An Unusual 911 Call

This is from a first-person account.

I used to work as a 911 operator in a large urban area. One night shift I worked, at around 3:00 a.m., I answered a call from an elderly woman.

She told me she didn’t feel well. I tried several times to illicit more information from her. Was she having chest pains, trouble breathing etc.?

The only response I got was her stating over and over again she was not feeling well. She did give her address and phone number. She also volunteered that she was alone and her front door was unlocked. 

She said when the paramedics arrived they should walk right in.

I put the call out as a “general illness” and continued to talk to her. After several minutes she told me in a weak voice, “ I don’t feel well.” She then stated, “She needed to go to the bathroom.”

I tried to encourage her to stay on the line but I heard her put the phone down. Every few minutes I called her name but received no response.

Eventually a firefighter whom had been dispatched to the callers’ home came on the line. He asked if the call had come in from a third party or family member. I replied “no.”

He sounded puzzled as he told me they had found an elderly lady in the bathroom. I told him that was the lady who had made the call. He slowly stated “no” and then informed me that the lady in the bathroom had been dead for at least 12 hours. That rigor had set in.

Afterwards my supervisor and I pulled the tapes on this call to see if I had missed something. We checked the timestamp, address and phone number. No one else was in the home.

My only explanation is I took a call from a dead woman.

Goliad: Presidio La Bahia

Two hours south of Houston, Texas on Highway 59 is Goliad, Texas. Just south of this town sits the most fought over spot in Texas history—nine different flags have flown over the Presidio La Bahia.

The Presidio

The presidio’s history is clouded in violence. This is why so many people believe the area is haunted.

The most atrocious act that occurred at La Bahia happened during the Texas Revolution in March of 1836. During the Battle of Coleto, General Santa Anna’s troops were able to retake the fort from the Texas troops.

The nine different flags that flew above the fort.

Over 300 Texas soldiers surrendered. Several days after this battle, Santa Anna ordered the massacre of all these soldiers. They were marched out of the fort in three different groups and shot at point-blank range. 

These men were buried in a mass grave at La Bahia. Today a memorial stands at the site to honor them.

This is the reason why a month later, in April of 1836, Texas soldiers' rallying cry was “ Remember Goliad” * when they defeated the Mexicans and gained independence for Texas during the Battle of San Jacinto.

     * They also yelled, “Remember the Alamo.”

La Bahia continued to be occupied by soldiers, and then by priests. Today, the Catholic Diocese of Victoria owns the “Quarters” at the presidio. It is a National Historic Landmark.

In the 1960s, La Bahia was rebuilt. A museum was opened that highlights the fort’s bloody history. The architecture at the presidio is considered one of the finest examples of the Spanish Colonial style in America.

Once opened, visitors began to report strange encounters at La Bahia.

These reports back up the claims that restless spirits remain in the area.

Common encounters include the sounds of footsteps heard on the roof, while visitors are in the Quarters and the sound of distance canon fire. There are also many other reports of strange unexplained sounds around the fort--including footsteps in the wee hours.

Most chilling of all is the eyewitness reports of seeing spectral soldiers walking around the grounds.

Because of these encounters, various paranormal groups have investigated La Bahia. Their evidence is presented in several videos on YouTube.

The Quarters

Today, tourists can stay overnight in one of the rooms in the Quarters area—the cost is $200.00.

In the spring—the presidio, despite its otherworldly residents, is quite peaceful. Wildflowers bloom on the gentle slopes that surround it. 

The Golden Eagle

In Stephen King’s book entitled Christine, a car, a vintage Plymouth Fury, named Christine, possesses its teenage owner, Ernie. Ernie does not know this car had been responsible for the deaths of the previous owners’ wife and daughter.

This car eventually also is responsible for Ernie’s death. King’s book and the film based upon it are still popular.

King is a master at writing horror stories—this genre is compelling entertainment—but what is interesting is there is a car that people point to as being a real-life Christine.

The Golden Eagle is a 1964 Dodge Limited Edition. Its history reflects eerie similarities to King’s fictional car. Some consider this car haunted. Others believe it is “the evilest car in America.”

This vehicle was initially used as a police car in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. The three officers that drove the car all died in bizarre murder-suicides. Each of these officers killed their families and then themselves.

This Dodge after this was sold quickly for it now had a dark reputation. Wendy Allen’s parents bought the car. The Allen family used it regularly for many years without incident. Except for one thing-- if they drove it on the highway random doors would fling open without cause.

The Golden Eagle

Wendy states her family was never harmed by the car, but in the 1980s and 90s, several local churches decided the vehicle was demonic. Allen thinks this is because the car gained a bad reputation for killing at least 14 people.

Wendy feels people’s fears about the car are based in superstitions.

The most bizarre stories about these deaths involve children. One child in the 1960s and another in the 1980s were both hit by cars and flung across the street. Their bodies were both found under the Golden Eagle. Both died before paramedics arrived.

In 2008, another child was dared to just touch the Dodge, he then died along with the rest of his family, including their dog, two weeks later in a house fire.

After being vandalized.

In the 1980s, members of local churches hearing about this strange car began to vandalize it. After this damage was done, two leaders from these vandal groups died in two separate horrific car crashes where they both were decapitated by 18-wheelers.

Yet another four members died after being hit by lightning. Today the old Dodge is in pieces. Members of another church stole the car, chopped it up and placed these parts in various junkyards.

Wendy Allen upset, and not believing the rumors the car is demonic requested people help her locate and retrieve the vehicle. The Dodge’s parts today are hidden so people can’t find them.

So did these deaths actually happen? Wendy Allen says they did, but that the connections to her family car are all just coincidence.

Scary History of Ouija Boards

In 1890 a group of businessmen came together to form the Kennard Novelty Company.

They had noted an instant interest in talking boards. These boards had been developed by spiritualists to contact/ communicate with spirits in a more efficient way than tapping on tables.

These businessmen decided to mass market this new phenomenon in America, and cash in on its success. Their first hurdle was what to call this board. One of the men’s sister-in-law was a medium.

Helen Peters and the group decided to ask the board what was its name? Peters led the session and told the group the boards’ response was “Ouija.” She then asked the board what this word meant—its response was “Good Luck.”

Ironically, most who have gotten real responses from Ouija boards have not experienced what they consider good luck.

The group patented the board in 1891. This newly named Ouija board became an instant success and has continued in popularity since.

William Fuld factory.

By 1893 one of the stockholders, William Fuld took over ownership of the company—he guided the company through its boom years. 

He fell off the roof of one of his factories and was killed—he sadly was up there following the advice of a Ouija board. Fuld’s company was sold to Parker Brothers in 1966.

In the 1960s the board gained more notoriety with a rising interest in the occult. By this time, the sale of boards brought in millions of dollars.

In 1973, with the release of the film The Exorcist, the boards gained a reputation with the general public as being evil—a portal to hell. In this film, the main character, a girl named Regan, used a Ouija Board and connected with a spirit named Captain Howdy, who was actually the demon who possessed her.

This fictional film brought to light something that many already knew. People felt the Ouija should not be used as a parlor game, for they knew how dangerous playing with one could be.

In John Harkin’s book, Ouija Board Nightmares he gives many examples that support the fact these boards are not toys.

Early on in his book he shares several stories of how Ouija boards have caused mental distress, and even insanity in people who played with them.

Throughout the 1920s and 30s there are several documented cases of people who committed murders—they claimed their Ouija boards told them to do it.

One vivid example Harkin shares happened in 1930, in Buffalo, New York. Two Native American women were put on trial for murdering the wife of the famous sculptor Henri Marchand.

They beat Clothilde Marchand to death with a hammer. One of them told the authorities, they had communicated with her husband while using a Ouija board. He described to her that Marchand was a witch who had killed him.

Another example Harkin shares involves an entire town.

In the 1920s over a few short weeks, the police in El Cerrito, California arrested seven people. All were driven insane after playing with boards. A national headline at the time read, Whole Town Ouija Mad.

A 15-year-old girl was found naked and acting crazy, after communicating with the spirits. In the following days, this madness spread. It even affected a local police officer that ran naked into a bank screaming.

As a result the town officials banned Ouija boards within the city limits.

John Harkin goes on to share numerous modern-day stories of how Ouija’s have scared and caused danger to those who have used them.

Note--I don't know what to make of these stories, but I do find them interesting.