I think that everybody is intrigue by ghost stories. I know I was. When we were camping and everybody sat around the campfire and one of the adults started talking about the serial killer in the woods who had not been captured and we were too naïve to realized that it was just a story.

How about our stories about real fears like La llorona. Almost all of us lived next to a creek or river like the Alazan River/creek. Our parents put that fear in us to keep away from the threat of drowning.

However, there are things that we encounter in our lives that put the fear of God in us. There was a place on the corner of S. Laredo and Brazos called “La Gloria Dance Hall” It was very popular in the 30s and 40s and everybody went there. At one time so the story goes, there was a girl who was dancing all night with this very handsome fellow and he turned into the devil himself. The girl noticed that he had cloven feet.

There are times when we encounter ghost without realizing it. For example. There on Leona and San Fernando St., before we were married, my wife and some family members were on the front porch. It was dark around that time with no lights in the area like we do now. They saw a form of a man coming up the alley. Being cautious they called out to him and asked what he wanted. He didn’t answer and he kept coming toward them. As he approached them, they called out to him again. No answer. When he was closer to the porch, he disappeared. Needless to say, they screamed and went inside.

In another incident, my wife and I went to Long Island for a conference which was to last a weekend. We were staying on the Queen Mary which was a luxury ship turned into a hotel. We were on the sixth or seven deck below and there was a round window where we could see outside toward the dock. One of the free days my wife and I decided to take some picture with my head protruding out of the window. Leaving my wife on the dock I went back in and took the elevator down toward our room. I pushed the wrong button and went all the way down toward the boiler room. I got out and asked a worker dressed in a uniform which I hadn’t seen before how to get back. He politely spoke and showed me the button for our deck. After that we didn’t think more of that. Afterwards, when we returned home, we were watching a show about the Queen Mary. They were showing pictures about the men who perished in a fire in the boiler room. Lo and behold there was this man’s picture who helped me get back to my deck. He had the same uniform he was wearing when I saw him.

There are some places that I still wouldn’t go at night. One of them is the hallway at Navarro Elementary School on San Fernando St. and the other is the hall at Immaculate Heart of Mary church and the last is the alleyway where I used to live at 910 S. Laredo St. Why? Because I sense some evil spirit there. You can’t make me go there even in my old age.