I like to collect ghost stories when the "haunting" happens in Texas. For instance, near my home-town, there is a small community known as Leon Junction. According to a story I heard many times as a child (and always with the appropriate swearing that it was fact) a young woman was said to walk up and down the old railroad in search of her child. The child, unfortunately, was ran over by a passing train. For years I heard people recount stories of their own or others' experiences. They reported seeing a ghostly light, resembling an old kerosene lantern, floating just above the ground along the old railway. I never witnessed this myself, and in recent years I have not heard reports of anyone seeing it.
One of my favorite true ghost stories is the famous San Antonio railroad haunting. I am sure most of you are familiar with this story. In the early part of the twentieth century, as the story goes, a school bus stalled on the railroad crossing as the bus was on its daily round dropping off students. A train almost immediately struck the bus. Depending on which account one reads, thirteen or more children were killed. Since that terrible accident, there have been many reports over the years of stalled cars being pushed of the railroad crossing by an unseen force. Sometimes childrens' voices and laughter were heard. In the early '90s a former police officer parked his vehicle on the railroad crossing in question. He placed a layer of talcum powder on the trunk and bumper of his vehicle. Then...he waited. Sure enough, the vehicle was pushed off the railroad grade and out of danger. Upon examination, the officer found palm prints, several pairs of them, on the rear of his vehicle. A camera crew was there as well. They recorded the event, and took pictures of the palm prints. Very eerie.
Near Angleton is a small community, once a town, known as Bailey's Prairie. This community was named for its illustrious founder, Brit Bailey, who was actually one of the famous "Old Three Hundred," the pioneers who moved to Texas with Stephen Austin. Brit was a cantankerous old man, and was one of the few people who managed to make enemies of Stephen Austin. One story about Brit has him entertaining a circuit preacher for supper. After supper, Brit demanded that the preacher dance for him, and used his shotgun for motivation. The preacher in fact danced for the old man. He left, a humiliated man of the cloth, but nonetheless happy to be alive. But Brit was cantankerous to his dying day. As Brit lay dying, his last request to his wife was that she bury him standing, because he had never laid down before any man when he was alive. He also asked his wife to bury a jug of whiskey and his dog with him. He did not want to run out of whiskey, and he did not want to be without the companionship of his dog. It turned out that his wife fulfilled all his requests except one: she refused to bury the whiskey. She said she had had enough of his drinking, so he could just be thirsty in Kingdom Come as far as she cared. After Brit had been dead several years, the property changed hands. The new owner began to report seeing a strange "ball of fire" that rolled along or floated just above the ground. This ball of fire seemed to appear near the burial site and the the location of the old Bailey home (long since torn down). This ball of fire has been seen periodically over the years, scaring passing motorists. One man was nearly (literally) scared to death when the ball of fire he had seen floating beside the road suddenly materialized inside his car. Other motorists have reported that a strange ball of fire followed their vehicle along Texas Highway 35 in Bailey's Prairie.
Brit Bailey is as cantankerous as ever. I say this because I have made numerous trips to the site of these hauntings, and never once has Brit (or his fireball) entered my vehicle, followed me, or even had the good manners to materialize in my view. Some say it must be at night, all though some of the past sightings were in the daytime. Others have said that the ghost only appears every seven years. Some say on Halloween. I say that Britt Bailey is just a cantankerous old man...er, ghost. In spite of my best efforts and hospitality, Britt refuses to even acknowledge me. I even drive slow, so he won't have to run. Well Brit, I'm waiting.
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