Texas Tech University
If you’ve ever walked the halls of the Chemistry building, you’ve heard the legends of all the ghosts that frequent the classrooms (and even the basement). Take part in the Carol of Lights festivities and you may feel the eerie presence of a Biology student who ended his life by jumping off the roof before semester’s end. Chances are, if you ask any professor about good ghost stories they know, you’re going to get an earful. And maybe even more than you bargained for.
The ghost sightings don’t stop at academic buildings – keep your eyes peeled inside the dorms, too! There’s also talk of a child who roams the stacks in the Texas Tech library.
Photo credit: Flikr user David Kozlowski
Pioneer Hotel
The Pioneer Hotel was built in 1925, and it was Lubbock’s first premiere hotel. Eventually it morphed into a retirement home and before McDougal Companies purchased the building back around 2007, some disturbing events took place in the hotel. Let’s just say if you’re interested in the revamped Pioneer – Pioneer Condos – we would avoid purchasing on the 4th floor…
National Ranching Heritage Center
Peeking through the doors and windows at the NRHC, you can practically see the lives of the ranchers and their families play out right in front of your eyes… sitting on their front porch in a rocking chair, cooking dinner, reading to the children before bedtime… it is so interesting. You know the really pretty, cool looking Victorian-style house? Apparently you can see a female in one of the windows on the second story. Legend has it that she’s the wife of the rancher who built the house. Police find nothing when responding to calls of her sighting.
Hell’s Gates/Lubbock Cemetery
Located in East Lubbock near MLK and behind the Lubbock Cemetery is an old trestle from the Santa Fe railroad. The story goes that in the early 1900s train robbers would kill the passengers and toss their bodies over the trestle. In the 1970s, Hell’s Gates is said to have been host to satanic rituals and worship. Also, rumor has it that there have been homicides and suicides at the trestle. If that doesn’t scare you then you should probably take note that the Lubbock Cemetery is just feet away from the trestle. The cemetery was established in 1892 and is home to over 60,000 deceased residents. People have spotted a glowing man and orbs at the cemetery and surrounding areas. It is hard to find and there is only one way to get there, but once you see it you do get an uneasy feeling. We didn’t see any ghosts or orbs, but definitely got an uncomfortable, uneasy feeling when we saw the trestle.
Lubbock High
Parts of the school said to be haunted are the bell tower, theatre costume storage room, and the tunnels underneath the school.
Cliffhouse Cafe
Maloney’s book recounts the tale of a woman named Sharon. One day in the ‘50s when Sharon was a young girl her family went to eat at the Cliffhouse. Exiting the car they made a grisly discovery in the dirt next to the parking lot: a severed hand the fingernails painted with nail polish. The police were called out to the scene. In the days that followed Sharon’s dad kept track of the investigation. He said a puddle of blood had been found on the golf course and drag marks were discovered on the hillside behind the lodge. Years later Sharon’s mother told her of a ghostly encounter she’d experienced in the Cliffhouse restrooms. She’d been in a stall when she heard sobbing and stepped out to see what was wrong. A pale misty figure was curled in the fetal position. Sharon’s mother blinked several times then the apparition vanished. It’s unknown whether the police ever discovered the identity of the killer or victim.
Want more info to haunted Lubbock landmarks?
https://www.travelhost.com/west-texas/lubbocks-most-haunted
http://www.texasescapes.com/MikeCoxTexasTales/Lubbock-Ghost-Stories.htm
The book Haunted Lubbock by Darrell Maloney is available on Amazon.
*Of course, these are all urban legends. Take it as truth or take it as lighthearted tall tales. I am not telling you to believe in the paranormal stuff, nor am I saying that it’s a bunch of bologna! I’ll leave it to you to interpret as you wish… 🙂
Updated October 2021. Originally published October 9, 2012.
