April Slaughter (7 page)

“We’d love that!” I said. “Let’s set it up.”

As Allen and I left, we talked about how surprised we were to have found a potentially fantastic location completely by chance. The Bull Ring had not previously been anywhere on our list of places to visit for the book, but now we could hardly wait to get back and learn more—and all because I had to have a cup of coffee!

In the days that followed our first visit to the Bull Ring, Charlene, Bill, and I kept in contact and I began to learn a lot more about the building. It was originally a tavern constructed in 1910 by William T. Cooper (aka “Buck”). In the decades since, it has served as everything from a bar, to gambling hall and speakeasy, a diner, a tailoring shop, and now as a place to grab a drink and enjoy an impressive collection of original art. A.C. Cook has spent years gathering over one thousand pieces by Texas artists who completed works between 1865 and 1965—many of them coveted by other art collectors.

Before I knew it, Allen and I were in the Bull Ring with a small group of investigators listening to Bill has he began to tell us stories of strange occurrences he had experienced in his time employed there.

“Charlene and I were in the basement one afternoon having a late lunch, and no one else was in the building,” he began. “Both she and I heard the distinct sound of heavy footsteps walking above us from one side of the building to the other, which is impossible if you look at where the counter sits. Whoever it was would have had to walk straight through it as if it weren’t even there.”

“Just a few days ago, something else happened I can’t explain,” he continued. “Knowing this used to be a gambling hall, I took a deck of cards and I dealt out two hands on one of the basement tables. I laid the cards faced down, one hand right across from the other, and placed the deck neatly stacked in the middle of the table. I checked both hands and wrote down what they were just to see if they would change. The next morning when I came back, the cards were the same but the deck in the middle had been fanned out. No one else had been in the building since I left.”

After hearing about all of the different experiences that seemed to center around the basement, we decided it would be
best to set up most of our equipment there. Bill made sure all of the doors were locked so that we would not be interrupted. The lights went out, and the investigation began.

Only minutes in, I was chatting with fellow investigator Adam Norton when Allen’s recorder caught the first of many EVPs we would eventually obtain throughout the evening. Adam and I were discussing updates to The Paranormal Source website when what seemed to be another woman’s voice joined the conversation.

“That’s nice,” she said.

Not even a minute later, a female voice was also heard humming a short tune while Adam’s fiancé Gabriella was asking a series of questions.

Normally, genuine EVPs are few and far between. They do not occur in every location and can be quite difficult to catch. A common mistake among investigators is whispering during investigations, which can make the review of the audio confusing. Each time a sound was heard or made among our group that we were responsible for, we made sure to call it out so that it would be identified properly on the recorders. We were definitely attracting the attention of someone unseen, and they were doing really well in responding to us.

For a short time, everyone fell quiet to see if we would see or hear anything unusual. Sudden onsets of temperature changes began to swirl around various members of the group. The basement is a fully functional part of the building, and the heating system was continually running. The cold spots would appear and just as quickly disappear. At one point, deeply cold air seemed to hover between two of the group members for several seconds.

Sometimes I will seek validation that someone unseen is with us by asking them to repeat a series of knocks, whether it be on a wall or a piece of furniture. I tapped a few times on
the wooden table I was sitting at, and we all anxiously awaited a response. None came—at least not immediately. Approximately two to three minutes later, however, the same pattern I had tapped on the table was heard by several of us on one of the tables nearby that no one was sitting at.

Adam told me that he had been watching an area near the basement exit door, and had repeatedly seen quick, shadowy movements. I was curious about what could be causing them, so I walked over to the door in hopes of seeing them as well. Immediately after sitting down alone at the bar area near the door, several team members closer to the stairwell said they had just heard two or more people conversing on the floor above us. While I had not heard it, most of the others had. Bill thought it may have been Charlene coming to see if we had experienced anything interesting, and that she might have someone with her. He and Allen decided to go upstairs to check it out, but upon inspection found the entrance door still locked and no one in the building besides the team. I was curious about whether or not the voices would show up on the audio recordings, and was absolutely thrilled to hear them on playback! What was being said could not be deciphered, but voices were indeed captured.

Investigator Victoria Dupree was surprised when her stool was suddenly pulled slightly away from the bar.

“Something just pulled my stool back,” she said calmly. All of us kept our attention on her in hopes that the action might be repeated. It was not.

All throughout the evening, we received some auditory response to nearly every question we asked. Hours upon hours of reviewing the recorders produced a record number of EVPs from one location for the team.

As the clock struck 1:00 A.M., the team was growing a bit tired and we decided to start packing everything up in preparation to leave. We thanked Bill for his time and graciousness, and
promised to be in touch with what we found during our initial investigation of the building.

As anyone who often ghost hunts will tell you, reviewing data takes a great deal of time and attention. Over the course of a week following the investigation, every member of our team pored over hours and hours of audio and video. Charlene and Bill were obviously very eager to hear what our results were, and I spoke often with them as small pieces of information flowed in from the team.

We knew that Charlene believed the Bull Ring was haunted by the spirit of a man, but we were certain that a majority of the recordings captured were of a female voice.

“I have never seen or heard anything from a woman in this building,” she said. “I don’t know why a woman would be here.”

I explained to her that spirits are not like the living, in that they are not bound by physical limitations. Whoever it was we had captured on tape may not actually have a tie to the building at all; it was possible that this woman was just passing through and chose to interact with us. There really was no way to know for sure at that point.

Interestingly enough, friends of Mike and Jenny Bornstein—the building’s previous owners—made a visit shortly after we had conducted our investigation and spoke with Charlene and Bill about some of the odd things the Bornsteins had experienced during their years there. Mike had often seen shadow people in the basement and had it almost completely boarded up. He avoided going down to the lower level of the building as much as he could, and felt very strongly that the basement was haunted.

Charlene spoke to me about another interesting tidbit as well—Mike and Jenny had often talked about a prostitute who may have been killed in the building, which Charlene had never heard of until then. Mr. Bornstein had often seen the apparition
of a woman in a red dress, and associated this spectre with the spirit of the unfortunate lady of the night.

“It really made no sense to me that you came in and captured a woman’s voice, because I had never heard of anything tragic happening to a woman here,” she said. “Do you think it might be her?”

“I can’t say one way or another, but it certainly is possible,” I replied.

As more and more is uncovered about the ghostly history of the Bull Ring, perhaps information might surface to identify not only those who frequented the building in life, but those who continue to visit from the other side of the veil. One thing is certain—the Bull Ring is haunted. By whom and for what reasons, I do not know, but I look forward to unraveling the mystery one EVP at a time.

NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE, there is a list of places people “just know” are haunted. Ghosthunting groups discuss them amongst themselves and list the reported phenomena online. A local resident or two can usually tell you all kinds of stories about these places. Some of the ghost stories may be true, while others may be the products of overactive imaginations. Either way, ghostly lore has a way of reaching out to people and drawing them in.

When my husband and I formed The Paranormal Source, we thought a perfect place to start looking for ghosts would be at The Majestic Theatre in downtown Dallas. Any local paranormal group
would tell you that they would jump at the chance to investigate this well-known haunt.

The Majestic first opened its doors on April 11, 1921, highlighting performances of entertainers popular during the vaudeville era. Mae West, Bob Hope, and even Harry Houdini were featured there until films became the primary attraction. The Majestic closed after the last showing of the film “Live and Let Die” on July 16, 1973. In 1976, the theatre was donated to the city of Dallas and began undergoing major restoration efforts. When The Majestic re-opened in 1983, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and once again provided the community with access to the performing arts.

In the past, management believed that the theatre’s benefactor, Karl Hoblitzelle, was still visiting the building even though he had died in 1967. Former actors and actresses were also thought to make their presence known from time to time. The staff reported occasions when all of the phone lines to the theatre would simultaneously light up, but no calls were coming in. Backdrops would often move without having anyone backstage responsible, and odd smells would quickly come and go without any reasonable explanation.

After several attempts to reach those currently on staff at the theatre, I was finally able to speak to the management. Over the past several decades, The Majestic has seen different managers come and go, all having varying opinions on whether or not the historic building was haunted. Sadly, arrangements to investigate the theatre with The Paranormal Source team could not be made, and it seemed that I might never have the chance to walk inside.

Then I received an e-mail one afternoon announcing that my favorite comedian, Eddie Izzard, would be performing at The Majestic as part of his comedy tour. I immediately purchased two tickets to the show. Normally, I would have consulted with my husband to see if we could afford the cost or make the proper
arrangements, but this time I figured it would be better for me to ask forgiveness than ask permission. I wanted into The Majestic Theatre—how would I have known that Eddie Izzard would be the one to get me in?