Saturday, February 14, 2009

Ghosts and the Alamo

Last night I was listening to Coast to Coast AM Radio Show and George Noory’s guest was Robert Wlodarski, author of a book about the ghosts of the Alamo, and other books on the paranormal. I had not heard much about ghosts there, but I did have an experience of psychically tuning into the past historical and traumatic events that had taken place there and resulted in the deaths of many.

In 1986, my husband Don and I were in San Antonio, Texas while on a book tour and had a weekend of free time. The first place we headed was to the Alamo. As a kid, I always loved reading about Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and the Alamo. So I was pleased to finally be able to visit the place. But my pleasure almost immediately faded away shortly after entering. I felt overwhelmed with a chaotic, frantic feeling, almost as if I were in the middle of a battle, maybe the big battle. It was a very disturbing feeling and I had to leave there immediately. I could not stay in the building. I was disappointed that I could not see more, but I could not stay. We walked out and we sat on a bench in front of the Alamo, and I discovered Don also had picked up on the negative energy in there and he was somewhat uncomfortable also. So here we were, two people very much interested in the historical history but unable to enjoy it as we were too tuned in psychically to the past events of the place.

In February 1836, a thirteen day battle between General Antonio López de Santa Anna’s Mexican Army and American defenders of the Alamo left many dead, some have estimated more than 1,700, with the Mexican Army troops being the largest number, nearly 1,500, and about 250 defenders including Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, and Colonel William Travis.

The Alamo, Mission San Antonio de Valero, is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, in which construction began in 1724, and in the early 1800’s a Spanish military stationed a cavalry unit at the former mission, and it became known as the Alamo, the Spanish word for cottonwood.

Ghosts have been seen at the Alamo for years, dating back to 1836, shortly after the last battle there. Stories indicated that General Santa Anna wanted the Alamo burned to the ground and in an attempt to do so, one of his Colonels and troops encountered six ghostly monks who materialized from the walls of the chapel and while advancing toward them holding and waving flaming swords commanded “Do not touch the walls of the Alamo.” The troops retreated and General Andrade returned and was again given the dire warning by these six monks who hurled fire balls causing the General to retreat as fast as he was able.

Although the story of the monks was believed by many it was also contradicted. But by 1894, the city of San Antonio used the Alamo mission as police headquarters and a jail. Prisoners complained of ghostly activity, including mysterious sounds, and the presence of a ghostly sentry who walked the roof keeping guard was enough to have the human night guards refusing to patrol the area at night. So it did not last too long as a jail. The paranormal events there became subject of newspaper articles just prior to the turn of the 19th century.

Even today, paranormal events are commonly observed—shadowy figures, noises, voices, screams, eerie cold spots, a little girl often seen looking out a high window of the gift shop, a ghostly sentry looking out the front entrance, a young boy who carried on a conversation with a young six year old girl visitor and the boy invisible to the girl’s father.

Nearly 200 years, and spirit still visits and/or hangs out there, maybe to watch the 2.5 million physical beings who visit the Alamo every year. Could be that spirit wants to figure out why all those people keep showing up. Have you been there?—and if so, did you have any encounter with spirit or the psychic past?

~Linda

2 comments:

Edith Newell-Beattie said...

I have never been there but the story is amazing. I have to wonder why the little girl is there at all. I don’t know much about the Alamo but it’s not a place where I would expect the presence of a child. I find her presence to be the most disturbing element.

Linda Pendleton said...

Apparently the little girl has been seen by a number of people over the years. But the Alamo was first a mission, later a military compound, and it is reported that there were civilian families...at least one I read about with children, prior to the big battle--and supposedly Santa Anna released a woman and her kids after the final battle.