Jefferson, Texas

I’ve been to Jefferson once as a novice Texan. I was in awe of the lovely historical, tiny town and beautifully restored antebellum homes and knew nothing about its deep, and dark history. Nestled in the lush wetlands, surrounded by the dark bayous of far East Texas, Jefferson is known as the town that would not die, and rightly so.

Jefferson, seated in Marion County, is roughly 166 miles east of lively Dallas and nearly an hour drive west from Shreveport with a meager population of 2,000 souls. The town is quaint and picturesque revealing nothing of the black seeds its history carries. The town is considered to be so haunted that daily ghost tours are hosted twice a day. The ghost stories range from stories of a long dead river captain to the ghost of a prostitute who committed suicide when her lovers shot themselves in a gun fight. Colorful, isn’t it?

The cornerstone for Jefferson’s paranormal activity is the infamous, historic Kahn Hotel, considered to be the most haunted hotel in all of Texas. Built in 1865, Kahn Hotel, has a list of all kinds of bad. Killings, robberies, suicides. You name it, it is said that all these things happened within the hotel. The Kahn Hotel didn’t start out as a hotel, but as a Saloon and brothel then later was a funeral home before finally becoming a hotel in 2016.

During that time many people died within the walls of the establishment including a prostitute named Jacqueline. The tale of Jacqueline is a simple but sad one that I am sure has much more detail than what was passed down over the years. The story goes, that Jacqueline was a prostitute in the brothel and two men, both her lovers, both whom she was madly in love with, shot each other in a gun fight over Jacqueline’s affection. Jacqueline, so full grief and sorrow hung herself from the saloon’s rafters. It is said that she still haunts the hotel until this very day.

Jacqueline is not the only ghost, she is my favorite, said to haunt the hotel. One ghost would be more than enough for any hotel, but the Kahn Hotel has several, including a ghost only called the Nightwatchman. It is said that the Nightwatchman will knock on the windows of the guest rooms late into the night. There is nothing creepier than looking out a window into the darkness of night, a knock from the Nightwatchman would be terrifying.

Another ghost is Andrew, a 7-year-old boy that is reported to be a playful spirit, playing innocent games and moving things about. Personally, I think ghosts of children are horrifying but none of the ghosts within the hotel seem to want to cause harm to the guests. The benign haunts, based on my reading, seem to be attention seeking in nature. Maybe the ghosts want their stories to be told?

According to Kahn hotel’s website, there has been more than 300 hundred paranormal investigations in the last decade within the hotel with most of the investigations confirming some level of paranormal activity.

Brave visitors are welcome at the hotel and can book a room for around 100 dollars a night. The hotel has outstanding reviews on Yelp stating that guests received excellent service and that the rooms were nice and exceptionally clean. There is also a coffee shop that offers different assortments of food, treats and beverages. Potential guests looking for a spooky vacation destination, you can book a room with the hotel by calling 903-601-4434.

The Kahn Hotel is only 22 miles east from me, if only I could work up the nerve to go and have a coffee!