Ghosts along the Texas Coast by Docia Schultz Williams

Author:Docia Schultz Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing
Published: 1995-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

Ashton Villa, at 2328 Broadway in Galveston

An article from Galveston County’s In Between (the October 1978 issue, featuring Galveston County’s ghosts) stated that the furnishings of the Gold Room at Ashton Villa were true reflections of the lifestyle of Rebecca Brown. Many of her most treasured possessions are shown displayed in a small alcove. There are costumes, fans, an Egyptian mummy’s head, and a diamond-studded cat’s head she purchased in Paris. Two of her original paintings also hang in the room. One depicts a demure Victorian lass on a swing; the other portrays two rotund cherubs, one of whom boasts the wings of a butterfly!

In the adjacent dining room there is a photo on display which shows a servant standing in a doorway. But what sets the picture apart from the ordinary is that to the left of the mantel pictured in the photograph, the image of another man’s face is plainly visible. Could it possibly be a ghost?

Then, there’s that magnificent piano . . . the same instrument I stopped near when the feeling of a presence overtook me. The story from In Between stated that a caretaker who had lived in the carriage house adjacent to the villa vividly recalled a night when he was awakened from a sound sleep about 3:30 a.m. by the sounds of a piano playing. Because there had been some attempted break-ins, he decided to go check the villa. As he entered, he heard the music emanating from the elegant Gold Room. As he came into the room he was startled to see the faint image of a woman in nineteenth century clothing seated at the piano bench. In just a moment, both she and the music which was playing faded completely away. The caretaker was quoted as saying that he turned on every light in the building and stayed awake for the remainder of the night!

Steven Long, a newswriter for the Houston Chronicle, wrote an interesting feature for the October 29,1993, edition of that paper. The article, which was titled, “Haunted Houses,” stated that Lucie Testa, weekend manager at the villa since 1988, had experienced several strange happenings there. On February 18,1991, the alarm system went off, for no particular reason, three different times. Then, as Testa prepared to close the house for the day, she noticed the ceiling fan at the top of the staircase had come on. She climbed the stairs to turn it off, only to find it running again when she arrived the next morning! She noted that Miss Bettie Brown had been born on February 18, 1855! Extrovert that she was, maybe she just wanted to make sure somebody remembered her birthday!

Testa also told about feeling a ghostly presence in Miss Bettie’s former day room. At the end of the single bed there is an ornate chest that she purchased on a trip to the Middle East. The key was lost many years ago. Sometimes the chest is locked. Other times it is unlocked. There is no explanation whatsoever for this.

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