Austin, TX – Politics can be plenty spooky as the campaign clock ticks down, but in Texas some politicians have a way of sticking around way past Election Day.
Sam Houston famously gave up his job as governor rather than join the Confederacy. But 145 years after his death, some say the Texas hero still roams the Governor's Mansion, pacing nervously. Others have seen the ghost of Lyndon Johnson watching election night returns on the mezzanine of downtown Austin's storied Driskill Hotel. Alamo survivor Susanna Wilkerson Dickinson is said to stand near a posh new hotel on Austin's Fourth Street.
Psychic and ghost hunter Fiona Broome wrote a book about it all, titled ``The Ghosts of Austin, Texas.'' In her words, Austin ``is one haunted city.'' And she says the Texas Capitol building itself is a particular hot spot.
In her words, ``the Capitol is haunted day and night.'' She adds that ``if you've got a nice, misty day there, people see ghosts walking up the path to the Capitol building all the time.''
Broome spent time in Austin over five years doing research for the book. She says she saw many ghosts at the Capitol, including one possibly of Comptroller Robert Marshall Love walking up the promenade toward the Capitol.
Love was shot and killed by a disgruntled associate in his first-floor office in 1903. His ghost is said to have long startled both tourists and state troopers in his outdated business suit. He was wearing a top hat when Broome saw him.