Some Convinced Certain Fort Worth Buildings Are Haunted: 'The Spirits Have A Heyday Up Here'
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Deep in the folds of Fort Worth's history of cowboys and outlaws lies a darker more mysterious collection of tales from that time period.
During the turn of the 19th century a part of downtown Fort Worth was known as "Hell's Half Acre," filled with brothels, saloons and gaming halls.
It's that time period and place that has given birth to the stories of hauntings and spirits to this day.
CBS 11 took a closer look inside two places in Fort Worth believed to be some of the most haunted in Texas and across the country.
First stop is Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, a more than a 100-year-old building that once served as a brothel and bath house.
It's been told time and again, the spirit of a man who was shot and killed there during its bath house days still roams.
Stephen Acker, a wine steward at Del Frisco's says he knows the stories all too well.
"One of the lights was witnessed to be swinging back and forth violently while others stayed still," said Acker. "A wine glass was thrust off a shelf when no one else was around."
CBS 11 was allowed inside Del Frisco's along with paranormal investigator Michelle DePaul of Mystic Ghost.
We used a device known as an SLS camera which is used to detect human-like figures the eye can't see.
While we scanned an upstairs dining room, a figure appeared several times.
"I believe there is spirit energy in there," said DePaul.
Our second stop, Miss Molly's Hotel in the Fort Worth Stockyards areas.
It also served as a brothel in the early 1900s and there are stories of several spirits believed to inhabit those walls.
Paula Gowins, who manages Miss Molly's said, "The spirits kind of have a heyday up here sometimes, and they really like to pick on new inn keepers."
While using the SLS camera inside one of the rooms, DePaul was able to detect the image if a human like figure believed to be Bobby, a young boy said to be one of the spirits inside Miss Molly's.
That same image appeared in a hallway minutes later.
Gowins, who claims to have experienced encounters with the paranormal says, "I think they're trapped. The spirits. They're just kind of trapped."