When one thinks of colonial Spanish missions, we often picture those famous churches and presidios of California, but truth is the Spanish had missions all over New Spain. Many of these were located in the vast expanse of present-day Texas, not the least of which is Misión San Antonio de Valero (aka The Alamo).
If you’re road-tripping through Texas this summer, you’ll find a number of these extant missions to also be delightfully haunted.
Mision San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo)- San Antonio, TX – Est. 1718. Phantom re-enactments of the famous Battle at the Alamo occur as well as soldiers, emerging from the walls at night. Ghostly monks have been witnessed as well. A nightly watch of the walls where the ghosts were said to emerge was conducted with no noticeable activity.
Trailing south of San Antonio are four 18th-century missions legend says are haunted. Mission San Jose has tales of an oft-headless priest, while a creature resembling a wolf and a disquiet native american man have been spotted at San Francisco de la Espada. Another native man has been seen at San Juan de Capistrano. At Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña, the least restored of the four, phantom soldiers have been spotted and heard from time to time.
Presidio Nuestra Señora de Loreto de la Bahía, has seen six wars and countless battles. Spanish, Mexican and Texas soldiers are all claimed to still walk within the stone walls of this fortified mission at the heart of Goliad. Some were executed by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna on Palm Sunday 1836. Other apparitions include a short priest who seems to shuffle listlessly about the churchyard. Others have reported spotting the ghost of a young woman praying in the chapel.
These are just a sampling of the many missions established in Texas between 1689 and 1789. Many of these may be haunted, but finding their stories can be harder. If you visit any of these extant missions (or even the archaeological ruins of those long-gone), be sure to ask about the haunted history. I would love to hear what stories you might uncover.
