Spirits in the Capitol of Texas

Texas State Capitol Building, 2013

The State Capitol Building of Texas, constructed between 1882 and 1888, is located on 22 beautifully landscaped acres in downtown Austin. The current building replaced the original which was simply a log structure built in 1853. That building burned to the ground in 1881 and later that same year, the famous architect Elijah Myers won a nation-wide design contest for the new capitol building. He was paid the princely sum of $1,700 for his design. 

Construction began in February, 1882 and for the next 4 years, 1,000 men worked every day to complete the massive 360,000-square-foot building. The contractor was paid not with money, but with 3,000,000 acres of land. This land later became the largest ranch in the world, the famed XIT Ranch. When the capitol opened, it was the 7th largest building in the world and is still the largest state capitol in America. Covering 3 acres, standing 311 feet tall and made of "Sunset Red" granite quarried in Marble Falls, Texas, plus over 11,000 railroad cars of Texas limestone, the structure contains 392 rooms, 18 steel and concrete vaults, 924 windows, 404 doors and cost $3,744,600 of 1880's money to build. According to many, it also houses several spirits who roam the halls and grounds.

Shortly before the original log capitol building burned, a well-respected Indian scout was having a romantic rendezvous with his Indian maiden lover in one of the back rooms when her father, a bad-tempered Comanche chief found them. Bursting into the room, the outraged father killed the scout with a knife plunged into his heart. Grief-stricken, his distraught daughter pulled the knife from her dead lover's chest and before her father could stop her, plunged the knife into her own chest. Her father cried out and fell to the floor where he gently cradled her, but she died in his arms. Numerous witnesses have reported seeing the ghostly figures of the lovers as hand-in-hand they wander around the oak trees and stately grounds of the capitol. Wearing buckskin clothing and moccasins, they are seen walking along, but seem to be floating several inches above the ground and slowly disappear into thin air as the witness watches.

The "Goddess of Wisdom, Justice and Victory" which sits atop the 
dome of the Texas Capitol Building as workmen prepared to 
place her. (photo courtesy of Texas State Library & Archives)

In 1903, Robert Marshall Love, a Confederate veteran who had survived the Civil War, was serving as the state's Comptroller when he was shot and killed in his first-floor office by a disgruntled associate. Love was wearing a dark suit in the fashion of the era and top-hat when he was killed. His final words were, "I have no idea why he shot me. May the Lord bless him and forgive him. I cannot say more." The translucent figure of a man wearing an old-fashioned dark suit and top-hat has startled numerous government workers, visitors and state troopers as it paces up and down the hallway outside of the Comptroller's office.

On the 3rd floor in the office suite held by former House Speaker Pete Laney, the night cleaning crew has complained of a woman dressed in red who sometimes appears inside the office and then walks around a corner. When the crew goes to investigate, there is nobody there. Voices speaking in whispers, giggling and other mysterious sounds come from a secret stairwell behind that office. Research has shown the lady to be the lover of the man who occupied that office and the stairwell is where the couple often held "private meetings."

The Texas State Capitol Building during restoration, 1990.
(photo courtesy of Texas State Library & Archives)

On December 13, 1922, Ed Wheeler was painting the inside of the rotunda when he tragically fell 160 feet to his death. There are no reports of Ed wandering around the building, but interestingly, every now and then, a strong smell of fresh paint wafts through the air when there is no painting activity. It is speculated it could be Mr. Wheeler still trying to finish his painting job so he can finally go toward the light.

In the late 1970's, a newly hired Senate cook and waiter by the name of Tim Mateer was alone one evening while cleaning the reception room when he saw a lady pass by in the hall and go into a small room. Thinking she might be lost, he immediately followed her into the room she had entered, but there was no one there. Several days later, Mateer was walking through the Senate press conference room when he spotted a portrait of the lady he had seen, former Texas First Lady Fay Wright Stevenson, wife of Coke Stevenson when he was Lieutenant Governor and then Governor of Texas. Mrs. Stevenson had served as the hostess for many Senate functions during that time. She had died of cancer in 1942 and the small room Mateer had seen her enter had served as her office. 

Perhaps the most interesting story is about a certain window in the east wing of the building in a senate reception room. On February 6, 1983, a fire broke out in the apartment of William P. Hobby, the Lieutenant Governor. A 23-year-old man, a guest of Mr. Hobby, was asleep in the apartment when the fire broke out. He was trapped in a back room and several fireman were injured trying to rescue him while he screamed and banged on a window trying to get out. Unfortunately, the firemen were unsuccessful in their rescue attempts and the young man burned to death in excruciating pain. The unbroken window was left in place during the restoration work and still today, on foggy and high humidity mornings, even though the window has been repeatedly cleaned, the clear outline of hand prints appear in the condensation on the window.

Politics can be downright spooky, but Texas it seems, takes the term to a whole other level.

The Real Life Chuckie

Near the turn of the 20th century, Thomas Otto and his wife moved into what is now known as "The Artist's House" in Key West, Florida. Mr. and Mrs. Otto were very wealthy and spent most of their time traveling and attending social activities around the world. A son, Thomas "Gene" Otto, was born, but shortly after his birth, the Otto's resumed their life of leisure and travel, leaving young Gene in the care of a Jamaican nanny and the upkeep and running of their home to various servants and hired hands. Held to rigid expectations and expecting strict obedience, staff turnover was unusually high and the Otto's soon earned a reputation for being difficult employers.

The Otto's were rarely home so it was natural that the nanny and Gene quickly formed a very close relationship as they spent their days and nights together playing games and taking walks. One day shortly before his 5th birthday, Mr. and Mrs. Otto returned from one of their trips and Mrs. Otto became incensed when she found some of Gene's toys scattered on the floor instead of neatly put away in his room. She immediately fired the nanny who, without employment, faced deportation back to Jamaica. That evening however, the nanny briefly returned to the house to give Gene a doll she had been making for him as a surprise. The elder Otto's allowed their son to have the doll, but the poor woman was then banished from the house and Gene never saw his beloved nanny again.

The doll was given Gene's real first name, Robert, and from the moment he laid eyes on him, Gene would never let the doll out of his sight. His mother bought Gene a sailor suit to wear just like the one the doll wore and with his new nanny, the boy and his doll would often be seen taking a stroll in the nearby park or following along behind his mother on one of her numerous shopping trips, both wearing the same neatly-pressed clothes. Robert went everywhere and did everything with Gene. Robert had his own chair at the main table during meals, he sat on the side of the tub when Gene took his baths and when it was bedtime, Robert was tucked in for the night snug beside Gene ready to share his dreams. 

At first, everything was cute and innocent, but then things turned troubling. Gene would often be heard playing joyfully in his toy room, but then all would be quiet for several seconds and a conversation could be heard starting with one side of the conversation being in Gene's boyish voice and the other side in a much different tone. Sometimes Gene's voice would sound agitated with the responding voice sounding very insistent. the servants often heard these conversations and informed Mrs. Otto about them. On several occasions, Mrs. Otto herself heard them and burst into the room only to find her son cowering in the corner and the doll on a chair or bed appearing to be glaring down at Gene.

Soon, the disturbing activities moved out of the playroom and into the rest of the house and it became very evident to everyone living there that something was very wrong with the doll and the odd hold it had on Gene. Even more disturbing were the inexplicable events that began - glassware thrown across the room to shatter against the far wall when no one was in the room, heavy pieces of furniture overturned, various clothing items cut up and strewn around the house, bedding in rooms which had not been used in months would be rumpled and pillows shredded with the feathers strewn around. Most troubling were some of Gene's favorite toys which began to be found mutilated and broken. And the eerie, unsettling giggling which would often be heard in the middle of the night seemingly coming from nowhere and everywhere at once. 

Of course, Gene was blamed for these events, but on every occasion, no matter what punishment was meted out, he protested his innocence, saying Robert did it. His parents didn't believe him, but several of the servants had known the former nanny who had been summarily dismissed and they informed Mr. and Mrs. Otto that she had been a practitioner of voodoo. They advised the doll be burned, but the Otto's paid no attention to such nonsense and the doll stayed. Servant turnover increased and soon, there were few who would come to work in the Otto household.

After several months of turmoil, an elderly great-aunt came for a visit. After a few days, she told Gene's parents they needed to get rid of that doll. Even though Gene became distraught, they packed Robert away in a tightly sealed box and placed it in the attic. The very next morning, the great-aunt was found dead in her bed, a look of fright frozen on her face. When the Otto's went to wake up Gene, they found Robert laying beside him in bed.

Over the following years, unexplained events continued to bedevil the Otto household. Eventually, the elder Otto's grew old and both passed away. Gene never left the family home and Robert continued to be by his side at all times. Having inherited the home and a large fortune upon his parent's death, Gene took up painting and showed a natural talent. His works were soon in much demand and served to only increase his wealth. 

Gene found it so hard to hire and keep household help that he eventually only had two servants who would come during the daylight hours to perform maintenance and clean the downstairs rooms and cook his meals. They refused to stay after sundown and they also refused to enter the "Turret Room" which used to be Gene's as a little boy, but was now where Gene painted and Robert stayed most of the time. 

Gene decided he needed a wife and spared no expense finding one. After a short courtship, he married a concert and jazz pianist named Ann. The marriage was in trouble from the start as Gene insisted that Robert go on their honeymoon with them. The doll continued to have a seat at the dinning room table and was with them every evening in the parlor before they went to bed. The new Mrs. Otto tried to understand her husband's odd obsession with the doll, chalking it up to the peculiarities of a talented artist, but what she found most perturbing was his insistence that Robert sit in a chair next to and facing the newlywed's bed when they retired for the night. Sadly, within a few months, Ann began exhibiting what Gene called "odd behavior" and he had her declared insane. She later died of undisclosed causes while residing in an institution.

Artist's House with view of the Turret Room

Gene never remarried and continued to live alone as rumors around town increased. Stories were told of people walking by the "Artist's house" and hearing from the Turret room strange giggling which would erupt into maniacal laughter. Frightened school children told of seeing Robert in a Turret room window looking down on them and sliding from one side of the window to the other as they passed by. Unexplained lights would often be seen in the darkened upstairs rooms when Gene would be seen downstairs. The two daytime servants told of walking into rooms and doors slamming shut and locking from the inside when no one else was in the room.

In 1972, Gene was found in the house dead, apparently of a heart attack or stroke, Robert on the floor by his side. Medical personnel removed the body, but left the doll where it was. The house was sealed and put up for sale. Robert was left alone in the house for several years until new owners acquired the property. Upon finding Robert sitting in a chair in the Turret Room, they discovered everything to be just as the room was when Gene was a boy - the furniture, the curtains and on shelves, the tolerated toys which Robert had not destroyed during Gene's youth. Along with the toys, they placed Robert in a box and relegated it to the attic.

The new owners were astounded and very confused when they found Robert in a chair in the parlor several days later. The next day they found him sitting at the table in the dining room. Over the next several weeks as they worked to restore the house to its former glory, they continued to find Robert in different rooms. They became very uncomfortable when they started hearing a child giggling in the middle of the night and even more so as the giggling devolved into a low, menacing growling sound. The last straw was when they woke up one morning to find Robert sitting at the foot of their bed seemingly glaring at them and holding a knife in his right hand. They moved out that same day and never came back.

The owners hired a crew to pack up everything and get the house ready to be put back on the market. They arranged for Robert to be given to the East Martello Museum in Key West. Robert seems to not be pleased about being on display. Visitors who do not know his story often report they found the sight of him to be unsettling. Others have reported the expression on the doll's face to have changed right before their eyes. "One minute he was smiling then the next instant he was frowning and mad." Others who have tried to take his photo are disappointed to find nothing but black frames instead of pictures. Digital cameras often will not work near him, but will resume working just fine once away from his sealed case. Museum staff repeat the refrain, "Robert did it" whenever something strange happens or a bump in the night is heard. Publicly they laugh at the notion of an evil or possessed doll, but in an effort to keep him happy they place peppermints beside his case and none of them wants to be the last to leave at night and turn off the lights alone.

Robert is still on display, encased in hardened glass and waiting to greet you at the museum. He seems to be waiting for a nice family to take him home, hopefully one with a small child who will love him and treat him as if he were a real boy. Waiting for you perhaps?