HOUSTON – Forget the ordinary weekend getaway - if you’re craving something a little mysterious, a little magical, and maybe just a little spine-tingling, head down the road to Galveston. Just an hour from Houston, this historic island is officially the most haunted city in America - and every street corner, mansion, and grave seems to have a story to tell.
Houston Life’s Melanie Camp teamed up with author, historian, and tour guide Kathleen Maca to explore the island’s spookier side - starting in Galveston’s hauntingly beautiful cemetery district.
💀 Ghosts Below Ground
After the Great Storm of 1900, Galveston raised its ground level to prevent future flooding - but the cemetery district was left behind. When crews finally did raise it years later, they accidentally buried portions of headstones and even lost a few altogether.
Today, what looks like a short mausoleum might actually stretch several feet underground - the rest sealed away beneath layers of history. It’s like an architectural illusion, where the past literally lingers below your feet.
🕯️ Secrets Carved in Stone
Kathleen explains that every symbol etched into these old Victorian graves means something. A hand pointing upward? “Gone to heaven.” Draped urns? “The veil between life and death.”
Among the most ornate memorials is that of Sam Houston’s private secretary, whose stone brims with Masonic symbols, a heart in hand for charity, arrows for mortality, and the all-seeing eye - a 19th-century version of a résumé, told in marble.
🎭 The Mardi Gras Murder
One of Galveston’s most famous ghost stories belongs to Elizabeth Percival, the so-called Mardi Gras Murder. In 1881, she was killed during the parade - and ever since, locals have stopped by her grave to leave Mardi Gras beads in her honor.
It’s now tradition: after any parade, drop off your beads for Elizabeth - the partygoer who never got to see the end of the celebration. Visit after the season, and you’ll find her gravestone draped in a rainbow of color.
🏛️ Haunted Grandeur at Ashton Villa
Just a few blocks away lies the Brown family plot, connected to one of Galveston’s grandest (and most haunted) homes - Ashton Villa. Sisters Miss Betty and Tilly Brown are said to still keep house there.
Passersby report hearing piano music late at night - that’s Tilly. And Miss Betty? She’s often seen descending the grand staircase in her favorite blue Mardi Gras gown, as if the party never ended.
⚰️ The Rebel Who Wouldn’t Rest
Then there’s Nicaragua Smith, a Civil War deserter with a wicked sense of humor. Before facing the firing squad, he reportedly demanded to be buried face-down “to pay homage to his part of his anatomy.” To this day, he’s said to return on the anniversary of his death, still cursing Galveston in true rebel style.
🌙 Ghosts, Glamour & Good Stories
From elegant mansions to moonlit graveyards, Galveston’s history is written in both beauty and bone. Whether you’re a skeptic, a believer, or just in it for the stories, this island has a way of enchanting you - long after you’ve left.
👉 Explore Kathleen Maca’s year-round cemetery and ghost tours - plus a few extra spine-tingling Halloween editions - at VisitGalveston.com.