October is finally upon us. Cooler temperatures and fall colors, but most of all, Halloween and the chance to indulge in everything spooky and creepy. I kicked things off a couple weeks ago with the first part of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre filming locations tour. I will be exploring the second half of the tour later this weekend, but first I stopped by the Fort Worth Stockyards to try and experience for myself some of it's haunted history.
The modern hustle and bustle. The Fort Worth Stockyards operates as a town within a town. the outlaw ways continue to shine through as you see cowboy hats and boots flood the streets. Like the cowboys of yesteryear, drinking in public is allowed. Grab a cold beer, or a glass of great wine and take a stroll through the yards.
The Fort Worth Stockyards are stewing with history and a lot of that history is about the seedier side of Cowtown. Saloons, gang hideouts, bordellos, and gun fights. Blood, sweat, and murder are common themes through the yards. Just about every building has a story or a mischievous guest that visits at night. But one side of the stockyards that gets ignored among the stories of bank robberies and shootouts is the cattle tunnels running below the old stockyards themselves.
Most of the old pens at the stockyards station have been converted into shops or dinner halls. the old brick streets still present. Thurber bricks, from Thurber, TX. A ghost town you can visit today.
The Wall street of the West as they called it. This was the place where you could buy, sell, slaughter and package your beef, pork, lamb, you name it. In it's heyday 1 million head of cattle would sell a year at the stockyards. how do you transport and move so much cattle? well the through a series of tunnels. Most people don't know if you look past the shops at the the stockyards station and follow the empty corridors, you will come across desolate looking ramps and tunnels. Follow these at night when all the shops are closed and the corridors empty, the sparsely lit tunnels will make your hairs stand on end.
Walking along the old cattle corridors. Not another person in sight. off in the distance you can hear the faint sounds of the busy strip.
There are security patrols in the area so be respectful. As someone who works in security, I can only imagine the stories these guys have. Such darkness in these tunnels, and afraid to give our position away we relied only on the light that would peak through the posts and fences above. Shadows would creep along the fences and sounds would be heard in the distance. there is no wind down in the tunnels and most of them lead to a dead end. The whirl of the security golf cart and time cut our exploration short. We left the tunnels as quietly as we came.
ramps leading down to the tunnels. most lead to dark dead ends.
pitch black tunnels. cattle were herded through these back in the stock yards heyday
Cowtown Winery did host a great ghost tour of the stockyards. We were led into buildings and given first hand accounts of the different strange phenomena in the area. Off the beaten path through the rough cut alley ways and old boarded up entrances. As we heard the stories we would be directed to the vacant windows of these old buildings. Waiting nervously for evidence of the paranormal. My imagination did run wild as i could easily picture old cowboys and ladies of the night peering down at us. I recommend Cowtown Winery for your tour. A great guide and amazing wine. 1st glass is on the house.
Back alleys of the stockyards. unknown to most, there is a creek that flows underneath the main strip. follow the dark alleys and you can see the tunnels underground.
old sealed off entrance to Miss Molly's bed and breakfast, the old bordello. the sight of a murder and and supposedly haunted alleyway.
front entrance to Miss Molly's. One of the Stock Yards most active haunts.
Stairs leading up to Miss Molly's. for a price you could can stay in one of the period themed rooms and experience for yourself the restless activity that goes on here.
Many of the buildings on the strip have vacant upper level floors. Your eyes begin to play tricks as you see shadows and figures pass the dusty old windows. Just imagination going wild, or perhaps something more.