089: Ghost Hunting in Liberty, Texas

This episode may not be everyone's "cup of tea" because it deals with issues that might make some people uncomfortable. But for those of us (like Harry Houdini) who are “seekers of the truth”, we are constantly on the lookout for and investigating “what’s out there”.

Jamie Salinas and I have been conducting Theatrical Séances over the past five years in downtown Houston. We have also lectured on the subject at the MINDvention in Las Vegas plus we are completing a book on the Business of Marketing the Paranormal Experience. In that regard and to a degree, we have an interest in bizarre magik (magic with a “k”). So when Jamie told me about a ghost hunt in nearby Liberty, Texas, of course I agreed to participate. This was going to be an all night event with about a half dozen other people plus seven people from the team of Southern Paranormal Investigators.

This podcast includes chats with the Team Leader, a psychic and the owner of the Haunted Historic Ott Hotel in Liberty, TX. We also get to get a little “Ghost Busting 101” as they discuss the do’s and don’ts of ghost hunting plus going over the tools of the trade.

00:00 – 3:20 – Jamie Salinas and I have our bags packed as we discuss what we anticipate what we think the evening will bring.

3:20 – 10:00 – Jennifer Hansen, Founder of S.P.I. talks about what her organization does and how they help investigate paranormal activity in private residences and help to resolve issues in their home. Maria Santos, a Medium, talks about her special abilities and how she helps S.P.I. and some of her experiences during her readings.

10:00 – 22:50 – Susan McCain, owner of the Haunted and Historic Ott Hotel, told me about how she and her husband came to owning this old building. She also talks about some of the history of the building and land plus some unusual happenings she has experienced over the past 11 years.

22:50 – 1:11:00 – If you have been thinking of going out on your own to find spirits, paranormal happenings, ghosts or whatever, then here you get a chance to understand what you should and shouldn’t do when planning to head into that old building or cemetery. They also go over the “tools of the trade” that every good ghost hunter needs for doing some “busting”.

1:11:00 – 1:18:50 – Jamie and I did a final wrap of the whole evening and discuss what we saw, heard and experienced.

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I Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts

On Saturday, February 23, 2013, I spent the night in a "Haunted Hotel" in Liberty, Texas along with fellow ghost buster, Jamie Salinas and about another half dozen interested parties. We were led on this paranormal excursion by the team from Southern Paranormal Investigators (S.P.I.). The place was the Haunted Historic Ott Hotel located about an hour or so southeast of Houston.The hotel sits just yards away from an active train rail that has activity 27/7. Not only is the whistle loud, but the whole building shakes from the passing behemoths.

After a lovely dinner of fried catfish, shrimp and jalapeno hush puppies at nearby “Jax Hamburgers”, we returned to the Ott Hotel for a history lesson and guided tour of the old hotel by its owner, Susan McCain.

We then went into the living room for a presentation by the S.P.I. team on the do’s and don’ts of what we should and shouldn’t do during the evening. They then explained all the ghost hunter tools that would be at our disposal including EMF (Electro Magnetic Field) Meters, digital cameras, infrared and heat sensitive scopes, digital audio devices, and more. We then broke up into three teams for the “sweeps” which included three of us novices and two from the S.P.I. team.

At the end of the hall on the first floor was a mirror.

We were told to take several pictures of the mirror throughout the night because some believe it to be a portal into the "other" side. Some have been said to have photos showing people standing behind them when there were no physical bodies behind the photographer. Some have photographed legs or arms sticking out from behind the photographer. Other photos have supposedly shown an older version of the hallway with gaslights hanging on the wall behind the person in the photo.

After the S.P.I. team got all the cameras situated, we went into the rooms: one team upstairs, one team downstairs, and the third on a break. We rotated each hour with an hour break in between. When it was time to do the fourth sweep at 4:30 a.m., Jamie and I decided that it was time to head home as we had seen enough.

You can hear the podcast elsewhere on The Magic Word, but I think you might also enjoy this five minute video of some of what the evening was like.

Houston's Magic Island

Kathy and I were into our second week of our stage performance at Houston's Magic Island with our comedy show and two-person mind reading act. It was on Friday afternoon, September 12, 2008 that I received a call from the Magic Island saying that they would be closed that evening due to Hurricane Ike that was expected have landfall in Houston that night. They would notify me the next day if they would reopen for guests on Saturday night.

I knew that the dressing room already leaked so I went down to pick up our costumes. While I was there I thought I should go ahead and pack up my props and take them home. I live less that three miles from the Island so it is an easy chore to pick up and drop off props.

I awoke early the next morning around 2:00 when the sound and the fury of Hurricane Ike as it came through. It rocked our three story townhouse like we were back out to sea on one of our cruise ships. It tossed buckets of water against our windows sounding like waves against our portals. After things calmed down later that morning, we breathed a sigh of relief and gave a prayer of thanks that our neighborhood was spared except for the power outage that lasted about three weeks and affected hundreds of thousands of local residents. But there were certain parts of Houston that still had electricity including the Magic Island.

Later that Saturday afternoon, Kathy and I were watching the news on a battery powered portable television set. To our shock and surprise, the Houston Fire Department's (HFD) Hook and Ladder team were responding to a fire at the Magic Island. Apparently there was standing water on the flat roof that leaked into the neon lights on the outside of the building. The HFD arrived in time to save the Island from significant damage, but the high pressure hoses did more damage than the hurricane.

Empty and Abandonded places in Houston: The magic Island from a Flikr account. Click on the graphic above to see the current state of the Magic Island as of 2017.

Insurance agents fanned out across the region and told people to clean up the damage as best they could because if left unattended, more mold and mildew damage could occur. Well, the Magic Island was long overdue for basic repairs (remember the leak in the dressing room I mentioned?) so all of the carpeting was removed. When the insurance adjuster arrived, I understand that they said they would pay for that portion that was damaged but not all of the carpeting throughout. Unfortunately their insurance would not pay for enough to bring the Magic Island back up to its former glory so it has sat vacant for all these years. I understand that some have looked into reviving the once fabulous landmark, but you can imagine how much repair would be needed now, nearly five years after Hurricane Ike. So, I believe that the property is worth far more than the building and it's now a "tear down". Hopefully someday someone will rebuild it. It is proven that such an entertainment facility can make it in Houston.

But the delightful thing is that before its demise, I had a chance to sit down with the Entertainment Director, Scott Hollingsworth to talk about the history of the Magic Island. And perhaps more importantly, I video taped the interview following his guided tour through the Island. Enjoy this one hour "never to be seen again" piece of history from the Magic Island: