Ghostly Gatherings

Get out the hay bales, the pumpkins and corn stalks, it’s that time of year. How about all those ghosts and goblins that emerge as Halloween draws near? Halloween is right around the corner, so let’s go search for some ghost stories.

We decided to start with the occupants of the oldest buildings in Garland, and that brought us to Historic Downtown Garland and its 100 year old structures. It would be an understatement to say we got more than we had bargained for. We asked several shop owners in the historic area if they had any ghost stories to share. According to their stories every last one of them had had an encounter with a ghostly entity. One shop owner kept hearing the tinkling of a little bell coming from the corner of her shop. Checking it out, she found nothing; not even a bell of any kind. A neighbor told her it was the spirit of a little boy that had been lingering there for quite some time.

A restaurant owner believes his kitchen is being haunted by the ghost of a man who passed away on the premises, after enjoying a meal prepared by the now haunted chef. Another business owner tells of a bag of bones found beneath the foundation of the building that was once a funeral home. He has also experienced visits and some mischief made by a spirit wearing blue denim overalls.

There are many more stories, and we’ve been convinced that the paranormal activity is alive and well in Downtown Garland. Sometime in the dark of night or the haze of early morning, they wander in and about locations that perhaps held importance to them during their lifetimes.

According to an urban legend, there is a labyrinth of pathways and caves beneath the downtown square. They creep through the portals and emerge to revisit the properties that were once theirs.