HOPE SMITH
editor-in-chief
hope.smith393@my.tccd.edu
Three places stand tall over Texas, steeped in rumors and tall tales. Miss Molly’s Hotel and the Stockyards Hotel in the Stockyards, and Old Alton Bridge – also known as Goatman’s Bridge. These spectral creatures stalk the halls and creep along dirt paths, a capture in time while the world changes around them. Among the swirling whispers, these places call out “If you dare,” to to those brave enough to try.
MISS MOLLY’S HOTEL
The window to Miss Molly’s Hotel in downtown Fort Worth. The hotel is still in business to this day and has rooms that can be booked.
Nestled next to a bar and above a cafe in the Fort Worth Stockyards sits a 112-year-old hotel’s little pink door. A cowboy in blue casually leans against it, a peek into the history of who used to board the rooms.
Miss Molly’s Hotel was an example of the Stockyard’s rowdy, unruly nature of the old western days. It went through many changes and had various faces, from a boarding house in 1910 called Palace Rooms, The Oasis during prohibition and a brothel called Gayatte Hotel in the 1940s. All to eventually become the historic Miss Molly’s Hotel.
Those who visit the hotel commented on unexplained occurrences like “blue orbs,” whispers, footsteps and doors opening according to reviews on the hotel’s website.
It is said that the Cattlemen and Cowboy’s rooms are most famously known for their “apparitions.” These instances commonly appear to be young girls.
“Most of the sightings have involved the former working girls from the hotel’s days as a bordello,” Miss Molly’s Hotel about page said.
STOCKYARDS HOTEL
The back sign on the Stockyards Hotel in down town Fort Worth. This hotel features multiple rooms, including one where reportedly Bonnie and Clyde stayed staking out a hit.
The Stockyards Hotel in the heart of the town on looks a busy brick street of locals, tourists and buzzing establishments.
One of the hotel windows faces The Maverick Fine Western Wear, a former bank. In 1933, the famous criminals Bonnie and Clyde stayed at the Stockyards Hotel and planned a robbery on the bank, according to Stockyards Hotel employee Daphne Castro.
The room the two criminals stayed in is said to have bullet holes in the walls and a poem written by one of them framed.
Rumors of ghostly apparitions, appearing and disappearing figures, cold calls and former hotel employee Jake who passed on roam the halls of the hotel, according to hauntedrooms.com
Castro, who has worked at the hotel for over a year said she has only experienced on unexplained encounter.
During a room inspection for one of the Victorian rooms, she heard the shower curtain in the bathroom open and thought it was the housekeeper.
“It wasn’t, and I was like, ‘No, it’s just me playing tricks on my mind,’ And I went back to check the bed and I heard it close.”
OLD ALTON BRIDGE – GOATMAN’S BRIDGE
Found between Denton and Argyle, the Old Alton Bridge is host to many haunting ghost stories. The most frightening being tales of a supposed Goat Man whose eyes you can see glowing in the distance.
Old Alton Bridge attracts the daring and curious for the chance of spotting something supernatural on the red, Pratt-truss iron bridge.
The history of the bridge dates to 1884 and was meant to connect travelers from Denton to Dallas. According to Denton County Office of History and Culture, popular local legend says the bridge became a hotspot for supernatural occurrences after the hanging of Oscar Washburn, a black man and successful goat farmer who was attacked by the Klu Klux Klan in 1938.
Washburn’s tragic lynching story has not been confirmed yet, however according to a Dallas Morning News story, UNT students were able to uncover evidence of high Klan activity in Denton during the 1920s.
Old Alton Bridge took on a new nickname, “Goatman’s Bridge,” after visitors claimed seeing a half-goat half-man holding two goat heads in his arms underneath the bridge. More lore says if someone honks a car horn twice in front of the bridge, glowing red eyes will appear and knocking three times on the bridge will summon Goatman.
Three women from Oklahoma paid a visit one night hoping to catch a glimpse of him, however they explained that they hadn’t experienced anything out of the ordinary on the bridge.
However, on the trails Kayla Hensley said she felt something brushing her shoulder and assumed it was her friend. She didn’t realize until moments after that her friend was not beside her on the left.
“I didn’t say anything. but I was feeling my back and I flashed my light,” she said. “Jesse was standing to my right, and she was back behind me a little bit, so her shoulder couldn’t match me.”
