It’s officially spooky season, and one of Texas’ most haunted buildings just so happens to be in the heart of the state’s capital city. San Antonians may know the ghostly history of the Menger, but there’s another hotel in Central Texas with a paranormal past.
The Driskill Hotel on Sixth Street in downtown Austin is famed for its grand architecture, its roster of presidential and Hollywood guests, and, most notably, its tales of lingering spirits. As the city’s oldest continuously operating hotel, its rich history continues to draw travelers from around the world — some for the landmark itself, others for its unexplained ghostly activity.
Here are some of the most popular ghost stories of the Driskill Hotel:
Colonel Jesse Driskill
Colonel Jesse Driskill, a cattleman who supplied beef to the Confederate Army and Texas Rangers during the Civil War, opened the Driskill Hotel in December 1886, according to Austin Ghosts. Despite his fortune, Driskill was forced to sell the hotel in 1888 after a harsh winter and drought devastated his cattle herds.
Two years later, he died in 1890, but his spirit, usually accompanied by the smell of cigar smoke and flickering lights, is said to still watch over the hotel’s lobby and bar because he never got to enjoy its success during his lifetime. Austin Monthly reports that guests and staff have noted his ghost as a cigar-smoking male dressed in 19th-century cowboy clothing…