Have I ever told you about the old place on River Road? Well, take a load off and sit a spell. Let me tell you about one of the scariest places I've ever been.
It was way back in 1989. I didn't live in the beautiful Texas Hill Country then but I used to come visit often. I loved this area and every chance I got, I came here. It was Valentine's Day and my husband wanted to make it wonderful for me so he asked what I wanted. Of course, my answer was always the same. I want to go to the beautiful Texas Hill Country. So with it being a weekend, off we went and arrived in just a few hours. We stayed at a local motel and went sight seeing the next day.
One of the things we did back then, was take a county map and highlight all the roads we had traveled in the Hill Country. There was one road nearby we had never been on. So that was the plan for the day to scout out a new adventure and a new road.
To our surprise, the road seemed untraveled. All the homes were deserted or were gone and only the foundations were left behind. The trees formed a canopy above the road shading it like an umbrella. It was beautiful. Twisting and turning, up and down like so many roads here but this one felt differently as we drove looking at every site we could see. Look, I'd say, there is an old well and my husband would point out an old windmill or an old barn. Any structures still standing were tattered and worn.
I was writing an essay for a class and thought how interesting it would be to stop at an old home place and try to discover its history. My husband thought it was a great idea and we agreed the next place we saw would be our adventure. We did not know what we were in for.
"Stop! stop!, I yelled. There it is!" "Where?", asked my husband. "Look there on the hill", I said. Bigger than life, there it stood. It was an old mansion built like a small Taj Mahal. The gate was locked with a huge chain that was rusted and untouched for years. We couldn't budge it. We parked on the side of the road and decided to climb over the fence. Who would care? No one had been there for years. That was apparent.
It was further up that hill than we had originally thought. We were huffing and puffing but it was definitely going to be worth it. Finally we reached the steps to the grand old porch that stood with columns facing the west. Climbing to the top was difficult as the steps were twice as high as ordinary steps. I remarked, "these steps must have been built for giants."
As we stood there on the porch looking west, we saw the sun go down over the hill and what a beautiful sight it was. Hill country sunsets are gorgeous. We didn't realize how late it was until then. Our curiosity led us to ignore the time and go on with the adventure. Pushing on the front door the dust fell in our faces but the hinges gave way and down came the door. With a loud crash onto the foyer floor, it could have awakened the dead. Maybe it did!
A little frightened we entered the mansion. The first thing unusual was the staircase. Normally, they go upward but this one went downward. I didn't want to go down there especially without a flashlight, so we went into the dining room and then the kitchen. I was a little nervous being there but became very frightened when the countertop in the kitchen was filled with plates of fresh food.
I told my husband "Let's get out of here!" We both headed for the front door but the path we took was not the same one or things got turned around somehow. Into a bedroom we went. Panicked, we turned and went back into the kitchen, that's when we ran smack dap into a statue of a butler. He had a look on his face I will never forget. He was larger than life size. The eyes were wide open and so was his mouth like he was screaming. He had a tray in one hand and a knife in the other. Why would anyone make a statue like this?! No time for questions, just get me out of here! We ran for the door. In fact we ran to the car and over the fence and back to the motel.
We were still shaking the next day when we asked the maid at the motel about the old mansion. She said she did not know what we were talking about. She lived out that way and there was no old mansion there. She said, "It must be your imagination running wild."
I suppose she was right.
Happy Halloween!
Ricki Eichler Real Estate, your Texas Hill Country connection www.reretx.com
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