On the corner of Third Street and Red River is where the paranormal come to life, making history a reality.
Ghost tours have walked the streets of Austin from Third, to the Driskill and all the way to Congress Avenue for more than a decade. Haunted Austin began with a mother on a mission to show the city just how the paranormal keep history alive and how the two worlds coincide.
The walking tour began at Moonshine Grill and Patio, lasting from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Finding the restaurant was not the hard part, it was finding parking that took the longest time. There are meters directly outside that are sometimes available, otherwise there are public parking lots a few blocks away for $8 parking. In addition, the Metro Rail ends on fourth street, and is a cheap and fun way to arrive in Austin.
Upon first glance at the antiquely-dressed tour guide, I knew we were in for an animated ghost tour. We walked a ways down the street to a nearby house, which had gone unnoticed by myself for the past 18 years, where the guide told us to watch for paranormal signs. Signs include a chilling atmosphere, the hairs on your body to stand, any unfit smells, balls of moving light, and the obvious moving objects. The guide gave one lucky gentleman in the tour the honor of holding dowsing rods along the way. These are used in the paranormal world to find spiritual activity.
The two houses that we stopped at were more than just houses or tourist spots of interest – they were places that were very much in use in the 1800s when Texas was considered a republic, where servants and noble families had separate living quarters. The most incredible realization during the tour was finding out the shocking history of the very spots in Austin that I have so often walked, like the Speakeasy and other such restuarants on Congress Avenue.
It is said by paranormal experts that while people move on, the land becomes industrialized, and the residual energy of the events that occurred gets stored in the grounds that laid there. It is also said that there are trigger objects that can cause some of the sounds or smells to appear, perhaps by spiritual entities.
Regardless of the truth or fiction in the matter of this topic, ghost tours can still be a place for entertainment and history. Have you ever noticed a historical landmark in Austin, or a house from hundreds of years ago? These ghost tours can be a source of factual information about what used to be alive.
Having lived in Austin my whole life, the scenery has blended together, and perhaps forgotten in some parts. Now, however, I can walk by the moonlight towers, or the corner at “the avenue,” now called Congress Avenue, and tell you exactly why they are called what they are. As far as having what paranormal activists call “experiences,” I did not feel, see or smell anything out of the ordinary along the one-and-a-half hour tour. We did get the chance to see pictures and hear what paranormal activists call EVP’s (electronic voice phenomenon) from tools that the tour guide brought.
Walking tours are not the only attraction offered by Haunted Austin. The company offers 90-minute walking tours for $20, three hour investigations for $65, and 90-minute trolley tours for $25. For more information call 512-853-9826, or visit their website at http://www.austinghosttours.com/
