The Miller cabin and Millermore house sit among twenty-five additional historic structures on the property, all moved from their original locations, that now serve as a living history museum.
Our good friend and lead investigator, Jerry Bowers, accompanied Allen and me on a day trip to the village one chilly January afternoon. The sky was heavily overcast and there were fewer than a dozen people wandering the grounds. We took our time and strolled the pathways connecting all of the different buildings, taking pictures along the way. The grounds were so beautifully landscaped and maintained that we could have spent hours exploring all the village had to offer.
Our attention was immediately drawn to Millermore as soon as it came into view. It’s a majestic and beautiful home located close to the park’s entrance. Several wooden rocking chairs adorn the front porch. A Texas state flag moves with the wind just above the entrance. Unfortunately, on our first trip to the village, the house was not open. Although we were disappointed at not being able to view the interior, we spent some time walking around the house just getting a feel for it.
We walked the remainder of the property, discussing the Millermore and all the ghost stories that have been told about it. We decided that we would return to the village and to the Millermore when it was open to the public.
For as long as the Millermore has been in Dallas Heritage Village, there have been stories of apparitions moving about in almost every area of the house. The figure of a woman, believed to be Mr. Miller’s third wife, Emma, has been seen walking from the upstairs master bedroom to the nursery. The odd movement of inexplicable lights on the top floor has also often been reported.
Several paranormal teams have conducted investigations at the Millermore in hopes of capturing the various phenomena, and many believe the ghosts of several children may be playing on the property. EVP recordings captured children’s laughter when no children were in or near the home. While I am always a little unnerved when it comes to encountering the ghosts of children, I was pleased to learn that those thought to haunt the Millermore are at least happy and laughing and enjoying themselves.
I wondered whether anyone working in the village had experienced anything paranormal in the house, or any other structure on the property. I contacted staff members to inquire about this very subject.
I was told that no one at the park would confirm or deny paranormal activity in Millermore or anywhere else on the property. Many of the families tied to the buildings and artifacts within the village still live in the area, and it is the staff’s job to relay information that is historically accurate and nothing more.
Millermore interior bedroom (April Slaughter)
Many paranormal investigation teams have been allowed onto the property to see if they could capture anything anomalous on film, but the village and its staff never participate in the investigations. They believe it is important not to sway their visitors one way or another.
My husband and I cannot resist a good ghost story, and after I had learned about the experiences of others at the Millermore, Allen and I were eager to make a repeat visit. After all, if Emma Miller and the many children who had originally occupied the home were still spiritually linked to it, I definitely wanted to experience them for myself. Just a few short weeks after our initial trip to Dallas Heritage Village, we were back at the house and ready to introduce ourselves to its ghostly inhabitants.
I spoke to a volunteer at the village who has been assisting on the property for over thirteen years; on the day we arrived to walk through the historic home, she was conducting the visitor tour. It was obvious that she thoroughly enjoyed her volunteer time relaying information to guests eager to learn more. At one point during the tour, a young woman asked the volunteer if she believed the home was haunted.
“I’ve often heard strange noises,” she answered. “This is an old house and the floor creaks a lot. I don’t know if it is anything paranormal. I just carry about my business and try not to pay too much attention.”
I was particularly intrigued when we reached the upstairs level and stood in the large open breezeway running through the center of the house. There are several shadowbox frames showcasing intricately woven human hairpieces hanging on the wall, collected by a family in the Dallas Metroplex. While not historically tied to the house itself, they are beautiful yet eerie, ornate artifacts that made me uneasy. I wasn’t sure what they were at first glance, and upon closer inspection I realized that I had never seen anything like them before.
As I stood there staring at the unusual pieces, I felt the distinct sensation of someone brushing my hair away from the back of my neck. Allen hadn’t been near me as he was busy wandering around the bedrooms taking pictures, and the remainder of the group had already moved on down the hallway. I stood there doing my best to keep still, hoping the experience would repeat itself, but it didn’t. My initial uneasy feeling soon melted away.
The tour guide gathered our group in the hallway where she pointed out a small day bed situated just below a window at the rear of the house. She explained that it was a piece originally owned by William Miller and that he often enjoyed an afternoon nap there, cooled by the breezes that flowed through. When we had first ascended the staircase, the quilt lay neatly atop the bed, as though the bed had just been made. After spending approximately twenty minutes upstairs, we all made our way back to the staircase and past the day bed. I noticed that in the middle of the bed, a slight yet noticeable impression had been made in the quilt as if someone had been sitting on it. I made no mention of it at the time, hoping someone else would point it out and validate my thoughts. But no one else seemed to notice, and we all shuffled back down the stairs to the main floor.
My experiences at the Millermore impressed me, as I had constantly been aware of the movements of the people in the tour group and yet, something unseen had approached me. I believe without a doubt that someone wanted us to notice that they were there. While I didn’t have the opportunity to speak to the other visitors individually, I had the sense that they too felt a spiritual presence in the house. They walked through the home with quiet reverence and continually looked backward as if they were expecting to see a spirit from the past walking along behind them.
After the tour came to an end, Allen and I snapped several photos and marveled at the collection of antiques within the home. We made it a point to thank the tour guide for her time as we made our way to the front door to leave.
As we descended the steps of the front porch, I turned around to take another look at the house. I wondered who had touched my hair and if that person had been the same individual who sat on the day bed. I felt a reverence for the history of the house, for the work that went into both building and preserving it, and for the family that may still call it home. For a moment, I thought about the possibility that Emma had been the one to touch my hair as I stood in the upstairs hallway. I wondered if William was anxious for us to finish our tour so that he could take his routine afternoon nap. I don’t know who it was for certain, but I do know that I will definitely return to visit the Millermore and the spirits that still reside within it.
CHAPTER 10
The Iris Theatre/ Books & Crannies TERRELL
Original marquee for the Iris Theatre (April Slaughter)
JUST OVER A YEAR AGO, Allen and I were driving through downtown Terrell when a curious little building caught our attention. You could tell that it had been a fixture on West Moore Avenue for quite some time, and we were both immediately intrigued.
“I wonder if they have any ghosts,” said Allen. “Maybe we should stop in sometime and see.”
The Iris Theatre originally opened its doors to the public 1925 with “The Lady” as its first feature film. The marquee still sits proudly above the entrance to the building, reading “IRIS” in big letters revamped in red, pink, and green neon. It is turned on every night and hangs above a sign bearing the name of the bookstore you’ll find inside today. Books & Crannies is a quaint little b
ookstore with a lot of charm.
Ron and Gayle Harris own and manage the store, along with two upstairs apartments in the building. Unfortunately, the Iris was ravaged by fire in May 2005, and most of the bookstore was lost in the blaze. The community of Terrell rallied around the couple and donated thousands of books to restock shelves, while several people put in hours of volunteer time to help rebuild and preserve a piece of Terrell’s history.
Allen and I set out one Saturday afternoon to visit the bookstore and to introduce ourselves as investigators with The Paranormal Source, Inc. Just as we walked in, we were greeted by a beautiful cat named Maddie, who we learned came to the Iris after becoming an orphan when Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans. She has since taken up residence at the bookstore and greets the customers as they come into her home to peruse the large selection of books.
After a quick look around, Allen and I introduced ourselves to Gayle and asked her if she had ever experienced anything paranormal in the building.
“I hear things every now and again,” she said. “Sometimes I get the distinct feeling that I am not alone when I know there is no one else in the store with me.”
We sat and spoke with Gayle for quite some time before asking her if she would ever be interested in having a professional paranormal investigation team come in and solidify some of her experiences by trying to document activity in the building. She and her best friend “Doc” were excited about the proposition and we scheduled our first of two investigations of the theatre.
One of my major areas of study over the past couple of years has been research on the various “ghost box” devices that are available to investigators in the field. Allen and I have acquired several different versions of radio devices altered to continually scan the radio bands, which in theory provide those on the other side a source of audio noise from which they can form words and sentences to communicate with us. We asked Gayle and her husband if we could experiment with these devices in their bookstore, and they graciously allowed us to try.
One of our first experiments was with a prototype of what is called the MiniBox—a radio device that was inspired by an invention of Colorado resident Frank Sumption. For years, Frank has been building and giving his aptly named “Frank’s Boxes” to different researchers for use, but as these are not readily available to the public, Ron Ricketts was inspired to build a version of the device for mass production. I had been given MiniBox Prototype # 3, which we brought along on this particular investigation.
Allen set up the MiniBox in the theatre, as well as our video camera and digital audio recorders to catch whatever information may come through. We all sat in the vintage theatre seats and listened as the sound fluctuated and echoed off the walls. We made small talk as we passed the time, waiting to hear something from the MiniBox.
Suddenly the box blared, “April!” We instantly fell silent and waited. My name had come across the box very clearly, and atop the background radio noise that was continuously moving.
“Hello, is there anyone here with us that would like to make themselves known and say hello?” I asked.
“Yes, several. Active conduit,” responded the box.
Just as the box had suddenly begun to communicate, it just as quickly went silent and no other words came through. The radio noise was back to being random and unintelligible, though we waited for quite some time for it to begin again.
When we finally decided to turn the box off and begin working with other equipment, the distinct sound of heavy boots walking across the wood floor startled us. There was no mistaking that sound. Someone unseen had walked into the theatre but could not be glimpsed. When we subsequently reviewed our audio data, we found that the box communication had been clearly captured, but not the sound of the heavy footsteps.
Several times throughout the evening, our investigators reported feeling sudden variations in temperature in different areas of the bookstore. Occasionally, these experiences would be accompanied by slight headaches that would come and quickly dissipate. Lead investigator Jerry Bowers believed he had seen movement near the front register. My first thought was that it could have been the cat moving around, but she had been sitting quietly on the other side of the building when the movement occurred. Everyone in the bookstore was accounted for as well.
As the evening wore on, the team grew tired and we decided it would be best to wrap up and go home. When we prepare for investigations, we are aware that we might be out until the very early morning hours, and while we do all that we can to remain alert, it seems that the activity we encounter can sometimes drain us very quickly despite our best efforts.
After some much-needed rest, we discussed a return visit as a team and arranged another nighttime investigation. Three months later, we were back to see what else we could discover within the nostalgic theatre’s walls.
Upon arrival, we split into several small teams to canvass the building. Jerry and I were accompanied by lead investigator Buffy Clary as we entered the theatre’s basement, where it was believed a man had fallen down the steep set of stairs and later died from his injuries. In the dark of the basement, we sat in three foldout chairs and began to use the K-II meter to see if we could establish any other presence. Although the lights on the meter would randomly come on, as if someone were approaching the meter, nothing definitive came out of our attempts to obtain answers to our questions. All three of us were quietly talking to one another when we felt a distinct atmospheric change, as if several more people had just walked down the stairs to join us.
After a few minutes, I heard a definite scratching noise on the floor to my right, as if something were being dragged slowly toward me. Jerry and Buffy also reported hearing the same thing, and just as we turned on our flashlights to investigate the source, the sound inexplicably stopped. There were no rodents, bugs, or any other obvious explanation for the noise.
On this occasion, we were especially thrilled to test the arrival of a new ghost box device—Frank’s Box #37, which was built and shipped directly to me by Frank Sumption himself. Frank has spent a number of years building and testing his devices, and he gives them to only a handful of people for their research. The old theatre-turned-bookstore would be the first place we used #37 during an official Paranormal Source investigation.
We set up the box in the front of the bookstore in the lounge section, where several of us sat on small couches eager to hear whatever might come through, also keeping in mind that it was possible we might hear nothing at all.
Maddie the cat systematically made her way onto everyone’s lap. The box ran uneventfully until I posed a lighthearted question.
“Can you tell me the kitty’s name?” I asked.
Almost instantly the box replied with, “Maddie,” in what sounded like a young girl’s voice.
“Can you tell me your name, please?” I asked, trying to keep the communication going.
“Jan,” was the reply, in the same little girl’s voice.
While we do not know who Jan was or what her ties were to the theatre, it was clear that she had been speaking to us and that she sounded happy.
The boxes had certainly impressed us as investigators with the amount of direct questions they answered. You never can predict what will come out of the box, if you are fortunate enough to get anything at all. At 2:15 A.M. the next morning, we decided to conclude the investigation and once again head home to rest and discuss the events we had experienced.
The Iris Theatre and its bookstore have a positive energy about them that is definitely inviting, and it is my belief that whoever spiritually visits the old theatre is happy to have people around. Perhaps they are pleased with the fact the theatre, although downsized, still remains to provide a glimpse into a nostalgic past. Maybe the ghostly inhabitants are book lovers, thrilled with the prospect that they can share their literary favorites with others. Whatever the case may be, I was pleased to meet the spirits of the Iris and I am sure they would be more than pleased to meet
you.
CHAPTER 11
Catfish Plantation WAXAHACHIE
Catfish Plantation restaurant exterior (April Slaughter)
IF THERE IS ONE FOOD BESIDES BARBEQUE that Texas is famous for, it would be catfish. I had eaten catfish only a couple of times in my life before moving here, and I hadn’t thought it was all that great. The look of shock on my husband’s face when I told him that was priceless. I grew up fishing for and eating rainbow trout, straight from the rivers and lakes of Utah, my home state. We didn’t eat a lot of catfish in Utah, so Allen made it his mission to introduce me to a proper catfish meal.
As with many other unexpected finds in Texas, I came across the website of the Catfish Plantation restaurant while doing a little searching online. It was relatively close to home, so I thought Allen and I would try dining there one evening. As it turned out, the restaurant was reportedly haunted. Not only would I have the chance to enjoy a good southern catfish meal, I’d be eating it in a haunted restaurant! What more could I ask for?
We made the trip out to Waxahachie with our good friend Jerry Bowers one Saturday afternoon for lunch. The restaurant sits in a residential neighborhood, far removed from the main drag of the town. I immediately fell in love with the place, as it had a humble charm about it.
Ryan Rodriguez—one of the owners of the restaurant—greeted us as we walked in the front door. We chatted for a moment about making the trip over from Dallas for lunch, and I explained to him that Allen and I ran a paranormal investigation team that would love to come in and document activity there sometime. He didn’t seem open to the idea at first, as they had already had another team come in just the weekend before, but we soon won him over and we scheduled an investigation of our own.
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