Cook - Haunted Fort Worth

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2011 by Rita Cook

All rights reserved

All images are by Russell W. Dandridge.

First published 2011

e-book edition 2012

ISBN 978.1.61423.408.1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cook, Rita, 1964

Haunted Fort Worth / Rita Cook.

p. cm.

print edition ISBN 978-1-60949-176-5

1. Haunted places--Texas--Forth Worth. 2. Ghosts--Texas--Forth Worth. I. Title.

BF1472.U6C663 2011

133.1097645315--dc23

2011027330

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

Do you believe in ghosts? To some, the idea of ghosts is nothing more than an overactive imagination. To others, it can be a possibility. According to a Harris poll conducted in January 2003, over half of the adult population of the United States do believe. Clearly, the belief that the human soul not only survives death but is capable of manifesting itself to the still living has held steady for decades. No matter if you are a skeptic or a devout believer in the paranormal, one thing we can all agree on is that the unexplained has always been with us and continues to cause fear and fascination in all areas of the world.

I know that ghosts and spirits exist. I have seen them and heard their voices all my life. I chose many years ago to expand on my experiences to become a paranormal investigator and researcher. With paranormal experiences being commonplace in my life, I have found the research fascinating. I realize that there is so much to learn. Paranormal experiences are unexplainable, and each one is different. No one has all the answers and there are no experts, but when people open up and share our experiences, we can learn from one another.

There are many ghosts in Fort Worth that choose to stay and dwell among the city that they called home as living beings. Every ghost has a story and a reason. In my opinion, the ghosts of Fort Worth are not evil or scary. They are here for a reason. They are attached to the city and the land that they loved. I enjoy sharing the stories of the ghosts of Fort Worth that I have met in my many years of paranormal researching and investigating. The love of the ghosts has led me to do ghosts tours of Fort Worth where I can share what I have learned from the past and maybe open other peoples minds to the possibility that we are not alone in this world.

Paula Schermerhorn
www.fortworthghoststours.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book is dedicated to my mother, Margarete Ola Cook, for teaching me to be open to everything, ask a lot of questions and believe in the truth in my heart!

Also, to my three wise men: my father, John Macy and Egan. You three know the truth and have given me a glimpse when I needed it the most.

Also, thanks of course to Russell Dandridge, who is constantly my best friend and supporter as well as so many other things all in one package that I could never have found anywhere else.

Thanks also to the folks who spoke to me about the various haunted places listed in this book and particularly Jeremy Cannon, whom Russell talked to at Veal Station Cemetery one Sunday afternoon when he was there taking photos.

INTRODUCTION AND INFORMATION ABOUT FORT WORTH

It was a shame that when I began to work on this book, I found that a number of haunted places I was told about were no longer there, like Barbers Books in downtown Fort Worth, Spaghetti Warehouse down in the old Stockyards District and even places like Scott Theatre and Greenes Antiques that were still impossible to get into and learn more about firsthand. However, with just a little research and a talk with a local ghost hunter, I also found that the number of different people all believing in the same stories and the many having their own stories to tell meant that some of these stories that have been told over the years couldnt just be urban legends. The Spaghetti Warehouse in Fort Worth, for example, was once one of the premier meatpacking plants in the Stockyards area, and even though it is all a thing of the past now, legends still abound. More so, too, there are the Jett Building stories (the ghost hunter told me that they dont admit its haunted) and, of course, the Stockyards Hotel doesnt admit that its haunted either, even though the man at the front desk told me there were stories he had been told for years.

Since you have picked up this book, I assume you are interested in all the spooky and interesting tales of Fort Worth lore, so thats what you will get here inside the pages of Haunted Fort Worth. We will explore a few of these ghostly locations; after all, just because some of these places are gone, that doesnt mean there isnt a ghost still haunting the premises.

Fort Worth has many haunted locations.

HISTORY OF FORT WORTH AND ME

Let me just tell you from the get-go that I am a big believer in ghosts, mainly because the home I grew up in was haunted. It was just an unobtrusive house built in the 1950s that had so many ghosts while I was growing up that it always felt extremely overcrowded. I also used to see the spirits out of the corner of my eye; I never knew what it was really, but it was movement and a certain unexplainable energy. When youre a kid, you dont really think about it, but nevertheless, the ghosts were happy to be there.

I have never been able to actually see ghosts in the flesh (no, I am not the ghost whisperer, and youll likely not find too many people who are). Maybe once, if I was lucky, I have seen a ghost or two; other than that, it has been out of the corner of my eye. However, I can feel them. As you read this book, remember if you do go to these locations searching for ghosts to consider that seeing a ghost might not be your talent. But keep your feelings and your ears and even your nose opensubtle changes will let you know whats going on as well. Also, we arent all living in a television drama like, say, The Ghost Whisperer; it really isnt as easy as they make it lookat least not for most people.

Regarding my house, I will say that I think the ghosts left with my mother when she died several years ago. Even though she was a true God-fearing woman, she was also a true ghost magnet and a believer in ghosts. Now that my brother lives in the house, I have never felt a thing; he is not a ghost magnet, if he even believes at all.

There are also two stories that convince me that ghosts do exist and that we live among them, which is one of the reasons I decided to write this book. When I was in my twenties, I moved away from Dallas to Chicago and Los Angeles and did not come back for twenty years. During the time I was gone, my mom would often call me and tell me stories about the ghosts that were bumping around in my old home (she and my dad stayed in that large house in Oak Cliff (Dallas) until they both died). Once my mom called me up and said she had seen smoke coming out of her trash can in the bedroom. She smoked, and she said she thought she had accidentally put a lit cigarette in the trash can and it caught something on fire. However, she looked inside the trash can and couldnt find anything on fire. She went back to her business, and again she saw this white, filmy smoke coming out of the trash can. She knew what it was this time, and she called me up to tell me.