Three weeks ago, negatrite! posted a nifty article on creepy things that just might visit your backyard if you live in New Jersey or Delaware. Then he threw out the challenge to show him some creepies from the readers neck of the woods.

So I decided to take up the challenge and find out what monsters, ghosts, and bogeyman live in my recently adopted home state of Texas.

The most famous Texas cryptid is without a doubt the chupacabra (which makes an appearance in my fourth Pierce Mostyn Paranormal Investigation, Van Dyne’s Vampires). But other creatures and eerie things exist in the Lone Star State. And we’ll meet a few of them right now. Read on.

Houston Batman

I live in the West Houston suburbs, so imagine my surprise at learning that Batman was in Houston. However, unlike the superhero, the Houston Batman is a fear-inducing creature.

On June 18, 1953, Hilda Walker, Judy Meyers, and Howard Phillips were sitting on Walker’s porch. The evening was quiet.

At some point in the evening, Walker saw a shadow about 25 feet from the porch. At first, she thought it was a magnified reflection of a moth in the streetlight. But when the shadow bounced up into a pecan tree, she knew it wasn’t a moth.

And that’s when all three saw the creature. It was man-like, stood about 6 1/2 feet tall, and had batwings projecting from its back. An eerie yellow glow surrounded the batman. He seemed to be dressed in tight-fitting gray or black clothes.

The three watched the being for about half a minute when the light faded and it disappeared.

After which they heard a swoosh over the housetops, followed by a flash of light, and the roar of a jet taking off.

Bizarre indeed.

Ghosts of Corpus Christi

In downtown Corpus Christi stands the Centre Theatre. It opened in 1942 and in that same year witnessed a murder.

An usherette was stabbed to death by her estranged boyfriend as she came out of the restroom.

It is said that if you are up on the mezzanine level where she was murdered she will try to get you to leave by making you cold or giving you a push.

From what I can gather, it seems the theatre is now closed and vacant. So perhaps she’ll have peace at last.

The Blue Ghost is the nickname for the decommissioned World War II aircraft carrier USS Lexington, which is now a museum.

Visitors regularly report ghostly touches and seeing shadowy figures roaming the decks.

Wartime produces bonds that are often difficult to break.

Bear King of Marble Falls

Marble Falls, Texas is in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. And is the home a bizarre legend.

The Kickapoo people have a legend that a Bear Man served as King over all the bears in the area in which they lived.

Was this supposedly legendary Bear King the entity that kidnapped Ramie Arland in May of 1901? We will probably never know.

One evening, Ramie, the belle of Marble Falls, was sent by her mother to gather the family’s flock of sheep.

Mrs. Arland was busy in the house the she heard her daughter scream. She rushed out to help her child, but Ramie was nowhere to be found.

A day later, however, Ramie was found wandering in the woods nearby and brought home, where she told a strange tale.

She said she was gathering the flock when a black bear appeared and then ran off. The animal was replaced by a creature that looks like both a man and a bear. This creature kidnapped her and took her to his lair in the mountains.

Ramie thought that she’d been kidnapped by the Bear King. However, the creature was cruel to her and when it finally fell asleep she ran out of the cave into the woods.

A band of local men set out for the mountains to find the creature. And find it they did.

The beast stood up to the men, beat its chest, and screamed like a panther. When it at last charged the group of men, they fired their rifles and killed it.

Now legends are funny things. No mention is made as to what happened to the body of the Bear King. And even though the Washington Bee and San Francisco Chronicle carried the story nationally, there never was a story printed in any local paper.

There are no mountains in the Texas Hill Country, and the Kickapoo never actually lived in the area. So where did Ramie hear of their legend?

But even more bizarre is that there is no record of an Arland family living in Marble Falls or Burnet County at the time Ramie was supposedly kidnapped.

Was this a tale dreamed up by a bored reporter? Or was it a real event that was buried by the locals because it was too horrible to remain in the community’s history? We’ll probably never know. That’s how it often is with legends.

Black-Eyed Children

Out in Abilene, in 1996, Brian Bethel, a journalist, was parked in a movie theater lot. He was writing a check when there was a knock on his window. He rolled down the window to see what the two boys wanted, when he immediately felt a soul-wracking fear.

The older boy said he and his brother wanted to watch a movie but had left their money at home. Would Bethel give them a ride to their house?

Bethel started to explain they would never make the last showing of the film, when he realized their eyes were solid black. He immediately broke eye contact with the kids.

The older boy, obviously frustrated, said he and his brother couldn’t get into the car until Bethel said they could.

At that point, a terrified Brian Bethel tore out of the parking lot.

A true story? Or a journalist in search of a byline?

La Chupacabra

We love vampires. Bloodsuckers of all stripes. And they don’t even have to suck blood. As long as they feed on some vital part of our being, we’re okay with that.

Enter the chupacabra. That bloodsucking reptilian dog-like creature that feeds on the blood of farm animals.

The first reported occurrence of the creature was in 1975 in Puerto Rico. Since then the beast has made appearances from Maine to Chile, and in Russia and the Philippines.

In 2007, Phylis Canion, of Cuero, Texas, discovered a carcass of the chupacabra. Apparently, the first actual evidence of the creature’s existence.

Texas State University personnel conducted tests and concluded the carcass was of a hairless Texas coyote. Of course they did. 

Now I tried finding if there is such a thing as a hairless coyote. Apparently there isn’t. Although a coyote may become hairless because it has mange.

Now is this a case where, like UFOs, we all know they exist, but the government, for our own good, won’t fess up to the truth? Maybe.

Maybe the government figures if they give we the people and inch, we’ll take a mile and start believing Cthulhu is real. Imagine that.

Wait a minute. Isn’t he running for president?

Hope you enjoyed this little tour of scary Texas. Until next time, keep your doors locked and your car windows rolled up.

CW