Your True
Tales
March 2003 –
Page 8
Alamo
Ghost
by Neill L.
During my last visit to the Alamo (San Antonio, Texas) there was a light crowd in the Long Barracks, now a museum with exhibit cases down each wall. True to its name, the building is long and narrow, with a door at either end. That day there was enough space between the lines of people looking at the displays for someone to walk down the center of the room.
I saw a 30-something man striding toward me in that open area, looking like he knew where he was going. I watched him for perhaps half the length of the building - long enough to get a detailed look at him. He was six feet or a little taller, clean-shaven, with a rangy build and a tanned, weathered face. His hair was dark blond, slightly curling, and loose to his collar. I think his eyes were blue; they were deep-set and narrow. He was dressed in very authentic-looking period costume. His rust-colored trousers were tucked into black, high boots that showed stirrup wear. He wore a wide belt of plain dark brown leather with a simple brass buckle. But it was his shirt that impressed me most. It was made of heavy, old-fashioned off-white broadcloth. It had a pointed collar and a placket in front, and the ties at the top of the placket were undone. The sleeves did not have cuffs. Instead, the inch-wide hem at each wrist was buttoned into a pleat. With easy familiarity he carried what looked like an immaculately maintained Sharps black powder rifle. His left palm cradled the forestock, the stock rested on his forearm, and he kept the muzzle pointed properly toward the floor.
I watched him until he was so close that staring any longer would have been rude. I looked down at the nearest display case until I felt him walk past, and when I looked up he was gone. He was too tall to lose in the crowd and I did not see how he could have made it to the door in the length of time I had my eyes averted, but I shrugged it off. I do remember thinking how cool that they are dressing docents in such great period clothes. It really adds to the ambiance.
Much later, I recounted the incident to a friend. She grew very still, and in a flat, measured voice, like she was talking to a really dense little kid, she said, "They do not dress their docents in period costumes." I got a real chill then. It felt like she had poured ice water down my back.
To this day I still wonder just who it was I saw in the Long Barracks.
< Previous story | Next story >
|
Do you
have a paranormal tale to tell? |
