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Fort Worth

Historic Haunted Hotels of Texas

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Join me for an A to Z Road Trip!

I’m taking you on a road trip with me by sharing travel photos for this year’s A to Z Blog Challenge. So come along as we explore some of my favorite offbeat, overlooked and just plain interesting places in Texas… and beyond!

 

Today is letter H:
Haunted Historic Hotels

Staying at hotels and motels is an exciting part of any road trip. And some of the most interesting hotels I’ve stayed at have boasted guests who never checked out! Here are a few of my favorite historic haunted hotels in Texas:

Miss Molly's hotel in Fort Worth, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)
Miss Molly’s hotel in Fort Worth, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)

Miss Molly’s Hotel in Fort Worth

Unexplained phenomenon is so rampant at Miss Molly’s that this hotel (and former bordello) in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards district has become a mecca for ghost hunters. The venue is even included in the curriculum for parapsychology classes at Texas Christian University.
For more about my experiences at Miss Mollys, check out: 
My Coast to Coast AM Interview from Miss Molly’s in Fort Worth, Texas
Beckham Hotel in Mineola, TX (photo by Tui Snider)
Beckham Hotel in Mineola, TX (photo by Tui Snider)

Beckham Hotel in Mineola

With so many people passing through the doors of the Beckham Hotel over the years, it should come as no surprise that it is rumored to be haunted. The three most talked about entities include a woman named Elizabeth who allegedly died after falling down the staircase of the Beckham Hotel. (Some even claim that she appears on Mondays at 3:00 a.m.)
For more about the Beckham Hotel, read:
Beckham Hotel in Mineola, Texas
Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)
Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)

Baker Hotel & Crazy Water Hotel in Mineral Wells

Of all the places I investigated for my book, PARANORMAL TEXAS, Mineral Wells gave me the most bang for my buck!
If you’re interested in reading about some of my paranormal adventures in Mineral Wells, check out:
Ghost Hunting in Mineral Wells, Texas

*****I hope you enjoyed today’s post. Come back tomorrow for the next letter in the alphabet!*****

 

Psst! Instagram, anyone?

If you are on Instagram, I’d be delighted to follow you! Simply follow my photo feed (@TuiSnider) on Instagram and I’ll follow you back!

What is the April A to Z Blog Challenge?

 

Each April, bloggers from all over the world participate in the April A to Z blog challenge, and you can too. It’s a lot of fun and it’s a great way to meet other bloggers.

To play along, all you do is make a blog post for each letter of the alphabet during April, then use the blog hop linky to visit as many other bloggers as you can. In addition to my personal blog here, I’m also writing A to Z posts for the the Story Dam writing community. You can check those out by clicking here: Story Dam’s Writing Quotes & Encouragement

Check out more April A to Z Blog Challenge Participants by clicking the link below:

Find out more about the April A to Z blog challenge, and check out the other participants!

A2Z-BADGE_[2016]

Curious about my books? I’ve got 3, so far…


To read about more weird, offbeat, and overlooked places, check out my best-selling travel guide: 
UNEXPECTED TEXAS: Your Guide to Offbeat & Overlooked History, Day Trips & Fun Things to do near Dallas & Fort Worth
.

For ghost hunting hot spots, check out my best-selling travel guide to haunted places: 
PARANORMAL TEXAS: Your Travel Guide to Haunted Places near Dallas & Fort Worth
.

For a strange-but-true tale of Texas history, check out this bizarre piece of West Texas history: 
The Lynching of the Santa Claus Bank Robber

 


white-line-separator

Hey, you! Want to come along for the ride?

No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui's books can take you on a FUN adventure!
No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui Snider’s books can take you on a FUN adventure!

FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: For updates on my offbeat travels, books, & other fun stuff (such as postcards from the road!) subscribe to my newsletter using the form below. Each week, I’ll let you know the Historic Cemetery Symbol of the Week, who Teal Gray & I are interviewing on our show that night, and any other fun or interesting news. You can also mix & mingle with me by clicking this link & “liking” my Facebook Author Page:

Filed Under: Blog on Writing & Life, Blog Posts, Haunted Travel Tagged With: #atozchallenge, A to Z challenge, Baker Hotel, beckham hotel, crazy water, Fort Worth, haunted, hotel, iPhone photography, Mineola, Mineral Wells, miss molly's, Paranormal, photo essay, photographer, q1, quirky, Texas, travel, Tui Snider

Quirky Texas: Life Size Wax Sculpture Replica of the Last Supper

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Quirky Surprise in Fort Worth

When I tell people that Fort Worth is home to a life size wax sculpture replica of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” the response is usually, “Huh?” followed by a puzzled laugh.

After all, that’s hardly what we expect from a city that bills itself as “Where the West begins,” right?

In fact, when out of town guests visit, my husband and I generally take them to see the historic stockyards. Sure, some locals turn their nose up at this, just as Seattlites often scoff at the idea of visiting the Space Needle, but I love visiting the Fort Worth Stockyards. Not only is it chock full of history, but seriously: how many towns have an official herd of longhorn cattle?

So, yes, I’ll confess: When I first heard about this quirky wax replica of Leonardo Da Vinci’s classic painting, I thought it was a joke. For one thing, who in their right mind wants to put wax sculptures in the heat of Texas?

Like so many things I research and write about,  this “wax supper” sounds ridiculous at first, but there is much more to the story than first appears.

Check out this adapted excerpt from my book Unexpected Texas (a travel guide to offbeat and overlooked places in the Dallas – Fort Worth area.)

The Christian Arts Museum in Fort Worth, TX (photo by Tui Snider)
The Christian Arts Museum in Fort Worth, TX (photo by Tui Snider)

Wax Sculptures in Texas = Serious Climate Control

 

Fort Worth’s life size wax sculpture replica of Da Vinci’s Last Supper is housed on a stage in a small auditorium where you can take a seat and listen to a short presentation about the history of this unique replica. There have been days when I was certain that I would melt from the heat here in north Texas, so as you can imagine, the temperature and humidity are carefully regulated in this section of the Christian Arts Museum.

Here’s a photo I took while standing in the middle of the auditorium. What do you think?

Life Size Wax Replica of the Last Supper in Fort Worth, TX (photo by Tui Snider)
Life Size Wax Replica of the Last Supper in Fort Worth, TX (photo by Tui Snider)

Life Size Wax Supper in Fort Worth

Hey, doesn’t that disciple on the far left look a bit familiar? Yes, that’s me popping in all Vanna White style. I merely wanted to provide a bit of perspective so you can see what I mean when I say these wax sculptures are life size.

Life Size Wax Replica of the Last Supper in Fort Worth, TX (photo by Tui Snider)
Life Size Wax Replica of the Last Supper in Fort Worth, TX (photo by Tui Snider)

New Angles on Da Vinci’s Last Supper

You can get pretty close to the Wax Supper sculptures, although just like any museum, you aren’t allowed to touch. From what I could tell, the figures are all quite clean. Next time I visit the Christian Arts Museum, I will ask who dusts them, and how often it’s required to keep them looking so spiffy!

By now you must be wondering how on earth Fort Worth wound up with such an interesting and unique piece of art:

Life Size Wax Replica of the Last Supper in Fort Worth, TX (photo by Tui Snider)
Life Size Wax Replica of the Last Supper in Fort Worth, TX (photo by Tui Snider)

History of the Wax Supper Replica

In 1955, an oil tycoon named Bill Fleming commissioned a version of Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece, The Last Supper. However, instead of a painting, Fleming paid for a life-sized sculpture made from wax. The Fort Worth man had seen a “wax supper” in California and wanted to give his hometown something similar.

To complete this project, Fleming hired the mother-daughter team of Katherine and Katherine Marie Stubergh, a duo well-known for their wax sculptures. There’s a wonderful article about the Stuberghs over on a site called Waxipedia (gotta love that name!) that includes a whole bunch of great photos of the artists here: Katherine Marie Stubergh-Keller: The American Madame Tussaud

The younger Stubergh originally planned to be a dancer. Even so, as a teenager, she produced a wax sculpture of Mae West. West was so impressed with the result that she allegedly told the girl, “Kid, anybody can make a piece of mud look like me shouldn’t be no dancer.” From that point on, the younger Stubergh ditched her dancing dreams to pursue art full force.

Fort Worth’s wax supper took the Stuberghs 18 months to create. It was finished in 1956 and displayed in various locations, from churches to a shopping mall, over the next 40 years. In 1997, it was placed in storage, and for a while, all seemed lost. In 2009, however, the wax display was restored. As of this writing, the Stubergh’s wax supper is on display at the Christian Arts Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

Life Size Wax Replica of the Last Supper in Fort Worth, TX (photo by Tui Snider)
Life Size Wax Replica of the Last Supper in Fort Worth, TX (photo by Tui Snider)

But wait, there’s more!

The Christian Arts Museum has other interesting items in its collection, including a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. (At least, I assume it’s a replica!) Seriously, though, the museum’s collection includes an impressive cross-stitch version of the Last Supper, as well as a wall featuring a wide variety of crosses – which I will feature in another post sometime.

Other displays at the Christian Arts Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)
Other displays at the Christian Arts Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)

Plan Your Trip to the Wax Supper in Fort Worth, Texas:

 

Christian Arts Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)
Christian Arts Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)

As you can see from the sign, the Christian Arts Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. It’s near Fort Worth’s Cultural Center, so the next time you’re out exploring the local arts scene, drop by this quirky museum and see the Wax Supper for yourself. When you go, remember to tell ’em Tui sent you!

For more information about the Life Size Wax Sculpture Replica of the Last Supper:
Official website: Christian Arts Museum 
Address: 3221 Hamilton Ave., Fort Worth, TX
Hours: Wed-Sat, 10am-3pm

Want to read more like this?


To read about more weird, offbeat, and overlooked places, check out my best-selling travel guide:
UNEXPECTED TEXAS: Your Guide to Offbeat & Overlooked History, Day Trips & Fun Things to do near Dallas & Fort Worth
.

For ghost hunting hot spots, check out my best-selling travel guide to haunted places:
PARANORMAL TEXAS: Your Travel Guide to Haunted Places near Dallas & Fort Worth
.

For a strange-but-true tale of Texas history, check out this bizarre piece of West Texas history:
The Lynching of the Santa Claus Bank Robber

 


white-line-separator

Hey, you! Want to come along for the ride?

No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui's books can take you on a FUN adventure!
No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui Snider’s books can take you on a FUN adventure!

FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: For updates on my offbeat travels, books, & other fun stuff (such as postcards from the road!) subscribe to my newsletter using the form below. Each week, I’ll let you know the Historic Cemetery Symbol of the Week, who Teal Gray & I are interviewing on our show that night, and any other fun or interesting news. You can also mix & mingle with me by clicking this link & “liking” my Facebook Author Page:

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Travel Photo Essays, Unexpected Texas Tagged With: ark of the covenant, artist, author, christian arts museum, da vinci, Fort Worth, Ft Worth, historic, last supper, Madame Tussaud, museum, odd, q1, quirky, strange, Stubergh, Texas, Tui Snider, Tui Snider photographer, wax sculpture

My Coast to Coast AM Interview from Miss Molly’s Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas

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A wonderful surprise!

Last week, I answered the phone, fully expecting yet another telemarketer, only to find the producer from Coast to Coast AM on the other end of the line.

Wowza! What a wonderful surprise!

She peppered me with questions about all three of my books, Unexpected Texas, Paranormal Texas, and The Lynching of the Santa Claus Bank Robber) and then asked if I’d like to be a guest on the show.

Would I ever!

Miss Molly's Hotel is a well known haunted hot spot in Fort Worth, Texas (Tui Snider)
Miss Molly’s Hotel is a well known haunted hot spot in Fort Worth, Texas (Tui Snider)

Quest for a Landline

Since my husband and I no longer have a landline at our home, she suggested we stay at a hotel for the night and use their phone. That made sense, so I started looking around for nearby hotels.

Eventually it dawned on me that, since we were going to be talking about my book, Paranormal Texas, which is a travel guide to paranormal hot spots in north Texas, it might be really fun to call in from one of the haunted hotels mentioned in the book!

Miss Molly's Hotel is a well known haunted hot spot in Fort Worth, Texas (Tui Snider)
Miss Molly’s Hotel is in Fort Worth’s Historic Stockyards (Tui Snider)

Miss Molly’s to the rescue!

A few emails and phone calls later, Miss Molly’s Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas graciously allowed me and my husband, Larry, to spend the night and use their landline from the hours of 2am to 4am for my interview on Coast to Coast AM. The innkeeper, Tina, really went out of her way to make us comfortable and help us out. (Thank you, Tina! *waves*)

A learning experience

As for the interview, itself, I was surprised how quickly those 2-hours flew by! George Noory was super friendly and put me at ease right away. Of course, I tripped over my tongue a few times, but… it was a wonderful experience, and if I ever get a chance to be on again, I have a much better understanding of the rhythm of the show now, and how long/short my replies need to be.

Also, the folks who called in were friendly and had good information to share. (I actually have quite a list now of things to research that were all suggested by George Noory and the various listeners who called in.)

I should also mention how grateful I am that my fabulous web host, Tech Surgeons, was kind enough to prep my site, so that it wouldn’t crash from the incredible burst of traffic that all those links from Coast to Coast AM caused.

Miss Molly's Hotel is a well known haunted hot spot in Fort Worth, Texas (Tui Snider)
Miss Molly’s Hotel is a well known haunted hot spot in Fort Worth, Texas (Tui Snider)

Check out my C2C show links:

Speaking of those links, the Coast to Coast webmasters were kind enough to share some of my photos of quirky, offbeat, and haunted places.

You can see my photos here:
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/pages/strange-texas-photos

My show page is here:
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2015/10/01

And my guest page is here:
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/snider-tui/75079

My paranormal experience?

After the interview, I was so energized I couldn’t sleep! So, I sat all alone in the sitting room of Miss Molly’s Hotel, chatting with people on Facebook, reading email on my phone, drinking a glass of red wine, and eating chocolate. (Hey, I was celebrating! As a longtime listener of Coast to Coast AM, this was an exciting moment for me.)

All of a sudden, it must have been around 5:00 a.m., I caught a strong whiff of cigarette smoke. I got up and walked around, trying to pinpoint the exact origin of the smell. It seemed strongest in front of Room #3 – which was completely empty that night!

Also, not only is Miss Molly’s a smoke-free establishment, but everyone else there was sound asleep. Hey, I had been hoping to see the resident full-body apparition of Jake the cowboy, but I will settle for second-hand smoke from a spirit! (The photo below shows the area where I smelled the mysterious cigarette smoke.)

My pal, Shelly Tucker, stayed at Miss Molly’s once, too, and had some interesting (and even humorous!) experiences there. Check out her paranormal adventures by reading: Good Golly, Miss Molly’s is Haunted!

I smelled cigarette smoke in this area, but no one was smoking. Strange! (photo by Tui Snider)
I smelled cigarette smoke in this area, but no one was smoking. Strange! (photo by Tui Snider)

Paranormal activity at Miss Molly’s Hotel

Here’s a little more about Miss Molly’s Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas:

Unexplained phenomenon is so rampant at Miss Molly’s that this hotel (and former bordello) in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards district has become a mecca for ghost hunters. The venue is even included in the curriculum for parapsychology classes at Texas Christian University.

Paranormal activity at Miss Molly’s runs the gamut, with guests reporting cold spots, the feeling of being watched, toilets flushing by themselves, water turning on/off by itself, doors opening/closing, inexplicable odors, EVP’s, disembodied voices, anomalous photos, unexplained sounds, and full body apparitions.

Guests who stay in the Miss Josie Room often report waking in the night to find a gorgeous woman standing at the foot of their bed, reported to be Miss Josie King, the last madam during the bordello days.

A different phantom appears in the Railroader Room, an 1800’s Cowboy wearing a duster and spurs, heard walking on the hardwood floors of Miss Molly’s Hotel. this cowboy is reportedly named Jake and comes and goes not communicating with humans, but moving things around.

Meanwhile, in Miss Amelia Room, guests often see the apparition of a a child of 8 or 9, daughter of a prostitute, who some claim died of smallpox.

In addition, many guests report feeling touched by phantom hands in the Rodeo Room, while in the Gunslinger Room, a full body apparition of a woman wearing Victorian garb enters, opens the closet, stands a moment as if trying to decide what to wear, then closes the door and leaves.

That’s quite a variety of paranormal activity, isn’t it?
Have you ever stayed at Miss Molly’s or some other haunted hotel?
Would you *like* to?

Plan a trip to Miss Molly’s Hotel in Fort Worth, TX

For more information about Miss Molly’s Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, head on over to their website http://www.missmollyshotel.com/ and be sure to tell them that Tui sent you! :)

Filed Under: Blog on Writing & Life, Blog Posts, Haunted Travel, Hotel and B&B Reviews, Travel Photo Essays Tagged With: coast to coast am, Fort Worth, george noory, haunted, haunted hotel, historic, interview, miss molly's, paranormal texas, Shelly Tucker, Tui Snider

Fort Worth, Texas Saints and Sinners Tour in Oakwood Cemetery

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Graveyards as Open-Air Museums

I’m deviating a little from my usual historic cemetery symbols post this week because often, when I tell people that I enjoy spending time in graveyards, they assume I must be really morbid – which is not the case at all!

You see, I spend a lot of time in historic cemeteries, especially here in Texas. And to me, these country graveyards are more than just where the dead are buried; they are open-air museums. And the symbols that our ancestors chose to put on their headstones – that is how our ancestors speak to us from across time!

The annual Saints & Sinners Tours is well worth attending! (photo by Tui Snider)
The annual Saints & Sinners Tours is well worth attending! (photo by Tui Snider)

Bringing History to Life

So last fall, I was delighted to hear that Oakwood Cemetery over in Fort Worth, Texas has an annual cemetery tour led by historic reenactors from the North Fort Worth Historical Society in period garb. Each actor chooses a resident of the graveyard to research and bring back to life.

It’s educational and entertaining!

Even if you don’t live near Fort Worth, you might call around and see if there are any similarly themed graveyard tours that you can attend in your area. Let me know if you find a good historic cemetery tour near you, or if you attend the Saints & Sinners Tour here in Texas!

Impressive mustaches at the Saints & Sinners Tour in Fort Worth, TX (photo by Tui Snider)
Impressive mustaches at the Saints & Sinners Tour in Fort Worth, TX (photo by Tui Snider)

Saints & Sinners Tour in Oakwood Cemetery

Each fall, the North Fort Worth Historical Society presents an incredible walking tour of historic Oakwood Cemetery called the Saints and Sinners Tour.

I went to the Saints and Sinners Tour last October and had a blast! As the tour guide led us from grave to grave, historic re-enactors brought the deceased to life by performing monologues in period costumes.

And, wow! The actors, who are all members of the North Fort Worth Historical Society, clearly put a lot of time and effort into their performances. Often, the monologues are a bit humorous, although there were a couple that brought tears to my eyes.

It definitely brought history alive to me in a very moving way! Even before the tour started, various merchants and costumed actors were around to chat and answer questions.

 

Horse drawn hearse in Oakwood Cemetery (photo by Tui Snider)
Horse drawn hearse in Oakwood Cemetery (photo by Tui Snider)

 

A Horse-Drawn Hearse

I love this guy! Not only did he have an amazing horse-drawn hearse with all the trimmings (including black ostrich feather plumes), but his outfit and demeanor really made me feel as though he had popped into our world from another time!

Historic re-enactor at Oakwood Cemetery's Saints & Sinners Tour (photo by Tui Snider)
Historic re-enactor at Oakwood Cemetery’s Saints & Sinners Tour (photo by Tui Snider)

Mary & Euday Bowman had a piano!

The actors portraying Mary Bowman and her brother, Euday Bowman, went to all the trouble of having a piano with them, which they carefully kept on the shady side of their mausoleum! Ragtime fans will already know that Euday is a famous composer of that genre. (He wrote the “12th Street Rag,” for instance.) Here’s a link to his bio, if you’d like to know more: http://www.ragpiano.com/comps/ebowman.shtml

 

I wasn't the only one wiping my eyes after this WWII vet shared his story! (photo by Tui Snider)
I wasn’t the only one wiping my eyes after this WWII vet “came to life” and shared his story! (photo by Tui Snider)

Horace “Stump” Carswell

I liked that the actors chose people from different eras; it wasn’t only folks from frontier times, for example. The historic re-enactor show above dipped into the 1940’s, and I know I wasn’t the only one wiping their eyes after he brought the heroic acts of WWII vet, Horace “Stump” Carswell to life for us. (Check out Carswell’s bio here: http://www.baseballsgreatestsacrifice.com/biographies/carswell_horace.html

 

Me playing Faro! (photo by Larry Snider)
Me playing Faro! (photo by Larry Snider)

 

Get there early!

I suggest arriving at least 30 minutes before your tour starts so you can mix and mingle with all the historic re-enactors from North Fort Worth Historical Society. You will learn a lot and have a lot of fun, too. In the photo above, these two marvelously mustachioed men showed me how to play the game of Faro, which is Poker’s wild west cousin!

There's a trap door in the chapel floor - for raising & lowering coffins! (photo by Tui Snider)
There’s a trap door in the chapel floor – for raising & lowering coffins! (photo by Tui Snider)

 

Beautiful Chapel at Oakwood Cemetery

Oakwood Cemetery’s historic chapel has beautiful stained glass, as well as a trapdoor in the floor – for raising and lowering caskets!

 

Historic re-enactor at Oakwood Cemetery's Saints & Sinners Tour (photo by Tui Snider)
Historic re-enactor at Oakwood Cemetery’s Saints & Sinners Tour (photo by Tui Snider)

More info: 2015 Saints & Sinners Tour in Fort Worth, TX

Dates: October 30, 31, and November 1, 2015
Address: 701 Grand Avenue, Fort Worth, TX
For exact tour times, admission, and other details, visit the Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth – Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/oakwoodcemeterytour

Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth, TX website:
http://www.oakwoodcemetery.net/index.htm

Want to read more like this?


To read about more weird, offbeat, and overlooked places, check out my best-selling travel guide: 
UNEXPECTED TEXAS: Your Guide to Offbeat & Overlooked History, Day Trips & Fun Things to do near Dallas & Fort Worth
.

For ghost hunting hot spots, check out my best-selling travel guide to haunted places: 
PARANORMAL TEXAS: Your Travel Guide to Haunted Places near Dallas & Fort Worth
.

For a strange-but-true tale of Texas history, check out this bizarre piece of West Texas history: 
The Lynching of the Santa Claus Bank Robber

 


white-line-separator

Hey, you! Want to come along for the ride?

No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui's books can take you on a FUN adventure!
No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui Snider’s books can take you on a FUN adventure!

FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: For updates on my offbeat travels, books, & other fun stuff (such as postcards from the road!) subscribe to my newsletter using the form below. Each week, I’ll let you know the Historic Cemetery Symbol of the Week, who Teal Gray & I are interviewing on our show that night, and any other fun or interesting news. You can also mix & mingle with me by clicking this link & “liking” my Facebook Author Page:

Filed Under: Cemeteries & Symbolism, Haunted Travel, Historic Cemeteries, Travel Photo Essays Tagged With: actor, actors, euday bowman, Fort Worth, graveyard, historic, historic cemetery, horace carswell, oakwood cemetery, saints and sinners tour, tour, Tui Snider

Lee Harvey Oswald’s Grave & the Mysterious Nick Beef

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The following is an adapted excerpt from Unexpected Texas, my fun travel guide to quirky, offbeat and overlooked places near Dallas and Fort Worth. Check it out if you enjoy learning quirky facts, or are looking for offbeat road trip ideas in north Texas.

Lee Harvey Oswald Buried in Fort Worth, Texas

Oswald's mom wanted him buried in Arlington National Cemetery
Oswald’s mom wanted him buried in Arlington National Cemetery

Although his mother, Marguerite, requested for her son be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Lee Harvey Oswald’s final resting place is Shannon Rose Hill Cemetery in Fort Worth, Texas.

Officials didn’t waste any time putting the infamous lone gunman into the ground, either:

November 23, 1963 at 1:50 p.m.
Oswald arrested for killing President John F. Kennedy.

November 24, 1963 at 11:21 a.m.
Dallas nightclub owner, Jack Ruby, shot and killed Oswald.

November 25, 1963 at 4:28 p.m.
Oswald buried in Fort Worth. (John F. Kennedy was buried the same day, but unlike Oswald, he was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.)

Lee Harvey Oswald is buried in Fort Worth, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)
Lee Harvey Oswald is buried in Fort Worth, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)

Oswald’s Secretive Funeral

Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and killed in Dallas, but no cemetery there would claim him. After word leaked that his body had been transferred to Miller’s Funeral Home in Fort Worth, a crowd gathered outside.

Fearing violence, officials secretly arranged Oswald’s burial in Shannon Rose Hill Cemetery. To avoid publicity, these preparations were made using a pseudonym so that gravediggers wouldn’t spill the beans.

Reporters for Pall Bearers

Finding pall bearers was a bit tricky. Due to the extreme secrecy surrounding Oswald’s hastily arranged funeral, the only people present besides the assassin’s immediate family were federal agents, police, and a crowd of reporters who had been tipped off and were covering the story. This is why members of the press wound up carrying Lee Harvey Oswald’s coffin to his burial plot. (One of these reporters has since written an excellent account of his experience in this article: I was a Pall Bearer for Lee Harvey Oswald)

Reporters served as Oswald's pall bearers
The Fort Worth Press noted that news reporters were Oswald’s pall bearers

A minister from the Fort Worth Council of Churches named Louis Saunders was another last minute addition. Of this event, Reverend Saunders is quoted in the Fort Worth Press as saying that he had, “no more than 20 seconds” to prepare his eulogy.

There is nothing fancy about Lee Harvey Oswald’s headstone, either. His grave is marked by a small rectangular slab that is flush to the ground. It bears no dates or other information, not even the man’s full name. The stone simply reads, “Oswald.”

Look for this mausoleum to find Oswald's grave (photo by Tui Snider)
Look for this mausoleum to find Oswald’s grave (photo by Tui Snider)

Directions to Oswald’s grave

Officials at Shannon Rose Hill Cemetery (7301 East Lancaster, Fort Worth, TX 76112) no longer give directions to any of their interments, but Oswald’s grave is easy to find if you know what to look for. For one thing, the graveyard is divided into sections, and these sections are marked by stenciled labels on the curb.

As you drive west, keep an eye out for the section labeled “Sunset 18.” Once there, look for a mausoleum marked Shannon, which is in a roundabout in the middle of the road. Oswald’s marker is not far from the road. It’s to the left of the Shannon mausoleum, and to the right of a large tree. (Just so you know, Lee Harvey Oswald’s mother, Marguerite, is buried in an unmarked grave beside him.)

Oswald's grave has a mysterious companion (photo by Tui Snider)
Oswald’s grave has a mysterious companion (photo by Tui Snider)

Mysterious Grave Beside Oswald

In 1997, a new grave marker mysteriously appeared next to Lee Harvey Oswald’s. Not only is it the same size and shape as Oswald’s, but like his, this marker is not inscribed with any dates or information beyond a name, “Nick Beef.”

Up until then, the tangled web of conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy assassination bore no mention of a man by this name. When people looked into the matter, they were unable to learn much about the mysterious Mr. Beef’s life, death, or any possible connections to Lee Harvey Oswald. The story I ran across the most claims that two local reporters (or historians, depending on the version) placed the Nick Beef marker beside Oswald’s so that visitors could find it more easily.

Nick Beef's identity was recently revealed (photo by Tui Snider)
Nick Beef’s identity was recently revealed (photo by Tui Snider)

Who is Nick Beef?

Even if this were true, it still begs the question: Who is Nick Beef? In 2013 the New York Times got to the bottom of things by tracking down and interviewing the mysterious Nick Beef who, it turns out, is alive and well. (Full article here.)

Nick Beef is the alter ego of a man named Patric Abedin, who describes himself as a writer and “nonperforming performance artist.” Mr. Abedin grew up in Texas. He was in elementary school when Kennedy was shot, and has vivid memories of seeing the president and First Lady when they arrived at the airport in 1963. As a kid, he and his mother often dropped by Oswald’s grave.

In 1975, Abedin heard the plot beside Oswald’s was unclaimed, so he dropped by the cemetery and purchased it for himself. He then moved to New York, got married, had kids, found work as a humor writer, and made a life for himself there.

When Mr. Abedin’s mother passed away in late 1996, he returned to Texas for the memorial. That’s when, on a whim, he purchased the grave marker. Not wanting to expose his kids to any inquiries, he had the little stone inscribed with his pen name, “Nick Beef,” instead of his given name.

When the interviewer asked why he had purchased the plot, and later the marker, Abedin was rather cryptic. In both cases, it was an impulse buy, one with motives that are not only difficult for him to verbalize, but seem to be a mystery even to himself. To cap it off, Mr. Abedin has no plans to be buried there. When his time comes, he wants to be cremated.

So… this means that to the left of Lee Harvey Oswald lies the unmarked grave of his mother, Marguerite, while to the right lies the headstone for a performance artist’s alter ego.

Strange, eh?

Hey, you! Want to come along for the ride?

No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui's books can take you on a FUN adventure!
No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui Snider’s books can take you on a FUN adventure!

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Filed Under: Cemeteries & Symbolism, Historic Cemeteries Tagged With: assassination, conspiracy, Dallas, Fort Worth, grave, JFK, Lee Harvey Oswald, Nick Beef, Oct15, Texas, Tui Snider, where oswald buried

Why Read Paranormal Texas?

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Why read Paranormal Texas?

Sure, there are other books about real haunted places in Texas – I should know, my bookshelves are crowded with them! So, what makes Paranormal Texas different?

Overlooked Haunted Places
First off, Paranormal Texas includes a bunch of haunted places in Texas that are not in most other books. As with my first book, Unexpected Texas, I went out of my way (often, literally!) to find quirky, offbeat and overlooked sites.

For instance, I haven’t seen Moxley Manor (a haunted attraction that may truly be haunted) mentioned in any other books about real haunted places in Texas.

Of course, I didn’t turn my back on the most well-known paranormal hot spots and famous ghost stories of north Texas, either. So don’t worry; those spooky places also well-represented in Paranormal Texas.

Haunted Places You Can Actually Visit
Secondly, since Paranormal Texas is a travel guide, I want folks planning road trips near Dallas and Fort Worth to use the book to add haunted places to their itinerary if desired.

I don’t know about you, but I’m always disappointed to read about, say, a haunted BBQ joint only to find out that the place no longer exists. Simply knowing that a haunted site is open to the public makes a story more interesting to me, even if I never get to visit in person.

Sheer Entertainment
That said, Paranormal Texas has plenty to offer armchair travelers! For instance, readers will learn the truth behind Crystal Canyon’s buried treasure, as well as the surprisingly upbeat history of Arlington’s lost cemetery of infants.

Enter to win a copy of Paranormal Texas

Paranormal Texas Book Release Celebration Giveaway
I’m celebrating the release of Paranormal Texas by running a giveaway through the entire month of October.

Wheeee!

Enter Daily through October 31, 2014
To enter the Paranormal Texas Book Release Giveaway, simply follow the instructions at the bottom of the following blog posts.

To up your chances, you can enter each day on each of the following blog posts:

Why Read Paranormal Texas? (That’s *this* post!)

What’s in Paranormal Texas?

Is there Paranormal Evidence in Paranormal Texas?

Enter the book giveaway below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Media Kit Tagged With: author, Crystal Canyon, crystal canyon natural area, Dallas, Fort Worth, giveaway, haunted travel, Moxley Manor, paranormal, paranormal texas, rafflecopter, real haunted places, texas travel, Tui Snider

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