_{Galveston, TX is Haunted}

_{The Ashton Villa}

Looking for Poltergeist activity? Curious about Texas History? Then come tour this house found in Galveston, TX. It was one of the first brick buildings in the state, headquarters for the Union and Confederate armies, and a survivor of the Great Galveston Hurrican of 1900.

Its owner, James Moreau Brown, made his fortune by capitalizing upon the growing shipping industry in Galveston. As one of the few established port towns in the 1800s Brown opened the first hardware store in the city. It was wildly successful. Because of this, Brown quickly became the fifth richest man in the state. As a gift to his wife, he built a beautiful home for his growing family.

The family moved in on New Year’s Eve Day in 1859. James, his wife Rebecca, and their three children – Moreau Brown, John Brown, and Bettie Brown. quickly settled into Ashton Villa and grew by two more children shortly after, with Charles born in 1862 and Mathilda born in 1865. It was in this expansive and extravagant home that the family thrived, however, they were not the only individuals to enjoy the space’s amenities.

One of the bricklayers, a slave by the name of Abraham, passed suddenly while working. It’s said that his spirit wanders the rooms on the first floor. However, no documentation of a physical form has been noted.

Five years after James died in 1895, a massive hurricane hit Galveston Island. The town was almost uninhabitable due to the sheer amount of damage it caused, and 8,000 people lost their lives. Water reached the tenth step of the home’s grand staircase, where Mathilda sat and watched the rising flood in fascination.

Bettie was the oldest daughter of the Brown family who became known as the Princess of Texas. She was a cussing, cigar-smoking, carriage-racing woman who loved traveling. She visited many different countries on her own and collected countless little treasures along the way. At home, she was considered a social butterfly regularly throwing grand parties from Ashton Villa and making rather eccentric appearances (one account mentions a particularly memorable evening when she strode in with kittens on the train of her dress). Bettie never married, rejecting the idea of giving up her independence, and instead focused on seeing the world and painting. She always returned home to the villa she loved.

Miss Bettie Brown, courtesy of The Houston Chronicle

Nowadays Bettie is said to be a Poltergeist haunting the Gold Room of the villa. Visitors have left with scratches, had their hair pulled, or just smelled cigar smoke.

Mathilda Brown, the family’s youngest daughter divorced her abusive husband and returned with her children to stay in the home with her sister. In Victorian times this caused quite a scandal.

She also loved to play the piano for her friends and family, a pastime at which she was particularly skilled, and allegedly still plays today. Caretakers have mentioned hearing beautiful music played while alone in the home, and visitors have reported the same. It appears that Mathilda decided the villa would remain her sanctuary even after her death.