The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress - The Haunted Von Mindel Hotel - Schulenburg, Texas

Some fifteen years after the Von Minden Hotel was built, a bizarre story would unfold and leave the hotel in a paranormal state and is a favorite stop over for ghost hunters. Other incidents would occur the to solidify the Von Minden Hotel's status as one of the most haunted places in Texas if not the United States. 

The Von Minden Hotel in Schulenburg, Texas is said to be haunted by "the girl in the polka dot dress".

A young soldier who had been overseas during World War II was severely injured when he was shot down.  He returned home and moved into the Von Minden until he could get settled down. He had been out of contact for quite while when he was shot down and was finally able to collect his mail and catch up on the news.  As he poured through the letters he paid most attention to those from his girlfriend.  However, sadly the news in the letters turned sour as one of them announced her intent to break up with him.  Devastated by the news, it is said that he through himself out of the window, falling three stories to his death below.  

Tragically though, rumors have it that the letters were some how mixed in order and his girl, having heard of his return and still in love with him, went to visit him at the hotel. She searched the hotel asking where she could find her love. Upon hearing the news, she was heartbroken and found it hard to believe that he was dead.  She wandered around the hotel in her polka dot dress still searching for her lost love. Over the years, many have seen a girl wearing a polka dot dress wandering around the hotel, asking questions as if she were searching for someone or something.

Many who have stayed at the Von Minden have also had strange experiences in and around room 23 where years after the first incident, a rail worker was staying there.  He suddenly fell ill and died trying to get out of the room.  Hotel workers could not get the door open to recover his body as it was blocking the door.  They had to send someone through a window to clear the doorway and retrieve the man's body.  Rumors are that strange, unexplained events have taken place in the room and surrounding areas. Door knobs turning, unexplained noises, and footsteps from unseen people. These events are believed to be attributed to this poor man's ghost wandering around the area where he spent the last few hours of his life.

The man who built the hotel, Gerhardt Von Minden, spent a lot of time devoted to the upkeep of his hotel and his family spent time with him there as a result.  His daughter included.  She spent so much of her time there playing and in general, living.  To this day some say they see a apparition of a woman and a man in the theater portion of the hotel.  Many believe that this is Von Minden's daughter and her husband, still enjoying the hotel in the afterlife.

View the Index of Haunted Places

USS Lexington (The Blue Ghost) - Corpus Christi, Texas

The USS Lexington CV-16 was the longest serving air craft carrier of World War II.  The ship was painted in a unique Navy blue un-camoflagued color.  During the war, the Japanese reported sinking the ship multiple times only to have the US Navy to debunk the ship saying that it is still afloat.  Wartime Japanese radio announcer Tokyo Rose proclaimed that the US had a ghost ship.  The US sailors on board the Lexington like it and the name stuck and the ship became known as the "The Blue Ghost".  The original USS Lexington, CV-2 was sunk during the battle of the Coral Sea.  It was resurrected as CV-16 and would survive the remainder of the war and beyond.

The USS Lexington CV-16 the "Blue Ghost" anchored in Corpus Christie, Texas is said to be haunted by spirits of sailors from WWII

Visitors are able to visit and tour the ship at their own free will. A visitor reporting getting to the engine room area and a handsome sailor with striking blue eyes explained the inner workings of the engine room and showed them around.  Once the visitors arrived at the end of the tour, they commented to the tour directors that the guide in the engine room was absolutely great and he was very knowledgeable.  The museum director informed the visitors that there were no guides on board the ship!

The USS Lexington CV-16 the "Blue Ghost" anchored in Corpus Christie, Texas is open to public tours

More than 200 visitors have reported seeing the tour guide, now nicknamed "Charlie".  Each report that he had striking blue eyes.  After a while museum directors did a little research and discovered some interesting facts. In 1943 nine sailors were killed in the rear of the ship in when a Japanese torpedo struck the area near the engine room.  One of the sailors killed had blonde hair and striking blue eyes and was the engine room operator who never left his post. He matched the description of the phantom sailor exactly!

The Hotel Galvez - Galveston, TX

The Galveston, Texas area was once a Spanish colony governed by Spanish Bernardo de Galvez and there is the grand Hotel Galvez which was named after him.  This hotel is said to be one of the most haunted places in America and for good reason.  This area was known as the "Island of Doom" because it's rocky shore claimed so many lives in shipwrecks through time.  However, this is not the reason the Hotel Galvez is so haunted.

Long ago before there was a hotel, there was an orphanage located in this area run by a young nun named Sister Katherine.  A terrible hurricane hit this area back in 1900.  Sister Katherine tied a rope to all 9 of her orphans for safety as they attempted to reach higher ground.  However, it was to no avail as the morning after the hurricane subsided, the bodies of all 9 orphans as well as Sister Katherine were found washed up on the rocky, sandy shore.  They were buried just off the beach. 

In this very spot in 1911, the Hotel Galvez was built in order to bring in tourists to the island. One of the most finely furnished and finished hotels on the U.S. shore, it gained quite the reputation and became known as "Queen of the Gulf". It became host to many famous actors and U.S. Presidents over the years.

The Hotel Galvez shortly after construction in 1911

Some say that when a severe storm is approaching, a figure dressed as a nun can be seen walking the along the shore as if warning of the incoming storm.  Heavy poltergeist activity such as doors opening and closing on their own and lights turning themselves on and off in the hotel itself suggest that the spirits of the orphans still linger in the spot where they died.

At some point in the hotel's history, a young woman checked into room number 500 of the hotel to await the return of her fiancé who as due to return from a long voyage at sea.  Upon the news that her lover's ship was lost, she became very distraught and climbed to the hotels roof to search the sea for her fiancé's ship.  Eventually she gave in to grief and thew herself off of the roof of the hotel.  To this day they say that anyone staying in room 500 will not last through the night without leaving the room.  People say they are overcome with a great feeling of despair and there is a strange overwhelming smell of gardenias in the room.  This smell has been found in other areas of the hotel as well, most notably on the 5th floor where the "Lovelorn Lady" as she became known as spent most of her time.
 

The shadow figure in the corner of this hall is claimed to be that of "The Lovelorn Lady" of The Hotel Galvez

Is is said that Bernardo de Galvez haunts the Hotel Galvez himself in the form of a painting that hangs at the end of the downstairs hallway.  Some say that they can feel the eyes on the painting watching them as they walk by and a strange sense of being chilled overtakes you as you approach the painting.  Other people say that you cannot take a "good" photograph that is not blurred unless you ask Bernardo himself for permission to do so first.  It is only then that  clear photo can be taken of the painting.

The haunted portrait of Bernardo de Galvez

Now we can see why this one of the most haunted places in the United States.  Easily, it is one of the most haunted hotels around.  So keep that in mind when you are visiting the Galveston area and you are looking for a place to stay.

Back to top of story

American Ghosts and Hauntings Index by Region Page