Hopkins Haunts

Hopkins County has a long and rich history, and because of that it’s bound to have some specters of the past as well. For our Halloween edition, the News-Telegram has collected stories of various hauntings that have allegedly taken place over the years in our beloved county. Are these myths true, or just tall tales?

229 MAIN STREET

Employees of what is now Muddy Jake’s Bar and Grill are convinced that a ghost or ghosts lives in the attic portion of the bar.

If customers are willing, in between rounds the barkeep will entertain with stories of raucous cowboys and wild saloon fights. According to legend, in the mid-1800s 229 Main Street was once a watering hole for Hopkins County’s more uncultivated citizens. From outlaws to ladies of the night, 229 Main Street was the place to be back in Sulphur Springs early days.

The employees are not sure if it’s a scorned lover, a vengeful desperado or an anguished harlot that lurks in the attic at 229 Main Street. However, they report that they hear strange noises, especially as the sun goes down. Bumps and thumps come from the upstairs, and temperatures vary wildly, perhaps due to the presence of spirits.

One employee reports that as he went upstairs to fetch supplies, a tin can flew across the room as if pushed by an invisible hand. After that, he sent greener staff to the second floor to grab menus who were not aware of the angry ghosts.

Although some passing by on the street may think they see the ghosts appearing in the window, employees caution that this is just a mannequin once used for t-shirts now stored upstairs. Come visit Muddy Jake’s and you may just glimpse the real thing.

AIGUIER CEMETERY

Located in Addran, a Hopkins County community near Birthright, there are many rumors about the ghosts of children who haunt the Aiguier Cemetery.

A frightened guest to the cemetery wrote on the “Ghosts of America” website about his or her experience in 2016.

“I heard about this cemetery just south of the town [of Cooper] where only children and a few young adults were buried over a century ago. It was deep in the woods, and I only found one resident that would tell me where this place was actually located,” the visitor said.

“I made it into the actual grave site about twenty yards in when everything fell silent and everything except the darkness seemed to cease,” the same visitor said. “Armed with only a flashlight, not expecting to actually be in danger I heard footsteps. They were particularly of children's. First it was one, then two, then three. I could not see anything due to the massive overgrowth of the vegetation. As I turned to leave as fast as I could!... I can honestly say I felt the presence of evil in that place.”

Historical documents from Hopkins show that Aiguier Cemetery was always used as a regular cemetery, where adult burials have taken place as recently as 2000. Like many of Hopkins County’s community cemeteries, Aiguire has a board of caretakers and undergoes regular maintenance. However, the cemetery’s reputation as a haunted child cemetery persists.

“Outside of Cooper where the dead refuse to stay in their graves, the majority of the cemetery's residents are believed to be babies, this does not mean the place is harmless,” a different visitor recounted in 2017. “You can feel an evil presence just being in the area. Many people try and test their courage going into this place but it's not advised the supernatural is definitely residing there.”

ARBALA HAUNTED WOODS

The woods near the Arbala Volunteer Fire Department aren’t really haunted… or are they? From 1988 to 2000, the Arbala VFD held a haunted woods fundraiser for local children. It featured hayrides around the community center at dark, refreshments, a covered dish supper, and frights and delights for all ages. Dracula, Frankenstein and the Chainsaw Reaper all made an appearance.

But the reason for holding the fundraiser there was no arbitrary decision, according to community member Bobby McDonald. Through a series of columns in the Hopkins County Echo, McDonald claimed that all manner of otherworldly happenings had been visited upon Arbala, from escaped dinosaurs lurking in the sycamore trees to UFOs crash-landing in a cow pond. McDonald even stated that the entire community was visited by spirits which tap-tap-tapped upon the windows of sleeping children, given that the entire community sat on an ancient American Indian burial ground.

Was that just the rain pattering on the window of a frightened little girl in the Arbala community, or a vengeful soul waiting to exact revenge upon the descendants of the white settlers? Although McDonald’s stories seemed like tall tales, they certainly helped the ambiance of the Haunted Woods fundraiser for the VFD.

CENTURY LAKE RAILROAD

Some say that a phantom engine still prowls in the darkness at Century Lake Railroad.

In 1954, the city of Sulphur Springs annexed the Century Lake property, much as it annexed the Thermo Mine property in 2019. The Blacklands rail line intersects County Road 4706 near Century Lake, and residents claim the ghost of a long-forgotten locomotive still runs the tracks.

Residents claim that if one parks a vehicle across the tracks at dusk, the ghost train will push the vehicle off course as it rolls through, making its endless passage back and forth in the world of the beyond.

“If you want to test it, you can put chalk on your back tire,” said one resident. “When the train comes and pushes your car or truck, the chalk will come off.”

Mayor and local historian John Sellers says he has also heard that in the dark of night, some have said they’ve seen the apparition of the engine’s headlamp. But upon approaching, no train was there.

CRYBABY BRIDGE

Throughout the south, legends of the Crybaby Bridge abound. The name harkens back to an urban legend that the sound of a crying baby can be heard from the bridge. Some bridges also have accompanied stories of the deaths of babies or young children.

DeKalb, Lufkin and Port Neches are home to similar Crybaby Bridges, which tell tales of woe where mothers have drowned their babies or where townsfolk have heard the cries of children in the night, according to East Texas Escapes.

This is perhaps similar to the Mexican ghost story of La Llorona, a mother who drowned her children to get back at her cheating husband. The story of La Llorona appears to have originated perhaps around the time of Spanish conquest, according to Mexican historian Carlos Fuentes.

The Crybaby Bridges of Northeast Texas are somewhat different, though. In DeKalb, a mother lost control of her vehicle and she and her baby plunged to their deaths on County Road 4130 in rural Bowie County. In Lufkin, a similar story exists for Farm Road 2497, according to the Texas Folklore Society, but this time the waters are alligator-infested.

Sulphur Springs’ Crybaby Bridge is allegedly located at Holiday Drive, which crosses Rock Creek behind the Lowe’s Home Improvement, according to posts on the Ghosts of America website.

“No existing names for the baby or mother have been found,” the poster noted. “Reports are you can hear a baby crying or screeching.”

Holiday Drive was created in 1963 per a decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), with it and McCann Street being the only two streets in the area with utilities.

“You can feel someone touch your shoulder,” said the internet post. “Another report is if you bring baby powder and put it on your car, usually you will see the mother and the baby's handprints.”

There are no formal reports of ghost sightings in historical records or newspaper clippings, adult or child. Because of this, Maryland historian Jesse Glass argues that instead of folklore, these stories should be called fakelore. The bridge at Holiday Drive is currently under repairs by the city.

MYSTERIOUS BOOMS

Starting in late November 2019, Hopkins County residents began to report on social media that they were hearing “loud booms.” Some citizens seemed to believe this boom emanated from Hunt County Sheriff’s office bomb squad defusing a bomb, which could reportedly be heard from several counties. While Hunt County had been undergoing munitions-related training at the time, this theory was quickly debunked as the booms continued to occur. 

Others believed it was the detonation of dynamite, while others believed it was a sonic boom from an overhead jet breaking the sound barrier, according to postings on the Facebook group Hopkins County Scanner. Reports of the boom ranged from as far south as Yantis to as far north as Arbala.

A second set of loud noises began on February 3, 2020. One resident of North Hopkins reported an explosion-like sensation. Then again on March 8, 2020, Hopkins County residents reported explosions. 

Citizens in both Sulphur Springs and in the area of Cumby and Commerce reported large booms, according to Facebook. During the March 8 occurrence, local radio station KSST tracked eight separate reports and plotted them on a map, which noted that reports covered 292 square miles of Hopkins County. 

“Almost everyone responding says it happened March 8th, 2020 between 8:50 p.m. and 9 p.m.,” KSST wrote. The radio station heard it at their place of business, and wrote, “It shook the windows.” 

The radio station ultimately concluded that the sounds emitted from nearby airplane tests, and other citizens agreed. 

“I would tend to believe these multiple events reported are caused by military aircraft,” said Robert Lunsford of AMS. 

Hopkins County Sheriff Lewis Tatum agreed, saying he would speculate “it’s a sonic boom from jets.”

Representatives from L3-Harris could not confirm or deny that loud booms were coming from the company, but stated, “L3 Harris refurbishes aircraft and does not manufacture bombs.”

Others believed it came from outer space. 

“House shook, large explosion,” wrote citizen Jo Duhaime, stating she believed it to be a meteor. “Photos of the smoke trail make it look like it may have been basketball size.”

According to the American Meteor Society, there are no listings for meteor sightings in Texas for February or March 2020. Furthermore, AMS states, of over 50,000 meteor sightings, only one produced a delayed sonic boom. 

Even Dallas WFAA meteorologist and news personality Jesse Hawila weighed in.

"It was not out of the question, but I am not one to make that conclusion,” Hawila noted. “All I know is there were reports of a “streak of light” seen southwest of there. There is absolutely no way for me to know for sure.” 

Almost a year after the first occurrence, Hopkins County has not learned the provenience of the mysterious booms. 

STOUT’S CREEK CEMETERY

More than one visitor to Stout’s Creek Cemetery has reported seeing the ghost of a mid-1800s woman standing amongst the graves. Perhaps she is one of Hopkins County’s first settlers. Perhaps she is even buried there. 

A visitor to the Stout’s Creek Cemetery wrote of his encounter on Ghosts of America: “A white dress with no one wearing it appeared. It had puffy ruffles on the shoulders. The dress was like a wedding dress, except no one was wearing it. It was clear as day though. It moved south about 50 yards. It was there then gone. I never believed in things like this but seeing is believing. My wife saw it too. Exactly like I saw. It was real.”

Another visitor who was allegedly passing by on a motorcycle tells a similar story from 1986. 

“We saw what appeared to be a woman in a white gown standing in the middle of the road.

My husband swerved the motorcycle and we passed it. Neither one of us were sure if she was real or a ghost. I've always been about 80% sure that we had seen a ghost because her gown seemed to be flowing in the wind and it wasn't windy that night.”

There are not very many buried at Stout’s Creek, so perhaps someone in Hopkins County knows the forlorn young woman who has unfinished business still on this earth.