GALVESTON, Texas — It’s a mansion with character that many believe is haunted by history.
“This is the 1859 Ashton Villa. It was built for the family of James Moreau (and) Rebecca Stoddard Brown," said Jami Durham, a historian with the Galveston Historical Foundation, said.
Rumor has it the spirit of Betty, one of the Brown children may inhabit the walls of 2328 Broadway Avenue J, in Galveston.
“I definitely think there’s a spirit here. We’ve had several odd occurrences here that have been associated with alarms going off for unexplained reasons,” Durham said.
But Durham said the rumors led her to believe it may be haunted by the youngest child, Matilda who was a talented musician.
“If piano music is wafting from the walls of Ashton Villa all hours, day and night, perhaps it’s not Betty. Maybe it’s her sister Matilda.”
But during the interview, things took a turn, and got a little creepy. The sound of a door could be heard opening, but no one else was in the mansion but Durham, and the KHOU 11 news crew. Even Durham looked alarmed.
“What was that,” asked Kimberly Davis.
“I don’t know what that was,” said Durham.
But after a short moment of uncertainty, Durham realized it was only Cameron Dunbar, the facilities manager who entered Ashton Villa through a very creaky door. Dunbar then picked up our tour, who also experienced unexplainable events he's personally witnessed.
“We were standing outside and I was telling a story about something that had happened to me on the third floor, and both of the doors to this, just like bursts open,” Dunbar said.
Thankfully, nothing like that happened on our tour, but you can test your own luck in the Ashton Villa.