Haunted Goliad
One of the terrible tragedies that took place during Texas Battle for Independence was the horrific massacre of those stationed at the Presidio La Bahia at Goliad. Colonel James Walker Fanninand 352 of his men had been captured by the Mexican general Santa Anna’s forces at the Battle of Coleto. One week later, on March 27th, 1836, every one of those soldiers was executed.
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Battle of Coleto Creek
The battle of Coleto, the culmination of the Goliad Campaign of 1836, occurred near Coleto Creek in Goliad County on March 19 and 20, 1836. It was one of the most significant engagements of the Texas Revolution. The battle, however, cannottperly be considered as isolated from the series of errors and misfortunes that preceded it, errors for which the Texas commander, James W. Fannin, Jr., was ultimately responsible.
The slaughter
The Mexicans forced them to turn facing away from the soldiers, confused, the Texian rebels were shot point blank. Wounded survivors were clubbed and knifed to death. The sick and injured in the chapel were killed in their beds and shot against the chapel walls.[READ MORE] Forty Texians were unable to walk. Thirty-nine were killed inside the fort under the direction of Captain Carolino with Colonel Garay saving one, Jack Shackelford. Fannin was the last to be executed, after seeing his men killed. He was taken by Mexican soldiers to the courtyard in front of the chapel, blindfolded, and seated in a chair. He made three requests: that his personal possessions be sent to his family, to be shot in the heart and not the face, and to be given a Christian burial.[19] The soldiers took his belongings, shot him in the face, and burned his body along with those of the other Texians killed that day.
Wailing Child
Several years ago, a security guard who was assigned to a special duty at the Presidio, spent a strange and terrifying night. According to the November 8th, 1992 Victoria Advocate. Newspaper that just before midnight the silence was broken by an eerie chorus of wailing children. The guard was shaken. He would later say that they were the cries of pain and suffering. Despite his fear, the guard stayed on the job. He eventually realized the crying was coming from a number of unmarked graves near the Chapel.
At some point. The howling and wailing stopped abruptly. The next thing he knew, he heard the chilling voices of a woman’s choir filling the air. He did not recognize the song that they were singing. And the sound seemed to come from inside the walls of the fortress.
The Friar and Woman in White
A small barefoot Friar clad in a black robe and a woman in a flowing white dress later. The Friar or priest seemed to form out of a cloud of vapor. He was about four feet tall and he could not see his face. The woman in white appeared in front of one of the unmarked graves. She was searching for something. Eventually, the spirit continued to drift over the wall and off into the direction of the cemetery.
Driving near the slaughter
According to a 1984 Halloween article in the Texas Express, drivers alone in their vehicles late at night, passing over the San Antonio River, would sometimes experience the fright of a lifetime. Some movement, detected out of the corner of their eyes, would cause them to glance to their right. There they would suddenly discover someone sitting in their passenger seat. At a second glance, the person would be gone, but not before nearly causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. Also, Regular employees of the Fort are accustomed to lights appearing on and off in the Chapel at night.
Music from Beyond
Dorothy Simmons, owner of the souvenir closet in Goliad, was watching the museum within the Fort 1 spring day for a coworker who was a friend of hers. He was also a director of the museum at the time. While he was running errands, she walked through the museum and got to the 3rd room, and she heard what called celestial humming. A beautiful soprano voice was singing. There was nothing scary about it. She could detect the music only in that one room. When she walked out, it stopped. When she returned to coma, it began again. Although she tried to reason it was the wind, it was the truck passing by, it just wasn’t enough to account for the very real sound of music which she heard.
Then there was the time that the that Irma Valencia, owner of Irma’s cafe in Goliad, agreed to do some volunteer work at the Presidio. It was a hot, humid summer day. As Irma began to clean the furnishings and to wax the floor after the last tourist had departed, she then had gone outside to take down the flags. As soon as she left organ music that began to play inside the building. She also heard the celestial humming of a woman. She heard it while outside the building coming from inside the building, but when she went back in the building it stopped.
