Haunted Texas: Four Cities Worth the Drive

The four cities we cover in Texas

Texas is too big for one haunted capital, so it grew four, each with a different flavor.

San Antonio

The heavyweight. The Alamo, the Menger Hotel and the ghost tracks stack into one compact downtown, and the River Walk keeps you fed between stops. Our San Antonio guide ranks the walks.

Austin

Any city that brands itself weird was always going to do ghost tours its own way. Austin offers them by foot, bus, hearse, boat, pedicab and Segway, plus vampire and murder-themed walks for the committed. The Austin guide sorts the options.

Fort Worth

The City of Cowboys and Culture keeps its hauntings close to the stockyards and the old Chisholm Trail stops. Fort Worth's walks lean Western history first and ghosts second, which suits the town. See the Fort Worth guide.

Galveston

Once among the largest port cities in the country, Galveston was remade by the great hurricane of 1900, and that catastrophe shadows every ghost story the island tells. The historic architecture survived to hold them. Read the Galveston guide.

Questions people ask

What is the most haunted city in Texas?

San Antonio gets the most votes, with the Alamo and the Menger Hotel carrying national name recognition. Galveston partisans argue the 1900 hurricane gives their island the darker claim, and they are not wrong to bring it up.

Is San Antonio worth visiting for ghost tours?

Yes. It has the densest cluster of storied sites in the state inside a walkable core, and the tours run year-round. Our San Antonio picks cover the walks guests rate best.

When should you go?

Fall through spring is prime, since deep summer heat leans on even the evening walks. October is peak season statewide, and Galveston also fills on summer beach weekends, so book that island early.

Stack Texas up against the rest of our haunted city guides, or meet the team behind them on our Arizona walks in Flagstaff, Tucson and Prescott.