Tag Archives: Texas Hill Country

St. Anthony Hotel Downtown San Antonio

Ghostly activity at the luxurious St. Anthony Hotel in Downtown San Antonio

St. Anthony Hotel Downtown San AntonioThree ambitious cattlemen, A. H. Jones, B. L. Naylor, and F. M. Swearingen, opened the St. Anthony Hotel in 1909 in anticipation of San Antonio becoming a tourist destination, and it quickly became a popular place for visitors to stay. It is located near San Antonio’s River Walk and the Alamo.

“Not only was it the first luxury hotel in the city, but in the early days it was also the only inn with air conditioning, a drive-up registration desk, and sophisticated automatic doors and lights,” the official history of the hotel states. “In fact, St. Anthony was so technologically savvy that it was considered among the world’s most modern hotels. By 1915, the hotel charged guests $1.50 per night, and booming revenues allowed the owners to double capacity to 430 guestrooms.”

Many rich and famous Americans were among the visitors to the St. Anthony, its restaurant, and its bar. They have included Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, George Clooney, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Judy Garland, Greer Garson, Rock Hudson, Betty Hutton, General Douglas McArthur, Matthew McConaughey, Demi Moore, Gregory Peck, Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, Mickey Rooney, Eleanor Roosevelt, John Wayne, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver, Patrick Swayze, and Bruce Willis.

Paranormal phenomena people have experienced at the St. Anthony Hotel include seeing strange shadowy outlines, feeling unseen presences, seeing doors opening and closing for no apparent reason, and hearing disembodied footsteps following behind them.

Ready for some ghosthunting combined with a luxurious stay?
St. Anthony Hotel Downtown San Antonio
300 E. Travis St.
San Antonio, TX 78205
Tel: 210-227-4392
Website: St. Anthony Hotel

For a journey to some of the most haunted and fascinating places in San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country check out Michael O. Varhola’s book Ghosthunting San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country.

The author at Ye Kendall Inn
The author at Ye Kendall Inn

About the author: Michael Varhola is a writer who has authored or coauthored 34 books and games — including the swords-and-sorcery novel Swords of Kos: Necropolis, and two fantasy writers guides. He has also published more than 120 games and related publications. He is the founder of game company Skirmisher Publishing LLC, editor in chief of d-Infinity game magazine, and editor of the America’s Haunted Road Trip series of ghosthunting travel guides. He has edited, published, or written for numerous publications, including The New York Times. He also has an active online presence, notably through Facebook and a variety of other blogs, forums, and sites. He lives in Texas Hill Country.

My Favorite Haunted Road Trip Project

Michael O. Varholla shares with us thoughts about his favorite haunted trip project
The author at Ye Kendall Inn
The author at Ye Kendall Inn, the historic Texas Hill Country Hotel

Periodically, someone will ask me what my most- and least-favorite book projects have been, and the answer to both questions is the same: my latest one. That is, after all, what I have been most excited about and engaged with recently, and any exciting fieldwork I did for the latest book is the most memorable. It is also, however, what has inflicted the most recent physical and emotional stress, and other things have suffered because of my disproportionate use of time and other resources on it.

Of all the projects I have worked on for the America’s Haunted Road Trip series of travel guides, however, Ghosthunting San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country has definitely been my overall favorite for a variety of reasons.

One is my love for the American Southwest. Its unique, violent, and colorful history makes it a fun subject for research, writing, and road trips, as well as a likely locale for haunted places.

Another is the almost iconic distinctness of the places I selected for inclusion in this book, which include everything from wilderness areas that have existed for time immemorial to ancient missions, grand hotels, and great public buildings.

In addition, we changed the format of this book, so it’s even more useful to people using it as a guide on their own haunted road trips. Foremost among these improvements is a robust section of Additional Haunted Sites, which contains entries on 60 locations, effectively tripling the number of places covered in earlier AHRT books.

Suffice it to say, I hope that my love for the subject matter covered in this book and the effort I have put into it will make it a valued resource for readers, and make it one of their favorite volumes in the series as well.

Ghost Hunting San AntonioAbout the author: Michael O. Varhola is a writer who has authored or coauthored 34 books and games — including the swords-and-sorcery novel Swords of Kos: Necropolis, and two fantasy writers guides. Michael is the editor-in-chief of d-Infinity game magazine, and editor of the America’s Haunted Road Trip series of ghosthunting travel guides. He lives in Hill Country, TX.

Ghosthunting San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country is the latest of Michael O. Varhola’s books. The guide covers 30 haunted locations in or around the cities of San Antonio and Austin and throughout the region known as Texas Hill Country, collectively one of the most haunted places in the country. Each site includes a combination of history, haunted lore and phenomena, and practical visitation information.