her visitations, it is said that she came to them speaking their native tongue, though she had never learned their language. When asked about this peculiarity she said that she simply traveled to deliver a message and God provided her a way to communicate with the Indians. Five years after her death in 1665, a book she authored titled The Mystical City of God was published. It outlined her extraordinary views and experiences and is said to be one of the most controversial texts in the history of the church.
Throughout the recent centuries many people have often reported seeing the spirit of the Lady in Blue visit them in times of need, sickness, or desperation. In the 1840s it is reported that she appeared in Sabinetown to care for those afflicted by a black tongue epidemic, and suddenly disappeared when the illness was finally under control. Her legend lives on in Southwestern Texas where many believe she is constantly watching over them, still performing in death the work she loved in life."
List of contents
Welcome to America’s Haunted Road Trip Introduction NORTH TEXAS 1: Amarillo Natatorium, Amarillo 2: Motley County Jail, Matador 3: Fort Phantom Hill, Abilene/Holly
- Spotlight on Ghosts: Hell’s Gates
4: Lonesome Dove Inn, Archer City 5: Hill House Manor, Gainesville 6: Old Alton Bridge, Copper Canyon/Denton 7: The Bull Ring, Fort Worth
- Spotlight on Ghosts: Lady of the Lake
8: The Majestic Theatre, Dallas 9: Millermore, Dallas 10: Iris Theatre / Books & Crannies, Terrell 11: Catfish Plantation, Waxahachie WEST TEXAS 12: Plaza Theatre, El Paso
- Spotlight on Ghosts: El Muerto—The Headless Horseman of West Texas
13: Gage Hotel, Marathon
- Spotlight on Ghosts: Marfa Lights
CENTRAL TEXAS 14: Old Fort Concho, San Angelo 15: Oakwood Cemetery, Waco
- Spotlight on Ghosts: The Devil’s Backbone
16: Dead Man’s Hole, Marble Falls 17: Driskill Hotel, Austin
- Spotlight on Ghosts: The Capitol Haunting
18: Caldwell County Jail Museum, Lockhart 19: Von Minden Hotel, Schulenburg
- Spotlight on Ghosts: Goliad
EAST TEXAS 20: Oaklea Mansion Bed & Breakfast, Winnsboro 21: Crystals Rock Shop, Tyler
- Spotlight on Ghosts: The Bragg Light of the Ghost Road
22: Dabbs Cemetery, Frankston 23: The Grove, Jefferson
- Spotlight on Ghosts: Lady in Blue
24: Ghost Train of Jefferson, Jefferson 25: Scottsville Cemetery, Scottsville
- Spotlight on Ghosts: Stampede Mesa
26: Spaghetti Warehouse, Houston 27: USS
Texas, La Porte
- Spotlight on Ghosts: Ghost Dogs of Orozimbo Plantation
SOUTH TEXAS 28: Grey Moss Inn, Grey Forest/Helotes
- Spotlight on Ghosts: Ghost Tracks of San Antonio
29: The Alamo, San Antonio
- Spotlight on Ghosts: La Llorona
30: USS
Lexington, Corpus Christi Visiting Haunted Sites Additional Haunted Sites Acknowledgments About the Author
About the author
April Slaughter and her husband Allen are the founders and Executive Directors of The Paranormal Source, Inc. (www.paranormalsource.com)—a nonprofit research and education corporation based in Dallas, Texas. April spent three years as a staff journalist for TAPS Paramagazine, published by TAPS Parapublications, LLC, and contributed several feature articles on various paranormal phenomena, as well as her recurring column entitled Ghost Hunting State-by-State. April is an avid paranormal researcher and investigator currently working on projects involving Electronic Voice Phenomena & Instrumental Transcommunication (EVP-ITC) along with several upcoming publishing projects.
Summary
The Lone Star State is so vast it includes just about everything—including ghosts! Author April Slaughter divided this guidebook into regions to make it easy to find the phantoms. North Texas offers such creepy destinations as the Old Alton Bridge and Miss Molly's Bed & Breakfast. West Texas spooks haunt the Permian Playhouse and Historic Fort Davis. In Central Texas, they've been spotted terrorizing the Driskill Hotel and the Austin Pizza Garden. More than 50 spooky sites are here, along with detailed maps and photographs of each haunted locale.
