It is that time of year again where the supernatural beings start to go bump in the night, so to kick off the spooky season here is a list of spooky places around the South Houston area and the creepy stories that go along with them.

Galveston:

Lying just 50 miles south of the hustle and bustle of Houston is an island that has a dark and tragic past. Galveston Island is well known for the ever so abundant ghost tours that take place at dusk every evening. People giving the tours play off the fact that Galveston, home to the World’s deadliest hurricane, the 1900 Storm. On Sept. 8, the 1900 storm ripped through Galveston leaving an estimated 6000 to 8000 dead in its wake. The most infamous deaths of the 1900 storm stems from St. Mary’s Orphan Asylum.

In the hopes of saving the children from the 15-foot storm surge that the storm produced, the ten sisters in charge of the orphanage tied themselves to the 93 kids using clothesline. As one can guess, that plan had a tragic ending. Once the storm came to an end, the ten sisters and ninety of the kids were found dead, bound together. Three of the kids somehow survived, and they were later found clinging to a tree reportedly looking, “bruised, scarred and crippled.”

Now, over a decade later the area that the orphanage laid on, is said to host some of the most haunted structures. The Seawall-Walmart employees and customers say that they hear the voices of little kids’ laughter when no one is there. Employees say that toys and whole pallets go mysteriously missing. Just down the street at the Hotel Galvez, guests report frequently hearing kids laughing and running down the empty halls. Some of the little poltergeists like to play the piano that is down in the lobby as well. Others report that there is a little girl who is seen bouncing a ball dressed in nineteenth century attire at times.

Seabrook:

Closer to home lies Seabrook’s Murder Mansion located on Todville Road. In October of 1984 four men who resided at the house of William Gerald “Bill” List. That night the boys took Lists’ own gun and shot him to death. List lived in a three-story mansion that backed up to Galveston Bay.

The one who pulled the trigger, Elbert Ervin “Smiley” Homan, pleaded guilty to his murder and was sentenced to 45 years in prison, and the then committed an aggravated robbery which switched his sentence to a life sentence. Homan currently serves his life sentence in Terrell Unit in Rosharon.

Calder:

This next story lies in the backyard of Clear Creek High School. Still on the FBI’s radar over four decades later, Calder Dr. less than one mile from the I-45 freeway hosts a 25-acre plot of land that has a dark past. Located on the corner of Ervin St. and Calder Dr. The locals refer to this location as 3000 Calder Dr and try to avoid it at all costs. The reason 3000 Calder Dr is so spooky is because in the field four bodies of young women were found between 1984 and 1991. The first body that was found was when a family dog carried home a human skull back to its owners in 1984. It went downhill from there, two boys on bikes found another body, the police found another, and then two horseback riders found another. Each of the victims were under separate trees in the field, buried in shallow graves.

Although 3000 Calder Dr. is close to home, the whole stretch of I-45 is known as the Texas Killing Fields. The 50 mile stretch of freeway is littered with marshes, fields, lakes and ponds. Since 1971 over 40 young women have been killed and dumped along the outskirts of the highway. According to the FBI, they believe that there were multiple serial killers who were operating in the area back in the day. Out of all of the murder victims only a fraction of the cases have been solved.