Shreveport-Bossier’s 10 Most Haunted Places
With Halloween a little over a month away, many people might be looking for a place to find some haunts.
A website called hauntedplaces.org has named Shreveport-Bossier's top 10 most-haunted spots, but these might not all be ones you can get to easily, if at all. Having lived here most of my life, I can tell you this list has remained pretty consistent over the years.
While I have visited most of the locations on this list and had no major "experiences" of my own (let it be known that I'm not very sensitive, spirit-wise), many other people I know have verified that there is definitely something ghostly going on there. I'll let you decide for yourself...if you're brave enough to visit, or you can get in without being arrested.
- 1
Shreveport Municipal Auditorium
Though recently renovated, it seems the spirits have NOT left the building. The venue was once known for hosting the Louisiana Hayride, featuring such musical greats as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams. It's also been the subject of many a paranormal investigation. Guests to the 1920's-era building report doors opening and closing by themselves, unseen forces moving people around, touches on the shoulder when no one is there, sounds of weeping and other strange noises.
I did participate in a paranormal investigation seminar there, and came back with electronic voice phenomena (EVP) that could not be identified as having come from the living. So far, 77% of those who have responded to the Haunted Places site rank the Municipal as haunted.
- 2
Spring Street Historical Museum
This downtown Shreveport building has been around since the late 1800's, and used to be Tally's Bank Building. I hadn't heard the story of the possible haunts there until recently:
[The museum] has a resident ghost thought to be Edward, a former bank manager who worked in the building. One story about Edward says that an employee was about to climb a ladder when he saw the heavy front door open by itself. Startled, he went to check on the door, but no one was around. When he went back to the ladder, he saw that it wasn’t set it up properly. He believes he would have fallen if the ghost hadn’t stopped him from climbing it.
The "haunted" ranking on the site for this building is at 50-50 right now.
- 3
Railroad Tracks on Hamilton Road
This story I have heard before. Some locals, late at night, have heard cries from a family who was killed on the tracks, which run along Hamilton Road between East Texas Street and Barksdale Boulevard.
About 54% of respondents think this location is haunted.
- 4
Pea Farm (Old Jail)
If you're thinking of taking a tour of this haunted spot in Caddo Parish, I'd reconsider that idea. We're told the jail is owned by the GE plant next door, and the folks there will call police on anyone found trespassing. It's reportedly haunted, especially in the women's section of the jail.
It looks like quite a few people believe it is truly haunted -- 85% of the website's respondents. A walkthrough of the old jail was done in 2009. Take a look:
- 5
Old Greenwood Cemetery
You might ask yourself...what cemetery ISN'T haunted? Supposedly, this is one of the most-haunted in our area. In fact, 80% of the website's visitors think so. The cemetery is located near some railroad tracks off of I-20 in Greenwood.
- 6
Taylortown Tower
The tower still stands today in Bossier Parish. As you head down Barksdale Boulevard, you can see it behind the trees on the other side of the railroad tracks. The story behind it is a tragic one, but there are varying versions of it. Some say she died of a broken heart, others say she hanged herself in grief. Another part of the story is that her father found her dead, and set the tower on fire.
The website Haunt LA says at one time, the bell tower was part of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Taylortown, when it was built in 1907.
"Legend has it a bride was waiting in the bell tower for her fiance, who was killed in a car crash on his way to pick her up. She apparently was so grief-stricken that she fell down the steps and died. Others say she hung herself in the bell tower, and on moonlit nights, you can hear the ringing of the bell and a woman's scream," the website said.
I haven't been able to get close enough to it to see for myself, but 89% of Haunted Places visitors believe it's certainly haunted.
- 7
Old Ellerbe School
Is it bad to say I actually visited this building on a first date? It's supposedly haunted by children who died in a fire at the school, once known as George Washington Carver Primary School.
The only thing that disturbed me was the graffiti, which was everywhere. Other than the darkness and some nearby cows, there was nothing particularly scary about the place.
One frightening rumor about the place, though, is that it's been used for rituals by Satan-worshippers. However, that hasn't been confirmed.
- 8
Potter Road in Doyline
I'll admit, I hadn't heard of this one before:
Although the exact location of the accident site is not known, it is reported that four teenagers died in a drunken accident on this road decades ago and every year on the anniversary of their deaths, blood runs from the tree they hit.
70% of Haunted Places website visitors don't think this site is really haunted.
- 9
Keachi Women's College
My husband and I did do some poking around at this old building on the way to my sister's house once, but were shooed away by local authorities. So we didn't have time to see if the hauntedness of the place was legit. Some report cold spots and ghostly moans on the second floor.
Apparently, there are more people who believe it is, indeed, haunted. The website says 75% at the moment.
- 10
Buena Vista Plantation
I have not personally visited this old home, so I can't share my own experiences there. However, here's what Haunted Places has to say about it:
It’s a plantation. In the south. It was used for a Civil War hospital. Of course it’s haunted. The usual - civil war soldiers have been spotted. Currently a private home and not open to the public.
Haunted rating: 83%.