The Haunted Black Swan Inn

The Black Swan Inn is a lovely turn of the century antebellum estate and true to form it has all the bells and whistles that go along with that era right down to the big old pecan and oak trees. Built in 1867 just 25 years after the Battle of Salado Creek the architecture is what you would expect, the columns that flank the arched doorway are only the beginning. But this tale isn’t of architecture or the Battle at Salado Creek, although the battle may very well play a large part in the haunting of the Black Swan Inn.

A little background on the 30 acres the estate sits on, archeologists have found evidence of human activity that dates back at least 5,000 years. It is believed that the Inn itself was built atop an Indian burial mound and anyone who has ever seen the movie, “Poltergeist” knows what that can mean. We can never know for sure exactly what has conspired on the land from that period till the time of the Battle of Salado Creek, we do know, however that the battle left hundreds of men dead, Texans, Mexicans and it is said even some Cherokee Indians died during the battle. It is known that the Texans were to bury their dead in shallow graves to be retrieved at a later time and buried more respectfully, but the Mexican and Cherokee soldiers were left where they fell. There is no clear data on what happened to the bodies of the fallen Mexican and Cherokee soldiers, it is assumed they were retrieved and sent home, but there is always the possibility that they were buried on the property somewhere leaving their families to wonder what happened to them.

It is said that the original owner of the property a German man named Heinrich still roams the property, whether to keep an eye on his investment or for other purposes no one can know. There, obviously, have been deaths on the property, the latest notable one was in the 1950’s when the then owner, a prominent lawyer in San Antonio was found dead with his arms tied behind his back, his death was ruled a suicide, but how a man kills himself with his arms tied behind his back is beyond me. The home has been sold and bought many times over the years and has been a restaurant and even a bed and breakfast, today it is touted as a wedding venue but offers paranormal investigations and “haunted” sleepovers also.

Now onto the ghosts, many guests have reported sighting a man standing at the foot of the bed seemingly staring at them, it is said that he doesn’t seem to interact with the people in the bed it is as if he is either guarding them from something or perhaps sizing them up for something.

Dolls move in this historic landmark, many have reported that in a particular room there are several dolls and that these dolls will move about the room, never ending up being where they were left and often the dolls have been found littering the floor as if someone was playing with them and just forgot to put them away when they were done. On a side note here it was reported by a repair man that when he was under the house he was repeatedly poked with what felt like sticks and he distinctly heard children laughing afterwards.

There have also been sightings of full-bodied apparitions throughout the property, including a woman who appears to be wearing an old-fashioned white dress. A bugle is often heard along with guests reporting sightings of what appear to be soldiers crossing the property. It has also been noted by paranormal teams that have investigated the area that indeed cold spots abound, several teams have reported drops of as much as ten degrees in some areas. It is also not uncommon to hear banging noises and what sounds like music playing on an old record player.

It has also been claimed that in the South wing of the estate there are two particular strange occurrences; the first being that a closet located in this area is locked at all times, why? No one seems to know, second is that a restroom also located in the South wing seems to lock in women and several times a figure is seen in the mirror, laughing. It was also reported that two young boys were fishing along Salado Creek and heard a high pitch scream and looked up to find what appeared to be an Indian racing towards them, the boys being terrified took off running.

There have also been reports of doors that open and close on their own, lights that flicker on and off randomly, (yes the electric has been checked) and the occasional sound of footsteps throughout the home when there should not be any. There also seems to be a consensus among visitors that in the ballroom of the Black Swan Inn, a heaviness lingers making those who enter feel suffocated. Have any experiences with the Inn? Please share in the comment section.