San Antonio is one of the most haunted cities in the nation, and for good reason. With historic buildings and missions behind every corner, it’s no surprise that some of the city’s past has stuck around.
MySA asked readers to share their paranormal experiences in San Antonio, and locals sounded off on the unsettling moments that have happened to them, from strange sights at Victoria’s Black Swan Inn to your classic folk tales like the Donkey Lady. Under a Facebook post, multiple commenters claimed they’ve had sightings at the iconic San Antonio mission and battle site, with one saying they spotted soldiers, old horses, carriages, and more around Christmastime there, and another writing that they’ve felt watched.
Then there’s the Menger Hotel, which is situated right on the site of the historic battle. This is a notoriously haunted spot, and it’s also been the subject of many investigations by ghost hunters and paranormal thrill-seekers alike. One commenter said they found orbs there, while another said in the King Ranch Suite (named for King Ranch founder and Confederate, Captain Richard King), they saw a female spirit dressed in white.
One commenter wrote that on one occasion, as they were walking from the Menger’s front desk, they watched a woman get on a small elevator and the doors closed behind her. What happened afterward made them sleep “with the TV and light on all night,” they said.
“Walked up about 4-5 seconds after she was in, hit the call button- it opened up. I instinctively looked away, apologized for holding her up…only to not see a soul on there,” the commenter wrote. “Let’s just say it was like a delayed panic from me. There was just no way … Some things you just can’t explain. There’s nowhere else she could have gone. Never had an experience like that before or since. You think seeing a ghost or experiencing something paranormal would be cool or fun…Then something like that happens.”
Other stories happened across the city at the places where locals work. One Facebook commenter wrote that while working alone at a funeral home one night, a hallway door slammed on its own. Another said that while working in a grocery store, they once heard footsteps coming and going behind them, but when they turned around, nobody was there. A worker at Baptist Medical Center in downtown said they would fill their water cup at a fountain in the oldest part of the hospital, and the fountain once turned itself on for a full minute after they used it — “instant goosebumps,” they wrote.
These are just a few stories locals shared with MySA — if you want to read more, you can scroll through the full responses on Facebook and Instagram.