0e62506549f8156b

Ghosts of the Alamo The Most Haunted Place in Texas Toward the end of The Ballad of the Alamo (1960), recording artist Marty Robbins sings: Now the bugles are silent And there's rust on each sword And the small band of soldiers Lie asleep in the arms of the Lord. When we visited the Alamo in 2004, we drove around town listening to that song almost on repeat as it had become a favorite of my daughter, Emily, then age nine. At the same time, it seemed everywhere we went – especially the Alamo itself – we heard that the place was haunted by the spirits of the men who fell at the Battle of the Alamo on 6 March 1836. The Menger Hotel, The Emily Morgan, The Crockett Hotel, the bistro across from Alamo Plaza, the McDonald's down the block – all were said to be bristling with all kinds of paranormal activity – finally prompting Emily to ask, "How can they be asleep in the arms of the Lord when, apparently, they're haunting hotels all over Texas?" Good question. But the claim that San Antonio generally, and the area around the Alamo specifically – including, of course, the site itself – are haunted by spectral soldiers from the siege of the Alamo and famous battle, has been repeated for over 100 years and still makes for popular books, articles, and videos on the "most haunted place in Texas." The stories of the Alamo Ghosts have become part of the site's lore. I have no idea whether the Alamo is actually haunted. But the stories of the Alamo Ghosts have become part of the site's lore as well as a draw for some who visit primarily in hopes of seeing a ghost. In 2004, I met two such people – one, a woman who wanted to see the ghost of Jim Bowie, and a second, with a video camera, who was certain she would "catch a ghost on film." Now, if you're looking for an article debunking Alamo ghost stories, you've come to the wrong place. The only tale included here that I have a problem with is easily the most famous – the Six Phantom Defenders of the Alamo. The Six Phantom Defenders The earliest Alamo ghost story concerns the Six Phantom Defenders who saved the chapel from destruction in 1836. According to the tale, after General Antonio López de Santa Anna was defeated at the Battle of San Jacinto, he sent orders to General Juan Andrade, who had been stationed at the Alamo after it was taken on 6 March 1836, to destroy it. Andrade, in San Antonio de Béxar (near the Alamo at that time but, unlike today, not surrounding it), sent a contingent under Colonel Sánchez to deal with the situation. Sánchez returned quite quickly, however, claiming that, as he and his troops neared the chapel, they were confronted by six spirits brandishing flaming swords who cried out "Touch Not the Alamo!" and so had quickly retreated. Andrade found this report absurd and ordered Sánchez to return and destroy the chapel – but Sánchez refused. Andrade then went himself, but this time, a tall spirit arose from the long barracks near the chapel, holding two balls of fire in its hands. Andrade retreated just as Sánchez had and then left San Antonio. And so the Alamo was spared. I heard this story when I was little, and it has appeared in magazine articles and videos for years and is also one of the many included in the book Spirits of the Alamo by Robert Wlodarski and Anne Powell Wlodarski. No one seems to know its origin or when it first appeared in print. It's an entertaining read. And one should not expect a ghost story to adhere to historical fact. But actually, Andrade did destroy the Alamo complex. After the fall of the Alamo on 6 March, Santa Anna sent his generals out in several directions to put down the Texas Revolution. Andrade was ordered to remain in San Antonio and repair the Alamo for further use by the Mexican army. After Santa Anna was defeated by General Sam Houston at San Jacinto on 21 April 1836, he sent word to all his generals to retreat to San Antonio and await further orders. Andrade had been at work repairing the walls and buildings of the Alamo since March and, upon receiving orders to withdraw south beyond the borders of Texas, ordered the complex burned. The walls he had repaired were torn down, the cannon he left behind were spiked, and the only reason he would not have destroyed the chapel was because it was already in ruins. This is not to say no spectral figures appeared – whether those of Alamo defenders or of the Spanish priests who lived there when it was a mission – only that there seems to be no known source for the tale, and, since we know Andrade did destroy the Alamo complex, it makes little sense. The Haunted Police Station The Alamo lay in ruins for years and became a tourist attraction quite quickly. Visitors took home chunks of the walls and knocked off pieces of the chapel as souvenirs, and, as far as we know, no spirits showed up to stop them. The San Antonio Town Council, in 1840, offered whatever stone from the Alamo anyone wanted for $5.00/wagonload. Six years later, the Alamo had been repaired and garrisoned by US troops who occupied it during the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. By 1894, the chapel was in use as a police station, and the long barracks as jail cells. The San Antonio Express News, between 1894 to 1897, reported on regular paranormal activity at the site, such as ghostly moans, footsteps in the corridor outside the jail cells when no one was there, whispered voices with no one present, and the sound of someone who appeared to be a sentry marching back and forth across the roof. The prisoners complained and were ignored, but when the guards began voicing their own objections – and started refusing to work night shifts – the jail and police headquarters were moved. Jim Bowie's Ghost & The Menger Hotel One of the most persistent ghost stories claims that James "Jim" Bowie's ghost haunts the room where he was killed in 1836. This is repeated today in many videos found on YouTube. I say "persistent" because the story persists – even though it's impossible. Jim Bowie's room was in the low barracks, and this structure was destroyed by order of the San Antonio According to Wlodarski & Wlodarski, when the low barracks were taken down, the spirits who had been inhabiting them were not pleased, and guests at the nearby Menger Hotel watched as they marched from their former rooms. The Menger, built in 1859 on the former Alamo battlefield, is no stranger to ghosts, and, in fact, the "paranormal experience" is one of the many reasons people stay there. So, for anyone looking to meet up with Jim Bowie's ghost, don't bother looking for him at the Alamo – he's most likely at the Menger. The Gabaldon Ghost Novelist Diana Gabaldon, famous for her Outlander books, experienced a ghost in the Alamo chapel in May 1990. Her account, The Ghost in the Alamo, is among the best Alamo ghost stories in every regard and can be found in full in the bibliography below. According to Gabaldon, while near the front room on the left as one enters the chapel, she experienced a form of "psychic communication" with an unseen presence standing near the wall. She was aware of an entity near her, although she could see nothing. She "conversed" with the ghost through thought, finally telling him that she cared that he had lived and died, and received the answer, "That's enough" – as in, a 'thank you' for acknowledging him, for recognizing his existence. Gabaldon believes this was the ghost of Robert Evans, and I find that quite interesting. Evans was the Alamo defender tasked with blowing up the powder magazine in the chapel if the fort were overrun. He was going to do this when he was shot and killed. If he had made it to the magazine with his torch, he would have blown up the chapel, where the women and children had taken refuge, and so there would have been no survivors to relate the details of the siege and battle of the Alamo from the defenders' point of view and no Alamo chapel. William Barret Travis' slave, Joe, would have survived, but had he alone brought the news of the fall of the Alamo, he would not have been believed. On 11 March, two Tejanos from San Antonio – Andres Barcena and Anselmo Vergara – arrived in Gonzales to report the fall of the Alamo, and Houston had them jailed as spies, refusing to believe them. It was only when Susanna Dickinson, a White woman, arrived two days later, in the company of Joe, that the report was accepted, and Dickinson became a primary source on the siege and Battle of the Alamo for the rest of her life. Had Evans succeeded in blowing up the chapel, she would have been killed. Why Evans would continue to haunt the site is anyone's guess – but I imagine ghosts can do what they want for whatever reason they please. The Blond Boy A frequently repeated story is of the ghost of a blond boy who appears in the window of the Alamo gift shop, near the chapel, which was built between 1936 and 1939 for the Texas Centennial. The boy's spirit is usually seen in early February, corresponding to the time, in 1836, when the Alamo was being fortified just prior to the siege of 23 February to 6 March. He is seen in an upper window, which has no ledge beneath it to stand on, nor is there any way for someone to climb up there. It is thought he is the spirit of a boy who was evacuated from the Alamo when the siege began, who returns every year to look for his father, killed in the battle. The Lone Wanderer One of the many interesting Alamo ghost stories is of the Lone Wanderer – a man dressed in 19th century clothes who is encountered off-site and, when addressed, claims he is making his way back to the Alamo – where he belongs. This is thought to be the ghost of Louis Moses Rose, who is said to have been the only Alamo defender who would not cross William Barret Travis' line in the sand and stay to defend the fort. Rose is said to have slipped over the walls and escaped, telling the story of the line in the sand to the Zuber family years later, who published the account in 1873. It is thought that Rose, still consumed by guilt in the afterlife, is doomed to try, and fail, to return to his brothers-in-arms at the Alamo. John Wayne's Ghost It's not only the spirits of those who died in battle in 1836 who are said to haunt the Alamo, but also that of John Wayne, who starred in, directed, and produced The Alamo (1960), for which Marty Robbins' ballad was written. Wayne is known to have invested heavily in that movie, financially and emotionally, going to great lengths to ensure historical accuracy (though he failed in that). According to reports, Wayne's spirit has been seen on the Alamo grounds. Some reports include the detail that he has been seen in the company of Alamo defenders. To film his movie, Wayne had the Alamo complex and nearby village of San Antonio recreated in Brackettville, Texas, and, after the movie wrapped, the Brackettville Alamo became a tourist attraction as well as a set for other films and TV shows. When we visited Brackettville in 2004, the woman who ran the Cantina/Gift Shop told us that Wayne also haunts that site. Sadly, this fascinating attraction has now closed, and all the pieces of the set that could be carried were sold off. If Wayne still haunts the Brackettville Alamo today, there is no one there to witness it. The Alamo Rangers, however, have witnessed plenty of strange and scary sights in and around the Alamo itself. The Alamo Rangers are the security detail on site, but are also incredibly knowledgeable docents who can tell you anything you want to know about Alamo history. There are many Alamo Ranger stories concerning ghosts in the Wlodarski book and elsewhere – accounts of figures suddenly appearing to vanish just as quickly, of feeling they are being closely followed when no one is behind them, voices when no one is there, screams or cries in an otherwise silent night. When I visited the Alamo, I would arrive before dawn, get a coffee from the haunted McDonald's, and talk with whatever Ranger was on duty. I was not one of the visitors coming in hopes of seeing a ghost – and so never asked about them – but the ghost stories were told anyway. The most memorable was from a Ranger who explained why she never went into the chapel after dark. In her early days, she said, she would unlock the chapel and make sure everything was secure. One night, as she was about to walk back out, she saw a man, dressed as someone from circa 1836, come running from the room to the left of the chapel (as one enters), pause and look behind him, then sprint toward the room on the right. She had just checked the front door and both those rooms and knew no one with a body could be in the chapel. After that, she said, she made sure the doors to the chapel were secured from the outside – but never went back in after dark. Conclusion I believed her story – and many of the others I've heard – because I have believed in ghosts my entire adult life. I agree with the American journalist John Keel (best known as the author of The Mothman Prophecies) – echoing the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians – that ghosts are not "supernatural" or "paranormal" but entirely natural and normal and simply another aspect of the human condition. I can understand why people don't believe in ghosts – historically, seeing a disembodied spirit has rarely been reported as a positive experience – and so it's easier to dismiss ghosts as fable. I recognize that, to many, these stories are simply entertainment, which is fine. I did not see or feel any ghosts at the Alamo when I was there, nor at the Emily Morgan, the Menger, or the "haunted" McDonald's – but that doesn't mean they weren't around – only that I didn't notice them because I'd rather not see them. If I were to go back, maybe I'd have a "Gabaldon Experience" – some unexpected encounter with the unseen – or maybe not – who can tell? If any site "deserves" to be haunted, the Alamo is certainly high on the list. So, if you go there expecting ghosts – or, as with Gabaldon, don't – maybe you'll find one. Or one will find you. Did you like this article? Bibliography Davis, W. C. Three Roads to the Alamo. HarperCollins, 1998. Edmondson, J. R. Alamo Story: From Early History to Current Conflicts. TwoDot, 2022. Ghost Story | DianaGabaldon.com, accessed 17 Oct 2025. Ghosts of the Alamo – Legends of America, accessed 17 Oct 2025. Groneman, B. Eyewitness to the Alamo. Lone Star Books, 2017. Hardin, S. L. & Zaboly, G. S. Texian Iliad: A Military History of the Texas Revolution. University of Texas Press, 1996. Joshua J. Mark. "Personal Visit to the Alamo 2004." N/A, N/A, pp. N/A. Marty Robbins - Ballad of the Alamo Lyrics | AZLyrics.com, accessed 17 Oct 2025. Nelson, G. S. The Alamo: An Illustrated History. Aldine Books, 1998. Wlodarski, R. & Wlodarski, A. P. Spirits of The Alamo. Taylor Trade Publishing, 1999.