specter with red eyes has been reported to haunt the chapel and growl
when Bible verses are read there. Mayfield says she once saw the ghost
of a young man staring out from behind the locked front doors, a bullet
wound in his head. The spirits of the nuns residing on the second floor
are said to push and scratch at men with tattoos.
Mayfield has experienced feelings of oppressive weight and cold
spots, unseen things touching her during tours. Just walking through the
building makes her jittery, and she mentions hearing footsteps and faint
moaning sounds. “A lot of awful things went on here,” Mayfield says. “The
place freaks me out! The vibe’s not good ... once you shut those doors and
get in here, you forget there’s even anything beyond the hospital.”
The hospital is on private property and has been a popular spot
for ghost tours since the building was acquired in part by Jo Ann
Marks-Rivera, owner of Victoria’s Black Swan Inn (likewise haunted).
Rivera hired Mayfield to look after the building after the departure of
an earlier caretaker. The hospital offers daily walking tours for $25,
photography/video shoots for $100 an hour, and overnight investiga-
tions for $500.
The hospital has had a recent problem with vandals breaking in for un-
authorized ghost hunts, graffiti, or other mischief, often leaving the build-
ing’s antique furniture in bad shape. Mayfield wishes to remind everyone
that this doesn’t just rile up the local ghosts, it’s also against the law and
will be prosecuted as such. If you’re not there on an official tour, honor
that most hallowed of haunted house signs: Keep out. –Asher Elbein
The Donkey Lady—a local
variant of the weeping ghost
La Llorona—is said to haunt
the Donkey Lady Bridge in
south San Antonio. Apple-
white Road, San Antonio.At The Alamo you may
hear ghostly whispers or
see the shade of a Mexican
soldier. 300 Alamo Plaza,
San Antonio.A stay at the Emily Mor-
gan Hotel is reputed to ex-
pose visitors to whole floors
of ghostly visitations, in-
cluding phantom visions of
the building’s past as a hos-
pital. 705 E. Houston St.,
San Antonio.In Goliad, the Presidio
La Bahia commemorates
the Goliad Massacre with
Spanish-speaking polter-
geists, humming women,
and a spooky (though en-
tirely real) flock of vultures.
217 US 183, Goliad.