The 5 Most Haunted Places in Austin, Texas
1. The Driskill Hotel (604 Brazos St)
Opened in 1886, the Driskill Hotel is Austin’s crown jewel — a Romanesque Revival masterpiece built by cattle baron Jesse Driskill. But behind its gilded mirrors and marble columns lies a history steeped in misfortune. Driskill himself lost the hotel to bankruptcy within a year, and the building has witnessed suicides, scandals, and a century of whispered tales. Presidents have stayed here, newlyweds have celebrated, and countless guests have left with stories they’d rather forget.
Many who spend the night report the scent of cigar smoke and the sound of heavy boots echoing down the corridors. Children’s laughter drifts from the grand staircase, where legend says a senator’s daughter fell to her death while chasing a ball. Room 525 is the most infamous: two brides, decades apart, are said to have ended their lives in the same bathtub. Guests who stay there claim to feel an invisible presence watching them, cold and steady as stone.
2. The Texas State Capitol (1100 Congress Ave)
The State Capitol, completed in 1888, stands as both a monument to Texas pride and a magnet for ghost stories. Built from pink granite and towering above downtown, it’s seen protests, brawls, and political intrigue spanning generations. During construction, several workers died in accidents; one was said to have been crushed beneath a fallen beam and entombed within the walls.
Today, staff members report hearing phantom footsteps echoing through empty chambers after dark. The elevator sometimes runs by itself, doors opening on deserted floors. Guards have claimed to see a man in 19th-century clothing patrolling the rotunda, vanishing when approached. Some say it’s the spirit of a Confederate soldier still standing watch, others believe it’s the ghost of a lawmaker unwilling to yield his seat.
3. The Littlefield House (302 W 24th St)
Built in 1893 by Civil War veteran and banker George Littlefield, this stately Victorian mansion sits near the University of Texas campus. Its red brick exterior and ornate woodwork hide a deep sadness. After George’s wife Alice passed away, students and visitors began reporting strange activity — flickering lights, moving curtains, and the sound of a piano playing late at night.
Those who’ve entered after hours say they’ve seen a woman in a lavender gown standing by an upstairs window. Some believe she’s Alice, watching over the home she loved. Others claim to feel a sudden wave of melancholy, as though the house itself remembers its losses. University staff have even found locked doors open in the morning, with no signs of forced entry.
4. Oakwood Cemetery (1601 Navasota St)
Founded in 1839, Oakwood Cemetery is Austin’s oldest resting place — a city of the dead within sight of the living. Pioneers, soldiers, and former slaves all lie beneath its gnarled oaks, their graves marked by crumbling headstones and tilted crosses. The cemetery grew through epidemics, duels, and frontier violence, and its boundaries hold the stories of an entire city’s evolution.
Visitors often feel watched while walking its paths. There are reports of spectral figures dressed in old military coats, of ghostly lights floating near the paupers’ field, and of a weeping woman who appears near the Confederate section at twilight. Paranormal groups who’ve brought EMF meters here say the readings spike near certain graves, then vanish as suddenly as they appear — as if the dead are drawn to attention when their names are spoken aloud.
5. The Shoal Creek Area (West 6th Street and Lamar Blvd)
Before Austin became a city, Shoal Creek was a frontier settlement and burial ground. Floods have washed through the valley countless times, unearthing graves and scattering bones from forgotten cemeteries along its banks. In the 1800s, settlers reported seeing lantern lights moving in the fog after storms — believed to be the spirits of those lost to the creek’s flash floods.
Today, joggers and late-night wanderers tell of shadowy shapes moving along the trail, and cyclists report sudden cold gusts even in summer heat. The creek’s waters seem to carry whispers, especially after rainfall. Some locals claim that during heavy storms, you can still hear the faint cries of the drowned mingling with the rushing current — a reminder that Austin’s beauty was carved from tragedy.
Explore Austin’s Haunted Legacy
Austin is known for its music, food, and nightlife — but beneath the noise, its ghosts still stir. Walk its haunted streets at your own pace with a self-guided Austin Ghost Tour from Ghost Tour Fun. This is the best ghost tour in Austin. Discover the stories that never made it into the guidebooks — and feel the past brush against the present under the Texas moon.
