We arrived at 1:00 pm on January 1, 2000, giddy as school kids at the thought of having the run of such a significant structure for the night. The museum and grounds had been closed all day for the New Year's holiday and would not reopen until 9 the next morning. We took EMF readings of the entire grounds and found nothing abnormal since most of the readings fell into the .1-.2 milligauss range with nothing above .7. Pete reported the smell of death in the southeast corner. During a short trip to the grocery store for supplies we set up EVP. Before the sun set completely we took a short drive to the site where Col. Fannin and the other victims of the Goliad Massacre were buried to pay our respects.
After sunset we set up EVP again on the grounds. Although the chapel was locked, we were able to set a microphone inside the large and old lock. As the microphone was being placed inside, Joe was taking video and apparently has a voice saying, "Doesn't fit." Some of the sounds caught on tape are furniture being moved inside the church, and the lock being actuated. At 11pm Pete and Dean were outside, and as they looked out of the chapel courtyard into the quadrangle they noticed a strange, thick mist gathering in the southeast corner of the quadrangle (where Pete had smelled death earlier). Dean reported a sense of something building, and that in about 30 minutes, something would happen. At 11:30 all team members were in the chapel courtyard again gathering EVP equipment when Pete happened to look into the quadrangle. Katie felt a need to NOT look into the quadrangle. Suddenly Pete froze and just stared. We returned to the quarters and Pete was visibly affected by something he didn't want to discuss. Dean, Katie and Joe entered the quadrangle to retrieve the IR video camera, and Katie had the distinct impression that there were bodies on the ground. When they returned, Pete informed them that what he had seen was the aftermath of the Goliad Massacre. He gave details on some of what he'd seen, such as, "some of them weren't old enough to shave!" All of the bodies had been decaying for a few days. At about 1am we all tried to get some sleep. Dean and Katie slept in the first room, which has a door that leads to the courtyard. Not 5 minutes after they laid down, the door began banging. The wind was blowing that night, but this was a solid wood door (very heavy) with very little play (less than 1/4 inch). Dean continued to try to sleep, Katie went to the other bedroom where Pete, Carolyn and Joe were discussing the evening's findings. She informed them about the door in her room. A few minutes later Pete felt the bed rise underneath him (it is important to note here that there is a cross scratched into the wall behind the headboard, and a rumor that someone is buried underneath it). We were exhausted at this point and needed some sleep. We were done with the investigation, but the ghosts weren't done. When we heard the sound of horse hooves approaching the door from the living room to the courtyard we determined that there was only one way any of us was going to get any rest. The door in Dean and Katie's room had calmed down, but as Joe approached it, it banged again. At 2am all 5 paranormal investigators were sound asleep... in their cars.
Other experiences that night included strange mumblings in the guest quarters, and a humanoid shadow moving behind the well in the quadrangle.
This haunting is both intelligent and residual. The banging on Katie & Dean's door was in response to the living, the voice heard on Joe's tape was commenting on activity as it was happening, and past reports indicate that the friar that was seen becomes aggressive which indicates intelligent interaction with the living. The vision that Pete saw, the horse hooves in the courtyard, and some of the EVP captured that night indicate that there is also a residual haunting in effect. This means that so much emotional energy has been expended that when the conditions are right, the events play over again for those who can perceive them. There is no intelligence behind those aspects of the haunting.
Lone Star Spirits would like to thank the director and staff of the Presidio La Bahia for allowing us to absorb such an important piece of Texas history. La Bahia is not maintained by any agency of the State of Texas and receives all of its funding from sales, admissions, use fees, and private donations. We encourage everyone reading this account to pay a visit to the presidio and help them in their mission to preserve this state treasure for all of the children of Texas, so they will always "Remember Goliad!"