GALVESTON, Texas — Cemeteries seem to be an easy answer when we talk about spooky spaces, especially a place like Old City Cemetery in Galveston, which is nearly 200 years old. But this is a city with many more ghost stories to tell.
Brian Treybig knows those stories by heart. He’s a guide for Dash Beardsley Ghost Tours, which covers all the history and mystery of Galveston.
"Once you step onto this island, it’s another world. It’s just so beautiful," said Treybig, referencing our world and the one on the other side. "You can just feel the energy of the people who are still here."
There are many people still here, according to Treybig. They're victims of murders, suicides, fires and the Great Storm of 1900.
That’s when one story begins at the Hutchings, Sealy & Co. building.
"We had a 17-foot storm surge that swept over the island. On the second floor, this schoolmarm lifted up the window and just grabbed people floating in the water," Treybig said. "She died about three months later due to illness caused by touching those bodies and things."
Treybig shared a photo, which he said captured what appears to be the spirit of that woman, still keeping watch.
For another Galveston ghost story, you have to travel a couple of blocks down the Strand and back to the Civil War. A Confederate general turned the Nichols building into his headquarters, teeming with soldiers, who never really left.
"This whole block has a lot of activity," said Treybig.
Walking through downtown Galveston, Treybig offered a story about just about every building, including the salesman at the Tremont House Hotel and the little girl in the former brothel, now Mob Bar. But to hear them all, you’ll have to take this walk too.
"Galveston is one of the most haunted places in America," Treybig said.
For more information about his ghost tours in and around Galveston, click here.